The Imperial Capital Rhapsody 18: The Unfilial Grandmother

  Eccentric grandmother

  Until Ye Li personally saw off her brother and aunt, Ye Shangshu did not appear again. Madam Xu obviously no longer held any hope for the etiquette of the Ye family. If it weren't for Ye Li being here, the Ye family would have had nothing to do with the Xu family after what happened to their daughter. Ye Li didn't get angry, and as she turned back to Qing Yi Xuan, she gave a faint glance at Wang Shi's Fang Yi Yuan, her lips curling up into a rare cold smile: Was Wang Shi trying to teach her a lesson?

  "Third sister..."

  She hadn't even entered the Qingyuan Pavilion when Ye Ying, supported by Yatou's hand, swayed and staggered in. Ye Li stood still, calmly sizing up the first beauty before her eyes. It seemed that these past few days, on the surface, nothing was wrong, but actually, Ye Ying's days weren't going well either. Her delicate and beautiful face had added a few shades of pallor and frailty, and when looking at Ye Li, her watery eyes also held a few more hints of resentment and mistiness, making Ye Li involuntarily shudder. "Born with the sorrow of two dimples, attacked by the illness of one body... Tears glistening, soft breathing..." Ye Li inexplicably thought of the phrases from the classic novel Dream of the Red Chamber that described the ethereal fairy, but unfortunately, looking at those watery eyes and occasionally flashing with a thread of sharp light, where was there even half a point of the lofty purity of Xiangyun?

  "What's wrong with you, Fourth Sister?" Ye Li asked softly, "If you're not feeling well, why aren't you resting in your room?"

  "Thank you, Third Sister, for your concern. I'm fine," Ye Ying said softly, but her melancholy and wronged expression didn't seem like nothing was wrong at all.

  Ye Li nodded calmly, "Since there's nothing, Fourth Sister can take a stroll, Third Sister will head back first."

  "Third sister..." Seeing Ye Li was about to turn and leave without hesitation, a hint of annoyance flashed in Ye Ying's eyes, but it quickly disappeared. She lightly bit her red lips and looked at Ye Li, saying: "Ying'er just wanted to ask third sister, did you receive the invitation for the Hundred Flowers Grand Gathering?"

  Ye Li nodded, she had received the invitation yesterday afternoon. The Hundred Flowers Banquet was scheduled to take place seven days later at the largest peony garden in the capital city. Looking at Ye Ying's expression, Ye Li suddenly realized what Ye Ying was trying to stop her from doing, "Fourth sister hasn't received the invitation yet?"

  Ye Ying shook her head reluctantly, but in her heart, she was full of resentment towards Ye Li in front of her. If it weren't for her uncle's impeachment of her father in the imperial court, as the eldest daughter of the Minister of Revenue, how could the future Princess of Lei not have an invitation to the Hundred Flowers Banquet? "Third sister, you... aren't going this year either?" Ye Li smiled wryly, Ye Ying wouldn't be thinking of taking her invitation to Peony Garden, would she? But then again, as the future Princess of Lei, even if someone recognized that the name on the invitation wasn't hers, no one would dare to drive her away.

  "This year I'm much better, so of course I'll go." After Ye Li finished speaking, she clearly saw Ye Ying's face sink. Not wanting to entangle further, Ye Li said: "I still have things to do, so I won't accompany Fourth Sister anymore."

  Three...

  Ye Lian raised an eyebrow and said, "Fourth sister might as well go see Empress Dowager Xianzhao. This year's invitation was personally sent by Princess Chang of Shao Yang, if I don't attend wouldn't it make the princess think that our Ye family is not giving her face?" Upon hearing this, Ye Ying finally suppressed the words she wanted to say. Princess Chang of Shao Yang was the current emperor's paternal aunt and the only daughter of the late Empress Yuan. However, she was notorious for having a bad temper, sometimes not even giving face to the current empress or empress dowager. Ye Ying had yet to receive an invitation, clearly indicating that Princess Chang was dissatisfied with her.

  "Third Miss, Fourth Miss, Old Madam invites the two misses to go to Rongle Hall." Just as Ye Li was about to return to her room, the nanny beside Ye Old Madam came over to deliver the message.

  Today, Mrs. Xue came to visit, and Old Lady Ye directly pushed it away, saying that she was uncomfortable and didn't even send someone over to take a look. Ye Li naturally knew that Old Lady Ye was dissatisfied with the behavior of the Xu family in recent days, and calmly nodded: "I understand, thank you for your trouble, nanny." The nanny repeatedly said she didn't dare, turned around and went back to Rongle Hall.

  In the Rong Le Hall, Old Lady Ye slightly narrowed her somewhat cloudy old eyes to size up the two granddaughters who had entered side by side. Ye Ying had been pampered since childhood and was not only intelligent and gentle but also born with a beautiful face and fragrance that could charm the heavens. Both Old Lady Ye and Ye Shangshu had high hopes for her. If Ye Yue hadn't already entered the palace as a consort, Ye Ying would have definitely followed suit. Now, being able to marry the emperor's younger brother, Prince Li, as his proper wife was naturally a way for the Ye family to rise even higher. As for Ye Li, who was originally the most noble daughter of the Ye family and the legitimate child of the first wife, Old Lady Ye had always had some small knot in her heart towards Xu Shi, and after Xu Shi's passing, she didn't pay much attention to this granddaughter. Now, taking a closer look, she discovered that Ye Li wasn't inferior to Ye Ying in any way. In fact, she had even more of the grandeur and elegance of a scholarly family, which Old Lady Ye knew was inherited from her mother, who came from a hundred-year-old aristocratic family, the Xu family. This was also the reason why Old Lady Ye didn't like Ye Li and Xu Shi.

  "Grandma." Ye Li and Ye Ying asked in unison.

  Mrs. Ye's face was full of kindness as she beckoned the two to sit down beside her, and asked in a gentle voice: "In a few days it will be the Hundred Flowers Festival, has your mother prepared everything for you?"

  Ye Ying hung her head and looked gloomy, "The granddaughter didn't receive the Hundred Flowers Letter, and all the preparations mother made are now useless."

  Ye Li raised an eyebrow and asked unclearly: "Grandmother, what preparations are needed to attend the Hundred Flowers Meeting?"

  Upon hearing this, Old Lady Ye's eyes flickered slightly as she thoughtfully sized up Ye Li's expression. "It doesn't matter... a young lady should always dress up nicely when going out. I'll have your mother make you some new clothes and accessories later."

  Ye Li's expression remained calm as she allowed her to examine her, and indeed, Wang Shi had not prepared anything for herself, not even a single sentence. It could be predicted that if she wore her usual clothes on the day of the Hundred Flowers Gathering, she would definitely be ridiculed and lose face. "Thank you, Grandmother, for reminding me." Ye Li revealed a hint of joy, appropriately showing her delight and pleasure as a daughter-in-law at the new clothes and jewelry.

  Mrs. Ye nodded and didn't say anything else. Mrs. Wang's private attitude towards Ye Li was not unknown to her, but as long as it didn't cause a scene in front of outsiders that would lose face for the Ye family, she didn't want to get involved either. Instead, Ye Ying smiled apologetically at Ye Li and said: "Mother had already prepared your clothes and jewelry, it's just that yesterday when Rong'er came back, I forgot to have someone send them over to you."

  "Is that so? The Hundred Flowers Festival still has several days left, no need to rush." Ye Li smiled lightly and finally shifted the topic back to Ye Rong.

  As soon as the matter of Ye Rong was brought up, Old Lady Ye's originally smiling face also sank a bit. She looked at the two with a serious expression and said: "Rong'er is still young, if there's anything he did wrong, you should teach him well as his elder sisters. Today, your father slapped him in front of outsiders, how can a child like him bear it?"

  Ying's delicate eyebrows furrowed, her face filled with concern as she said: "Grandmother is right, it's all because I didn't teach my brother well. But Tong'er also learned a lesson today, earlier when I came out he was still crying in pain. From now on he definitely won't dare to offend Third Sister again, please don't blame him anymore."

  "Didn't you get a few hits? How can it still hurt, and the doctor has been invited?" As soon as she heard that her only grandson was unwell, Old Lady Ye became anxious, and her gaze at Ye Li became even colder. Ye Ying hastily comforted her, "Don't worry, Grandmother, Mother has already had the doctor take a look. It's just that she needs to rest in bed for some days, and is worried about falling behind in her studies."

  Mrs. Ye frowned, somewhat annoyed, and glared at Ye Li, saying: "You're also an older sister, why can't you give in to Rong'er a bit? If you hurt his body and delay his studies, will you be happy then?"

  Ye Li smiled coldly in her heart, but her face remained unchanged. She said calmly, "Grandmother's teachings are correct. In the future, Li'er will teach Rong'er well, and someone should teach him a lesson about his temper. Today, he collided with Li'er, which is nothing. As siblings, Li'er will naturally give in to him, but what if one day he collides with a noble person?"

  Upon hearing this, Old Lady Ye's expression became even more unpleasant. However, she recalled Ye Li's marriage and suppressed her anger, waving her hand to let her retreat. Ye Li turned around and retreated, listening to Ye Ying's soft voice behind her talking about how her sister and King Lei were doing... Since Old Lady Ye wouldn't listen to her words, Ye Li didn't care; she only hoped that Palace Leaf Shao Yi and King Lei could really help Ye Rong clean up the mess for a lifetime.

  Digression

  Alright, the last two chapters have had the male lead make an appearance, any comments or opinions are welcome, please leave a message~