Emperor, Empress Dowager, Imperial Consort

  The Emperor, The Empress Dowager, The Imperial Consort

  Mo Xiu Yao's guess was indeed correct, and before two days had passed, someone from the palace came to transmit Ye Shao Yi's orders, saying that she missed Third Miss and asked her to enter the palace for a meeting. In the end, it was clear who wanted to see herself - Ye Li knew in her heart that when Ye Yue was at home, her relationship with her wasn't bad enough to be known by everyone, but it also wouldn't be better than with Ye Ying. Unfortunately, although Ye Yue was only a Shao Yi, and Ye Li hadn't formally become the Crown Princess yet, she didn't have the qualifications to refuse her. So she had no choice but to accept the orders, return to her own courtyard, change into suitable clothes, and then follow the eunuch who transmitted the message, accompanied by Qing Luan and Qing Yu, to enter the palace.

  Chu Jing is located in the north of Da Chu, and its palaces are majestic and magnificent. As soon as you step down from your carriage, the grandeur of the royal family's atmosphere greets you. Unlike the intricate carvings found between ordinary nobles, the imperial city highlights its magnificence and majesty even more. The five-clawed golden dragon perched on top of the massive stone pillars seems to be warning people not to infringe upon the emperor's power. Those who come for the first time will surely be intimidated by its grandeur, while Ye Li, who has grown accustomed to seeing hundred-foot-tall buildings and famous ancient ruins from all over the world, can only give it a faint praise. After getting off the carriage at the palace gate, Ye Li followed the eunuch who led the way into the inner palace. As she walked, she discreetly observed her surroundings and took note of her location.

  After passing through layer upon layer of palace gates, they finally stopped in front of a magnificent palace. Ye Li looked up and saw the sign that read "Jade Splendor Palace". Ye Li remembered that Ye Yue was granted residence in Jade Splendor Palace.

  "Miss Ye San, please wait a moment, I'll go in and report." The eunuch leading the way said in a shrill voice.

  Ye Li nodded and said: "Please go ahead, sir."

  That eunuch went in to report, but didn't come out quickly. Ye Li stood for almost a quarter of an hour without seeing anyone come out. Qing Yu said in a low voice, "Miss, what does the Consort mean?!" Qing Luan scolded in a low voice, "Don't speak nonsense, Miss hasn't spoken and you're speaking out of turn?" Qing Yu also understood that the imperial palace wasn't an ordinary place where one could speak freely at home, and with some shame, blinked her eyes and closed her mouth. Ye Li smiled lightly and said, "Be patient." Qing Luan hesitated for a moment, looked around, and then asked in a low voice, "Miss, could it be that the Consort..." Ye Li shook her head and smiled, "Ye Consort wouldn't use such unrefined tactics." Qing Yu and Qing Luan were both extremely intelligent, and upon hearing Ye Li's words, immediately understood. They closed their mouths and didn't speak further - what was there to say? They were both strong women, one a martial artist and the other a medical practitioner from a young age, neither of whom were weak or timid.

  Half a moment later, there was still no one coming out of the Jade Flower Palace. Instead, a group of people came swaying from afar. Judging by their formation, it was clear that some noble personage was on an outing. Ye Li and her two companions stepped aside to avoid colliding with them. Before long, the group had arrived at the entrance of the Jade Flower Palace, where a cluster of palace maids and eunuchs surrounded two women in palace attire. They stopped not far from Ye Li. One of the blue-clad women looked at Ye Li with curiosity, "Hmm? This young lady looks unfamiliar, what is she doing standing here?" Ye Li had no choice but to step forward, curtsying deeply, "The third daughter of the Minister of Revenue, Ye Li, pays her respects to the two noble ladies."

  "It's actually the future Empress Dowager. We wouldn't dare to presume." The woman in pink palace attire hastily stepped aside, covering her mouth with a smile, "Miss Ye San, what are you doing standing here? Are you here to visit Consort Ye?"

  Ye Li nodded and smiled: "It is indeed by the order of Princess Feng Zhao that I have come to pay respects."

  "Since that's the case, let's go in together then." The woman in blue came to pull Ye Lian. Ye Lian smiled and said: "Ye Lian is new to the palace and doesn't understand the rules, without being summoned by Consort Shao, I dare not enter. I won't delay the two noble ladies' time, Ye Lian thanks you again." The two women exchanged a glance, and the woman in pink smiled and said: "Since that's the case, we'll go in first. Sister Shao is pregnant now and gets tired easily, presumably she's sleeping and the people below don't dare disturb her. Miss Ye, please wait for a moment."

  "Thank you."

  "Miss, why don't we go in with them?" Qingyu asked softly. She didn't know if it was her illusion, but there seemed to be more people passing by on this road than when they just arrived.

  Ye Li turned around and looked at her, softly laughing and asking, "Do you think we'll be chased out if we follow them in?"

  "It should...not be, right?" Qing Yu said somewhat uncertainly. The Miss of the Ye family being chased out was indeed embarrassing for her own mistress, and Ye Shao Yi wouldn't end up well either.

  "Hey... over here, over here..."

  Ye Li turned around, and not far away, a small head poked out from under a flower tree at the corner of the hall, smiling and waving at her. Ye Li looked around before pointing to herself. The child, who was hiding behind the flower tree with more than half of his body, nodded at her and said, "Come over here."

  "Miss?"

  Ye Li waved her hand and walked over, "You're the future queen of King Ding's uncle?" In the bushes was a lovely little girl with delicate features, around 7 or 8 years old, with a cute bun on her head. On top of her hair were two strings of crystal-like pearls, and the exquisite clothes had golden phoenix embroidery, showing that this child was no ordinary person.

  "Who am I? And who are you?"

  "I won't tell you." The little girl opened her bright big eyes and smiled at her.

  Ye Li didn't mind, and smiled: "Then do you know Ding Wang? Have you seen him? Lying isn't a good thing for kids to do, everyone knows that Ding Wang hasn't left his house in many years. Probably about as long as you've been alive."

  The little girl gave her a disdainful look, "Haven't you ever seen someone who can't listen to others? Xiangxiang told me that Ding Wangshu is the best in the world at martial arts, the smartest, the most handsome and the most powerful. When I grow up, I want to marry him!"

  Fragrant elder sister?

  Ye Li looked at the little girl with a serious face, and couldn't help but want to laugh. However, she didn't want to crush the little girl's fragile heart. "Do you know how old Ding Wang is? By the time you grow up, he'll be old. At that time, there will be people who are more powerful than him, smarter than him, and better-looking than him. At that time, he won't be the most formidable person anymore. What will you do?"

  "What? The little girl was bewildered, "That... what should I do then? No, you deceived me. You yourself are going to marry Duke Ding's uncle, yet you deceive me!"

  "I didn't cheat you, look at me now, I'm much older than you, right? You have to grow up to my age before you can get married. By that time, I'll already be old. Ding Wang is even older than both of us, just wait and see..."

  The little girl sighed, "By the time he becomes king, King Uncle will definitely be older than Grandfather. If I marry him, I'll definitely be laughed at by Big Sister. Fine, King Uncle is yours."

  Ye Li suppressed her smile and nodded sincerely: "Good, thank you, Princess."

  "How did you know I was the princess?"

  Ye Li blinked her eyes, "I don't just know you're a princess, I also know which princess you are."

  "I don't believe you, and besides, you've never seen this princess before."

  Ye Li smiled and said: "I guess you are Princess Chang Le, the daughter of the Empress Dowager, right?"

  The little princess tilted her small head and sized up Ye Li for a while before nodding and saying, "Alright, I agree with Xiang Xiang's words, you are indeed very clever. This princess reluctantly makes friends with you."

  Looking at the little girl making a big show of herself and looking like a princess, Ye Li smiled and said: "Alright, thank you for recognizing me, Princess. How did you end up here... hmm?" pointing to the flower tree where the little princess was hiding. Chang Le Gong Zhu didn't mind at all, twisted her body and continued to hide in the bushes, "I heard that the Ye family produces beautiful women. Ye Shao Yi and Ye Ying are famous beauties. So I came to see if the Ye family really has only beauties. Now I admit, you look more pleasing to the eye than Ye Shao Yi and Ye Ying. You barely qualify as a beauty. I guess you still have to wait for a long time, how about coming with me to play?"

  Ye Li didn't understand, "How did you know we still have to wait for a long time?"

  Princess Chang Le pouted, "My mother said that the women in the palace have nothing to do, so they try their best to find things for others to do. They like to make those who don't please them wait a bit longer and kneel a bit more. But don't worry, my mother won't do such things."

  Ye Li smiled silently, and Princess Chang Le glared at her discontentedly. "Are you going out with me or not?"

  Ye Li shook her head helplessly, "I still have to wait for Ye Shao Yi's summons. You know, in case she wants to see me and can't find anyone, it'll be troublesome. And... someone has arrived."

  Princess Chang Le looked out and immediately pulled her head back, "Lyrics Guifei is coming, don't say you've seen me. She hates it the most." Ye Li nodded and helped her restore the flower tree to its original state, "I know, hurry back. Let's not make Empress Dowager worry." After fixing the tree cluster, Ye Li stood up and walked back to where Qing Luan and Qing Yu were standing, waiting for an even grander procession to arrive.

  From afar, a faint fragrance of flowers could be smelled. A group of palace maids and eunuchs surrounded the approaching woman, who wore a yellow palace dress with phoenix patterns. Her slender figure was wrapped in the fitted dress, revealing beautiful curves. Her skin was as white as snow, her lips were slightly pursed, and she had an air of seven parts charm and three parts coldness. Among the many beauties Ye Li had seen in recent days, Qin Zheng was like a elegant orchid, Hua Tianxiang was like a majestic peony, and Princess Qixia was like a stunning peach blossom. But this woman, Liu Guifei, was like a pear flower - pure white and charming, yet seemingly fragile with an air of unapproachable coldness.

  "Are you Ye Li?" The Imperial Concubine Liu stopped in front of Ye Li and asked faintly.

  "My daughter is indeed correct. I have seen Princess Liu." Ye Li slightly bent her knees and curtsied.

  The delicate willow eyebrows of Yu Guifei slightly raised, "You shouldn't have entered the palace before, how do you know who I am?"

  Ye Li smiled shallowly: "In the past few years when His Majesty worshipped Heaven, I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Your Highness's beautiful face, so I still remember."

  Liu Guifei was slightly stunned and said with some sighs, "That... should be five or six years ago? You were so young at that time, it's amazing you still remember."

  "The young lady's beauty is unmatched in this world, it's naturally unforgettable at first sight." Ye Li smiled and said.

  "You're more likable than your second sister. Why are you standing here? Come in with me. Ye Shao Yi probably fell asleep and left the future Crown Princess unattended at the palace gate." Lyu Gui Fei said calmly, but her tone was not to be refused. Ye Li hesitated for a moment, then slightly bowed and said: "In that case, please go first, Your Highness."

  In the Jade Palace, when Ye Yue saw Ye Li entering with Liu Guifei, she was taken aback for a moment. Liu Guifei looked at her lightly and said, "Sister saw Miss Ye waiting outside the door, so I invited her to come in together. Won't you blame sister for being too meddling?" Although she said this, Liu Guifei's expression didn't show any sign of fear of being blamed. Ye Yue forced a smile and said, "Guifei sister is joking. It's all because I've been feeling unwell these days and keep forgetting things. If it weren't for sister bringing in my third sister, wouldn't that have caused her to suffer many times? You slaves are all useless, why didn't you remind me?" Her charming phoenix eyes swept across the palace maids and eunuchs, and immediately the palace was filled with voices begging for mercy.

  Liu Guifei frowned slightly and said, "Alright, sister, forget it if you can't remember. What's the point of troubling others? I'm sure Miss Ye won't blame you either, will she?"

  Yelü could only follow her words and say: "The Imperial Consort is joking, your servant's daughter just waited for a moment, what's strange about that?"

  Ye Yue smiled and pulled Ye Li to sit down beside her, saying: "Third sister doesn't like going out, since I entered the palace, I haven't seen third sister. Now it can be said that we've finally met, in a year or two, third sister has become even more beautiful. Is everything okay at home?" Ye Li answered one by one. Ye Yue kept asking Ye Li some casual questions about family matters, and Ye Li only replied respectfully. It was strange that Consort Liu seemed to be completely unaware of the reunion between sisters, just sitting there listening quietly. There wasn't a place for her to interrupt, but she didn't mind at all, just sat there with a slightly cold smile. Ye Yue also seemed to be used to Consort Liu's behavior and had no intention of asking her to leave or taking Ye Li away herself.

  "Fourth sister got married and I didn't get to go, how is she doing with Li Wang?" Ye Yue gently stroked her slightly bulging belly, smiling as she asked Ye Li.

  Ye Li thought of Ye Ying's gloomy face when she returned to the mansion two days ago, which wasn't good. However, now she didn't plan on mentioning it to add trouble for Ye Yue. She just smiled and said: "Fourth sister and King Lei are newlyweds, naturally they're happy. I...nowadays am also quite busy, surprisingly haven't had time to chat with fourth sister." Ye Yue already knew that Ye Li and Ye Ying didn't get along, but she wasn't bothered by it. She just pulled on Ye Li's hand and smiled: "As sisters of the same family, after getting married you don't have to be at home all the time playing around together. It's not a bad idea to go out more often, I'm stuck in the palace with no way out, but you sisters can take care of each other outside. So father and grandmother won't worry. You think so too, right?"

  Ye Li nodded and said: "Your Highness is absolutely right."

  The two sisters were talking about the Ye family when a palace maid came in and said that the Empress Dowager had summoned Miss Ye San. Ye Yue was taken aback for a moment before turning to smile at Ye Li and saying, "Since the Empress Dowager has summoned you, Third Sister should go quickly. The Empress Dowager is benevolent and loving towards her subjects. Third Sister doesn't need to be afraid, I...this isn't convenient, so I won't accompany you." Ye Li nodded, watching as Ye Yue gently stroked her abdomen with her well-cared-for jade fingers, nodding lightly and saying, "Your servant thanks Your Ladyship for your advice. If that's the case, your servant will take her leave." Ye Yue smiled and said, "Third Sister, walk slowly. Someone, please see Third Miss out for me."

  "Sister, it just so happens that I also need to go and pay respects to the Empress Dowager. Let's walk together with Miss Ye San." Princess Liu said as she stood up.

  Ye Yue nodded, "In that case, I'll have to trouble you, Imperial Concubine."

  Liu Guifei nodded slightly, "Third Miss, let's go."

  Ye Li followed Liu Guifei out of the Yao Hua Palace, turning her head to take a glance at the elaborately decorated palace gate. Just now, when it was mentioned that the Empress Dowager wanted to see her, Ye Li seemed nervous if she wasn't mistaken. And Liu Guifei... Ye Li looked at Liu Guifei who was walking ahead of her, and even now, she couldn't tell what attitude this Liu Guifei had towards her - enemy or friend? Accompanying herself into the Yao Hua Palace, then accompanying her to see the Empress Dowager? Ye Li dared to guarantee that if it wasn't for Liu Guifei sitting there all along, Ye Li would have definitely said more than what was said today. But as for whether Liu Guifei had good intentions towards herself... let alone they having never met before, just that faintly discernible haughtiness and the disdain hidden beneath made Ye Li unable to believe it. Helplessly shrugging her shoulders, Ye Li calmly followed behind. The people in this palace were really troublesome...

  The palace where the Empress Dowager lived was located in the northwest of the entire imperial city, with an area comparable to that of two Jade Flower Palaces, and its magnificent buildings and pavilions revealed the noble status of this emperor's mother.

  "Zhāng Dé Gōng is a palace specifically built for the Empress Dowager after the Emperor ascended to the throne." Standing in front of Zhāng Dé Gōng, waiting for the summons, Liú Guì Fēi turned her head and said to Yè Lí, "Also, don't listen to your sister's nonsense. The Empress Dowager is not someone with a good temper, be careful yourself." Yè Lí smiled lightly and replied, "Thank you, Your Highness, for the reminder." Liú Guì Fēi hummed softly and stepped into Zhāng Dé Gōng first. Yè Lí followed behind her, her face calm, but her mind had already turned hundreds of times. Although she had only entered the palace for a short time, the strange things in the imperial palace had already exceeded her understanding. It was said that the current Emperor was supported by the Empress Dowager to ascend to the throne, and the current Empress Dowager was also known as a wise and virtuous empress. However, Liú Guì Fēi, as the Emperor's favored concubine, showed no respect towards the Empress Dowager. And...she looked up at the three large characters on the plaque under the eaves of the palace: "Zhāng Dé" - hopefully this was written by the Emperor with a willing heart.

  "I, Ye Li, have seen the Emperor and Empress Dowager." As she walked into the grand hall, seeing the tall man wearing a bright yellow robe, Ye Li's face only flashed with a hint of surprise before she quickly bowed down respectfully.

  "Ah, Lian'er, how did you come here?" Mo Jingqi glanced at Ye Li and quickly shifted his gaze to Liu Guifei beside her. He got up from the throne and walked down to pull Liu Guifei in front of him. Liu Guifei hummed softly and said indifferently, "What? Does Your Majesty think that I, your concubine, am not worthy of paying respects to the Empress Dowager?" Mo Jingqi sighed and spoke gently, "You know very well, it's not about that."

  "Your Majesty!" A stern and displeased voice came from the throne, and Ye Li glanced over without a trace. The Empress Dowager must have been a stunning beauty in her youth, although she was the sister of the virtuous and wise Empress, but the Empress Dowager looked even younger than the Empress. However, those phoenix eyes gave off an inexplicable sharpness at this moment, but Ye Li knew that these eyes must have been enchanting and beautiful when she was young. At this time, the Empress Dowager did not notice Ye Li, but instead cast her piercing gaze on Liu Guifei, with a hint of murderous intent in her eyes. It was clear that the Empress Dowager disliked Liu Guifei extremely.

  "Empress Dowager." Mo Jingqi furrowed his brow and pulled Liu Guifei along as they walked up to the grand hall, saying: "Empress Dowager, Xiang'er has come to pay her respects. I suppose it was just a coincidence that she ran into Miss Ye San and came together."

  The Empress Dowager said lightly: "Greetings? It's rare that Consort Liu thought of coming to pay her respects to me today."

  "Empress Dowager, you know that since the birth of Jing'er, my body has not been well." Mo Jingqi's expression was somewhat awkward, but he still firmly protected Liu Guifei by his side. Sneaking a glance at the Empress Dowager's gloomy face, Ye Li couldn't help but sympathize with her in her heart. After all the hardships of giving birth to two sons and exhausting herself to make her son emperor, making herself empress dowager, she should be enjoying her good fortune now. Who would have thought that the younger son was occasionally brainless, and the elder son who became emperor only cared about his wife and not his mother?

  "Empress Dowager, didn't you say you wanted to meet Miss Ye San? Let's take a look at the queen chosen for Xiu Yao first?" Mo Jingqi hastily said, seeing that the Empress Dowager's expression was not good.

  Ye Li Hei Xian, Your Majesty, is this a case of "borrowing from the east to make up for the west"?

  The empress dowager indeed quickly shifted her gaze back to Ye Li, and Ye Li silently decided in her heart that it was still better to believe what Liu Guifei had said. Just the empress dowager's gaze falling on her was not something an ordinary person could withstand.

  "Are you Ye Li?" The empress finally spoke after a long time.

  Yelü bowed respectfully and replied: "Your Majesty, I am Yelü."

  The empress dowager frowned and said, "Lift up your head and let me take a look."

  Ye Li raised her head and let the empress dowager and the emperor examine her at will.

  "The Empress Dowager had indeed seen your mother a few times back then, and it's true that the Xu family's granddaughter is not comparable to those who can't even get on stage. What a pity..." The Empress Dowager didn't say what she pitied, and of course no one was tactless enough to ask. Ye Li noticed that the expression on Liu Gui Fei's face, sitting beside the Emperor, wasn't very good. She felt a slight sense of doubt in her heart - the Empress Dowager shouldn't be making a veiled criticism of Liu Gui Fei, should she? After all, as the daughter of Liu Cheng Xiang, she was definitely not someone with an inferior status."

  "The young master of the Ai family is ignorant and doesn't understand things, Miss Ye shouldn't take what happened before to heart." The empress's sharp phoenix eyes stared at Ye Lian without blinking.

  Yelü smiled and said: "Your Majesty's words are heavy. It is better for my daughter and the King of Li to have no fate, than to get married and then find out that they cannot get along. The fact that the King can bring this up before the marriage is a good thing for both him and Yelü. My daughter thanks you."

  "Oh? What does Miss Ye think about Li Er's big wedding?"

  "This... is a private matter of the King of Lei's household. I shouldn't have made any rash guesses."

  "What if the Dowager Empress must hear your opinion?" she asked.

  "I think... probably the King of Lei was too excited about his big wedding and didn't rest well last night?" Ye Li smiled harmlessly, with a hint of fear as she looked at the Empress. "The King of Lei and Fourth Sister are deeply in love, who in the capital doesn't know? Finally getting to take his beloved home, it's hard for the prince not to be excited."

  "Miss Ye, I heard that you said a few days ago that King Li bought things without paying for them and took a lot of silver from him?" Suddenly, Liu Guifei, who was sitting on one side, spoke up with a smile.

  The temperature in the grand hall suddenly dropped, and Ye Li blinked her eyes in confusion, with a hint of shame on her face. "I, your subject, do not understand the situation, please forgive me, Your Majesty and Empress Dowager. I... since my mother's passing, I have rarely gone out, and this is my first time handling affairs, so I lost some composure. Afterwards, my grandmother also scolded me, and I had someone return the silver to the Lei Wang Fu and apologize to the king. However..." She was kicked out along with the silver. Afterwards, Ye Li sent 200 taels to the steward who was sent as compensation for mental distress, and the rest she calmly put into her own purse.

  This was originally Mo Jing Lei's fault, and the royal family wouldn't really have the nerve to blame her. Seeing Ye Li's shocked and ashamed expression, Mo Jing Qi cleared his throat and warned with a glance at Liu Gui Fei, "Let it go, this matter is due to Jing Lei's lack of consideration, not Miss Ye's fault. The Empress Dowager didn't mean to blame you."

  Yelü Xian's delighted thanks: "Your subject's daughter thanks Your Imperial Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress Dowager for their magnanimity."

  The empress dowager nodded calmly and said, "Alright, I don't intend to interrogate you either. Invite Miss Ye to take a seat."

  Two palace maids brought over a embroidered stool and placed it behind Ye Li, who thanked them before carefully sitting down on only two-thirds of the stool. In her heart, she wasn't grateful for the empress dowager's permission to sit at all; if she had a choice, she would rather continue standing. Sitting down not only made people who were already shorter look even more so, but also severely affected their line of sight. Moreover, the way everyone sat was even more tiring than doing horse-riding stance as a child - at least with horse-riding stance, you could use your legs to support yourself; sitting elegantly and demurely like this wasn't something you could learn overnight, or else you'd have to pray that you wouldn't fall off the stool.

  "Miss Ye, how is Mr. Qingyun doing?" Mo Jingqi looked at Ye Li with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

  Ye Li smiled shallowly: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. My uncle mentioned that my grandfather's body is still quite healthy."

  Mo Jingqi smiled and said, "No need to be so tense. I remember when I first met Qingyun, I was deeply impressed by his demeanor and couldn't help but admire him greatly. It's just that it's been many years since we last saw each other." Ye Li lowered her head in shame and said, "Since Mother passed away, I haven't seen Grandfather for many years either. I'm truly sorry that I couldn't take Mother's place to bring joy to Grandfather's knees."

  "Oh? Miss Ye and King Ding's grand wedding, Old Master Qingyun surely won't miss his only granddaughter's wedding?"

  "My father-in-law is advanced in years and cannot withstand the hardships of travel. I'm afraid he won't be able to see my daughter in person... However, he has already sent his elder brother to Beijing to preside over the matter on his behalf. My daughter is also very delighted."

  Mo Jingqi's eyes flickered slightly, "Oh? Mr. Hongyu has already entered the capital? Then... Young Master Xu..."

  Ye Li smiled calmly: "Eldest Brother and several other brothers also entered the capital together. Uncle has no achievements to his name, so there's nothing to boast about."

  Mo Jing Qi laughed loudly and said, "The Xu family has always disliked fame and likes to be clean, but Mr. Hong Yu is also my teacher who taught me knowledge. This time he came to the capital, I didn't go to welcome him, it's really a bit rude." Ye Li hurriedly said that she didn't dare, but in her heart, she didn't think so. Her big uncle was just ordered by the previous emperor to point out some academic work to him, who is his teacher? Besides, if he really wanted to go and welcome him, he would have gone early, she didn't believe Mo Jing Qi really didn't know when her big uncle arrived in the capital.

  Mo Jingqi apparently didn't intend to dwell on the issue, looking at Ye Li: "Miss Ye won the top prize at this year's Hundred Flowers Grand Assembly, and even the Honorable Lady of Ronghua praised you several times in front of the Empress Dowager. I wonder if Miss Ye would be willing to let me and the Empress Dowager feast our eyes?" Without giving Ye Li a chance to refuse, with a wave of his hand, palace maids and eunuchs had already brought over an intricately carved desk, complete with writing instruments and paper.

  "My daughter is ugly."

  Ye Li stood behind the desk, painting with one hand and silently cursing the emperor on the throne a hundred times in her heart. She really couldn't understand why ancient emperors enjoyed randomly picking people to write poems and fill words for fun. After all, not everyone loved reciting poetry and writing essays, let alone having that kind of talent. What if they were called upon by the emperor but couldn't come up with a poem?

  Ye Li painted a picture of an orchid, and also brought up a poem about the orchid written by her uncle. The only thing that could be considered impressive was probably her handwriting. As she watched the emperor's gaze change from curiosity to surprise and then to disappointment, Ye Li stood respectfully behind the desk, waiting for the emperor's evaluation.

  "Youlan? Is this a poem by Mr. Qingyun?" asked Liu Guifei with a frown.

  Ye Li said with shame: "I am not very familiar with poetry, I beg your pardon, Your Majesty."

  Liu Guifei's eyes flashed with a hint of disdain as she glanced at the painting and said, "Miss Ye's calligraphy is not bad."

  The empress dowager rarely agreed with Liu Guifei's words, and Ye Lixia's work at the Hundred Flowers Banquet was now in the palace. The painting was indeed not stunning, just mediocre, but the poem... The three people on the platform couldn't help but suspect that the stunning peony poem at the Hundred Flowers Banquet was absolutely not written by Ye Lixia. After all, the Xu family had nothing much, except for talented sons. It's no wonder that someone of great weight could be found to ghostwrite for Ye Lixia, and it's no surprise that such a poem existed, "Miss Ye's writing is indeed good."

  Ye Li clearly felt that the interest of the three people above her had decreased significantly. Although she didn't quite understand why ancient people thought that playing the zither, chess, calligraphy and painting represented a person's ability and intelligence quotient, at least this result wasn't bad for her.

  Until the afternoon, Ye Li was sent out of the palace gate by the Empress Dowager. During this time, she contributed her calligraphy to copy a volume of scriptures for the Empress Dowager. Because no one remembered that she should go to the Yao Hua Palace to bid farewell to Ye Shao Yi, Ye Li also didn't want to trouble the people sent by the Empress Dowager, so she just pretended to forget as well. Under the escort of palace staff, carrying the gifts from the Emperor, the Empress Dowager and Liu Gui Fei, she left the imperial city. It wasn't until she got on the carriage that Ye Li slowly let out the breath she had been holding in her heart for half a day.

  "Miss, take a rest first. You don't look too good." Qingyu reached out and took Yeli's pulse, saying softly.

  The blue phoenix said helplessly: "Miss is a bit nervous on her first visit to the palace. Unfortunately, we can't enter the empress's palace, nor can we accompany Miss."

  Qing Yu smiled shallowly and said: "You've gone in, roughly you can only scare yourself, don't trouble Miss anymore."

  Ye Li leaned against the carriage, closed her eyes to rest her mind, and went over the events that had occurred in the imperial palace today. In the palace, she could only be cautious everywhere, and many places didn't even have time to think carefully. The Emperor, the Empress Dowager, Liu Guifei... it seemed like everyone was normal, but also seemed to be hiding some unknown complicated relationships. And Ye Yue...

  No!

  Ye Li suddenly opened her eyes, Qing Luan and Qing Yu were startled, "Miss, what's wrong?"

  "The carriage is going the wrong way!" Ye Li said. Before her words had even fallen, a long arrow shot through the carriage with a whooshing sound.

  Digression

  I'm in, thanks for your continued support. I'll try to update daily with 8,000 characters, not sure if you guys can accept that. As a member of the "hand-disabled" work party, I feel that updating 10,000 characters is beyond my abilities, and arranging the plot's length is also difficult. I'm afraid I might just fill up the word count or cut off at weird places. Also, thanks to those who sent me diamond flowers and rewards, flying kisses~