“Aunt, let’s not stand at the entrance. Come in for some tea.”
Hearing these words from her niece whom she loved like a daughter, Madame Xu’s cold expression immediately softened with a smile. Holding Ye Li’s hand, she sighed sympathetically, “Poor child, you’ve suffered.” Ye Li smiled faintly without speaking, linking arms with Madame Xu as they walked toward the courtyard. She didn’t forget to turn back to her father, who stood awkwardly to the side, “Father, if you’re not busy, why not join us for your daughter’s tea?” Only then did Ye Wenhua manage a forced smile and nod, “Then let’s taste Li’er’s tea.”
The previously tense atmosphere had just begun to ease as the group was about to enter Qingyi Pavilion when Madame Wang came stumbling over, supported by others. Seeing Ye Rong being held down and crying out earth-shatteringly as he received his punishment, Madame Wang let out an anguished cry and threw herself forward to shield Ye Rong in her arms. As the lady of the household, once she intervened, naturally no one dared continue the punishment and could only stand aside. Seeing Madame Wang’s arrival, Ye Rong immediately latched onto her like finding a refuge, wailing about his pain while still pointing at Ye Li, “Mother, she made me get beaten, you must avenge me! It hurts… wuwu…”
Madame Wang knelt on the ground holding Ye Rong, looking at Ye Wenhua with a face full of grief and resentment as she demanded, “My Lord, what wrong has Rong’er committed to deserve such a beating? He… he’s still so young, he’s your only son… wuwu… Third Miss, even if Rong’er has offended you somehow… you’re still legitimate siblings…”
“Li’er, come inside with your aunt. What sort of demons are these in this household? How would it look if word got out? If things truly cannot continue this way, let your uncle petition the Emperor to have you marry from the Imperial Censor’s mansion instead. Your grandfather should still have authority over your marriage matters, and our Imperial Censor’s mansion won’t shame the face of the Dingguo Prince’s household.” Looking at Madame Wang kneeling and crying pitifully in the distance, Madame Xu’s face darkened once again as she pulled Ye Li inside. This Madame Wang of the Ye family, along with her daughters and Imperial Consort Ye in the palace, were all cut from the same cloth. It was one thing for Ye Ying and Ye Yue to cry, but for Madame Wang at her age to show no shame.
Ye Li nodded, turning back to address Madame Wang calmly, “Madame speaks too seriously. Father punished Rong’er. However, Rong’er does need proper discipline, lest others say our Minister’s household lacks proper upbringing.” With that, she ignored her father’s expression and walked into the courtyard arm-in-arm with Madame Xu. Following behind them, Xu Qingfeng looked at Madame Wang with interest and smiled, “Uncle-in-law’s second wife… is quite interesting.” He’d never seen any household’s lady behave this way. The proper wives of noble families, regardless of their private behavior, always maintained dignity and grace before others. This one’s crying while maintaining a coquettish, resentful manner was the behavior of a concubine. Well, wasn’t she originally a concubine? With that, he turned to follow his mother and cousin, leaving the Minister, whose face had turned black as ink, to handle matters outside.
In the elegantly arranged flower hall, Ye Li personally served tea to her still-angry aunt and cousin.
After taking a sip of tea, Madame Xu felt her anger subsiding somewhat before looking at Ye Li with resignation, “Look at your temperament, allowing even a concubine’s son to bully you.” Ye Li remained unbothered, smiling serenely at her protective aunt, “She is still the lady of the Ye household and the mother of the Imperial Consort in the palace. Besides, I haven’t suffered any loss, have I, Aunt?”
Xu Qingfeng frowned, “Today we were here, so your father had to punish him in front of outsiders. But normally, how could it be so easy?” Don’t think he didn’t know – those mere twenty strokes had been dragged out until Madame Wang arrived, with only a few moderate hits landing on Ye Rong. If not for Ye Wenhua’s tacit permission, how would servants dare to be so perfunctory?
Ye Li raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Thank you for your concern, Cousin and Aunt and Uncle. He is Father’s only son, how could there not be favoritism? But I’m not one to be trifled with either. If he truly offended me, how could I let him off so easily?” In Ye Li’s view, Ye Rong was just a spoiled child who wasn’t particularly likable. Taking him too seriously would only be tedious.
Thinking of certain someone’s recent string of misfortunes, Xu Qingfeng couldn’t help but smile. Still, he couldn’t resist advising his cousin to be careful in all matters.
Madame Xu handed a sealed letter to Ye Li. Feeling the thick envelope, Ye Li felt warmth in her heart and looked up to see Madame Xu’s gentle, loving eyes. Ye Li’s heart grew slightly sour, “Aunt…” If not for her uncle and aunt’s occasional care since her mother’s death, she couldn’t have lived so freely these years. Before she could express her gratitude, Madame Xu reached out to hold her hand and smiled, “Silly child, you’re of Xu’s blood no matter what, aren’t you? Your uncle had only one sister in his life, your mother – how much trouble could this be?”
“Aunt…” Ye Li lowered her gaze, not wanting Madame Xu to see the tears in her eyes.
Seeing the atmosphere turn melancholic, Xu Qingfeng quickly smiled and said, “Mother’s right, our Xu family only has Li’er as a daughter in this generation. When Li’er has her grand wedding, First Uncle and all my brothers – first, second, fourth, and fifth – will come to the capital. If Grandfather’s health wasn’t somewhat poor this year, with the doctor forbidding long travel, he would have come too.”
Ye Li quickly suppressed her surging emotions, “Grandfather is unwell? Then First Uncle and the others…”
“Don’t worry, Grandfather is getting on in years, so some minor ailments are unavoidable. The capital’s climate isn’t as suitable for health as Yunzhou, that’s all. As for my elder brother and the others, they were originally planning to come to the capital to prepare for next spring’s imperial examinations anyway, now they’re just coming a few months earlier because of your wedding.” Fearing Ye Li would overthink, Xu Qingfeng hurriedly consoled her. Ye Li held back a smile – it was only the end of the third month now, with almost a year until next spring’s examinations; they were coming quite early indeed. Understanding her cousin’s intention to comfort her, Ye Li followed his lead in changing the subject and asked curiously, “Second Cousin, Fourth Cousin, and Fifth Brother are all taking the imperial examinations?”
In this generation of the Xu family, the second-born Xu Qingze was nineteen this year, the fourth-born Xu Qingbai was sixteen, and Xu Qingyan was just thirteen. As for the eldest, Xu Qingchen, he was twenty-two this year and had already achieved the title of First Scholar at the tender age of fourteen, becoming the youngest First Scholar since the founding of the Great Chu Dynasty. However, Xu Qingchen disliked official court politics and resigned at fifteen to travel and study. By twenty, he had become the youngest teacher at Li Mountain Academy. This cousin could only be described as brilliant and unparalleled. Although Ye Li hadn’t seen him for several years, her impression of this cousin remained very deep. However, having three young masters of the Xu family participate in the imperial examinations simultaneously – given their abilities, the chance of failing was extremely low, but wouldn’t it be too conspicuous?
Xu Qingfeng shrugged, “Originally it was just Second Brother and Fourth Brother; Fifth Brother insisted on coming himself. He says he wants to surpass Big Brother’s record of becoming the youngest First Scholar at fourteen. Big Brother was born in the second month, he was born at the end of the ninth month. If he becomes First Scholar, he would technically surpass Big Brother, though the chances aren’t high.” He had always preferred martial arts, and even when reading books, he preferred military treatises, having no interest in becoming First Scholar. The Xu family generally wasn’t very interested in the imperial examinations, as they had no intention of becoming officials anyway. It was just that without participating in the examinations and achieving a certain rank, given their age, even if they were truly extremely learned, they couldn’t teach at Li Mountain Academy. How could those brilliant young talents accept teachers around their age?
Madame Xu also smiled, “Actually, only Qingze is taking the examination seriously. Qingbai and Qingyan are just using it as an excuse to join the excitement.”
“Is Second Brother planning to stay in the capital?” Ye Li asked.
Xu Qingfeng smiled in approval, “Li’er is indeed clever. While Second Brother will stay in the capital, your cousin here is going to travel far.”
Seeing Xu Qingfeng’s animated expression, Ye Li’s heart stirred and she said happily, “Has Second Uncle agreed to Cousin’s request?”
Madame Xu nodded with a mixture of resignation and pride, “Indeed he has. This boy has finally gotten his wish. Your uncle is planning to let him train in the military.” The Imperial Censor’s thoughts were quite complex – he both hoped this son would get tired of military life after some tempering and obediently return home to carry on the Xu family’s scholarly tradition, but if Xu Qingfeng dared to return after just mixing around for a few months, he would likely not escape a good beating.
“Then congratulations, Cousin,” Ye Li smiled. Second Uncle had always opposed her cousin joining the military; no wonder Xu Qingfeng was so happy now that he had finally relented.
“Thank you for your kind words, Li’er. When your cousin becomes a great general, if Prince Ding dares to bully you, I’ll avenge you!”
“…” Ye Li’s face darkened – even a great general couldn’t contend with the Great Chu’s only hereditary prince, could he? Besides, by the time he rose from a common soldier to become a great general, it would all be too late.