Soon the day of visiting her parental family came. In the past three days Ye Li had adapted well to the life in Prince Ding"s Manor. Even Lin mama and Wei mama who once had their heart in their mouths now set their minds at rest. The two of them were happy about everything else except that Prince and Princess had not consummated their marriage yet. However, not only them, Sun mama of Prince Ding"s Manor was also worried and unhappy about it. She had seen Mo Xiu Yao grew up from a little boy and knew well what her master was like so she wasn"t unhappy about the new princess. She even breathed a hint to Lin mama and Wei mama that she would come up with something. The whole manor had great respect for Ye Li. After she came back from her visit to Ye Manor, she would officially take charge of Prince Ding"s Manor. The two mamas had nothing to be unhappy about so they both looked radiant as if a flower could bloom on their faces at any moment.
The reception of Ye Family was particularly grand. Not only Minister Ye and w.a.n.g-shi who brought Ye Shan, Ye Lin and Ye Rong to greet them, but Ye Zhen and Ye Ying who had married brought their husbands with them and went back for their visit as well. Ye Li wasn"t surprised that Ye Ying would come back and join them but the fact that Ye Zhen, as a concubine of the eldest son of Marquis Nan could bring back her husband with her really made one think. After they went inside the manor and greeted Old Lady Ye, Ye Li was taken away by her sisters to have a chat in private while Mo Xiu Yao remained in the main hall talking with Minister Ye and Mo Jing Li.
Qingyi Pavilion, where Ye Li used to live was left unchanged, the Ye sisters sat around a stone table in the yard and had their chat. Ye Zhen looked at the maids who stood not far away then at Ye Li, who was in a light purple dress with a pearl ta.s.sel hairpin, a pair of jewel eardrops and a bangle made of soft jade with lotus patterns of the best quality around her wrist. Ye Li looked quite calm with a smile by her lips and an imposing honorable manner which she didn"t have when she was still in Ye Family.
Ye Zhen couldn"t help her admiration and sighed slightly: "It seems that you are having a good time in Prince Ding"s Manor, aren"t you, third sister?"
Ye Li smiled: "I appreciate your kindness, big sister. Everything is ok."
Ye Shan took Ye Li"s hand and cornered her with endless questions like whether Prince Ding"s Manor was large or not, whether it was beautiful or not, what people were there and were they easy to get along with. Ye Li was not in a hurry to answer her questions and waited till she finished asking then answered some of the questions which she could answer. Ye Shan didn"t get all of the answers she wanted and was about to open her mouth with more questions but stopped with disappointment when she felt a tug from Ye Lin who was sitting by her side.
"I"ve heard that there are a former princess and a concubine at Prince Ding"s Manor. Have you seen them, third sister?" While Ye Shan was bubbling nonstop about all her questions, Ye Ying had no opportunity to speak but to sit by their side in silence and only by then did she ask Ye Li with her eyes fixed on Ye Li.
Ye Li looked Ye Ying up with a little surprise and frowned: "Forth sister, are you not feeling well recently?" It had only been a while since she last saw Ye Ying. But the way Ye Ying looked had changed a lot. She seemed way more fragile to withstand a gust of wind. In the past when she was still in Ye Family, though she was weak, with the care of w.a.n.g-shi, her face always had an attractive and bright red on it. Now that the red was gone, she looked much paler. Even though she had rouge on her cheeks, her beauty was less natural than when she had no make-up on.
Ye Ying"s looks changed a little. She lowered her eyes and said: "Thank you for your concern, third sister. I"m just a little tired."
Ye Li sighed secretly in the bottom of her heart. Ye Ying did change a lot. It seemed that Consort Xian Zhao was way better at disciplining people than Old Lady Ye. "Take more rest if you are tired. After all, health is the most important thing. Without good health, you"ll lose everything else as well."
Ye Li gave her some advice before answering her question: "My sister-in-law serves Buddha all year round. I"ll visit her when I go back. As for the concubine..." The thought of that concubine with a difficult temperament at Prince Ding"s Manor made Ye Li frown.
She said indifferently: "A concubine of Father Prince. I don"t need to see her very often."
Ye Shan shouted: "Then aren"t there only you and Prince Ding who can make the decision at Prince Ding"s Manor, third sister?" After she had said that, not only did Ye Shan, Ye Zhen and Ye Lin but Ye Ying also showed a tinge of envy through her eyes. There was no pressure from elders in the manor, nor was there sister-in-law to deal with. That was simply the dream of each newly-wed woman.
But thinking of Mo Xiu Yao"s condition, Ye Ying felt better about her own situation. Compared with being laughed at and pitied for, wasn"t it more tolerable to swallow a bit hardship at home?
"It seems that you and Prince Ding"s relationship is truly in a good shape, third sister. You are so fortunate." Ye Zhen sighed in a low voice.
Ye Ying didn"t really believe that and asked suspiciously: "Is Prince Ding really that good-tempered? I"ve heard that usually disabled people are rather difficult to deal with."
Ye Li frowned and said: "His Highness is not hard to get along with." She didn"t know whether Mo Xiu Yao was good-tempered but at the moment they were getting along well.
Ye Ying knew that Ye Li was a little unhappy about what she had said but she had never bowed to Ye Li so the atmosphere suddenly turned strained.
Ye Zhen looked at the two of them and changed the subject: "The palace will hold a farewell banquet for envoys from other countries. Have you received the invitation yet, third sister and forth sister?"
Ye Li shook her head: "No, I haven"t."
Ye Lin laughed: "Those envoys have come for congratulating you and His Highness on your wedding, third sister. His Highness and you are going to attend the banquet even if n.o.body else is invited. But how come you know it ahead of third sister and forth sister, big sister?"
Ye Zhen smiled: "His Majesty asked my husband to prepare this banquet so I know about it earlier."
Ye Shan"s eyes turned bright and said: "Big sister, are you going to attend the banquet as well?"
Ye Zhen nodded a little shyly and happily: "My husband said that he would bring me with him to the palace this time." Then she threw Ye Li a grateful look. Apparently, the eldest son of Marquis Nan would decide to take a concubine like her to the palace and attend the palace banquet all because of her sister who had recently become Princess Ding. Though she was just a concubine but Ye Zhen had an increasing feeling that she could hold her ground in Marquis Nan"s Manor. After all, even the legitimate consort of her husband didn"t have a sister who was Lady of Bright Deportment and two sisters who were princesses. On top of that, if she could give birth to a son, she would even have the chance to match the legitimate consort in the future.
"Huh, even if big sister could go, you couldn"t." Ye Ying glanced at Ye Shan and said coldly.
Ye Shan blushed at once and said with embarra.s.sment: "That...that"s not what I"m thinking of, forth sister."
Ye Ying didn"t even look at her and said: "Who have the time to care about what you think? Some people just don"t see clearly their positions."
"You!" Ye Shan said with her eyes red, tears welling up in her eyes. She could only run out of the yard in the end. Ye Ying was beyond mean to have said that. Though she was talking to Ye Shan, what she had said made Ye Lin ill at ease as well. Ye Lin looked at Ye Shan who ran away and went after her. Even Ye Zhen turned gloomy.
Ye Li turned to Ye Ying with a strange look then she turned to Ye Zhen.
Ye Zhen had no choice but to sigh slightly: "Forth sister, you shouldn"t let out your anger on sixth sister even though you are not in a good mood."
Ye Ying squeezed the handkerchief in her hand and laughed coldly: "Not in a good mood? Big sister, you can ask third sister if she will be happy if she"s in my shoes."
"Misses. Old Lady has invited Princess Ding over for a little chat." A maid from Rong Le Hall brought them the ma.s.sage.
Ye Ying glanced at Ye Li and sneered: "Third sister, didn"t you want to know what happened to me? You"ll know it when you are there."
Ye Li shook her head. Standing up, she looked at Ye Ying and said: "Forth sister, it"s only ok for you to act with such a bad temper when you are at home. Why are you still like this after you are married...? Do you think Lady w.a.n.g could protect whenever and wherever you are?"
Ye Ying"s face turned pale. She turned her face away from Ye Li and remained silent. Ye Li didn"t force her. Though the same blood ran in their veins, she didn"t have the same affection for those sisters as she had for her cousins and those cousins of Xu Family. If Ye Ying listened to her, Ye Li would like to give her some advice, but if not, she didn"t have any idea about what to do next either.