Imperial Capital 34. Contemporary Great Scholar

Under the guidance of the eldest brother Xu Qingchen, several sons of the Xu family had a cordial meeting with Minister Ye and Old Lady Ye. As for Wang, who sat on the side and tried to speak several times but failed, she was deliberately ignored. The fifth son of the Xu family later said that his master had no hobby of talking to other people's concubines. That's right, in the eyes of the Xu family, Wang's status as the main wife has never been recognized. Not to mention the grievances between Wang and the late Madam Xu, the Xu family itself does not recognize the promotion of concubines. Of course, this may also be related to the fact that no one in the Xu family has taken concubines except in extremely rare cases for several generations. If Wang was really a lady from a noble family, virtuous, respectful and frugal, they could still give her a certain respect, but unfortunately Wang obviously did not have these qualities.

Afterwards, Xu Qingchen politely mentioned that his father missed his niece whom he had not seen for many years, and asked to take Ye Li to the Xu family's other courtyard to stay for a while. Old Madam Ye naturally refused without a second thought, and said that Ye Li was about to get married and needed to stay at home. Xu Qingchen said that because his aunt died early, his grandfather was afraid that his cousin would not be able to manage her affairs after getting married and would be looked down upon by her in-laws. He specially ordered his second aunt to invite several ladies who were best at managing households in the capital to teach her. He also sent several maids to teach his cousin etiquette again. After all... before, there were rumors outside that the third daughter of the Ye family was a three-no daughter with no talent, no morals, and no appearance. From this, it can be seen that the cousin needs to be strictly taught in terms of etiquette, manners, speech and behavior.

Seeing that Old Madam Ye was silent and had a look of grievances that could not be expressed, Ye Li once again confirmed that she could not confront an old woman like Old Madam Ye with harsh words. Seeing that her cousin spoke so elegantly and politely, who could not believe that this was definitely a gentle and polite younger generation who was listening to the opinions of the elders? But looking at Old Madam Ye's expression, which was definitely not beautiful, what other opinions could she really put forward? Even the last idea of ​​Old Madam Ye wanting Ye Shan and Ye Lin to accompany Ye Li to the Xu family's courtyard was blocked by Xu Qingyan with a smile, saying that it would affect the reputation of the two young ladies if men and women were not allowed to touch each other. She could only watch helplessly as Ye Li was led out of the Ye family's gate by several young masters of the Xu family.

As soon as they left the Ye family, everyone was obviously more relaxed and casual. Even Xu Qingze, who had always had a cold face, showed a faint smile. The strangeness between the brothers and sisters who had been separated for many years seemed to disappear in an instant. As for Xu Qingyan, who had no impression of Ye Li because of his young age, he was very familiar with people. After a while, they became intimate as if they were siblings who grew up together. Because the current patriarch of the Xu family, Xu Qingchen, Xu Qingbai, and Xu Qingyan's father, and Ye Li's uncle Xu Hongyu did not want to be too prominent, he did not live in his brother's Yu Shi Mansion, but directly lived in a not-so-large branch of the Xu family in the capital. Therefore, Ye Li and his group went directly to the Xu family branch.

"Uncle..."

Seeing the middle-aged man in front of her who was still elegant and gentle, Ye Li called out in a hoarse voice.

Xu Hongyu also looked at this little niece whom he loved since childhood. Seeing that her face was 70% similar to her deceased sister, but a little stronger than her sister, he couldn't help but sigh. He waved to Ye Li and said, "Li'er has worked hard these years. Your uncle knows everything about the capital. Who dares to embarrass you with your uncle watching over you!" Ye Li also felt a little sad and forced a smile, "Who dares to embarrass Li'er with your second uncle around? Li'er just misses her eldest uncle and grandpa." Xu Hongyu glanced at his younger brother sitting next to him with some dissatisfaction and said, "If he was useful, would he make the mother and daughter of the Ye family so proud?" Xu Hongyan also knew his brother's temper, so he just smiled helplessly and said, "What the eldest brother taught me is that it was my younger brother who didn't take good care of Li'er."

"Uncle!" Ye Li shook her uncle's arm unwillingly. She had no pressure at all to act coquettishly to her uncle, after all, she had been like that since she was a child. Who told her that she was a real child at that time? And she was the only child in the Xu family who was not afraid of her uncle.

Xu Hongyu rubbed the back of Ye Li's head lovingly and said with a smile: "Okay, uncle is just talking casually. You have only been siding with your second uncle after not seeing him for so many years."

"No, Li'er has always missed her uncle and grandpa."

"Then your grandpa wants you to go to Yunzhou, do you dare to refuse?"

“…”

After talking with the two uncles for a while, Xu Hongyu asked Xu Qingyan to take her to the prepared room to meet the two maids who had been waiting for a long time. Ye Li also knew that her uncle and cousins ​​probably had something to say, so she followed Xu Qingyan obediently.

Ye Li's room had been arranged long ago, in a quiet courtyard at the innermost part of the courtyard. The Xu family's residence, whether it was the Yushi Mansion, the former Xu Mansion in the capital, or the courtyard, all had the same simple, elegant and grand style, which also suited Ye Li's feeling. As soon as she stepped into the gate, someone came up to greet her, "Miss!"

Two maids dressed neatly and decently came forward, and when they saw Ye Li, they were stunned for a moment and their eyes were filled with tears.

"Madame Lin...wet nurse..." Ye Li called out. Madame Lin was a maid who had been with her mother since she was a child, and she is almost fifty years old this year. Ye Li's wet nurse was also a servant of the Xu family, and she is also forty years old this year. Ye Li still remembered how when she was trying to forcefully send Madame Lin and Madame Wei back to the Xu family, they knelt in front of her and begged her, refusing to leave even if they died. Although she had no one she could trust until she met Qingshuang, Ye Li did not regret it. Because she knew very well that she could not protect these two people who were truly kind to her, as she had just recovered her memory, her mind was still confused from time to time, and her health was also very bad.

"Miss...Miss..." Two maids walked quickly to Ye Li. Nanny Lin said with tears in her eyes, "Miss has finally grown up...She looks so much like the eldest lady..."

Wei Mama had a deeper affection for Ye Li. After all, Ye Li was raised by her. "Wuwu... I am sorry, young lady. I have let you stay alone in the Ye Mansion for so many years. Fortunately... Fortunately, you are fine..."

Ye Li sighed in her heart. She was still a little awkward in dealing with such a situation, so she could only persuade the two maids in a clumsy way. Xu Qingyan looked at Ye Li's somewhat stiff look and laughed secretly. At the same time, he was more certain that the Ye family had treated his cousin badly. "Ahem. Nanny Lin, Nanny Wei, you will have to follow Sister Li from now on. It won't be long. Why don't we go into the house and talk slowly?" After being reminded by Xu Qingyan, the two maids wiped their faces and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Fifth Young Master is right. It was our negligence. Come on, Miss, take a look at your room to see if you like it. If you don't like it, we can change it."

Watching Ye Li being dragged away by two maids, the forgotten Xu Qingyan was stunned for a moment, rolled his eyes at the sky, then turned around and walked out.

Ye Li was pulled into her room and endured the enthusiasm of the two maids, while the atmosphere in the study room of the other courtyard seemed a little deserted.

Xu Hongyu sat behind the desk and looked at his brother, with a smile on his face, but for no reason, Xu Qingfeng and Xu Qingbai, who were hiding behind him, couldn't help but shudder. "So, Prince Li thought that Li'er was not worthy of him and hooked up with the fourth daughter of the Ye family. And the emperor thought that Li'er's reputation as a rich woman and the shame of being abandoned by Prince Li could be used to humiliate Prince Ding?"

Everyone couldn't help but twitch their lips. Hooking up... Uncle (Dad) you are a great scholar of the time, can't you speak more elegantly?

Xu Hongyan nodded and said, "That's true."

As if the tension in the study was not low enough, Xu Qingchen, who was sitting at the bottom, took out a letter from his sleeve with a smile that was even more elegant than his father's and said, "Earlier today, Prince Li openly stated in Chuxiang Pavilion that no matter how much Li'er flaunts her favor, he will never marry her."

Shake... Xu Qingyan, who had just slipped in, leaned inconspicuously behind his fourth brother.

Xu Hongyu took the letter and read it for a while, and didn't say anything for a long time. Just when Xu Hongyan was a little worried and wanted to speak, he heard Xu Hongyu laugh out loud: "Not bad... As expected of my Xu family's daughter..." Then he handed the letter directly to Xu Hongyan, and Xu Hongyan pulled the corners of his mouth and tried not to laugh. He had been staying in the capital, how could he not know that his niece was definitely not as elegant as she appeared, but it was rare for her to be so... strong, maybe she was really irritated by King Li.

"Was Prince Ding also present at the time?" Xu Hongyan folded up the letter and put it directly into his sleeve without paying attention to Xu Qingyan who was still waiting eagerly behind him. He wanted to go back and figure out how to give Prince Li more information. Sure enough, he was too free to come to trouble Li'er.

"Li'er seems to have had a conversation with Prince Ding. It seems that the two have reached some kind of consensus." Xu Qingchen smiled faintly.

Xu Hongyu thought for a moment, waved his hand and said, "Your grandfather thinks highly of Prince Ding, and Li'er doesn't seem to be dissatisfied with the marriage. Qingchen, I'll leave the rest to you."

Xu Qingchen nodded and smiled, "Son understands. It just so happens that I have been away from Beijing for many years and haven't seen Prince Ding for a long time."