Capital City Rhapsody 17. Family, loved ones

  Family members, loved ones

  "Aunt, don't stand at the door anymore. Let's go in and have a cup of tea."

  After listening to her niece's words, Mrs. Xu's originally cold face immediately added a few more smiles. Holding Ye Li's hand, she sighed with sympathy: "Good child, you've been wronged." Ye Li smiled lightly and didn't speak, pulling Mrs. Xu's arm towards the courtyard, not forgetting to turn back to her father who was standing aside with an embarrassed expression: "Father, if you're not busy, come taste your daughter's tea too." Ye Wen Hua then forced a smile and nodded: "Then let's take a look at Li'er's tea."

  The tense atmosphere finally eased a bit, and the group was about to enter the Qingyuan Pavilion when Wang Shi stumbled over from afar, supported by someone. Seeing Ye Rong being beaten and scolded loudly, Wang Shi let out a sad cry and rushed over to shield Ye Rong in her arms. As the mistress of the house, Wang Shi's intervention made others dare not lay hands on them again, so they stepped aside. When Ye Rong saw Wang Shi arrive, he immediately acted as if he had found a reliable supporter, clinging to Wang Shi and crying out in pain while pointing at Ye Li: "Mother, she got me beaten up, you must avenge your son! Ow... waaah..."

  Wang held Ye Rong, who was kneeling on the ground, and looked at Ye Wen Hua with a sorrowful and resentful face. "Sir, what did Rong do wrong that you would beat him like this? He's still so young... he's your only son! Waaah... Third Miss, even if Rong has offended you in some way... but you're siblings after all..."

  "Lier, follow your aunt into the house. What kind of monsters are these people in this mansion? If it gets out, what will it look like? If it really doesn't work out, let your uncle report to the Emperor and take you out of the Imperial Censor's residence to get married. It seems that your grandfather can still make decisions about your marriage, and our Imperial Censor's residence won't humiliate the face of the Dingguo King's residence." Looking at Wang Shi Xufu, who was kneeling on the ground crying with a wronged expression not far away, suddenly sank her face again, pulling Ye Lier to walk inside. These mother-daughter pairs from the Ye and Wang families, as well as Ye Shao Yi in the palace, all have similar moral character, but Ye Ying and Ye Yue can just cry about it, this Wang Shi is already at an age where she should know shame."

  Ye Li nodded and turned to Wang Shi, saying calmly: "Madam, you're being too serious. Rong Er was punished by her father. But speaking of which, Rong Er should be taught a lesson, so that outsiders won't say that the Shangshu Mansion lacks discipline." After finishing, she didn't pay attention to Ye Wen Hua's face and walked into the courtyard with Xu Furen, holding her hand. Xu Qing Feng followed behind, looking at Wang Shi with interest and smiling: "This stepmother of yours... is really interesting." He had never seen a madam from a noble family behave like this. The mistress of a prestigious family may be however they want in private, but in front of outsiders, they are always elegant and refined. This woman's appearance, crying on one side while still trying to seduce others with her pitiful expression, is clearly that of a concubine. And indeed, wasn't she from a concubine background? After finishing speaking, he also turned around and followed his mother and cousin, leaving the outside to be dealt with by Shangshu Lang, whose face had already turned as black as ink.

  In the elegantly decorated and quiet flower hall, Ye Li presented the tea she had personally brewed to her still-angry aunt and cousin.

  Mrs. Xü took a sip of tea, feeling her anger subside slightly before helplessly looking at Ye Li and saying: "Look at your temper, even the illegitimate child of a concubine dares to bully you." Ye Li didn't think much of it, smiling calmly as she looked at her protective aunt: "After all, she is either the mistress of the Ye household or the birth mother of the imperial concubine. Besides, I, Li, haven't suffered any losses. What do you think, Aunt?"

  Xu Qingfeng frowned and said, "Today is when we arrived, your father cannot help but punish in front of outsiders. If it were usual times, would it be so easy?" Don't think he didn't know, the mere twenty slaps dragged on until Wang's arrival, and what actually landed on Ye Rong's body was just a few light taps. If it weren't for Ye Wenhua's instructions, how could the servants have had such big guts to pretend obedience while secretly disobeying?

  Ye Li raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Let Brother Ye and Uncle and Aunt worry about it. He's Father's only son, of course he'll be biased towards him. But I'm not someone to be trifled with either, if he really did something wrong, would I let him off so easily?" In Ye Li's eyes, Ye Rong was just a spoiled child who wasn't very likable. It was boring to bother with him too much.

  Thinking of someone who has been plagued by bad luck recently, Xu Qingfeng couldn't help but laugh. But he still couldn't help reminding his cousin to be careful with everything.

  Mrs. Xü handed a sealed letter to Yè Lí, who pinched the obviously thick envelope, feeling warmth in her heart as she looked up to see Mrs. Xü's gentle and loving eyes. Yè Lí felt a slight sourness in her heart, "Aunt..." Since her mother passed away, if it weren't for her uncle and aunt occasionally taking care of her, she wouldn't have been able to live so carefree these past few years. Before she could express her gratitude, Mrs. Xü reached out and grasped her hand, smiling, "Silly child, no matter what, you are a descendant of the Xü family, aren't you? Your uncle only has one younger sister in this lifetime, doing these things doesn't cost much, does it?"

  "Aunt..." Ye Li lowered her eyes, not wanting Mrs. Xu to see the tears in her eyes.

  Xu Qingfeng saw the atmosphere was a bit sad, and hurriedly smiled: "Mother said it's right, our Xu family this generation only has Lier as the only daughter. When Lier gets married, Eldest Uncle, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Fourth Brother, and Fifth Brother will all come to the capital. If Grandfather wasn't in poor health this year and the doctor didn't forbid him from traveling far, he would have wanted to come too."

  Ye Li also hastily suppressed the surging thoughts in her heart, "Grandfather's health is not good? What about Eldest Uncle and the others..."

  "Don't worry, Grandfather is old and naturally can't avoid some minor illnesses. The climate in the capital isn't as suitable for recuperation as Yunzhou. As for your brothers, they were originally going to come to the capital to prepare for next year's imperial examination, but now they're just coming a few months early because of your wedding." Xu Qingfeng hurriedly comforted him, afraid that Ye Li would think too much. Ye Li suppressed a smile, thinking that it was still only the end of March and there was almost a whole year before next year's imperial examination, so it was a bit too early to be preparing now. Understanding that his cousin was trying to comfort him, Ye Li changed the subject and asked, "Are Second Brother, Fourth Brother, and Fifth Brother all going to participate in the imperial examination?" This generation of Xu family members included Xu Qingze, who was 19 years old this year; Xu Qingbai, who was 16 years old this year; and Xu Qingyan, who was 13 years old. As for the eldest, Xu Qingchen, he was 22 years old this year and had already obtained the title of zhuangyuan at the age of 14. He became the youngest boy to achieve this honor since the founding of Da Chu. However, Xu Qingchen disliked the intrigue of officialdom and resigned from his post at the age of 15 to travel and study. At just 20 years old, he became the youngest teacher at Rui Mountain Academy. This cousin was truly remarkable, and it would not be an exaggeration to describe him as stunningly talented. Ye Li had not seen him for many years, but her impression of him remained deep. However, with three Xu family members participating in the imperial examination at the same time, given their abilities, the possibility of them failing was extremely low - wouldn't that be too conspicuous?

  Xu Qingfeng shrugged and said, "Originally it was the second brother and fourth younger brother, and Wu was coming on his own. It's said that he wants to surpass the first brother's title of juvenile champion at the age of 14. The first brother was born in February, and he is at the end of September. If he really gets the champion, it would indeed be considered surpassing the first brother, but the opportunity is not great." He has been fond of martial arts since childhood, even when reading books, he likes to read military books, and has no interest in taking the imperial examination. In fact, the Xu family's interest in the imperial examination is not great, and they don't plan to be officials anyway. It's just that if they didn't take part in the exam and get a certain ranking, given their age, even if they were really learned and talented, they wouldn't be able to teach at the Rui Mountain Academy. How could those proud sons of heaven possibly be willing to follow someone who is roughly the same age as them as a teacher?

  Mrs. Xü also smiled and said: "Actually, the only ones who need to be tested are Qing Ze, Qing Bai and Qing Yan. These two little kids just came to join in the fun."

  "Is Second Brother planning to stay in the capital?" Ye Li asked.

  Xu Qingfeng smiled and praised: "Lier is still smart. However, Second Brother will stay in the capital, but I, your uncle, have to travel far."

  Looking at Xu Qingfeng's spirited appearance, Ye Li's heart moved with joy and said: "Could it be that Second Uncle agreed to Eldest Brother?"

  Mrs. Xu nodded with a mixture of helplessness and relief, "Isn't that so? This kid has finally gotten his wish. Your uncle was just thinking of letting him join the army to toughen up." In fact, the thoughts of the Imperial Censor were still very complicated. On one hand, he hoped that this son would be tempered in the army for a while and then return home to inherit the traditional scholarly family of the Xu clan. However, if Xu Qingfeng really dared to mix around for a few months and then ran back, he was afraid that it would not be possible to avoid a good fight.

  "Then congratulations to Brother Biao," Ye Li smiled. Second Uncle had always disapproved of Brother Biao joining the army, now he finally agreed, no wonder Xu Qingfeng was so happy.

  "Cheng Li'er, don't worry. When I become a great general, if anyone dares to bully you, I'll stand up for you!"

  "......" Ye Li's face turned black, even if he were a great general, it would not be enough to rival the only hereditary prince of Great Chu. Moreover, by the time he rose from a small soldier to a great general, the yellow flowers would have already wilted.