Imperial Capital 37. The eldest daughter of the Ye family

At the end of April, the Ye family sent someone to pick up Ye Li. Ye Ying's wedding was scheduled for the last day of April, which was said to be the only auspicious day in April. Xu Hongyu calmly dismissed the people sent by the Ye family to pick up Ye Li, and only asked Xu Qingbai and Xu Qingyan to personally send Ye Li back the day before Ye Ying's wedding. Although Minister Ye was very unhappy, he didn't say much because of his inexplicable fear of his brother-in-law, and only asked Ye Li to go back to Qingyixuan to have a good rest.

When Ye Li went to Xu's house, she only brought two maids, Qingshuang and Qingxia. When she came back, she brought back Nanny Lin and Nanny Wei's family of more than ten people. There were also two older maids, Qingluan and Qingyu, who were personally selected by Grandpa. The originally small Qingyixuan seemed a bit crowded. Nanny Wei looked at the decoration of Qingyixuan and wiped her tears with heartache, saying that it didn't look like a place for a rich lady to live. Ye Li didn't care, but smiled and advised: "No matter how gorgeous the decoration is, it will be a bargain for others after we leave." Nanny Wei still refused, saying that the young lady should not be wronged, and ordered the maids to redecorate Ye Li's room. Ye Li had no choice but to leave. It seemed that everyone was very dissatisfied with her room, and her aunt also complained every time she came.

"Miss, the eldest lady is here." The maid serving outside the door reported.

Ye Li put down her needle and thread, raised her head and said with a smile: "Please invite the Crown Prince's concubine in."

Soon, a beautiful lady in palace dress walked into the room. Seeing Ye Li sitting at the table, she couldn't help but smile, "Third sister."

Ye Li quickly stood up to greet her, "Meet the prince's concubine." This woman was none other than the eldest daughter of the Ye family, Ye Zhen, the concubine of the prince of Nanhou.

Ye Zhen held her and said with a smile: "I don't deserve it. I will pay my respects to my third sister after her wedding. Now there are no outsiders, let's call each other sisters." Ye Li nodded and said with a smile: "Sister, please sit down." Ye Zhen's biological mother was a close-fitting maid who grew up with Ye Shangshu since childhood. Ye Zhen died of illness when she was five years old. Ye Zhen was raised by Xu since she was a child. When Xu died, Ye Zhen was already thirteen years old. Therefore, Ye Li and Ye Zhen had a good relationship. When Ye Zhen was still at home, she would occasionally take care of Ye Li. However, she was not yet fifteen years old when she was arranged by Wang to marry the son of Nanhou as a concubine. It is said that the son of Nanhou did not dote on Ye Zhen very much. After seven or eight years of marriage, they did not give birth to a son or a daughter, and Ye Zhen rarely returned to the Ye family. The two sisters haven't seen each other for nearly two years. This time they came back probably to help Ye Ying get married.

Ye Zhen lightly touched the bright red brocade on the table, and her heart slightly moved, "Is this... Phoenix brocade? Is my third sister making a wedding dress?"

Ye Li nodded. She was not too picky about wedding dresses, so she was not in a hurry to make one some time ago. Otherwise, she would not know what to do with the Phoenix Brocade that her uncle brought over. After all, according to the custom of Da Chu, each woman can only have one wedding dress, and it is very unlucky to make another one. Ye Zhen stroked the soft red brocade with a little envy, looked at Ye Li and said, "Isn't this prepared by Madam? I saw that Fourth Sister only used the Goose Brocade. I heard that it was given by the Empress Dowager in the palace." Ye Li frowned slightly, looking at the wedding dress in front of her, she was a little hesitant. The Queen Mother gave Ye Ying the Goose Brocade. If she used the more precious Phoenix Brocade, the Queen Mother would probably not look good. Ye Zhen has been the Crown Prince's concubine for so many years that she is not an ignorant person. She thought for a moment and said, "Phoenix Brocade is a protective fabric used by the royal family of Dongling. Not only is it not allowed to be woven by the public, but it is also strictly forbidden to be sold. Originally, Dongling and Nanzhao would give some to our Great Chu royal family as gifts every year, but it is said that the craftsmanship of Dongling was lost due to an accident when the late emperor was alive. Third sister, this Phoenix Brocade should be one of the two pieces that the late emperor gave to the Xu family when your mother was born, right?"

"Big sister, you have good eyesight. Grandpa asked my uncle to bring this to the capital." Ye Li nodded. Wedding dresses made of phoenix brocade were once the most coveted item for the rich ladies in the capital. Unlike the gorgeous and eye-catching brocade, phoenix brocade does not look conspicuous, more like a piece of ordinary red satin. But when it appears in the light, a lifelike phoenix pattern will emerge. If you wear it and walk around, it will give people the illusion of a flying phoenix as you move. Generally, the best way to make it is to embroider other patterns such as hibiscus and peony on the phoenix brocade. In this way, when it is still, it will be a wedding dress with hibiscus and peony competing for beauty. Once it appears in the sun or light, the exquisite phoenix wearing peony is enough to make anyone sigh. Ye Li had already made the hood on her head, and she was surprised to find that the color and shape of the phoenix would change under the sun and light, and even the intensity of the light. The craftsmanship of this world really surprised Ye Li, a modern person who can be said to have seen a lot. And unlike the rare but still found 鴛鴦錦, the phoenix brocade is not only in Da Chu, I am afraid that even if you search all the countries, you can't find a few. It can even be said that it is the loss of Phoenix Brocade that has led to the current fame of Nanzhao Yaoyan Brocade.

"Since it was given by the late emperor, and it just so happens that the emperor is giving me a marriage, it would be a perfect match for my third sister to wear this. It will surely amaze everyone in the capital." Ye Zhen said with a smile, a hint of satisfaction flashing across her eyes. She could almost imagine what Wang and Ye Ying would look like when Ye Li got married in this dress.

Ye Li nodded, and casually handed the unfinished wedding dress to Qingluan who was serving beside her, and smiled at Ye Zhen: "Please focus on my own business. I haven't seen you for a long time. Is everything okay?"

Ye Zhen closed her eyes, the smile on her face faded a little, and said: "What's wrong with me? This is how I live my life."

Ye Li had heard about the reputation of the Nanhou Shizi, but unfortunately, these things were not something she could control. Besides, her relationship with Ye Zhen was not close enough for her to ask about her private affairs, so she could only say, "No matter what, you are the most important. If you don't care about yourself, who else can you expect to care?" Ye Zhen was startled, looked at Ye Li and said, "Third sister is right. These years... Third sister has not had an easy time. In the future... With the Xu family around, Third sister will not be more sad than at home." Ye Li smiled faintly, stood up and said, "Did eldest sister go to see fourth sister?"

Ye Zhen shook her head and said, "I just paid my respects to Grandmother. My fourth sister is busy choosing the new head ornaments, so I don't want to disturb her."

Ye Li smiled and said, "Then let's go together. Qingxia, take out the set of Red Phoenix Chaoyang head ornaments and give them to Fourth Sister together."

Qingshuang asked, "Miss, isn't that something the old lady gave you?" And it was the most precious one of all. The fourth young lady wanted it before, but the old lady didn't give it to her. It would be a waste to give it to her now.

Ye Li waved her hands and said, "I can't use that either. If Fourth Sister likes it, give it to her." Ye Li could only stay away from that set of elegant and precious jewelry. She had no doubt that if she really put on the whole set, her neck would definitely hurt. In fact, Ye Ying probably wouldn't really wear it, after all, she always maintained a delicate and unworldly image. She was just angry that Old Madam Ye gave the things to herself instead of her. Ye Zhen looked carefully at the indifferent smile on Ye Li's face and sighed softly, "Among us sisters, Third Sister has the best character."

Ye Li smiled and said, "It's not that I have a good heart. Anyway, we don't have to face each other day and night for the rest of our lives. It's only been a month or so. It's boring to argue over such trivial matters."

Ye Zhen lowered her head and smiled, "Fourth sister is right."