Capital City 37: The Eldest Miss of the Ye Family

  Miss Ye of the Ye family

  At the end of April, Ye Fu sent someone to pick up Ye Li and bring her back to the manor. Ye Ying's wedding was scheduled for the last day of April, which was said to be the only auspicious day in April. Xu Hongyu calmly dismissed the person sent by the Ye family to fetch Ye Li, and it wasn't until the day before Ye Ying's big wedding that he let Xu Qingbai and Xu Qingyan personally escort Ye Li back. Although Ye Shangshu was not very pleased, due to his inexplicable fear of his elder brother-in-law, he didn't say much and just told Ye Li to return to Qingyixuan to rest well.

  When Ye Li went to the Xu residence, she only brought Qingfeng and Qingxia, two maidservants. However, when she returned, she brought back Lin Mama, Wei Mama, and their family of over a dozen people. There were also two senior maidservants, Qingluan and Qingyu, personally selected by her grandfather. The originally small Qingyuan Pavilion now seemed somewhat cramped. Wei Mama looked at the decorations in Qingyuan Pavilion and was heartbroken, wiping away tears as she said that this didn't look like a place where a young mistress should live. Ye Li wasn't bothered, smiling as she persuaded: "Even if we decorate it more luxuriously, when we leave, won't someone else just benefit from it?" Wei Mama still wouldn't agree, saying they couldn't let the young mistress suffer and ordering the maidservants to redecorate Ye Li's room. Ye Li could only yield, as it seemed everyone was dissatisfied with her room, including her aunt who came once and complained once.

  "Miss, the young mistress has arrived." The maid waiting outside the door reported.

  Ye Li put down the needle and thread in her hand, raised her head and smiled: "Please ask the Crown Prince's consort to come in."

  Before long, a beautifully dressed woman stepped into the room and saw Ye Li sitting at the table, couldn't help but smile, "Third sister."

  Ye Li hastily got up to greet her, "I've met the Marquis's secondary wife." This woman was none other than Ye Manor's eldest daughter, the Secondary Wife of the Southern Marquis, Ye Zhen.

  Ye Zhen held onto her, smiling: "This is not to be dared. After Third Sister's wedding, I still need to pay respects to Third Sister. Now that there are no outsiders around, let's just address each other as sisters." Ye Li nodded and smiled: "Elder sister, please sit down."

  Ye Zhen's birth mother was a personal maid who grew up with Ye Shangshu from a young age. She passed away when Ye Zhen was five years old. From then on, Ye Zhen was raised by Xu Shi. When Xu Shi passed away, Ye Zhen was already thirteen years old.

  As a result, the relationship between Ye Li and Ye Zhen was not bad. When Ye Zhen was at home, she would occasionally take care of Ye Li, although she was only fifteen when her marriage to the Southern Marquis's son as his concubine was arranged. It is said that the Southern Marquis's son did not particularly dote on Ye Zhen, and after seven or eight years of marriage, they had no children. Ye Zhen rarely returned to the Ye household.

  The two sisters hadn't seen each other in almost two years, so this time she came back was probably for Ye Ying's wedding dowry.

  Ye Zhen lightly touched the large red brocade on the table, and her heart moved slightly. "Is this... Phoenix Brocade? Is Sanmei making a wedding dress?"

  Ye Li nodded, she wasn't too picky about the wedding dress, so she hadn't been in a hurry to get it done. Otherwise, the phoenix brocade that her eldest uncle had brought over would have gone to waste. After all, according to the customs of Da Chu, each woman could only have one wedding dress, and making another one was very unlucky. Ye Zhen stroked the soft red brocade in her hand with a hint of envy, looking at Ye Li: "Isn't this what the madam prepared? I saw that Fourth Sister's was just peony brocade. I heard it was given by the empress dowager." Ye Li slightly furrowed her brow, feeling some hesitation towards the wedding dress in front of her. If she used the phoenix brocade, which was even more precious than the peony brocade given to Ye Ying by the empress dowager, the empress dowager's face would probably not look very good. Ye Zhen had been the consort of the crown prince for many years and wasn't someone without experience, so after thinking about it, she said: "The phoenix brocade is a fabric used exclusively by the imperial family of Xiling Kingdom, and it's not only impossible for civilians to weave, but also strictly forbidden to sell. Originally, every year Xiling would send some to our Da Chu imperial family as gifts, just like Nanzhao, but I heard that during the previous emperor's reign, the production techniques of Xiling Kingdom were lost due to an accident. This phoenix brocade of Third Sister's should be one of the two pieces given by the previous emperor to the Xu family when our mother was born, right?"

  "Big sister has a good eye for this, it's indeed the gift from Grandfather to Big Uncle brought into the capital." Ye Li nodded and said. The phoenix brocade wedding dress was once the most coveted thing among the thousand gold girls in the capital, different from the gorgeous and dazzling mandarin duck brocade, the phoenix brocade didn't look showy at all, more like a big red ordinary satin. However, when it appeared under bright light, the vivid phoenix pattern would emerge. If worn on the body and moved around, with the movement of the person, it would give people an illusion of flying phoenixes. The best way to make it was to embroider patterns such as peony and lotus on top of the phoenix brocade, so when stationary, it would be a wedding dress with blooming flowers, but once under sunlight or lamplight, the exquisite phoenix would make anyone gasp in amazement. Ye Li had already made the headpiece, and was amazed to find that even the strength of light would change the color and shape of the phoenix pattern under sunlight or lamplight. The craftsmanship of this world really surprised Ye Li, a modern person who could be said to have seen it all. Moreover, unlike the rare but still available mandarin duck brocade, the phoenix brocade was not only scarce in Da Chu, but probably couldn't be found even if searching through various countries. It could even be said that the loss of the phoenix brocade had created the fame of the Nanzhao mandarin duck brocade today.

  "As it was bestowed by the previous emperor, and now also bestowed as a wedding gift by the current emperor, Third Sister wearing this dress is indeed a perfect match. At that time, it will surely make everyone in the capital city amazed." Ye Zhen said with a hint of smile, her eyes flashing with a quick gleam of pleasure. She could almost imagine what kind of expression Wang Shi and Ye Ying would have when Ye Li wore this dress to get married.

  Ye Li nodded and handed the unfinished wedding dress to Qing Luan, who was attending her. She smiled at Ye Zhen: "You've been talking about me for a long time, how have you been, elder sister?"

  Ye Zhen's eyes narrowed, and the smile on her face faded a bit as she said, "What's wrong with me? Isn't this just how I'm living my life?"

  Nan Hou's reputation had also reached Ye Li, but unfortunately these things were not something she could interfere with. Moreover, her relationship with Ye Zhen was not close enough to allow herself to ask about her private matters, so she just said: "In any case, oneself is the most important. If one doesn't even care about oneself, who can be expected to care?" Ye Zhen hesitated, looking at Ye Li and saying: "Third sister is right. These years... Third sister hasn't had it easy either. In the future... with the Xu family, Third sister won't have a harder time than she did at home." Ye Li smiled faintly and stood up, saying: "Has big sister gone to see Fourth sister yet?"

  Ye Zhen shook her head and said: "I just paid respects to grandmother, Fourth Sister is busy choosing new hair accessories that have just been sent over, I don't want to disturb her."

  Ye Li smiled and said: "Then let's go together. Qing Xia, take out that set of Danfeng Chaoyang headwear accessories, and let's give it to Fourth Sister together."

  "Miss, isn't that the one Old Madam gave you?" Moreover, it's the most precious one among them. Fourth Miss wanted it before, but Old Madam didn't give it to her. Now giving it again would be a waste.

  Ye Li waved her hand and said, "I won't be able to use that either, so just give it to Fourth Sister if she likes it." As for the elegant and luxurious accessories, Ye Li could only admire them from afar, not doubting that if she really wore the whole set, her neck would ache. In fact, Ye Ying probably wouldn't wear them either, after all, she had always maintained a delicate and otherworldly image. It was just that Ye Lao Tai Tai's favoritism towards herself and not Ye Ying was unbearable. Ye Zhen carefully looked at Ye Li's calm and smiling face, softly sighing, "Among us sisters, Third Sister has the best temperament."

  Ye Li smiled and said: "It's not that I'm good-natured, but we don't have to face each other every morning and evening for the rest of our lives. But it's just over a month now, and it's really pointless to quarrel over these small things."

  Ye Zhen bowed her head and smiled: "Fourth sister is right."

  Digression

  Happy New Year!