Imperial Capital 4. Wang's Calculation
In Fangyi Courtyard, where the mistress of the Ye family lived, Wang's face was livid and her expression was twisted as she angrily scolded Ye Li, Madam Xu, and the entire Xu family. The floor was littered with broken teacups and porcelain. The delicate and graceful Ye Ying stood silently aside, watching her mother vent her anger, with a hint of disdain in her eyes.
"Mom, don't get angry and get yourself in trouble. Sit down and take a rest." When Wang had almost vented her anger, Ye Ying stepped forward and said with a concerned and worried look on her face.
Seeing her daughter's gentle and well-behaved face, Wang couldn't help but feel aggrieved. She pulled Ye Ying and burst into tears, "I have worked hard for this mansion for so many years. When have I ever wronged her? Now she is actually trying to compete with you for that little bit of dowry. My dear daughter, if you marry into Prince Li's mansion and don't have enough dowry, not only will you be laughed at, but Empress Zhaoyi will also lose face. Isn't this also for the sake of the mansion? That damn girl actually... It's too early for the Xu family to come and talk!" Ye Ying's eyes flashed, and she smiled softly and comforted Wang, "Mother, His Royal Highness Prince Li treats his daughter sincerely, so he will naturally not complain that our dowry is too little. Besides... this matter really wronged my sister, and it is only right to give her more dowry. If outsiders see it, it will show that you are kind and generous, and you have not treated your original daughter unfairly, right? Second sister... will definitely understand my difficulties."
Wang was stunned for a moment, thinking of Ye Li's face and demeanor which were very similar to Xu's. Then she looked at her daughter who was trying hard to suppress her grievance, and the anger in her heart was even greater. She took Ye Ying's hand and patted it, saying, "Don't worry, I will definitely not let you down. Even if I don't care about your dowry, I will never let that girl marry into the family with so much dowry!" The last words were already gritting their teeth.
Ye Ying frowned in worry, "What does mother want to do?"
Wang was obviously confident and said with a smug smile, "Mother has her own ideas. You just need to prepare your dowry."
The second daughter of the Ye family is the most favored Zhaoyi, and now there are two more daughters who are betrothed to the most favored Prince Li and the only hereditary Prince Dingguo of the Great Chu. The Ye family is now naturally in the heyday of prosperity. As soon as the news of the betrothal was spread, the dignitaries who visited the Ye family were endless, and Wang and Old Madam Ye were very happy. Naturally, the whole Ye family hurriedly prepared for the marriage and dowry of the two girls. Of course, the focus is on preparing for the fourth lady Ye Ying. Because Wang said that the fourth lady's wedding date is half a month earlier than the third lady, it is still in time to prepare for the fourth lady first and then the third lady. In fact, the servants of the Ye family knew that Wang did not want to prepare the dowry for the third lady at all. Of course, if there was anything good, she would prepare it first before the fourth lady. Fortunately, Mrs. Ye knew the importance of things. Although Prince Li and Prince Ding were also different in importance, they were not people that the Ye family could afford to offend. After Mrs. Wang reluctantly gave up eight manors, twelve shops, and three forests, she also allocated 10,000 taels of silver from the public treasury to ask a sister-in-law from the clan to help with the dowry. She also allocated 10,000 taels from her own pocket to give Ye Ying some dowry, which was considered to appease Mrs. Wang. Although Wang was unwilling, she did not dare to openly refute the old lady. She had to hand over the land deed angrily and went out with the banknote given by the old lady.
The lady who came to arrange the dowry for Ye Li was the cousin of Minister Ye. Although the old man in the family was only a fifth-rank official and not as prominent as the Ye family, he was also a kind person. The sisters-in-law often heard about the third lady and felt sympathy for Ye Li, the legitimate daughter of the Ye family. Usually, Ye Li rarely went out. The family thought she was a quiet girl and not as bad as outsiders said. Naturally, they also understood that those words were probably spread by Wang. Now, at first sight, although she was not as bright and beautiful as the second lady of the Ye family, nor as delicate, beautiful and charming as the fourth lady, she was quiet and elegant, and her words and deeds were very appropriate. Especially her pair of calm eyes, which seemed as calm as still water, always made people feel that she was a little different from other girls. Although she is not the gentle lady that many men like, she is definitely not inferior to other girls in the Ye family. I can't help but feel sorry for Ye Li. It's okay for her to marry a sickly and useless prince. The dowry of 10,000 taels is a lot for ordinary families, but compared with other girls in the Ye family, she is not even as good as the older girls who got married a few years ago. Fortunately, the old lady was sensible and returned the farm and shop of the original wife of the Ye family to the third girl, otherwise the Ye family would be embarrassed.
Ye Li was in a good mood after taking back the property left by her mother. She was too lazy to care about the 10,000 taels that the old lady gave to Ye Ying and the fact that Wang Shi used a lot of public funds to prepare Ye Ying's dowry. Originally, there were favored and unfavored children in a family, and there were ten fingers that were long and short. She had no objection to the Ye family favoring Ye Ying more, as long as it didn't make her face go away. As for the future, although she didn't think that her family could give her much support in the future, she couldn't quarrel with her family before she got married. It took two days to check the shop's account book, but the result made Ye Li frown. Five of the twelve shops were losing money, four were neither losing money nor making money, and the three that actually made money only made a small profit. Four of the eight manors were not original. Wang explained that when Zhaoyi entered the palace, four manors were used for her to make flowers, so four more were added from the mansion. Ye Li knew what kind of people the four added ones were without even looking. If she hadn't mentioned it to the old lady first, by the time she wanted the manors, all eight would have been replaced.
Early in the morning, after greeting the old lady, Ye Li took Qingshuang out to inspect the shop.
Ye Li rarely walks around outside, and almost no one in the capital knows her. After this round, not only Qingshuang's eyes are full of anger, but even people who Ye Li thinks are good-natured are also very angry. Seven of the twelve shops have new shopkeepers who took office just two days before the shop was handed over to her, and they know nothing about the previous things in the shop. There is also a jewelry store that looks at people coming and going, but the account book is all losses. As for the two profitable stores, the goods are old, the employees are listless, and even the counters are covered with dust. It is strange that anyone will patronize them.
"Miss, Madam has gone too far. You must tell the old lady and the old master when you get back!" Qingshuang said angrily.
"What's the use of telling her? One of her two daughters is now a concubine, and the other is going to be the Princess of Li. What do you think Dad and Grandmother will do to her?" Ye Li glanced at Qing Shuang and smiled faintly. Qing Shuang was dumbfounded, resentful and indignant, "Are they just going to let it go? Madam clearly wants to embarrass Miss. What's the difference between giving such a dowry and having nothing?"
"Is it embarrassing? It's embarrassing only if I think it's embarrassing for your daughter. If I don't think it's embarrassing, it's not embarrassing."
Qingshuang blinked her eyes and looked at her young lady expectantly, "Miss, is there anything I should pay attention to?"
Ye Li just smiled and said nothing, bypassing Qing Shuang and walking forward. Qing Shuang wrinkled her nose and followed happily, "Miss, the last one is in front. Shen De Xuan, an antique shop."