The First Jasmine - Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Madam Wang’s Calculation
Within Fangyi Courtyard, the residence of the Minister Estate's managing matriarch, Madam Wang's countenance was ash-green, her expression twisted with rage as she furiously cursed Ye Li, Lady Xu, and the entire Xu lineage. Scattered across the floor were the shattered remnants of porcelain teacups. Standing silently to the side, the delicate and frail Ye Ying watched her mother vent her fury, a trace of disdain flashing through her eyes.
"Mother, do not compromise your health over anger. Come, sit down and rest a moment." Only after Madam Wang’s rage had largely spent itself did Ye Ying step forward, her face filled with concern and worry as she spoke.
Beholding her daughter's soft, obedient countenance, Madam Wang felt a wave of intense grievance well up inside her. She gripped Ye Ying's hands, her tears spilling over. "I have painstakingly managed this entire estate for so many years; when have I ever wronged her? Yet now, she actually dares to contest even that fraction of a dowry with you. My good daughter, you are marrying into the Prince Li Estate. If your dowry is too meager, not only will you be ridiculed by outsiders, but Consort Ye’s dignity will also suffer. Was I not doing this for the sake of our household's prestige? Yet that dead wench actually brought the Xu family directly to our doorstep to pick a fight!" Ye Ying's watery eyes flickered as she offered a shallow smile, softly comforting Madam Wang, "Mother, His Royal Highness Prince Li treats this daughter with true sincerity; he naturally won't disparage us for a lesser dowry. Furthermore... this matter has indeed wronged Third Sister, so it is only proper to grant her a bit more dowry. When outsiders see this, it will highlight your benevolence and magnanimity, demonstrating that you haven't mistreated the daughter of the original wife, correct? As for Second Sister... she will certainly understand Mother's difficulties."
Madam Wang froze. Recalling how Ye Li's features and demeanor bore a striking resemblance to Lady Xu's, and then looking at how her own daughter was fiercely suppressing her own grievances, an evil fire surged uncontrollably in her chest. She gripped Ye Ying's hand, patting it as she said, "Rest assured, Mother will absolutely not allow you to be wronged. Even if I leave your dowry aside, I will absolutely never allow that wench to cross the threshold carrying such a magnificent fortune!" By the end, her words were practically delivered through gnated teeth.
Ye Ying knitted her brows in worry. "Then what does Mother intend to do?"
Madam Wang was clearly confident in her strategy. She smiled with self-satisfaction and said, "Mother has her own ways. You simply focus on preparing your dowry properly."
The Second Miss of the Ye Estate was currently the most favored Consort Ye in the imperial harem, and now two more daughters had been granted marriages to the Emperor's most beloved brother, Prince Li, and Great Chu’s sole hereditary Prince Ding respectively. The Ye family’s fortunes were naturally rising like a boat lifted by a swelling tide, cresting to the zenith of its prosperity. As soon as the news of the marriage decrees spread, a ceaseless stream of high-ranking officials and noble dignitaries flocked to visit the Ye Estate, throwing Madam Wang and Old Madam Ye into a state of unmitigated delight. The entire Ye household naturally plunged into a frantic rush to prepare the nuptials and dowries for the two young ladies. Naturally, the emphasis was heavily placed on preparing for the Fourth Miss, Ye Ying. This was because Madam Wang had explicitly declared that since the Fourth Miss’s wedding date was half a month earlier than the Third Miss’s, finishing the Fourth Miss’s arrangements first would leave ample time to handle the Third Miss’s afterward. In truth, the servants of the Ye family understood perfectly well that Madam Wang had absolutely no desire to prepare the Third Miss’s dowry; she naturally wanted to secure all the finest items for the Fourth Miss before discussing anything else. Fortunately, Old Madam Ye still retained a sense of propriety. Although there was a distinction in weight between Prince Li and Prince Ding, neither was an entity that a mere Ye family could afford to offend. After Madam Wang had most reluctantly surrendered the deeds to the eight manors, twelve shops, and three forested lands, the old matriarch allocated ten thousand taels of silver from the family’s public coffers and invited a sister-in-law from the wider clan to assist in managing the dowry. She further allocated ten thousand taels from her own personal savings to add to Ye Ying’s trousseau, effectively mollifying Madam Wang. Though Madam Wang harbored deep resentment, she did not dare to openly contradict the old matriarch, and could only hand over the land deeds in bitterness before retreating with the bank notes given by the Old Madam.
The lady who came to manage Ye Li's dowry was Minister Ye's cousin-in-law. Although her husband was merely a official of the Fifth Rank and could not match the prominence of the main Ye branch, she was a kind-hearted and honest woman. She had frequently heard rumors regarding the Third Miss among the sisters-in-law and felt a great deal of sympathy for Ye Li, this legitimate daughter of the Ye family. Ordinarily, Ye Li rarely stepped out to meet people, but upon meeting her, the cousin-in-law found her to be an exceedingly serene and gentle lady, not at all as wretched as the rumors outside claimed; she naturally understood that those whispers were almost certainly spread by Madam Wang’s faction. Observing her now, though she lacked the bright, dazzling allure of the Ye family’s Second Miss, and did not possess the frail, heart-stirring beauty of the Fourth Miss, her demeanor was quiet and elegant, and her speech and conduct were perfectly measured. Most notably, her calm, steady eyes appeared as tranquil as still water, yet they possessed a distinct quality that set her apart from other young ladies. While she was different from the soft, yielding beauties favored by many men, she was by no means inferior to any of the other daughters of the Ye family. The cousin-in-law could not help but feel a pang of injustice on Ye Li's behalf—marrying a sickly, useless prince was bad enough, and this ten thousand taels of dowry from the public coffers might seem substantial to an ordinary family, but compared to the rest of the Ye family, it fell short even of what the Eldest Miss had received when she married out years ago. Fortunately, the old matriarch was reasonable enough to return the manors and shops of the original wife to the Third Miss; otherwise, this matter would have made the Ye family look truly disgraceful.
Having recovered the properties left by her mother, Ye Li was in a rather pleasant mood, and thus did not care to bicker over the old matriarch granting Ye Ying ten thousand taels or Madam Wang embezzling large sums of public funds to build Ye Ying's dowry. Fundamentally, within any household, there would always be favored and neglected children; even the ten fingers on one's hands were of unequal length. She held no objections to the Ye family doting on Ye Ying more, so long as they didn't actively humiliate her. As for the future, although she didn't believe this maiden home would offer her much support down the line, she couldn't afford to completely fall out with them before she had even married out. Spending two days auditing the account books of the shops, however, caused Ye Li to knit her brows in deep displeasure. Out of the twelve shops, five were operating at a loss, four were barely breaking even, and the three that actually generated a profit yielded nothing more than a pittance. Furthermore, four of the eight manors were not the original properties. Madam Wang’s explanation was that when Consort Ye entered the palace, four manors had been allocated to fund her expenses, and thus four replacement manors had been substituted from the estate's holdings. Ye Li did not even need to look to know what miserable condition those four substituted manors were in. Had she not taken the initiative to raise this matter with the old matriarch beforehand, she feared that by the time she officially requested the properties, all eight manors would have been completely swapped out.
Early the next morning, after paying her respects to the old matriarch and offering a brief notification, Ye Li took Qingshuang out of the estate to inspect the shops.
Ye Li rarely walked about in public, so virtually no one in the capital recognized her. This entire round of inspections not only caused Qingshuang's eyes to blaze with fury, but even Ye Li—who considered herself to have a resilient temperament—was thoroughly incensed. Out of the twelve shops, seven of the managers had been newly appointed a mere two days before the properties were returned to her hands, leaving them entirely ignorant of any prior transactions. Another jewelry shop appeared to have a steady stream of patrons, yet a glance at the ledger revealed nothing but losses. As for the two shops that were inherently profitable, their merchandise was outdated, the shop assistants were listless, and even the counters were coated in thick layers of dust; it would be a miracle if anyone willingly patronized them.
"Miss, the Madam is truly malicious. We must tell the Old Madam and Master as soon as we return!" Qingshuang said in deep resentment.
"And what if we tell them? Of her two daughters, one is currently a Consort who is on the verge of being elevated to a higher noble consort rank, and the other is about to become the Princess Consort Li. What do you think Father and Grandmother will actually do to her?" Ye Li cast a glance at Qingshuang, offering a faint smile. Qingshuang fell silent, her heart burning with unyielding injustice. "Is we just going to let it go like this? The Madam clearly intends to make you lose face. What difference is there between having these kinds of shops as a dowry and having nothing at all?"
"Lose face? That would require your mistress to actually feel humiliated for it to count as losing face. If I do not feel humiliated, then no face has been lost."
Qingshuang blinked her eyes, gazing at her mistress with a face full of anticipation. "Does Miss have a brilliant plan?"
Ye Li merely smiled without speaking, stepping past Qingshuang to walk forward. Qingshuang wrinkled her nose, a joyful expression returning to her face as she hurried to keep pace. "Miss, the one up ahead is the very last shop. Shende Pavilion, it's an antique shop.”