The Imperial Capital Rhapsody 1. Called off engagement? Arranged marriage?

  1. Call off the engagement? Arranged marriage?

  "Miss! Something's wrong with Miss!"

  In the quiet and somewhat desolate courtyard, a shallow green figure slipped into the inner room like a gust of wind. The wind chime hanging on the door frame rang out with a series of tinkling sounds.

  In the elegant room, a slender figure sat in front of a half-open window, with the needle and thread in her hand not stopping for a moment due to the disturbance. It wasn't until the little maid caught her breath that the woman stopped her needlework, turned around, and smiled: "What's wrong that you're so startled?" The woman's face was clear and elegant, but there was a sharpness and keenness in her eyes that didn't quite match her weak appearance. She wore simple clothes, with her long hair casually tied up with a jade pin, making it hard for outsiders to believe that she was the eldest daughter of the prestigious Shangshu Mansion.

  "Miss! You still have the mood to embroider. Do you know... do you know that you've been jilted by Prince Lei?!" The little maid snatched the embroidery from her hand, stamping her foot anxiously. Ever since Prince Lei broke off the engagement three days ago, she had been anxious to the point of getting a fever, but her mistress still seemed completely unaffected.

  "Qingfeng, Li Wang broke off the engagement three days ago. Are you reacting a bit too slowly now?" Without taking offense at her impertinence, Ye Lian smiled as she looked at her little maid.

  "Miss!" Qingfeng stared at her own miss, "I'm not in a hurry for the sake of King Li." Her miss didn't care about King Li, why did she care so much? But... "Ahh, Miss. The Emperor has bestowed another marriage on you! Father wants you to go out and receive the edict."

  "Another imperial marriage decree?" Ye Li was taken aback, and couldn't help but furrow her brow. She had thought that after being jilted by the Prince of Lei, she would be able to live a peaceful life for a few years. After all, in this era, men who were willing to marry a woman who had been jilted were rare. "Our family is just the Minister's Manor, why would the Emperor pay so much attention?" Three days ago, she was jilted, and three days later, another imperial marriage decree arrived. Was it that the Emperor valued the Minister's Manor too highly, or did he not approve of the man being married to?

  Qingfeng's eyes reddened with anger as she gritted her teeth and said, "It must be the Crown Prince! That eldest miss must have instigated the Emperor, she's always bullied me since I was young, and now...now she's actually making me marry the Crown Prince. Waaahhh..."

  Ye Li looked helplessly at her own maid, such a crybaby really wasted the name Qingfeng. "Alright, don't talk nonsense outside. Let's go, go out and receive the edict."

  Ye Family Hall

  "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, decrees: The eldest daughter of the Ye family, Ye Li, is intelligent, virtuous and talented, with both ability and moral character, making her a suitable match. She is hereby granted in marriage to Prince Mo Xiu Yao as his primary consort. A propitious day shall be chosen for the completion of the wedding rites. Let this be obeyed."

  The Ye family members all thanked in unison, and the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict handed it to Ye Li with a smile, saying: "Congratulations, Madam Ye, congratulations, Miss Ye." Ye Li took the imperial edict and smiled calmly, enduring the eunuch's slightly grating laughter: "Thank you, sir, thank you for your trouble." The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict looked at Ye Li with some surprise. He had heard that the eldest daughter of the Ye family was a famous "three-nothing" noblewoman in the capital, notorious for having no talent, no looks, and no virtue. But looking at the woman in front of him, although she was not as stunningly beautiful as Ye Shao Yi, nor as breathtakingly lovely as the fourth Miss Ye, who was known as the number one beauty in the capital, she was still a rare and lovely young woman. Moreover, her demeanor was elegant, and her speech was measured and refined. Where did she seem like someone who didn't know how to advance or retreat, and couldn't even get on stage? The eunuch glanced at the Ye family members nearby, who were openly gloating over their misfortune, and his heart understood everything. Although he felt a little sorry for Miss Ye, these things were not something that a single eunuch could control. He said a word of humility and took his leave.

  The mistress of the Ye family, with a diligent and courteous attitude, had the butler personally escort the person out of the door. Only then did she glance at Ye Li with a slanted gaze, and with a feigned loving smile, said: "Fortunately, the Emperor is wise and has arranged a good marriage for our Third Miss. Otherwise...". How could a woman who was jilted from her engagement possibly get married?

  Ye Li's expression remained unchanged, but she was secretly laughing coldly. What a great marriage, did they think that just because she didn't like going out, she knew nothing? The truth was that Wang Mo Xiu Yao had been severely injured at the age of 18, his legs were disabled and his appearance was completely ruined, and he had been bedridden ever since. He had previously married two official wives, one of whom had died unexpectedly by drowning less than half a month after entering the household, and the other had died from excessive fright on their wedding night. There were rumors that it was because they had seen Wang Mo Xiu Yao's face and been scared to death. If not for this, how could Wang Mo Xiu Yao still be without an official wife at the age of 25? "What you said is true. In any case, Wang Mo Xiu Yao is a first-rank hereditary prince, it's indeed a high match for Li'er."

  The mistress of the Ye family's face stiffened slightly, and after glancing at Ye Li, she said: "Since you know, then make good preparations for your marriage, don't lose face for our Minister's Manor. In a few days, your fourth sister will also be getting married, these days the manor is very busy."

  "I understand, don't worry about it, ma'am."

  "I am the mistress of this Ye family, so I naturally have to worry about these things." The mistress of the Ye family said, looking at Ye Li's calm expression, she snorted and turned to leave.

  Ye Li smiled as she watched the matriarch of the Ye family leave, raising an eyebrow but saying nothing. Although she was the legitimate daughter of the Ye family, she was not born to the current matriarch, Wang Shi, but rather to Xu Shi, the original wife of Ye Shangshu. Xu Shi came from a scholarly family and had been in poor health since giving birth to Ye Li. Ye Shangshu doted on his favored concubine, Wang Shi, even entrusting her with the authority over the household after Xu Shi fell ill. It was not until Xu Shi passed away when Ye Li was seven years old that she became the person she is today. After Wang Shi was promoted to the position of matriarch, she did not dare to mistreat Ye Li excessively for fear of being criticized by others, but she would often make things difficult for her in subtle ways. However, Ye Li would resolve each situation calmly and quietly, which only made Wang Shi look at her with increasing disfavor.

  "Third sister, congratulations!" As soon as Wang left, the several girls in the boudoir of the Ye family immediately surrounded her, their faces filled with various expressions of sympathy and envy, saying words of congratulation. The first to speak was Sixth Miss Ye Lin, who was a daughter born out of wedlock. From a young age, she had loved following around the legitimate daughters born to Wang, occasionally adding fuel to the fire to curry favor with them. Ye Li generally did not want to bother with her. It was just a survival tactic for a concubine's daughter; as long as she didn't go too far, Ye Li didn't think it was worth arguing with a child who was only just over ten years old.

  "What's there to congratulate Third Sister about, marrying Ding Wang? Just thinking about it is scary. That Ding Wang is both cruel and ugly, and he even scared a queen to death. Who knows if the first queen was also killed by him? We should be congratulating Fourth Sister instead, in another month she'll become the Queen of Lei." Fifth Miss Ye Shan looked at Fourth Miss Ye Ying, who had the reputation of being the number one beauty in the capital, with envy and jealousy that couldn't be concealed in her eyes.

  Ye Ying indeed lives up to her reputation as the number one beauty in the capital, with eyebrows like willow leaves and eyes like autumn water. Her jade-like face exudes exquisite beauty everywhere, and every move she makes is accompanied by a delicate and elegant charm that makes people want to cherish her. However, such gentle beauty seems less stunning in the eyes of Ye Li, who has seen countless beauties in his past life.

  "We're all sisters, what's there to congratulate or not. In the future, mother will also find a suitable husband for fifth and sixth sister." Ye Ying said softly, her voice gentle and pleasant to hear, with an enchanting demeanor that made everyone else feel envious again. "It's just third sister, about the matter of the King of Lei... I hope you can forgive me." Xuan Xuan looked at Ye Li with apologetic eyes, Ye Li smiled magnanimously and said: "No need to apologize, perhaps it was just not meant to be between me and the King of Lei. We can't ruin our sisterly relationship for a man, right?"

  Ye Ying was taken aback, not getting the reaction she had expected, leaving her somewhat discontent. Originally, she thought that three days ago, after receiving the news of the broken engagement, she would be heartbroken, but what made Ye Ying extremely disappointed was that her third sister only fell silent for a moment, said "I know" and then went back to her room to rest. Today, when they met again, there wasn't even a hint of distress on her face. Li Wang was the ideal husband that all the young ladies in the capital dreamed of, she didn't believe that she really wasn't upset! After a moment, she smiled shyly and said: "I know third sister cares about me the most. In the future, if third sister has any troubles, you can come to Li Wang's residence to find Ye'er."

  Ye Li nodded slightly, too lazy to look at the triumphant expression on her face that she couldn't hide. After bidding farewell to a group of sisters who were eager to give her trouble, Ye Li took Qingfeng and walked towards her own small courtyard. Along the way, Qingfeng was still muttering in discontent, "What does Fourth Miss mean? She clearly snatched away Lord Lei, yet she's still pretending to be innocent, it's really disgusting!"

  Ye Li turned around and smiled at her, "Alright, let's not make others hear that you're afraid of getting hurt. I really don't care whether I marry Lei Wang or Ding Wang."

  "How can you be so indifferent?!" Qingfeng glared at her, "Li Wang is a well-known elegant young master in the capital, and he's also the emperor's younger brother. Who doesn't know that Ding Wang is a cripple with a disfigured face and plagued by illness... uh..." Remembering that Ding Wang was about to become her own daughter's husband, Qingfeng made an effort to swallow back the words "good-for-nothing".

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Ye Li raised an eyebrow, smiling at Qingfeng. "Could it be that you think King Lei is handsome and want me to marry him so I can be a concubine?" Whether King Lei was handsome or not, Ye Li wasn't interested in knowing. Although her ex-fiancé was said to be one of the four great beauties of the capital. But Mo Jinglei's character would never be better than Ding Wang's. Ye Li had heard rumors of Mo Jinglei's affair with Ye Ying before, but his motive for breaking off the engagement at this time was worth considering. Thinking about it... The emperor's intention to give herself to Ding Wang after being jilted was also puzzling. Intelligent and virtuous, talented and capable, a perfect match... Who in the capital didn't know that Miss Ye of the Ye family was infamous for her ugly appearance, lack of talent, and poor needlework? Was it said that this untalented lady was well-matched with the so-called useless Prince Ding?

  "Miss!" Qingfeng's face turned red with rage, "No way! I'd rather marry a servant boy than be a concubine." Most importantly, she would never become the concubine of her own master. Qingfeng's mother was originally a concubine in a wealthy family, and after her father passed away, they were kicked out by the main wife and became homeless. After Qingfeng's mother died from illness, she almost got sold into a brothel, but luckily was bought by Miss and given the name Qingfeng, teaching her to read and write. Qingfeng was not an ungrateful person, and this kindness she would never forget.

  Seeing Xiao Yatou's anxious expression, Ye Li couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Alright, alright, can't even joke around?"

  "Miss..."