“Miss, Madam Xu has arrived.”
Ye Li lifted her head just as her Second Aunt entered from outside. She quickly rose to greet her. “Second Aunt.”
Madam Xu was only thirty-six or thirty-seven years old. While her well-maintained appearance could only be described as delicate, her natural bearing revealed her noble upbringing.
Frowning as she surveyed Ye Li’s room, she couldn’t help but poke her niece’s forehead. “Your uncle and I told you to move to your uncle’s house, but you wouldn’t listen. Now look at your living conditions! And look at your marriage situation… Are you deliberately trying to make your mother restless in her grave?”
Ye Li rubbed her forehead and pulled Madam Xu to sit down. “Uncle hasn’t had it easy these years. Besides, with Grandmother and Father here, how could a young woman move to her uncle’s house? It would only give others a reason to criticize Mother’s failure in raising her daughter.”
Since the current Emperor had ascended to the throne, he had been suppressing the old officials from the previous Emperor’s reign. Her grandfather and eldest uncle, along with other members of the Xu clan, had successively withdrawn from official positions. Now only her second uncle remained in the Hanlin Academy as a third-rank Hanlin Scholar. To outsiders, the century-old Xu clan had already declined.
Hearing this, Madam Xu couldn’t help but sigh. “It just pains your grandfather to see you suffering like this.” The Xu family had few daughters across generations, and Ye Li’s mother had been the only daughter in Old Master Xu’s generation, naturally cherished and pampered. If he knew his only granddaughter was living in such hardship, Old Master Xu would likely storm into the capital to berate his son-in-law.
Ye Li smiled. “What hardship? I won’t let myself be taken advantage of.”
Madam Xu looked at her worriedly. “About your marriage now… Prince Ding isn’t a suitable match. And that sister of yours is truly despicable, stealing her own sister’s betrothed. How could a young lady from a noble family do such a thing?”
Ye Li’s eyes flickered with intelligence, showing none of her usual docile demeanor within the household. She smiled lightly. “Prince Ding has his advantages. Aunt and Uncle needn’t worry about me. The Prince Ding’s household holds a unique position in Da Chu. Unless Prince Ding attempts rebellion or usurpation, even the Emperor wouldn’t dare easily disturb the status of Prince Ding’s household. And now, Prince Ding stays completely away from court politics due to his health condition. Marrying him means I won’t have to worry about all those troublesome political matters.”
To Ye Li, it was merely a matter of moving from the Ye household to Prince Ding’s residence. In her previous life, she had been too exhausted. In this life, she only wanted to live peacefully without concerns.
Indeed, living peacefully without concerns – was the goal Ye Li had set for herself in this life. In her previous life, she had been a soldier, a member of a special forces unit. She had died for her country, which was a worthy end. She harbored neither bitter resentment nor world-shaking ambitions. She believed she had fulfilled her duty to the country, and the country hadn’t wronged her either. Dying wrapped in a horse’s hide was a soldier’s duty and responsibility, but after ten years of bloody warfare, she had experienced too much and grown truly weary. So, in this life, peace and tranquility would suffice.
Seeing her composed appearance, Madam Xu felt both relieved and worried, which could only be expressed with a sigh. What use was dissatisfaction? When the Emperor personally decreed the marriage, who could oppose it?
“This is what your grandfather entrusted to your uncle and me before leaving the capital – it’s the dowry he prepared for you. We’ve quietly converted it all into bank notes for safekeeping.” Madam Xu handed over a stack of banknotes to Ye Li. Upon inspection, Ye Li found one gold note worth one thousand taels, ten silver notes worth five hundred taels each, and several smaller denomination gold and silver notes, totaling around twenty thousand taels of silver.
Madam Xu wouldn’t let her speak and continued: “I heard that Madam Wang wants to withhold the dowry your mother left you? Don’t worry about this matter, I’ll handle it for you. Hmph, every daughter of the Xu family has had a grand wedding. Even in decline, we won’t allow a first wife’s dowry to go to a concubine’s daughter. Haven’t they squandered enough of your mother’s dowry over these years? I’ll recover those estates and shops for you.”
Ye Li frowned. “I can handle this matter myself, Aunt. You shouldn’t…”
Madam Xu smiled. “Don’t worry. Though your father’s rank is indeed higher than your uncle’s, if the Emperor still cares about his reputation, he won’t dare trouble your uncle further. The Xu family are descendants of founding ministers and leaders of the scholarly class. Even without court positions, our influence far exceeds what the Ye and Wang families could match. The Emperor forcing the Xu clan to resign their positions after his ascension already looked quite unfavorable. If anything were to happen to your uncle without an extremely important reason, the common people’s contempt would drown the royal family.”
Ye Li considered this and realized it wasn’t a major issue, so she nodded and thanked her aunt. Only then did Madam Xu smile with satisfaction. “Your maternal family probably won’t stand up for you in the future. Visit us more often after your marriage. Let your uncle and grandfather rest assured.”
“Madam has arrived.” Footsteps sounded outside, and Madam Wang appeared at the doorway with her maids and servants. Standing there, she raised an eyebrow at Madam Xu. “Why wasn’t I informed of Madam Xu’s arrival? We haven’t had the chance to welcome you properly.”
Madam Xu had always despised Madam Wang’s conduct. She gave a light snort and said coldly, “I merely came on my husband’s orders to check on Li’er. The Ye family’s status is too high – how dare we trouble Madam Ye to welcome us?”
The Xu family was an ancient household of both wealth and scholarly tradition and had never elevated a concubine to the position of primary wife. The Xu family had always looked down on Madam Wang’s status, and their own sister’s depression and death was partly due to Madam Wang. How could they show her any good grace?
Madam Wang deeply resented Madam Xu’s disdainful attitude. She was the wife of a second-rank official, while this Xu woman was merely a third-rank lady – what right did she have to look down on her?
Madam Wang cast a contemptuous glance around Ye Li’s room, then walked directly to sit down. She addressed Madam Xu: “We’ve already sent Third Miss’s birth chart to Prince Ding’s residence. The wedding date should be set in a few days. As her stepmother, I will naturally ensure Third Miss has a grand wedding. Madam Xu need not worry.”
Madam Xu smiled faintly and sat down as well. “A grand wedding would indeed be proper. Though Li’er bears the Ye surname, she carries our Xu family’s blood. If a Xu family daughter were to marry beneath her station, even our Old Master wouldn’t agree. By the way… isn’t your young master Rong still studying? Will he attempt the imperial examinations next year?”
Madam Xu’s casual words made Madam Wang’s heart tighten. She had forgotten that although the Xu family had declined, they still controlled Lishan Academy, one of the four greatest academies in the realm, and undoubtedly the finest in Da Chu. Her son Rong was hoping to study at Lishan Academy this year to improve his chances in next year’s examinations. If she were to interfere with Ye Li’s dowry…
At this thought, she glared resentfully at Madam Xu, who remained unperturbed and smiled mildly. Madam Wang said coldly, “Our young master Rong is the Zhaoyi Consort’s brother. What difficulty could mere examinations pose?”
Madam Xu nodded in agreement and smiled. “It’s wonderful that young master Rong is confident. Unlike Noble Consort Liu’s brother – despite being the capital’s top scholar and provincial examination champion, he still wasn’t confident enough and traveled thousands of li to Lishan to seek our Old Master’s guidance. That seems excessive. Surely your son won’t need to do that – he’ll certainly achieve the three highest honors and bring glory to the Zhaoyi Consort.”
Hearing this, Madam Wang’s expression grew even uglier. Noble Consort Liu had been known as the capital’s foremost talented lady before entering the palace, and after entering, she had maintained consistent imperial favor. Having given birth to two princes and a princess, she was promoted to Noble Consort, overshadowing Madam Wang’s daughter. Liu’s brother was also renowned for his talent, keeping her son obscure in the capital. If Liu’s son were to win the top imperial examination rank next year, the Zhaoyi Consort would surely be furious.
Madam Wang gave a light snort and cast a reluctant glance at Ye Li before saying, “If young Master Rong could receive Old Master Xu’s guidance, he would naturally have better chances.” This was as good as admitting defeat. Madam Xu didn’t commit to anything, merely smiling and saying, “I was just making conversation. Madam Ye’s virtuous reputation is well-known – surely she wouldn’t mistreat her predecessor’s daughter. I’ll ask my husband to send the dowry list of our eldest daughter to the government office for re-registration, to avoid delaying Li’er’s wedding.”
Finally, Madam Wang stormed off with a livid face, earning only a contemptuous cold laugh from Madam Xu.