The First Jasmine - Chapter 13
Chapter 13: A Battle of Tongues in the Garden
Though Ye Li was not fond of joining bustling scenes, she understood perfectly well that cloistered young ladies and married women were entirely different. When a young lady awaiting marriage was unwilling to participate in the gatherings of young misses, outsiders would at most assume that she was introverted, favored tranquility, or truly suffered from fragile health. However, once married—particularly for a woman who was destined to manage a household's inner accounts—if she still refused to integrate into the social circle and mingle with others, people would view her as supercilious and ungrateful. In severe cases, it could even negatively impact her husband's clan. The current master of the Prince Ding Estate was precisely that crippled Prince Ding, Mo Xiurao. Though there were still several female relatives residing within the estate, once she married into the household, she would bound to assume control of the Prince Ding Estate's internal management. Consequently, upon hearing the Old Matriarch's words, Ye Li agreed with a gentle smile, adopting a demeanor that suggested she was immensely looking forward to the Grand Hundred Flowers Festival this year.
Having escorted Grand Dowager Consort Xianzhao and her entourage away, Ye Li took her leave of the Old Matriarch and returned to the Courtyard of Clear Serenity. The Old Matriarch and Madam Wang were currently immersed in absolute joy over the immense glory of Grand Dowager Consort Xianzhao personally arriving to deliver the betrothal gifts, so they did not detain Ye Li any further. Stepping out of the Hall of Harmonious Joy, Ye Li walked casually along the covered verandas, her mind recalling the look the Grand Dowager Consort had cast upon her right before departing. For some inexplicable reason, she felt that specific glance from the Grand Dowager Consort carried a fair measure of a deeply profound meaning.
"Miss, look." As they bypassed the garden and Ye Li was contemplating her thoughts, Qingshuang offered a soft, quiet reminder beside her ear.
Lifting her gaze to look, she beheld a pair of peerless individuals sitting within the pavilion beside the garden pathway. The man was handsome and stern, while the woman was supremely beautiful and fragile—who could they be if not Mo Jingli and Ye Ying? Ye Li felt a fraction of confusion; rather than enjoying a romantic tryst beneath the moon and flowers, what were these two doing sitting right at the garden crossroads where people constantly entered and exited? They looked as if they were deliberately waiting here for her. Stepping forward, she greeted, "Greetings, Your Royal Highness Prince Li." Mo Jingli cast a glance at the several maidservants following behind her frame, giving a cold snort as he mocked, "You certainly know how to put on a grand display now." In the past, Mo Jingli had caught sight of Ye Li from a distance a few times, and on every single occasion, she had only been accompanied by a single maidservant, which made one feel she possessed an unseemly, small-household aura. Now, having only just been bestowed a marriage alliance, not only did this Ye Li dare to subject him to awkwardness, but she had even begun to flaunt such a grand display. For some inexplicable reason, Mo Jingli felt his breathing turn somewhat uneven whenever he beheld Ye Li. The thought of the nearly twenty thousand taels of silver that had fallen into Ye Li's hands made him grit his teeth with fury. It was not that his Prince Li Estate could not afford such a sum, but rather that Ye Li's actions made it transparently clear she did not care about him in the slightest, which was why she had demanded the money from him with such absolute boldness.
Ye Li offered a faint smile behind her hand, her calm gaze drifting between the two individuals. "The Prince must be joking; this is merely the proper discipline a young lady ought to maintain. I am well aware that Fourth Sister and the Prince are mutually affectionate, so it is only natural to... However, after all, the grand wedding has not yet taken place. It would still be best for Fourth Sister to have maidservants accompanying her whenever she enters or exits... even if they merely follow from a distance, that would still be good. It would save others from wagging their tongues."
"Third Sister, how can you speak like that..." Hearing Ye Li's words, Ye Ying's bright, watery eyes instantly turned flushed. Translucent tears pooled within her eyes as she gazed at Ye Li with absolute grievance. "The Prince and I are entirely pure and innocent. Even if it is your younger sister who has wronged Third Sister, still... this was fundamentally not my intention. Why must Third Sister..."
Ye Li lifted her delicate hand slightly, calmly cutting off her words as she questioned with a trace of amusement, "Fourth Sister has misconstrued my meaning. Has anyone claimed that you and the Prince are impure or un-innocent? You need only speak their names; even if Grandmother and Father refuse to uphold justice for you, your Third Sister will certainly uphold justice on your behalf." Having finished speaking, she swept an inquiring glance across the crowd standing behind her. Qingshuang smiled behind her hand and countered, "This slave has never heard of such a thing. However, since the Fourth Miss has spoken of it, there must surely be someone. Why don't we report this to the Old Matriarch for a rigorous investigation? We will certainly be able to drag out whoever is slandering the Fourth Miss and His Royal Highness Prince Li." Ye Ying's countenance shifted instantly, sweeping a resentful glare at Qingshuang before turning her face to look at Mo Jingli in a thoroughly pitiful and moving manner. "Prince..." If this matter were brought to her grandmother's knowledge, she would certainly suffer a severe reprimand. If things escalated, she feared that even the rumors that did not exist would become reality.
"Enough! Ye Li, whatever you do is entirely futile. This Prince will never take a liking to you, so you had best sever all lingering thoughts!" Mo Jingli rebuked in an iron-cold tone, his gaze fixing upon Ye Li as if filled with absolute disdain and aversion.
Ye Li was so thoroughly astonished that she remained somewhat incapable of recovering her wits. What on earth was Mo Jingli talking about? Could he possibly assume that her current demeanor was merely playing hard to get? Where did this man get such a magnificent sense of self-satisfaction?
Being evaluated under Ye Li's scrutinizing gaze, Mo Jingli felt a wave of humiliation turn into fury, rebuking coldly, "Have you looked enough? Shameless!"
Ye Li flipped an absolute white eye toward the heavens in her heart, restraining herself from uttering the phrase "you ought to take your medicine." Offering a curtsy to Mo Jingli, she said, "That is enough. I shall leave the Prince and Fourth Sister to converse slowly. I take my leave." Without waiting for Mo Jingli's assent, she turned around directly and walked toward the direction of her own Courtyard of Clear Serenity.
Behind her, Mo Jingli stared at that slender figure departing with an iron-black countenance. Beholding this, Ye Ying's heart tightened as she spoke softly, "Prince, Third Sister has consistently possessed such a disposition. Please do not lower yourself to argue with her."
Beholding the beautiful countenance of the maiden before him filled with absolute worry and entreaty, Mo Jingli's expression softened a fraction. Grasping Ye Ying's hand, he gave a cold snort and murmured softly, "Rest assured. Since she is your elder sister, this Prince will overlook the matter for your sake and refrain from holding a grudge against her." Ye Ying's eyes flickered slightly as she lowered her head in a bashful manner. "Deepest thanks to the Prince."
The moment Ye Li stepped into the Courtyard of Clear Serenity, she caught the voices of several idle, lower-class maidservants whispering to one another, expressing absolute marvel over how bountiful the betrothal gifts delivered by the Prince Li Estate were today, and claiming that the Fourth Miss truly possessed an immense fortune to marry into the Prince Li Estate as the primary princess consort. Naturally, they did not fail to casually mention the misfortune of the Third Miss marrying that crippled prince whose uselessness was renowned throughout the capital. Qingshuang's face turned white with absolute fury. Without waiting for Ye Li to speak, she rebuked in a harsh, severe tone, "Presumptuous! Who gave you the audacity to gossip about your masters?!" Those few maidservants had likely been far too absorbed in their chatter, failing to notice when six or seven individuals had come to stand behind them. Hearing Qingshuang's voice, they turned around instantly, their bodies turning so weak from sheer terror that they collapsed into a kneel across the ground.
Ye Li walked past the kneeling maidservants with a completely serene expression. Just as the maidservants assumed they had escaped a catastrophe and breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts, they merely heard Ye Li speak flatly: "Take them down and deliver twenty strokes of the board each."
"Please, no... Miss, grant us mercy! This slave dares not repeat it..." Although the Courtyard of Clear Serenity was not favored within the estate, to these lower-class maidservants handling rough chores, it fundamentally lacked any major difference. In any case, any fortunate occurrences in other courtyards would never fall upon lower-class maidservants anyway, and the Third Miss was the easiest master to serve within the entire Ye Estate. Ordinarily, she never raised excessive demands to make things difficult for her subordinates, nor did she lose her temper or unleash her fury upon the maidservants; she had basically never meted out punishment to anyone within the courtyard. Consequently, these young maidservants had inevitably assumed the Third Miss was soft-hearted, allowing themselves to grow slack and undisciplined. Yet they had never anticipated that merely uttering a few idle remarks today would draw a punishment of twenty strokes of the board.
"Take them down!" Lacking the inclination to listen to those pleas for mercy, Ye Li left behind a flat remark and brushed her sleeves as she departed.
"Miss, why trouble yourself to grow angry with such petty individuals? It is entirely unworthy to harm your own health over nothing," Qingshuang advised softly as she followed behind Ye Li.
Ye Li turned her head to glance at her, smiling as she questioned, "Do you assume I am angry?"
"Miss... if not that, then why? Over these past few years, it has been exceptionally rare to behold Miss punishing maidservants."
Ye Li gave a cold snort and replied, "I punished them not because they wagged their tongues, but because they have betrayed their master."
"Eh?"
"If you were a maidservant gossiping about your master, would you stand right at the entrance of the courtyard where people constantly walk in?"
Only then did Qingshuang experience a sudden realization, questioning with a trace of confusion, "Then who exactly instigated them? Could it possibly be Madam Wang? What utility would there be for her to act in this manner? Apart from provoking Miss's anger, and even then, she might not succeed in provoking you."
Ye Li's delicate eyebrows knitted slightly, shaking her head as she instructed Qingshuang, "Tomorrow, you shall personally make a trip to the Censor's Manor to deliver a letter to my Second Uncle on my behalf. Externally, simply claim that I harbor some matters I do not comprehend and wish to consult my Second Aunt, requesting her to find time to make a visit. Oh, right—tell my Aunt that there is no need for absolute haste.”