The First Jasmine - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: The Cousins Have Arrived

Inside the Rongle Hall

Ye Li sat upright in her designated seat just as she always did, her nose aligned with her heart and her eyes fixed upon her nose. She faced the varying expressions of everyone present as if she had seen absolutely nothing at all. Minister Ye looked at his calm third daughter and his thoroughly aggrieved fourth daughter, feeling his temples throb with sharp pulses of pain. He had originally intended to follow his usual habit of reprimanding Ye Li, but seeing her utterly detached demeanor, the old fox—who had spent decades weathering the storms of the imperial court—suddenly grew alert. He realized that berating her was by no means the best choice right now. Furthermore, it might trigger certain consequences he had no desire to face.

Old Madame Ye remained seated high in the place of honor, taking in every single detail of the expressions of those present. Recalling the earlier report from the servants that Prince Ding’s personal carriage had delivered her granddaughter right to the manor gates, she knew that although no one had seen Prince Ding himself, it was practically a certainty that he had personally escorted Ye Li back. Turning her gaze toward the deeply resentful Ye Ying, Old Madame Ye felt another wave of disappointment toward this doted-upon granddaughter. Ever since Li'er and Prince Ding had been betrothed by imperial decree, Prince Li had displayed less and less of the legendary devotion toward Ying'er. Of course, this might be due to the hit Ye Ying's reputation had taken recently. But if even an old crone like her who never left the house could perceive such a glaring shift, could it be that her supposedly clever and quick-witted granddaughter felt nothing at all?

Instead of figuring out how to secure her hold on Prince Li, she spent her time looking for trouble with her own sister for no good reason. Did she not understand that no matter how disfavored Li'er was, she was still a daughter of the Ye family, and would serve as a pillar of support for the family in the future? For the first time, Old Madame Ye harbored a seed of doubt in her heart as to whether she had made a mistake back then by letting Ye Ying supplant Ye Li in the betrothal to Prince Li.

"Enough. Ying'er, Li'er is your elder sister. Mind your boundaries as a younger sister," Old Madame Ye spoke up.

Ye Ying froze, somewhat unable to believe that Old Madame Ye would actually speak up in defense of Ye Li. Her eyes reddened with grievance as she bit down lightly on her crimson cherry lips, saying, "But Grandmother... she, how could she humiliate Prince Li in front of a vast public crowd... This makes Ying'er..."

Slap! Old Madame Ye slammed her hand heavily onto the table, saying coldly, "Humiliate Prince Li! When Prince Li went out of his way to make things difficult for Li'er in front of so many people, why didn't he consider whether he was humiliating the Ye family? Or does he believe my Ye family simply cannot survive without him?" Old Madame Ye looked with profound disappointment at Ye Ying, who still looked as if she wanted to say more. To completely disregard the reputation and interests of the family for the sake of a man—could they truly depend on such a granddaughter to bring benefits to the Ye family in the future? She was terrified that one day, this girl might sell out the entire Ye family just for Prince Li'er. Or did she think that if Li'er's reputation was ruined, her own would somehow become better? A rise for one was a rise for all, and a blow to one was a blow to all. To not even understand this—just what on earth had Wang-shi been teaching her all these years? Her icy gaze swept over Wang-shi, causing the latter to shrink back involuntarily, not daring to meet Old Madame Ye's eyes directly.

"Father..."

Minister Ye frowned, finding himself in a bit of a dilemma; he too harbored some dissatisfaction toward Mo Jingli. If Prince Li wanted to intentionally complicate things for Li'er, he could pretend to be oblivious, but that had to be done in private. To openly complicate things and mock her in such a public manner was not just striking Ye Li'er across the face; it was throwing the Ye family's honor onto the ground and stomping on it. If it weren't for his second daughter in the palace and his soon-to-be-born imperial grandson, so what if he was the Emperor's biological younger brother? How could Minister Ye possibly tolerate him to this extent? "Ying'er, your grandmother is right. Even if you become the Prince Li Consort, you will still be a daughter of the Ye family. Do you truly believe that without the Ye family and your Second Sister backing you up, you can stand firm as the Prince Li Consort? Whether it is your Second Sister, your Eldest Sister, Third Sister, Fifth Sister, or Sixth Sister—as long as you sisters remain harmonious and support one another, no one will be able to bully you in the future. Do you understand?"

"But... the ones Third Sister offended today aren't just Prince Li, but also Princess Qixia. It's highly possible that even the Grand Princess will blame us," Ye Ying said with a trace of unyielding resentment as she cast a glance at Ye Li. She had not taken a single word Minister Ye said to heart. In the depths of Ye Ying's mind, aside from her Second Sister in the palace, the other daughters of the Ye family were simply unworthy of being mentioned in the same breath as her. As the future Prince Li Consort, why would she ever need their support?

Ye Li raised her eyes and said softly, "Fourth Sister need not worry. Upon my return, I already had someone deliver a letter of apology and gifts to the Grand Princess's Manor. The Prince Ding Manor will likewise dispatch someone to explain the situation to the Grand Princess. The Grand Princess is magnanimous and reasonable; she surely won't blame us ignorant juniors over such a trivial matter. Naturally, the Qin Manor, the Murong Manor, and the Duke Hua Manor have also gone to request forgiveness at the same time."

Hearing this, Old Madame Ye revealed an appreciative smile and said, "Li'er handled this matter exceptionally well. Since it happened in front of a vast public crowd and it was Princess Qixia who was at fault first, Grand Princess Zhaoyang has always been one to distinguish right from wrong, so she won't bicker with juniors. His Highness Prince Li also showed his consideration. Turn around and send a return gift to the Prince Ding Manor, stating it is to thank Prince Ding for personally escorty Li'er back. Let's... let Li'er handle this herself. Whatever needs to be sent, go directly to the storehouse to retrieve it." After a brief hesitation, Old Madame Ye still entrusted this matter to Ye Li. She truly felt a lack of confidence in Wang-shi; although the Ye family had no need to curry favor with the Prince Ding Manor right now, they could not allow the relationship to grow any worse either.

"Li'er understands. Please rest assured, Grandmother," Ye Li rose and accepted the task.

Wang-shi’s face turned somewhat green. Courteous exchanges and gifts were originally the responsibility of the mistress of the house. If it were done under Ye Li'er's personal name, it would be fine, but to have Ye Li execute it in the name of the Ye family was clearly intended to humiliate her as the mistress of the manor. Yet Old Madame Ye gave her no opportunity to speak at all, frowning as she said, "If you have free time, you might as well sort out Ying'er's dowry more clearly. Don't forget that there aren't many days left until the wedding date."

"Yes," Wang-shi accepted the instruction submissively.

"Master, Old Madame..."

The senior maid serving beside Old Madame Ye hurried inside. She cast a deliberate glance at Ye Li before walking over to Old Madame Ye's side, saying, "Old Madame, the Eldest Young Master Xu, along with the Second Young Master Xu, Third Young Master Xu, Fourth Young Master Xu, and Fifth Young Master Xu have come to pay a visit."

"What?!" Minister Ye bolted upright from his chair in shock. For several young masters of the Xu family to pay a visit at the same time—did that not indicate that his difficult brother-in-law had already arrived in the capital? Of course, given the lofty pride of the eldest Master Xu, he would absolutely never personally pay a visit to the Ye family, whom he held responsible for the death of his only precious younger sister.

Old Madame Ye was the first to react, saying hastily, "Quickly, invite the young masters of the Xu family inside."

Ye Li was also somewhat surprised. She had actually been completely unaware that her maternal uncle and cousins had already arrived in the capital, and had failed to go out and welcome them, which filled her heart with a trace of quiet guilt. Her Eldest Uncle had doted on her the most when he was still in the capital; after so many years without meeting, even Ye Li felt somewhat at a loss.

"Grandmother, Li'er shall personally go out to welcome my cousins and the others."

Old Madame Ye nodded and said, "Go on. Ying'er, Shan'er, and Lin'er, go along as well."

Ignoring the expressions of absolute delight on the faces of Ye Lin and Ye Shan—who were merely watching the excitement—and the dissatisfaction of Ye Ying, and without caring what kind of calculations Old Madame Ye was making in her heart, Ye Li rose to take her leave and walked out with swift steps. Behind her, Ye Lin and Ye Shan hastily followed. This left only Ye Ying, who looked at Minister Ye with extreme reluctance. She was the future Prince Li Consort; on what grounds did she have to go out and welcome Ye Li'er's cousins?

"Ying'er!" Minister Ye felt a headache coming on; this daughter had truly been pampered far too excessively. One look at Minister Ye's expression let Ye Ying know that her father was truly about to lose his temper, leaving her with no choice but to bite her cherry lips, turn around, and follow after Ye Li and the others.

"Before Ying'er's grand wedding, have her come to Rongle Hall every day to serve me as her grandmother," Old Madame Ye said to Wang-shi with a cold detachment.

"This... your daughter-in-law still has many matters to teach Ying'er, I'm afraid that..." Wang-shi said with a trace of unease.

"You teach her? Look at what you've taught her over all these years!" Old Madame Ye said coldly. "She knows nothing of when to advance or retreat, and she relies entirely on favor to act arrogantly. Just because she possesses a modicum of talent and a modicum of good looks, she acts as if she doesn't know how high the heavens are or how thick the earth is. These traits matter little while she remains in her maiden home, but once she marries, she will have to manage an entire manor. Can those poems, songs, dances, and petty schemes of intrigue you taught her uphold the dignity of the Prince Li Manor?"

Minister Ye nodded and said, "Mother speaks the truth. Her Ladyship Zhaoyi was personally educated by Mother. For Mother to offer Ying'er a word or two of guidance is her good fortune." Seeing her husband agree without hesitation, his face bearing a look that brooked no argument, Wang-shi could only endure it with helplessness. Recently, those few young sluts in the manor had been acting quite restive—especially that Concubine Zhao—so she truly lacked the time to manage Ying'er's affairs anyway.