Imperial Capital 3. My Aunt is Here
"Miss, Madam Xu is here."
Ye Li raised her head and saw her second aunt coming in from outside. She quickly stood up to greet her, "Second aunt."
Mrs. Xu is no more than thirty-six or thirty-seven years old this year. Her well-maintained appearance can only be described as pretty, but the natural temperament she exudes shows that she comes from a noble family and has been well-educated.
Frowning and looking around Ye Li's room, he couldn't help but poke her forehead and said, "Aunt and your uncle have long told you to move to your uncle's house, but you refused to listen. Now look at how you live? Look at your marriage... Are you deliberately trying to make your mother feel uneasy down there?" Ye Li rubbed his forehead, pulled Madam Xu to sit down and said, "It's not easy for your uncle these years, not to mention that grandma and father are both here, how can a daughter move to her uncle's house? It's just letting others laugh at your mother for not being able to raise a daughter." Since the current emperor ascended the throne, he has been suppressing the old ministers of the previous emperor. Grandpa, uncle and Xu clan members have retired from officialdom one after another. Now only the second uncle is still working as a third-rank Hanlin scholar in the Hanlin Academy. In the eyes of outsiders, the Xu family, a century-old family, has long been in decline.
Hearing Ye Li's words, Madam Xu couldn't help but sigh and said, "Just seeing you put yourself in such a difficult situation, your grandfather would be so distressed if he knew." The Xu family has always had more sons than daughters. In the Xu family, there is only one daughter, Ye Li's mother, so naturally she is doted on. If she knew that her only granddaughter had such a difficult life, given the Xu family's temper, she would probably rush to Beijing to scold her son-in-law. Ye Li smiled and said, "There is no grievance. Li'er will not let herself suffer." Madam Xu looked at her worriedly and said, "Now your marriage... Prince Ding is really not a good match. Your sister is too bad. She snatched her sister's husband. Is such a thing possible for her?" Ye Li's eyes moved, and she was not as weak and uncompetitive as usual in the mansion. She smiled and said, "Prince Ding has his own advantages. Aunt and uncle don't have to worry about Li'er." The Dingguo Palace has a transcendent status in Da Chu. Unless Prince Ding rebels and usurps the throne, even the emperor dare not easily shake the status of the Dingguo Palace. And now Prince Ding is completely detached from the government due to physical reasons. Marrying him naturally doesn't have to worry about those messy troubles. For Ye Li, it was just a matter of moving from Ye Mansion to Prince Ding Mansion. She was really too tired in her previous life, and in this life, she just wanted to live a peaceful life and wait for death.
Well, living a life of idleness and waiting for death, this is the goal Ye Li has set for herself in this life. In her previous life, she was a soldier, a soldier of a special unit. She fought for her country and finally sacrificed her body for the country, which was a worthy death. She did not have a heart full of grief and anger, nor did she have ambitions to shock the world. She believed that she was worthy of the country, and the country was not worthy of her. To die on the battlefield is the duty and responsibility of a soldier, but after more than ten years of bloody storms, she was really a little tired. Therefore, in this life, she just wanted to be safe and ordinary.
Seeing her calm demeanor, Madam Xu felt relieved and worried, but in the end, she could only sigh. So what if she was dissatisfied? Who could disobey the emperor's personal decree to grant her marriage?
"This is what your grandfather gave to me and your uncle before he left Beijing. It was the dowry your grandfather bought for you. We can't give it to you openly, so we'll just exchange it for silver bills and put it in the bottom of the box." Madam Xu handed a stack of silver bills to Ye Li and put them in his hand. Ye Li unfolded them and saw that there was a gold bill of 1,000 taels, ten silver bills of 500 taels, and several small-denomination gold and silver bills, which totaled to 20,000 taels of silver. Madam Xu did not let her speak and continued, "I heard that Ye Wangshi wanted to seize the dowry your mother left for you? Don't worry about this matter, your aunt will definitely help you. Humph, every daughter in my Xu family married in glory. Even if they were poor, they would not do such a shameless thing as giving the original wife's dowry to the daughter of a concubine. Hasn't your mother's dowry been ruined by them over the years? Your aunt will definitely take back those farms and shops for you." Ye Li frowned and said, "Li'er can handle this matter herself, your aunt still doesn't want it..."
Madam Xu smiled and said, "Don't worry, your father's official position is indeed higher than your uncle's, but if the emperor still wants to save face, he will never embarrass your uncle again." The Xu family is the descendant of the founding heroes, and is the top of the world's clean stream. Even if they are no longer in the court, their influence is not comparable to that of the Ye family and the Wang family. After the emperor ascended the throne, he openly and secretly forced the Xu family to resign, which was already very ugly. If something happened to his own father again, without a very important excuse, the spit of the people in the world would be enough to drown the royal family. Ye Li frowned and thought about it. It was indeed not a big deal, so she nodded and thanked her aunt. Madam Xu smiled with satisfaction and said, "I'm afraid your natal family will not stand up for you in the future. After you get married, visit home more often. Let your uncle and grandfather rest assured."
"Madam is here." There were footsteps outside the door, and Wang appeared at the door with her maids and servants. Standing at the door, she looked at Madam Xu and raised her eyebrows and said, "Why didn't you tell me that Madam Xu was here, and didn't even have time to ask someone to greet her?"
Madam Xu had always been uncomfortable with Wang's behavior, so she snorted and said indifferently, "I am only here to see Li'er on the orders of my master. The Ye family is a well-known family, so how dare I ask Madam Ye to welcome me?"
The Xu family was a family of scholars and had never promoted a concubine to be the principal wife. Xu had never looked down on Wang's status, not to mention that her sister-in-law was depressed because of Wang, so she had no good face. Wang also hated the way Mrs. Xu looked down on her. She was obviously a second-rank lady, and Xu was just a third-rank lady. Why did she look down on her? Wang looked at Ye Li's room with disdain, then walked to one side and sat down, saying to Madam Xu, "We have already sent the Third Lady's horoscope to Prince Ding's Mansion, and the wedding date will be set in a few days. As the legal mother, I will naturally let the Third Lady marry in a grand manner, so Madam Xu doesn't have to worry." Madam Xu smiled indifferently, and sat down to one side, saying, "It would be great if it is a grand wedding. Although Li'er's last name is Ye, she is also the blood of our Xu family. If a girl from the Xu family marries unfairly, even our old lady will not agree. By the way... Rong'er from your mansion is still studying, right? I wonder if he will take part in the imperial examination next year?"
Mrs. Xu's few words made Wang's heart tense. Her own Rong Ge'er was currently studying in the clan's ancestral school. She had actually forgotten that although the Xu family had fallen into decline, it was in charge of the Mount Li Academy, one of the four best academies in the world. It was also the best academy in the Great Chu, bar none. Rong Ge'er was planning to go to the Mount Li Academy to study this year, so that he would have a better chance of passing the imperial examination next year. If she tampered with Ye Li's dowry, I'm afraid... Thinking of this, she couldn't help but glared at Mrs. Xu angrily, but Mrs. Xu didn't care and smiled indifferently. Wang said coldly, "Our Rong is the younger brother of Empress Zhaoyi. How difficult is it for him to pass the imperial examination?" Madam Xu nodded and said with a smile, "It would be best if Rong is confident. But Concubine Liu's brother, who clearly won the first place in the imperial examination in Beijing, was worried about himself and traveled thousands of miles to Mount Li to seek advice from the old lady. This is too much. I believe your son will not need it. He must win the third place in the imperial examination to bring honor to Empress Zhaoyi."
Hearing this, Wang's face became even uglier. Concubine Liu was known as the most talented woman in the capital among her friends, and she was constantly favored after entering the palace. In addition, she was named Concubine after giving birth to two princes and a princess, which made her daughter look down on her. The young master of the Liu family was also famous for his talent, and he suppressed her son to obscurity in the capital. If the boy of the Liu family won the first place in the imperial examination next year, Empress Zhaoyi would be furious.
Wang snorted lightly, looked at Ye Li with some reluctance, and said, "If Mr. Xu can give guidance, Rong'er will naturally be more confident." This sentence was considered a surrender, and Xu did not express her opinion, but just smiled and said, "I just said it in vain. Madam Ye's reputation is well-known, and she will not treat her first wife's daughter badly. I will ask our master to send the dowry list of our eldest daughter to the government for re-registration, so as not to delay Li'er's wedding date."
In the end, Wang walked away with a sullen face, only to receive a disdainful sneer from Madam Xu.