Capital Rhapsody 22: A Hundred Flowers in Full Bloom (3)

  Hundred Flowers Bloom (3)

  "Hum! Who is it? It's actually Miss Ye San, who was jilted by Brother Jing Lei."

  In the midst of a peaceful atmosphere, one or two discordant voices would always emerge, and upon turning around, people would see a beautifully made-up and noble young girl walking over surrounded by the crowd.

  Ye Li recalled for a moment and understood the identity of the girl in front of her, who was the emperor's cousin. She was the daughter of Empress Zhao Ren, the niece of Princess Zhao Yang, and Princess Ronghua of Yun State. Although Ye Li was not familiar with the ladies of the capital, her uncle had asked her aunt to send her a set of data about all the famous families in the capital, and among them, several were particularly noteworthy, and this Princess Ronghua happened to be one of them.

  "Ronghua Junzhu is a hot-tempered person, Miss Ye should be more careful." Someone suddenly whispered beside Ye Li.

  Ye Li raised her head and happened to see the kind smile of Qin Yu Shi, Qian Jin Qin Zheng, towards herself. Ye Li nodded her head in gratitude. Qin Zheng also returned a smile.

  "Having seen the county master." Everyone present rushed forward to pay their respects to County Master Ronghua.

  Ronghua Junzhu hummed softly and walked to Ye Li's front, staring at her for a while before proudly saying: "You are Ye Li?"

  Ye Li nodded, "Yes, it is." For some reason, Ye Li keenly sensed the hostility from this Rong Hua County Master. Having never met Rong Hua County Master before, Ye Li couldn't understand where this hostility came from.

  "Hmph, I heard you knew you were ugly and didn't dare to come out and meet people. How did you get abandoned by Brother Jing Lei and then rush out in such a hurry? Don't you feel ashamed at all?" The refined makeup on Rong Hua's face was full of disdain, and the maids standing beside her also started whispering to each other after hearing her words.

  A faint chill flashed through Ye Li's eyes, but her gaze remained steady and unwavering as she stared at the spoiled young girl in front of her who exuded an air of nobility. Even Ye Li, who had always prided herself on being calm and composed, couldn't help but think that this little girl was really not likable at all.

  "It's quite exhausting, County Lord. I've been out for so long and haven't even scared half a person yet. Perhaps it was because I used to be too self-deprecating." Yeli's tone was gentle but without any weakness or evasion, "As for His Highness King Li... indeed, I am not worthy of him. It is truly wise of the Emperor to choose another suitable partner for His Highness King Li."

  "It's good that you have self-awareness!" Yunhua Junzhu didn't expect Ye Li to say something like this, and she was taken aback for a moment before responding disdainfully.

  Yan's sister hastily stepped forward and smiled apologetically, "Rong Hua, my sister has never attended a gathering in the capital before. If there's anything that offended you, please don't blame her."

  Ye Ying obviously wanted to be a good sister who would help her sister out in front of everyone. However, Rong Hua Gongzhu didn't want to give her that chance. With one hand, she brushed away Ye Ying's outstretched hand and gave her a disgusted glance: "She's a useless person, and you're not much better. Does this Gongzhu blame you for the consequences?"

  Ye Ying's perfect smile suddenly froze on her face, and the hand that was about to be photographed also forgot to come back, stiffening in place. "Rong Hua, you..."

  Ronghua Junzhu raised her chin proudly and looked at Ye Ying with disgust: "Is the maiden name of this junzhu also something you can call?"

  Looking at the anger, disgust and jealousy that was evident on Yunhua County's face when she stared at Ye Ying, Ye Li also had a bit of an understanding in her heart. If Yunhua County was not being polite to herself, then towards Ye Ying it was blatant rejection and humiliation. It seemed that she couldn't get rid of the relationship with that famous Lei Wang Gongzi from the capital. In her heart, she slightly shook her head, although she didn't have much feelings for this younger sister, but Ye Li also didn't think highly of Lei Wang and Yunhua County. Marrying close relatives wasn't a good thing after all.

  Ye Yin looked at Rong Hua with a hint of grievance, her cherry lips moving as if she wanted to say something. Ye Li took a step forward and grasped her hand, turning back to face Rong Hua, "I've heard that the county lord's daughter has always been on good terms with my younger sister. My younger sister just offended you because I, as the older sister, failed to teach her properly. Please forgive me, County Lord's Daughter." Rong Hua raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you afraid of being punished by me? Or do you want to humiliate yourself like Ye Yin?" Ye Li furrowed her brow and smiled lightly, "The county lord's daughter is magnanimous and won't get angry over such a small matter. After we return, I will report this to my parents, and then specially go to the princess's residence to apologize to you and the prince consort." So can we just drop it now?

  Ronghua Junzhu stared at Ye Li for a while, seemingly deep in thought, and said: "You're actually more refined than Ye Ying. Brother Jingli's taste isn't that great after all."

  Obviously feeling the stiffness in Ye Lian's wrist, Ye Li couldn't help but silently curse in her heart: "Is Princess Ronghua not afraid of being a jinx?"

  "The county master was wrong, and the eyes and reputation of King Li have always been praised by others."

  The last imperial concubine let out a heavy hum, and with a wave of her sleeve, she led the large entourage away. The crowd was left with sympathetic, worried expressions, for offending this spoiled noblewoman was no trivial matter.

  "Fourth sister, are you okay?"

  Watching Rong Hua Junzhu walk away, Ye Shan and Ye Lin hurriedly came forward to ask with concern, the other several thousand gold who had a good relationship with Ye Ying also surrounded Ye Ying to ask about her well-being. Even if Ye Ying offended the Princess's residence and Rong Hua Junzhu, don't forget that she is still the future Princess of Lei Wang. The Prince of Lei is deeply favored by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, the status of the Princess of Lei is much higher than that of Rong Hua Junzhu.

  "Ronghua Junzhu is just like that, don't mind her." A soft and elegant voice whispered beside Ye Li.

  Ye Li raised her head to look at the smiling, elegant young woman in front of her and smiled calmly: "I'm fine, thank you for reminding me earlier, Qin." Qin Zheng also smiled generously: "No need to thank me, my mother and Xu's wife are close friends, and Xu's wife often mentions you. I've been wanting to meet you for a long time, but unfortunately, you rarely attend gatherings, so we haven't had the chance to meet until now." Ye Li remembered that Qin Zheng's father, Qin Yu Shi, was actually her maternal grandfather Qing Yun's disciple, and most importantly, Qin Zheng and her second older cousin Xu Qing Ze seemed to have an arranged marriage agreement. No wonder her older cousin said that her second older cousin would be staying in the capital for a long time this time; at 19 years old, it was indeed time for him to get married. Thinking of this, Ye Li's smile became even more sincere: "You can just call me by my name, I didn't like going out before, but fortunately, I haven't missed meeting a good friend like you. However... won't we become even closer in the future?"

  Qin Zheng obviously understood what she meant, her pretty face slightly red as she stared at her and said: "I'm half a year older than you, you can call me sister. Let me introduce some good friends to you."

  Then Ye Li and Ye Ying were pulled apart, Qin Zheng introduced Ye Li to her close friends. As expected, these girls had previously taken the initiative to greet Ye Li, and after discovering that Ye Li was not as unbearable as rumored, but rather a elegant and refined young lady, everyone happily accepted this new friend.

  Sitting with newly acquainted friends, discussing some interesting things about the women in the capital's boudoirs, Ye Li discovered that these women were not as dull as she had originally thought. Indeed, the talented and capable ladies from prestigious families, who would eventually become the mistresses of these great households, were all intelligent and wise, unlike those depicted in novels as lovesick fools who live and die for love.

  "Miss Ye, it's better for you to stay away from your sister." Murong Ting obviously inherited her father General Yang Wei's bold and generous personality, glanced at Ye Yingdao who was not far away and was competing with someone in playing the guqin.

  Ye Li raised an eyebrow and said, "What do you mean by this?"

  Murong Ting waved her hand and said, "Ye Ying's current reputation isn't very good. I heard that originally, Princess Chao Yang didn't want to post a notice for her at all. Who knew she somehow managed to persuade Empress Xian Zhao to personally speak up for her before the notice was posted? Princess Chao Yang is a straightforward person and dislikes those who don't follow the rules the most. If you get too close to her, perhaps the princess will shift her anger onto you."

  Ye Ying's reputation isn't very good now, Ye Li knew that, but it's still a bit surprising to be this bad. She thought the requirements for women in this era weren't as strict as they were in ancient times.

  "If it were just an ordinary arranged marriage, then even if someone was jealous, there's nothing to say. Another miss from the Huaguo Duke's residence furrowed her brow and continued: "Before the engagement, she was already secretly meeting with her future brother-in-law, what kind of sister can tolerate this? Previously, Ronghua Duchess and Ye Ying had the best relationship, but after the engagement, Ronghua Duchess turned against Ye Ying."

  Murong Ting said disdainfully, "I heard that in the past, King Li and Ye Ying often met because of Ronghua County Master. I suppose Ronghua County Master felt she was being used by Ye Ying."

  Qin Zhen furrowed her brow and said: "Alright, why are you saying this in front of Li'er?"

  The two of them suddenly remembered that Ye Li was the most direct victim of this matter. Originally, she was the envied Princess of the Imperial City, but now she had become the pitied Princess of Dingguo. They couldn't help but look at Ye Li with a guilty conscience, not knowing how to apologize. Ye Li covered her mouth and smiled, saying: "It's not a big deal, let's just talk about it, you don't have to worry so much." Qin Zheng looked at her worriedly and said: "Li'er...you..." Ye Li waved her hand and said: "The emperor's orders are hard to defy, since things have already turned out this way, of course we must accept reality. Self-pity and self-blame won't do any good, right? Besides, before the incident, Ding Wang was also an outstanding person, and in all these years, no one has ever said that he had a bad temper or anything. It shouldn't be difficult to get along with him."

  The originally heavy topic was suddenly lightened by Yeli's nonchalant attitude. The four of them chatted and laughed for a while before the princess's maid came to invite the ladies to dinner. The four of them got up and left together. After they left, the originally lively garden became much quieter, with only the distant sound of the girls' laughter carrying over. Behind the majestic artificial mountain rocks, a figure in blue appeared, sitting calmly in a wheelchair, gazing in the direction the girls had gone, with a hint of depth flashing in his warm and clear eyes...