38. Ye Li Gets Kidnapped
When Ye Li and Ye Zhen arrived at Ye Ying’s courtyard, Ye Ying and Ms. Wang were selecting from a dazzling array of accessories laid out on the table. Seeing her two sisters arrive hand in hand, Ye Ying was sowhat startled, but she quickly concealed it with a smile and rose to greet them. "First Sister, Third Sister, how co you two ca together?"
Ye Zhen laughed. "I heard Fourth Sister was busy, so I went to Third Sister’s place for a while first. It turned out Third Sister was also planning to co here, so we ca together."
Ye Ying replied with a light smile, "What are you saying, First Sister? How could Ying’er be busy? Please, both of you, sit down."
Ye Li followed them, an amused expression on her face. This was the first ti she had ever seen Ye Ying speak to her sisters without a trace of her usual pride, especially to those who were daughters born of concubines, whom she had always looked down upon. It seed the Old Madam was truly remarkable to have made Ye Ying change so much in such a short ti.
Facing Ye Ying’s warm and friendly greeting, Ye Zhen also felt a bit uneasy. After glancing at Ye Ying several tis, she allowed herself to be led inside and greeted Ms. Wang, "Mother."
"Madam," Ye Li said lightly, offering a simple curtsy.
Witnessing Ye Li’s calm and composed deanor, Ms. Wang secretly gritted her teeth. It had been many years since she had been established as the primary wife, but Ye Li had never addressed her as Mother. Although she herself didn’t particularly want Ms. Xu’s daughter to call her Mother, Ye Li was the only truly legitimate daughter in the Ye Mansion. This fact always made Ms. Wang feel that her status as the Madam of House was sohow not entirely legitimate. She had once tried to whisper words of influence in the Master’s ear, but for so unknown reason, the Master had never insisted on the matter, nor had he ever tried to force Ye Li to change her form of address.
"Mother, Ying’er will chat with First Sister and Third Sister. If you have other matters to attend to, please go ahead," Ye Ying said, holding Ms. Wang’s hand coquettishly.
Seeing her beautiful daughter, Ms. Wang was filled with affection and pride, and her mood instantly brightened. After all, she had won, hadn’t she? One of her daughters was an imperial consort in the palace, and the other was the primary wife of Prince Li; her son would beco the future master of the Ye Family. Ms. Xu, on the other hand, had died young; her biological daughter could only marry a crippled prince, and her adopted daughter could only beco a concubine.
"All right then, you sisters have a nice chat," Ms. Wang said. "I have so other matters to attend to. I’ll leave first."
The three sisters rose to see Ms. Wang off. Ye Ying then imdiately pulled Ye Zhen and Ye Li to sit down, looking at them apologetically and saying, "First Sister, Third Sister, I was ignorant in the past and have been negligent in my treatnt towards you both. I hope you will be magnanimous and not bla Ying’er."
Hearing this, Ye Zhen looked at Ye Li in confusion, then said with a smile, "Fourth Sister, you’re being too serious. We are family; there’s no question of bla. In the future, I’ll still have to rely on you."
Ye Ying responded with a warm smile. "Grandmother is right. We are all family sisters, so naturally, we should support each other. First Sister, there’s no need to talk about relying on ."
Ye Li sat to one side, quietly listening to their idle chatter. She had a good idea of what the Old Madam Ye must have said to Ye Ying. Still, she was quite surprised that Ye Ying would so obediently heed the Old Madam’s teachings. Of course, she believed even more strongly in the saying, ’A leopard cannot change its spots.’ Even if Ye Ying had listened to the Old Madam, it was impossible for her personality to change so drastically in such a short ti. It seed... so things had happened recently that she didn’t know about.
Deep into the night, the Minister’s Mansion, usually quiet at this hour, was still brightly lit in preparation for the next day’s wedding. Even the young maids in Ye Li’s Qingyi Pavilion seed excited. After all, the Fourth Miss of the family marrying into Prince Li’s Mansion was a trendously joyous occasion, and everyone in the household, high and low, would receive a hefty monetary reward. Ye Li dismissed the maids attending her and, as usual, picked up the book she hadn’t finished reading, settling down to read under the lamp. She would occasionally pause to jot down notes. An unknown amount of ti passed. The distant sounds of revelry seed to gradually fade. Feeling tired, Ye Li raised a hand to rub her temples. Her upright posture slowly slumped to one side as she leaned against the chair. Her calm eyes grew heavy with weariness. Ye Li blinked a few tis, but finally, she could no longer fight off the drowsiness and slowly closed her eyes. The chilly room fell into silence, broken only by the occasional crackling of the lampwick.
A long while later, a shadow darted out of Qingyi Pavilion. It seed very familiar with the mansion’s layout, effortlessly evading the guards, leaping over the rear courtyard wall, and disappearing into the dark night. Inside Qingyi Pavilion, the cool, simple, and elegant boudoir was empty; its mistress was nowhere to be found. Only an open book lay on the floor beside the desk.
「At the outskirts of the Capital City」
In the dim woods, a tall figure in black carried a long bundle, moving swiftly through the trees. He stopped only when he saw a towering figure standing not far away.
"You’re late," the man in the shadows said in a deep voice.
"No, you’re early," replied the man in black, a hint of laziness in his voice. He looked mockingly at the man whose face was obscured by the darkness. "I heard the Fourth Miss of the Ye family is the most beautiful woman in the Capital City. Surprisingly, you’re not interested in her. Instead, you spent money to kidnap the Third Miss, who is neither talented nor beautiful. Or... could it be that this Third Miss is the real stunner? I was in a hurry earlier and didn’t get a clear look. It wouldn’t hurt to take a closer look now." With that, he lowered the person he was carrying on his shoulder and reached out to brush the hair from her unconscious face.
"Enough! You can leave now," the man commanded coldly, his voice laced with anger.
The man in black shrugged and smiled. "In that case, good luck." Without further delay, he decisively placed the woman on the ground, shrugged again, and with a few swift leaps, disappeared into the woods.
The man in the shadows observed the woman on the ground for a while before stepping out from the trees. Under the dim light of the night, his stern, handso face was faintly visible; as he stared fiercely at the girl on the ground, his features twisted into a sowhat ferocious expression. "Ye Li, don’t bla this Prince for being ruthless. If you must bla soone, bla your bad fate! Even sothing this Prince discards is not for Mo Xiuyao to take!" He bent down and reached for the girl’s collar, but the mont he touched it, his vision suddenly went black, a sharp pain struck his neck, and he collapsed.
The girl, who had seed deeply unconscious, opened her clear, alert eyes. With a casual push, she sent the man, who was falling towards her, tumbling backward. As for the LOUD THUD of him clearly hitting sothing, she naturally ignored it.
Ye Li leisurely adjusted her attire before looking at the fallen man with a hint of disappointnt. When she first noticed sothing wrong with the incense in her room, she had thought soone was trying to harm her. It turned out to be Mo Jingli, and for such a foolish reason! Circling him, she seriously wondered if his Brother Emperor had muddled his wits during his upbringing. After a mont’s thought, she gave up, deciding not to waste her ntal energy on it. She calmly pulled a seemingly unremarkable silk thread from her sleeve and quickly tied up the man on the ground.
Looking at the bound man, Ye Li nodded in satisfaction. Although the silk thread seed unimpressive, it was extrely sturdy and resilient. Unless Mo Jingli possessed legendary internal energy, a normal person would never be able to break it. Moreover, Ye Li was confident in her binding technique; unless Mo Jingli knew a bone-shrinking art, he would have to wait for rescue. She wondered if Mo Jingli had brought any personal guards for such a sneaky deed; so far, it seed not. She hoped he could make it to the wedding tomorrow. Ye Li thought irresponsibly. Finally, venting so of her frustration, she kicked the unconscious man before turning and walking towards the edge of the woods, following the path from her mory.
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