When Ye Li and Ye Zhen arrived at Ye Ying’s courtyard, Ye Ying was selecting from an array of ornaments on the table with Madam Wang. Seeing the two arrive together, Ye Ying was somewhat surprised but quickly concealed it, rising with a smile to welcome them, “Elder Sister, Third Sister, why have you come together?” Ye Zhen smiled, “Hearing Fourth Sister was busy, I first visited Third Sister. Since Third Sister was also coming here, we came together.” Ye Ying smiled gently, “What is Elder Sister saying? What could I be busy with? Elder Sister, Third Sister, please sit.”
Following behind them, Ye Li raised an interesting eyebrow. This was the first time she had seen Ye Ying speak to her sisters without any trace of arrogance, especially to sisters born of concubines whom she usually looked down upon. It seemed the Old Madam’s methods were indeed formidable, to have changed Ye Ying so much in such a short time. Faced with Ye Ying’s warm and intimate welcome, Ye Zhen also felt somewhat uncomfortable. She looked at Ye Ying several times before allowing herself to be pulled inside, paying respects to Madam Wang, “Greetings, Mother.”
“Madam,” Ye Li said coolly as she curtsied.
Seeing Ye Li’s calm and composed manner, Madam Wang secretly gnashed her teeth. Although she had been elevated to primary wife for many years, Ye Li had never called her mother. Though she didn’t want Madam Xu’s daughter to call her mother, Ye Li was the only true legitimate daughter in the Ye household, and this always gave Madam Wang a feeling that her position as the household mistress wasn’t quite proper. She had once whispered in her husband’s ear about this, but for some unknown reason, no matter how she tried to influence him, the master had never insisted on this matter. He had never shown any intention of forcing Ye Li to change her form of address.
“Mother, I’d like to chat with Elder Sister and Third Sister. If you have other matters to attend to, please go ahead,” Ye Ying said coquettishly while holding Madam Wang’s hand. Madam Wang looked at her beautiful daughter with doting pride, her mood immediately improving. After all, hadn’t she won in the end? Her daughter would be either a palace consort or the Li Prince’s primary wife, and her son would be the future master of the Ye family. Meanwhile, Madam Xu had died early, her birth daughter could only marry a crippled prince, and her adopted daughter could only be someone’s concubine. “Very well, you sisters chat properly. I have some things to arrange upfront. Mother will go first.” The three sisters rose to see Madam Wang out. Ye Ying immediately pulled Ye Zhen and Ye Li to sit down, looking at them apologetically, “Elder Sister, Third Sister, I was ignorant before and often neglectful toward both sisters. I hope you can be magnanimous and not blame me.”
Hearing this, Ye Zhen glanced questioningly at Ye Li but smiled and said, “Fourth Sister is joking. We’re family, what blame is there to speak of? In the future, Elder Sister will need to rely on Fourth Sister.”
Ye Ying smiled brightly, “Grandmother is right, we’re all sisters, so naturally we should support each other. Elder Sister, please don’t speak of relying on me.”
Ye Li sat to the side listening to their casual conversation, understanding roughly what the Old Madam must have said to Ye Ying. However, she was still surprised that Ye Ying would accept the Old Madam’s teachings so readily. Of course, she believed more in another saying: a leopard can’t change its spots. Even if Ye Ying had listened to the Old Madam’s teachings, her personality couldn’t have changed so dramatically in such a short time. It seemed… some things she didn’t know about must have happened these days.
Late at night, the Minister’s mansion which should have been quiet was still brightly lit for tomorrow’s wedding. Even the little maids in Ye Li’s Qingyi Pavilion seemed somewhat excited, after all, the Fourth Miss marrying into the Li Prince’s Manor was a momentous occasion, and everyone in the household would receive a generous reward. Ye Li dismissed her maids and, as usual, sat reading under the lamp with an unfinished book, occasionally picking up her brush to write. After some time, the distant sounds of commotion gradually faded away. Ye Li tiredly rubbed her brow, and her straight posture in the chair slowly began to slump to one side. Her calm eyes grew drowsy, and after blinking several times, she finally succumbed to sleepiness and closed her eyes. The cool room fell silent, with only the occasional crackling of the lamp wick.
Much later, a black shadow flashed out from Qingyi Pavilion. Seemingly very familiar with the mansion’s layout, it easily avoided the guards and leaped over the back courtyard wall, disappearing into the night. In Qingyi Pavilion, the elegant mistress was no longer to be found in her simple, refined chamber, leaving only an open book on the floor beside the desk.
Outside the Capital
In the dark grove, a tall black figure carrying a long object moved through the trees. Only upon seeing a tall figure standing in the distance did it stop.
“You’re late,” the man in the shadows said in a deep voice.
“No, you’re early,” the black-clad person laughed lazily. Looking mockingly at the man whose face was unclear in the shadows, “I heard the Ye family’s Fourth Miss is the capital’s greatest beauty, but unexpectedly you’re not interested in the greatest beauty and instead spend money to steal a Third Miss with neither talent nor looks. Or… could this Third Miss be the true beauty? I was in a hurry earlier and couldn’t see clearly, might as well look now.” As he spoke, he put down the person from his shoulder and moved to brush away the hair from the face of the unconscious person.
“Enough! You may leave,” the man said coldly, his voice carrying traces of anger.
The black-clad person shrugged and laughed, “In that case, good luck.” Having said this, he didn’t delay, promptly placing the woman on the ground, shrugged his shoulders, and disappeared into the grove with a few leaps.
The person in the shadows observed the woman on the ground for a while before walking out from under the trees. In the dim night, a cold, handsome face was faintly visible, glaring at the young woman on the ground. His originally handsome features appeared somewhat fierce in the darkness, “Ye Li, don’t blame this prince for being cruel. If you must blame something, blame your bad fortune. Even something this prince doesn’t want shouldn’t fall to Mo Xiuyao to pick up!” He bent down to reach for the young woman’s collar, but the moment he touched it, he felt his vision go black and a pain in his neck before collapsing. The supposedly unconscious young woman opened clear eyes, casually pushing away the person falling toward her so he fell backward, naturally ignoring the loud thump that suggested he had hit something.
Ye Li methodically adjusted her clothing before looking at the man lying out on the ground, showing slight disappointment. When she had noticed something wrong with the incense in her room, she had wondered who might be targeting her, but it turned out to be Mo Jingli, and for such an idiotic reason. Walking a circle around Mo Jingli, Ye Li seriously considered for the first time whether Prince Li had been raised by his emperor brother to have mental problems, but after thinking about it without result, she stopped wasting mental energy on it. She casually took out an inconspicuous bundle of silk thread from her sleeve and efficiently tied up the man on the ground.
Looking at the bound man, Ye Li nodded with satisfaction. Though her silk thread looked unremarkable, its hardness and resilience were excellent. Unless Mo Jingli had some legendary internal martial arts, no normal person’s strength could break it. As for her binding technique, Ye Li was even more confident—unless Mo Jingli could dislocate his bones, he would have to wait for someone to rescue him. She just didn’t know if Mo Jingli had brought any personal guards for such a sneaky endeavor, though from the current situation, it seemed he hadn’t. She irresponsibly hoped he would make it to tomorrow’s wedding. Finally, she vindictively kicked the unconscious person once before heading toward the grove’s edge, following her memory of the path they had taken.