9. A Visit from the Concubine
Qingyi Pavilion
Ye Li sat leisurely in her room, looking at the silver notes just sent from Prince Li’s Mansion, a cold smirk on her beautiful face. It turns out that Prince Li and Ye Ying have been in cahoots for over a year now. The antiques Prince Li repeatedly took from Shende Pavilion throughout that year were worth over seventeen thousand taels, yet he never paid a single penny.
"Miss, this Prince Li is truly shaless!" Qingshuang stood behind Ye Li and said indignantly. Originally, Prince Li was renowned as a handso man in the Capital City, and Qingshuang had held so expectations for this future brother-in-law. She never imagined the blind fool would decline the arranged match with her Miss, ruining her reputation. If that wasn’t enough, he even dared to take her Miss’s things without paynt! Utterly shaless!
Ye Li turned, passed the silver notes to Qingshuang, and chuckled, "Are those words for you to say? Be careful. If soone hears, I won’t be able to save you."
Qingshuang stuck her tongue out in embarrassnt and hunched her shoulders. "I know Miss wouldn’t abandon Qingshuang. Besides... who in this courtyard could possibly hear us?"
Qingyi Pavilion was the smallest and most secluded courtyard in the entire Ye Mansion, with very few servants. Other than a few coarse, general-duty maids, Miss only had Qingshuang herself by her side. Compared to Ye Ying’s throng of servants, her own Miss was so destitute she seed less privileged than even a concubine’s daughter.
"Miss, why did you let Madam Wang off so easily today?" Recalling Ms. Wang’s pallid face and staggering figure, Qingshuang felt both satisfied and indignant.
Ye Li smiled faintly. "Ms. Wang is the birth mother of Zhaoyi in the palace, and Fourth Sister is the future Princess Consort Li. Do you think Grandmother and Father would move against her for my sake?"
After careful thought, Qingshuang lowered her head dispiritedly, muttering, "The Old Lady and Master are too biased." Indeed, even if Ms. Wang had been forced to cough up tens of thousands of taels, her Miss hadn’t seen a single penny of it. Ye Li patted her shoulder and smiled. "Don’t worry. With Ms. Wang’s tens of thousands, I can at least take all of Mother’s remaining dowry with . Compared to Mother’s dowry, those tens of thousands are nothing much."
Qingshuang nodded, her dislike for the Ye Mansion deepening. The Ye Family originally had a weak foundation. If not for the support from Mother’s dowry these past years, where would they be today? And look at the life Miss has led all these years! They are despicably ungrateful.
Worried her words might upset her Miss, Qingshuang quickly changed the subject. "Right, Miss, this morning Madam Ye ntioned that you have too few people by your side. Should we add so more, so it won’t look bad when you arrive at the King of Ding Kingdom’s Mansion in the future?"
Ye Li frowned; she was well aware she had few attendants. In the past, she cherished tranquility and disliked being constantly followed, so she hadn’t paid it much mind. If she were to get married, however, that might pose a problem. She could dismiss Ms. Wang as insignificant; she was confident Ms. Wang couldn’t harm her, and besides, she wouldn’t be living in the Ye Mansion forever. But her future marriage into the King of Ding Kingdom’s Mansion wouldn’t allow for such carelessness. Rubbing her temples, she pondered for a mont before instructing, "Go tell the Steward-in-Chief later that I need to select a few maids for my courtyard."
Qingshuang nodded. "What about the attending nannies...?"
"Don’t worry about that. Aunt ntioned a few days ago that in two days, she’ll send over Nanny Lin and Nanny Wei, who used to serve Mother." When her mother passed away, Ye Li had just regained her mories and was recovering from a serious illness. During that ti, Ms. Wang seized the opportunity to stir up trouble, beating Mother’s wet nurse, Nanny Su, and driving her out of the mansion. By the ti Ye Li had recovered slightly and learned of this, only Nanny Lin and Ye Li’s own wet nurse, Nanny Wei, remained of her mother’s old servants. Ye Li naturally understood Ms. Wang’s intentions and knew her own weakness at the ti ant she couldn’t protect them. So, using the excuse of her mother’s passing and not wanting to further grieve her maternal grandmother, she had sent Nanny Lin and Nanny Wei back to the Xu Family. For many years, the mansion had been filled mostly with Ms. Wang’s people. Ye Li couldn’t be bothered with them, preferring to keep the number of people by her side to a minimum.
Qingshuang’s eyes lit up, and she smiled. "Aunt is indeed thoughtful." She had arrived at the mansion later and, although she hadn’t t Nanny Lin and Nanny Wei, she had occasionally heard Miss ntion them. They were both trusted aides of her mother before her passing and would naturally be loyal to Miss.
With the issue of maids and nannies settled, Qingshuang happily began to plan for Ye Li. "The grand wedding is only two months away! I’m afraid the dowry Madam Ye and the Old Lady send over won’t even be half as generous as Fourth Miss’s. Later, we’ll have the shops send over their best items, and we’ll buy more from other places. Ah... and Miss’s wedding gown, and the fabrics for her trousseau..."
Ye Li sat aside, watching Qingshuang with a smile as she bustled about, planning with flustered excitent, her mind already far away. In her previous life, she had never even dread she would one day sit in her boudoir like a lady from a prestigious family, awaiting marriage. Although she already knew of Prince Ding’s various shortcomings, Ye Li didn’t care much. Marriage in this era was not sothing won could decide for themselves, and Ye Li had never held any particular expectations for love. As long as she could live a peaceful, quiet life with mutual respect, that too could be a form of happiness. But... the King of Ding Kingdom’s Mansion... Thinking of the King of Ding Kingdom’s Mansion’s supre position in Great Chu, she couldn’t help but frown.
"Third Miss, Concubine Zhao requests an audience," a young maidservant reported respectfully from outside the door.
Ye Li was sowhat surprised by Concubine Zhao’s sudden visit but nodded. "Show her in."
A mont later, Concubine Zhao entered, swaying her willowy waist gracefully. She curtsied slightly to Ye Li. "Your humble servant pays her respects to Third Miss."
Ye Li placed the bracelet she had been toying with back into its box and smiled gently. "Concubine Zhao, please rise. What brings you here at this hour?" She calmly observed the enchanting woman before her. Concubine Zhao had been in the mansion for less than a year but had already deeply captivated Minister Ye. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to speak as she did at the Old Lady’s place today. Ye Li noted her peach-pink dress, the plain silk ribbon at her waist, and her simply styled side bun. A crimson tassel hairpin shimred by her cheek, every movent exuding charm. No wonder she could earn Minister Ye’s singular affection so quickly after her arrival. Compared to her, Ms. Wang—who already had two daughters and a son and was beginning to show her age—and even Ye Ying, reputed as the foremost beauty, both lacked a certain allure. What a pity Concubine Zhao arrived too late; Ms. Wang’s position in the mansion was already deeply entrenched. But the greatest pity was her lowly birth.
Concubine Zhao was an extrely clever woman, which is why she never dared to underestimate this seemingly inconspicuous Third Miss of the mansion. Not to ntion the Xu Family behind Third Miss, a backing that would make anyone wary, Third Miss herself had, in just a few days, not only reclaid all of her mother’s dowry but had also dealt Ms. Wang a bitter blow today. Thinking of Ms. Wang’s expression—seething with a hatred she couldn’t act upon—Concubine Zhao felt a surge of delight.
"Your humble servant begs Third Miss to point out a path to survival for ," Concubine Zhao pleaded in a low voice, kneeling on the ground.
Reviews
All reviews (0)