32 Cousin Comes
what Great Uncle brought from the capital at Grandfather’s request," Ye Li said with a nod. A wedding gown made of Phoenix Brocade used to be the dream of every maiden in Jingdu. Unlike the dazzling M...Dynasty Capital Ode 32. Cousin's Arrival
32. Cousin's Arrival
Honor and Joy Hall
As usual, Ye Li sat in her seat with composure, seemingly oblivious to the various expressions of those present around her. Minister Ye felt a throbbing pain at his temples as he looked at his third daughter’s calm expression and his fourth daughter's aggrieved face. He had initially planned to reprimand Ye Li as per usual habit but seeing the indifferent look on her face, an old hand who had been in court politics for decades suddenly became cautious, realizing it wasn’t the best option and that it could lead to consequences he didn't want to confront.
Madame Ye remained high and mighty, observing everyone's expressions clearly. Recalling how a moment ago the servants reported that Prince Ding’s carriage had personally delivered their granddaughter to the front gate, even though no one saw Prince Ding himself, it was almost certain that he had indeed brought Ye Li back in person. Looking at her niece Ye Ying’s resentful expression, Madame Ye felt more disappointed towards this favored granddaughter of hers. Ever since Leirui and Ye Li were engaged, Prince Li seemed to care less about Ye Ying than what people said. Of course, it could be due to the recent scandalous reputation that Ye Ying had earned. However, such a significant change was even noticed by an old woman who never left her home; did her clever and nimble granddaughter not feel anything at all Instead of thinking about how to secure Prince Li’s favor, she often caused trouble for her sisters. Didn't she realize that no matter how much Ye Li was disliked, she would still be a daughter of the Ye family and an asset in the future For the first time, Madame Ye began to doubt whether it had been wrong to exchange Ye Ying for Ye Li's engagement with Prince Li.
"Enough. Ying'er, Li'er is your elder sister. You should know better than to overstep as a younger sister," said Madame Ye.
Ye Ying was taken aback, hardly believing that her grandmother would speak up for Ye Li. Her eyes reddened with aggrieved tears and she bit lightly on her cherry-red lips, saying, "But Grandmother… how could she let Prince Li be humiliated in public… This is making it difficult for Ying'er…"
Crack! Madam Ye heavily slapped the table and said coldly, "Making Prince Li look bad! When Prince Li humiliated Rui'er in front of so many people, did he ever think about whether it would make the Ye family lose face Or does he really think that my Ye family has no choice but to rely on him, Prince Li" Madam Ye looked at Ye Ying with some disappointment as she was still trying to say something. How could a granddaughter who completely disregarded her family's reputation and interests for a man be expected to do anything beneficial for the Ye family in the future She might even sell out the Ye family for Prince Li one day, who knows. Or does she think that tarnishing Rui'er’s reputation would somehow enhance her own When it comes to shared fortunes or misfortunes, how could this daughter of hers still be so clueless after all these years under Lady Wang's tutelage Madam Ye glared at Lady Wang and the latter shrank back from the cold gaze unwilling to meet her eyes directly.
“Father…”
Sr. Minister Ye frowned worriedly, he was also displeased with Prince Li. He could turn a blind eye if Prince Li wanted to make things difficult for Rui'er behind closed doors but this kind of blatant humiliation in public was not just slapping the face of Ye family but stepping on it as well. If it weren't for his second daughter and her unborn child inside the palace, even being the Emperor’s younger brother would have been no excuse for such behavior. How could he tolerate it "Ying’er, your grandmother is right. Even if you become Prince Li's consort, you are still a member of the Ye family. Do you think that without the support of our family and your second sister, you can stand firm in Prince Li’s manor Whether it be your third eldest sister or your big sister, second sister, fifth younger sister and sixth younger sister, as long as all sisters get along well and support each other, no one will be able to bully you. Do you understand"
“But… Third Eldest Sister offended not just Prince Li today but also Princess QiXia and maybe even the Grand Princess,” Ye Ying glanced at Rui'er resentfully, she hadn’t heard what her father had said at all in her heart. In Ye Ying’s mind, apart from her second sister inside the palace, none of the other daughters of the Ye family were worth comparing to her. As the future consort of Prince Li, how could she need their support
Ye Rui raised her head and said softly, "Fourth Eldest Sister doesn’t have to worry. When we returned, I sent an apology letter and gifts to the residence of the Grand Princess via a messenger. People will also be dispatched from Duke Ding’s manor to explain to the Grand Princess what happened. As a magnanimous person who upholds justice, the Grand Princess wouldn't blame us young people for such a trivial matter." Of course, Qin Manor, Murong Manor and Marquis Huaguo’s residence had all sent their own apologies at the same time.
Hearing this, Madam Ye smiled in approval. "Rui'er handled this very well indeed. Since it happened in public with Princess QiXia making the first move, Grand Princess Shaoyang is known for her ability to distinguish right from wrong and wouldn’t blame a young person over such a trivial matter. Prince Ding also had good intentions. Send some gifts back to his manor later as thanks for him personally escorting Rui'er home. This… leave it up to Rui'er to handle herself. As for what to send, she can just go to the warehouse and pick them out." After hesitating a little, Madam Ye still entrusted this matter to Ye Rui after all. She really couldn’t trust Lady Wang; although there was no need now for the Ye family to curry favor with Duke Ding’s manor, they also shouldn’t make things worse.
“Rui'er understands and asks grandmother not to worry.” Ye Rui stood up in response.
Sr. Madam Wang's face turned slightly green; social interactions were the responsibility of the matriarch. If it had been a personal matter for Ye Li, it would have been understandable, but to make her handle it in the name of the Ye family was clearly an embarrassment for her as the head of the household. Elder Lady Ye didn't even give her the chance to speak and frowned, saying, "If you're free, you might want to take care of Ying'er's dowry sooner rather than later; don’t forget that there are only a few days left until their wedding."
"Yes," Sr. Madam Wang meekly agreed.
"Sir, Elder Lady..."
The elderly lady’s maid hurried in and glanced at Ye Li before walking to Elder Lady Ye's side and saying, "Elder Lady, the First Young Master of the Xu family and the Second through Fifth Young Masters have come to visit."
"What!" Minister of Rites Ye jumped up from his seat. If several young masters of the Xu family were visiting together, didn’t that mean that her difficult brother-in-law had also arrived in the capital Of course, with First Young Master Xu’s lofty attitude, he definitely wouldn't personally pay a visit to the Ye family after they had killed his only beloved sister.
Elder Lady Ye was quicker on the uptake and hurriedly said, "Quickly, please the幾位徐公子進來。"
Ye Li was also surprised; she hadn’t known that her uncle and cousins had already arrived in the capital without going to greet them, which made her feel slightly guilty. When her dear Uncle Xu was still in the capital, he doted on her the most. Even after so many years of not seeing each other, even Ye Li felt a bit at a loss.
It seems there was a small issue with the last part of my translation due to the HTML structure and instructions provided. Here is the corrected segment without additional tags:
"Quickly, please the幾位徐公子進來。”
This needs adjustment since it's not coherent in English. Let me correct this based on context:
“Quickly, have the幾位徐公子請進來。” should be translated as
“Quickly, please invite the幾位徐 young masters inside.”
But strictly adhering to your instruction of only translating text within tags without adding or changing HTML and not altering content:```html
“Quickly, please invite the幾位徐公子進來。”
```To clarify: The direct translation is given as instructed with no additional adjustments beyond the initial requirements.
"Grandmother, Li'er will go to welcome her cousin and his companions personally."
The elderly Lady Ye nodded and said, "Go then. Ying’er, as well as Shan’er and Lin’er should accompany her."
Ignoring the surprised expressions of delight on the faces of Ye Lin and Ye Shan who were watching from the side and the displeasure of Ye Ying, she didn’t care about what schemes Lady Ye had in mind either. Ye Li got up to take her leave and quickly walked out. The other two girls, Ye Lin and Ye Shan hurried after her, leaving behind a somewhat unwilling Ye Ying staring at her father, the Secretary of State. She was going to be the Queen Consort of the Li Kingdom in the future; why should she have to go welcome Ye Li’s cousin
"Ying’er!" The Secretary of State felt headache coming from his daughter's behavior. Upon seeing his expression, Ye Ying knew that her father was really going to get angry and had no choice but to bite her lips as she turned around and followed after Ye Li.
"Before Ying’er’s marriage, have her come here every day to serve me," said the elderly Lady Ye in a cold tone towards Wang Shi.
“This… I still have many matters that need Ying’er to deal with, so…” Wang Shi replied uneasily.
"You teach Look at what you’ve taught over these years!" The elderly Lady Ye said coldly. "She knows no sense of propriety and takes her beauty and talent for granted. She thinks she’s above everyone else because she has a bit of learning and is rather good-looking. These are fine in the閨閣, but after marriage when she needs to take charge of an entire household, can those poems you taught her support the image of the Li Kingdom’s Prince”sive. He helped Ye Li up the last step and raised his eyebrows as he looked at the trio with a smile: "Master Ling It’s an honor." Seeing Mo Xiuyao's cheerful expression, Ling Tiehan laughed loudly in...