Mountain and River Festival 322. The Difference Between the Ye and Xu Families

"Father."

"Grandfather." Xu Hongyu and the other three bowed to Mr. Qingyun one after another. Mr. Qingyun looked at his son and grandson in front of him, as well as the little great-grandson held in Xu Qingchen's arms. The anger that was originally aroused by Ye Wenhua gradually dissipated. He nodded and said, "Let's all sit down and talk. When did Chen'er come back?" Xu Qingchen smiled and said, "Grandfather, I just arrived. I was just about to come over to pay my respects to you. When I heard that there were guests, my father and my second uncle and second brother came over as well."

Mr. Qingyun nodded and smiled, "You've worked hard on the journey. Take a good rest when you get back."

Because all the people from the Ye family were present, it was a bit awkward for Xu Hongyu and the others to sit in this position. Old Madam Ye was too old to stand up and give up her seat to anyone, but fortunately Ye Wenhua had been in the officialdom for decades and was not really ignorant. She quickly stood up and gave up her seat to Xu Hongyu. Ye Lin, the wife of the Ye Wang family, and the young man who were sitting on the other side also stood up. Only Ye Rong was really ignorant. He looked around at his parents but refused to stand up, which made Ye Wenhua's face turn blue and white. Xu Hongyu didn't care about Ye Wenhua's expression. He looked at Ye Rong with a smile and said, "The Ye family is well educated."

Being praised twice in a row with the same words, Ye Rong became more and more proud. He had no idea why his father looked so unhappy. Although Old Madam Ye knew that something was wrong, Ye Rong was the only male in the Ye family for so many years, so she naturally loved him very much. If Old Madam Ye still had the idea that her son could give birth to a grandson a few years ago, this thought gradually faded as there was no news in the past few years. She just thought that this was the residence of her granddaughter, so it must be nothing.

Ye Li looked at the expressions of the Ye family and shook her head helplessly. Although she did have some grudges against the Ye family, she was not the kind of person who liked to kick someone when he was down. If Ye Wenhua had trained Ye Rong to be a talent, he might have a promising future in the northwest. It was a pity that the Ye family was in such a state that it was very disappointing. Although Ye Li would not take action against the Ye family, it did not mean that she would be so kind as to support a family of relatives who could not be helped at all, for fear that it would bring discredit to the Ding Palace.

Xu Qingchen put Mo Xiaobao on his lap and teased him, while looking at Ye Wenhua with a smile and said faintly: "When did Master Ye arrive in Licheng?"

Ye Wenhua's smile was a little forced. In the past, when they met, Xu Qingchen even gave him some face and called him uncle, but now he was unwilling to do even this little bit of face. The early death of Xu did not leave any male offspring for the Ye family, and they only had Ye Li as their daughter. Now Ye Li had already married, so it was not unreasonable for the Xu family to not recognize the Ye family as their in-laws.

"I've been here for more than a month." Ye Wenhua forced a smile.

Xu Qingchen nodded and said, "During this period, Li'er and Prince Ding were away on the expedition, and I was also far away at Feihong Pass. My father and second uncle are busy with official duties, so if there is anything that I have neglected Master Ye, I hope you will forgive me." Ye Wenhua dared not disrespect Xu Hongyu and the others for neglecting them. In front of Xu Hongyu, Ye Wenhua felt ashamed even though he had been a minister for many years. Although it was not so serious for Xu Hongyan, he still had some self-consciousness as if he was born. So when he was in Chujing for so many years, Xu Hongyan's official position and power were not as good as Ye Wenhua, who was a minister and Zhaoyi's father, but Ye Wenhua never put on airs in front of Xu Hongyan. It was for this reason that Ye Wenhua had always disliked the Xu family. No man with a little ambition liked to be inferior to his in-laws forever. Unfortunately, Ye Wenhua was already inferior to the Xu family.

Madam Ye stepped in front of Ye Wenhua and said with a smile: "How could that be? We are all family, so it doesn't matter if we are wronged for a while. Li'er is also a filial child, so she will naturally not treat her family badly."

Xu Qingchen raised his eyebrows and glanced at Old Madam Ye with a faint smile. Does this mean... that she still feels treated unfairly?

Xu Hongyu asked: "What are the Ye family's future plans?"

Ye Wenhua was about to say that his eldest brother was in charge, but before he could finish his words, he heard Madam Ye looking at Ye Li with a smile and saying, "It was OK that Li'er was not at home before. But now Li'er is a few months pregnant, and Prince Ding is not here, so we naturally have to take care of Li'er in the mansion." Madam Xu, who was standing by, was so angry that she laughed and said calmly, "So Madam Ye thinks we are just decorations?"

"Madam." Xu Hongyan calmly calmed down the anger of Mrs. Xu Er. It was really a shame to lose her status by being with such a family.

Madam Xu was also irritated by Madam Ye's shamelessness, but she naturally suppressed her anger after being reminded by her husband. She glanced at Madam Ye with disdain and said nothing more. If Li'er's biological mother were still alive, it would be right for her to live in the palace to take care of her daughter, but only Madam Ye would have the nerve to bring the concubine's successor and her family to live in the house of the legitimate daughter.

In fact, Old Lady Ye knew that what she said was a bit inappropriate. But her life experience can be said to be full of ups and downs. She was a widow with a son in a remote place in Da Chu. Later, her son passed the imperial examination and was recruited as a son-in-law by the Xu family. Suddenly, she became the in-law of the most elegant and noble scholarly family in Da Chu. Later, she became the old lady of the Shangshu Mansion. Her granddaughters became imperial concubines and two princesses. How glorious and proud she was. Later, Ye Wenhua was demoted to a commoner by the emperor. Although they returned to their hometown and lived a good life because of some family assets, it was completely different from their life in Chujing. How could Old Lady Ye be willing to accept this? Now that she has arrived in Licheng, although she has the identity of Princess Ding's grandmother, many noble ladies in Licheng do not regard her as important. Looking at the two ladies of the Xu family, even the young second young lady of the Xu family is one of the most popular people in Licheng. Isn't it all because of Ye Li, the Princess Ding? This also made Old Lady Ye more determined to live in the palace.

Although Mrs. Ye Wang didn't say anything, she knew from her expression that what Mrs. Ye said was what she was thinking. Except for the people from the Ye family, everyone in the hall was a smart person. Naturally, they could see through their thoughts and were even more disdainful of this family's behavior.

Mo Xiaobao sat in Xu Qingchen's arms and asked doubtfully, "Mom, are my grandfather and great-grandmother going to live in our house?"

Ye Li smiled but didn't answer. She looked at her son with a smile and asked, "Does Xiaobao like it?"

Mo Xiaobao hesitated for a moment and asked in confusion: "Why do grandpa and great-grandmother want to live in our house? Didn't my great uncle prepare a house for them? Can't their house be lived in?" Old Madam Ye looked at Mo Xiaobao lovingly and smiled: "Your mother is pregnant, and great-grandmother stays in the mansion to take care of her. And your grandpa can teach you to read. Your grandpa was a Jinshi in the past. And your uncle Rong can play with you."

Mo Xiaobao pouted his lips in disrespect and buried his face in Xu Qingchen's arms. The young master didn't want to play with such an ugly person. He was ugly, but he was also so stupid. He didn't even hear his uncle's sarcasm and was still laughing foolishly! The young master would rather play with his uncle and Han Mingxi.

"What is a Jinshi? Is it very powerful?" Mo Xiaobao asked with a blink of his eyes.

Xu Qingchen smiled faintly and said, "Your great grandfather, uncle and uncles have all passed the imperial examination." The imperial examination may be very impressive in other places, but it is the least valuable in the Xu family. For hundreds of years, all the children of the Xu family have at least passed the imperial examination. In other words, in the Xu family, only if you pass the imperial examination can you be considered successful in your studies. Hearing this, Mo Xiaobao looked at Madam Ye sincerely and said, "There are... one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight... eight imperial examinations in our family. And... I have a great grandfather who taught me to read. Is my grandfather better than my great grandfather?"

Ye Wenhua was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly smiled and said, "Your great grandfather's knowledge is the best in the world. It is a great blessing to be able to study with him. How can your grandfather compare to him..."

Being choked by Mo Xiaobao, Madam Ye's face turned ugly. She disliked this great grandson who didn't give her face as soon as they met, but she still had some reason and knew that Mo Xiaobao's identity was not something she could lecture casually.

Ye Li looked at her son nestling in Xu Qingchen's arms and making a little face at her. She smiled and looked at Ye Wenhua and asked calmly, "Father, is there anything wrong with the place you live in now?"

Ye Wenhua said quickly, "No, my second brother arranged a house on Xuanwu Street, which is spacious and suitable. There is nothing wrong with it." After not seeing each other for several years, Ye Wenhua no longer felt superior to his daughter. Instead, he felt a little guilty for no reason. After not seeing each other for several years, although Ye Li was still as gentle and elegant as before, her experience as a superior and several expeditions inevitably left her with a domineering and majestic demeanor that made people bow their heads in admiration. People who see each other every day may not feel much, but Ye Wenhua can clearly feel that his daughter is no longer the same as before.

Ye Li nodded, "That's good. If there are any really bad things, please point them out here, so that outsiders won't think that the prince is being harsh on the elders."

Ye Wenhua hurriedly said that everything was fine. He also understood that this was Ye Li's warning to him. If he stayed in Licheng peacefully, he would have no worries about food and clothing. But if he still wanted to have any unreasonable thoughts, don't blame her for being ruthless as a daughter. Although Ye Wenhua was inevitably a little uncomfortable being treated like this by his own daughter, he couldn't help but think about his own neglect of Xu and Ye Li in the face of the Xu family, and he couldn't help but feel even more guilty.

Seeing Ye Wenhua like this, Ye Li nodded in satisfaction. Ye Wenhua was not stupid. Although he wanted to get close to the rich and powerful and was unfaithful to his wife, he was not stupid. If it was just him, Ye Li would not worry about him and would not mind raising him in Licheng for a lifetime without worries. It was also a blood relationship. It was a pity that Old Madam Ye and Ye Wang were not people who would stay at ease. Ye Wenhua's restraint on his wife and mother was obviously insufficient. He had to send people to keep an eye on them to prevent them from causing any trouble.

Xu Hongyu and the others were just here to show their faces. They were too busy to chat with Ye Wenhua. After sitting for a while, Xu Hongyu and the others got up and helped Mr. Qingyun to rest. Xu Qingchen also took Mo Xiaobao away, leaving Ye Li and Ye Wenhua to talk about the past. But even so, Old Lady Ye did not have the opportunity to get close to Ye Li and say anything intimate. As soon as the Xu family left, Qingshuang and Qin Feng came in and stood on Ye Li's left and right, staring at the Ye family members vigilantly. It was not necessary to do this, but Qin Feng and the others were scared last time in Xiling Imperial City. So now Qin Feng and the others really regarded Ye Li as a weak woman who was powerless. As long as there were outsiders present, one of Qin Feng, Zhuo Jing, Lin Han and the others would always stay within three steps of Ye Li. Although Ye Li was somewhat helpless about this, she knew that they were worried about her, so she did not say anything more.

The flower hall suddenly became much quieter with a few people missing. Without Mr. Qingyun and Xu Hongyu, Ye Wenhua's complexion also looked much better.

There was silence in the flower hall for a while. After a long time, Ye Wenhua coughed lightly and asked, "How has Li'er been these years?" Ye Li nodded gently and smiled faintly, "Thank you for your concern, father. Everything is fine." Now that the Xu family was gone, Old Madam Ye was much more relaxed. She looked at Ye Li and said, "I heard that you went to fight with Prince Ding? You are a girl. Why don't you stay at home to take care of your husband and children? Why did you go to the battlefield? Outsiders will think that our family didn't bring you up well." Having just been upset with Mo Xiaobao, Old Madam Ye didn't dare to get angry at the Xu family, but she felt no pressure to scold Ye Li.

As soon as she said this, Ye Wenhua saw the smile on Ye Li's face faded a little, and her heart skipped a beat, knowing that something was wrong.

Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "Grandmother, you are overthinking. Even if someone says something, it's because the Xu family has bad family education, and it has nothing to do with the Ye family." Although everyone in the world knows that Princess Ding's surname is Ye, there are really only a few people who know which Ye family it is and who the people in the Ye family are, except for the powerful people in Chujing. In a few years, I'm afraid even the powerful people in Chujing will forget the once-prominent Ye family, but everyone knows the relationship between Ye Li and the Xu family. Old Madam Ye's righteous rebuke was countered by Ye Li's neither soft nor hard, and her face turned pale and red, staring at Ye Li for a long time without saying a word.

Ye Li ignored her, and looked at Ye Lin who was sitting at the back, and asked with a smile: "Is this the sixth sister? Who is this..." Ye Li was a little restrained. Seeing Ye Li mention her, she quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying: "Lin'er has seen the third sister. This is my husband, Shen Liang." The young man standing next to Ye Lin also quickly followed Ye Lin and said to Ye Li: "Shen Liang has seen Princess Ding." He was a little at a loss between words and actions, but it can be seen that he is an honest man. Thinking of how Ye Lin was so young, she flattered and fawned on Ye Wangshi and Ye Ying with a slick personality. I guess such a husband was not what she originally hoped for. But Ye Li had to say that marrying such a husband might be Ye Lin's blessing.

"Why didn't the fifth sister come?" Ye Li asked. Ye Li was not close to her two concubine sisters, Ye Lin and Ye Shan, but she didn't have much resentment towards them either. Although they followed Wang to please Ye Ying and squeezed her from time to time, it was ultimately for survival. If she were to embarrass two children who were only twelve or thirteen years old at the time because of these old things, it would be too low-class.

Ye Wenhua sighed and told Ye Li about the events of the Ye family in the past few years. Actually, there was nothing serious. The only thing was that Ye Lin and Ye Shan were introduced to two good families in the local area by Ye Wenhua when they returned to their hometown. However, Ye Shan died of dystocia three years ago. Ye Lin now has a daughter but no son. Ye Lin's husband Shen Liang's family was originally a wealthy businessman in the local area, but Shen Liang was a concubine and could not inherit much of the family business. Now that the southwest was occupied by the Xiling people, it was very chaotic. Shen Liang took the money he could get and followed them to the northwest.

It's just that Shen Liang was unlucky. He originally thought that since the Ye family had a daughter named Princess Ding, he would not get much benefit from doing small business in Licheng or something like that. The princess would always help out because of the Ye family's reputation. But I didn't expect that once they arrived in Licheng, the Ye family would not settle down and caused a lot of trouble. Because Shen Liang was a concubine in his family, he naturally learned to observe words and emotions from an early age. It soon became clear that in the eyes of Princess Ding, the Ye family was definitely not as important as they boasted. Depending on their behavior, they might anger Prince Ding at some point and get implicated himself. Thinking of this, Shen Liang's original plan to open two shops and run them temporarily stopped. Just wait and see if the situation is really bad, it is better to change to another place. Licheng is not the only city in the northwest.

Ye Li listened to Ye Wenhua's story calmly, then nodded and looked at Shen Liang and said with a smile: "In this case, just run your business in Licheng. Although Licheng may not be good in other places, it is always more stable than other places. If you have any difficulties, you can go to the Han family to see their head of the family. Since Lin'er is my half-sister, I will be happy if you live well."

Upon hearing this, Shen Liang hurriedly bowed to Ye Li and said, "Thank you, Princess. Li City is so prosperous under the rule of the prince and princess. How can it be compared with other places?" Shen Liang felt relieved when he heard Princess Ding say this. He also understood what the princess meant. The other people in the Ye family were other people, and the princess would not vent her anger on him. If there are any difficulties, the princess can also provide some help for the sake of her concubine's sister, as long as she knows the limits. In fact, Shen Liang was already satisfied to hear such a sentence from Ye Li. As a concubine's son, his life was not easy. Although he was not destined to be rich, he did not want to be implicated by his father-in-law's family. Seeing that there was still a bit of envy in his wife's eyes when she looked at the princess, Shen Liang secretly made up his mind to go back and restrain his wife well, and never let her follow the two nonsense people in the Ye family.

"Li'er..." Ye Wangshi, who had been sitting next to her without saying anything, finally lost her temper and called out. Ye Li raised her eyebrows slightly, but Qingshuang, who was standing behind her, couldn't help but raised her chin and said, "Madam Ye, Madam Ye and Master Ye are the elders of our princess, but you have nothing to do with our princess. I'm afraid it's inappropriate for you to call the princess by her nickname."

Ye Wangshi blushed and forced a smile, saying, "What do you mean, young lady? I am the stepmother of the princess, so why can't I call her by her maiden name?"

Qingshuang sneered and said, "Madam Ye was only promoted from a concubine to the principal wife. The famous and prestigious families do not recognize the rule of promoting concubines to the principal wife. You are not even a stepmother, right? You can barely be considered a stepmother. Our princess is now the Princess Ding, and she is the legitimate daughter of the Ye family. What qualifications do you have to call her that? It would have been fine if you didn't know the rules in the past, but it was difficult for others to say it directly because you have a daughter of the Emperor Zhaoyi. Now Madam Ye still doesn't know the rules?" It must be said that the Ye family did not handle things properly. Although the Great Chu did not prohibit the promotion of concubines to the principal wife like the previous dynasty, the heads of the famous families generally did not recognize and would not do such a thing. So in the capital of Chu, although everyone did not say anything on the surface, in fact, they did not think highly of the Ye Wang family in secret.

Ye Wangshi was so ruthlessly poked in the sore spot by Qingshuang that her face became even uglier. She was about to say something with a shy look on her face, but Ye Wenhua beside her said lightly: "Call her Princess."

Although Ye Wangshi didn't dare to do so, she didn't dare to contradict her husband in front of her mother-in-law in public, so she could only call him "Princess" in a low voice.

Ye Li nodded calmly and said, "Madam Wang, do you have anything to say?"

The corner of Ye Wang's mouth twitched, and the expression on her face became even more stiff. It would be fine if everyone else called her Madam Ye, but Ye Li only called her Madam Wang, which was almost the same as calling her Wang directly. Although she hated it very much, Wang could only suppress her anger and smiled: "Princess, it's like this, your brother is almost coming of age now. But he has been idle at home, so I was thinking if you could arrange a job for Rong'er, so that he can make some progress." After hearing this, Old Madam Ye's heart was also moved, and she looked up at Ye Li who was sitting on the seat.

Ye Wang gave Ye Rong a look. Perhaps because she had been taught before coming, Ye Rong stopped making trouble and called Ye Li obediently, "Third sister, Rong'er can share the worries of third sister and brother-in-law when he grows up."

Ye Li smiled at the fat and big-eared Ye Rong in front of her, and asked with a slight smile: "Oh? So... Rong'er, what do you want to do?"

Ye Rong's eyes lit up, and he said happily: "Rong'er wants to be the commander of the city's guards!"

Qin Feng, who was standing behind Ye Li, twitched his lips imperceptibly and looked up and down at Ye Rong's fat body. He thought to himself: You still want to be the commander of the Licheng garrison, but any random soldier in the city can beat you up so badly that you can't even get up.

Ye Li smiled slightly and said, "If you have ambition, why do you want to be the commander of the guards?"

Ye Rong said proudly: "I met a kid a few days ago. I heard that he was the grandson of some general. When I became the commander, I took my men to beat him up!"

"Rong'er!" Ye Wang called out, but Ye Rong was so excited that he didn't hear Wang's voice at all.

"Evil son!" Ye Wenhua shouted angrily.

Ye Li narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "What a good one! Take some people to beat him up. Do you know what kind of punishment the guard commander will receive if he leads a trouble?"

Ye Rong was stunned. He obviously didn't expect that he would be punished for bringing people to beat someone up. "What?"

"Execute immediately!" Ye Li said coldly, "Come to think of it, I also remembered that you attacked the grandson of General Yuan a few days ago, and I haven't asked you yet. Who gave you the courage to do whatever you want in the name of Prince Ding's Mansion in Li City?!" Old Madam Ye quickly said, "Li'er, this is not Rong'er's fault. It's obviously the other party who relied on..."

Ye Li sneered and said, "Grandmother, do you know that General Yuan's grandson is only ten years old this year? How old is Ye Rong? He can't even beat a ten-year-old child, yet he has the nerve to use the name of Prince Ding's Mansion to bully others. General Yuan is over sixty years old and is still fighting for Prince Ding's Mansion on the battlefield, but his grandson is bullied by Princess Ding's family in Li City? How do you want me to explain to the old general? " As he spoke, Ye Li became more and more angry and slammed the table heavily. There was a bang, but Ye Rong was frightened.

Ye Rong was startled, but still twisted his head and said: "It's not my fault. Who asked that kid to block my way? I was on my way..."

Bang! Ye Wenhua finally couldn't help but slapped Ye Rong in the face. After coming to Licheng, he had stayed indoors except for the two times he came to Dingwang Mansion. He really didn't know about such a thing. "Evil son, why don't you shut up!"

“Master, what are you doing…” How could Ye Wangshi just sit there and do nothing when she saw her son being beaten?

"Shut up!" Ye Wenhua glanced at Ye Wang coldly, then turned to Ye Li and said, "Li'er, it's all your fault that you didn't treat this evil son well. Let's go back first today. Take a good rest. We won't disturb you."

After saying this, he ignored the expressions of Old Lady Ye and Lady Ye Wang and walked out first. Although Old Lady Ye was unwilling, she had no choice but to follow him because her son was her support.

Ye Wangshi had no choice but to take her son away crying.