Chapter 42: A Wedding filled with Bad Luck (Middle)
Though it was her sister"s grand wedding, Ye Li was not required to go. However, Mo Xiu Yao had sent Third Feng over with news; Ye Li believed that when the time came, there would be a good show to watch. Additionally, she felt it necessary to personally talk with her fiance over the matter of Han Ming Yue. If the conversation was smooth, it would help to build trust between the two. Changing into the appropriate attire, Ye Li sent someone to inform Old Madam of her plans. She had not even made it out the door yet when a servant reported that Prince Ding had come to escort her. The Old Madam understood it was inconvenient for Mo Xiu Yao and did not dare to delay, rushing Ye Li out.
Arriving at the main gates of Ye Manor, sure enough, there was a horse-drawn carriage marked with the symbol of Prince Ding of the First Rank"s Manor stopped at the door. The young bodyguard called Ah Jin saw Ye Li and immediately came forward, "Ah Jin greets Princess Consort."
Ye Li was a bit embarra.s.sed. Although this was their second meeting, Ye Li could see that this young man name Ah Jin was not very clever. She nodded her head, said "Sorry for the trouble," and stepped into the carriage.
Mo Xiu Yao sat inside with his head leaning against the carriage, reading the book in his hand. Seeing Ye Li enter, he readily placed the book aside. He faintly laughed and said: "Sit, did last night startle you?"
Ye Li sat down across from him. “I was fortunate. Sorry for troubling you." She laughed and said.
Mo Xiu Yao suddenly looked like he was reminded of something interesting. The smile on his face had a hint more sincerity. "Fortunately, I rushed over; otherwise, I would not know that Princess Consort had such methods."
Ye Li shrugged, expressing a "do not care" att.i.tude. She did not particularly care that her true nature had been seen by Mo Xiu Yao. After all, they will be husband and wife in the future. Even if there were many things she wanted to hide, she wouldn"t be able to. "Just a bit of skill, letting the Prince see a joke."
Mo Xiu Yao frowned, "Are we going to keep calling each other Prince this or Princess Consort that?"
Ye Li looked at him somewhat puzzled. "Then, how should we address each other? Lord? Master? Husband? Your Highness?" Not even finished speaking, Ye Li was scared enough to shiver. Usually hearing others use these forms of addresses, it didn"t feel out of the ordinary; but when it was her turn, it turned out so awkward? Compared to these names, Ye Li would rather use Prince and Princess Consort.
"You can call me by my name." Mo Xiu Yao chuckled.
"Mo…Xiu Yao?"
"Xiu Yao," Mo Xiu Yao corrected. "Then, can I call you Ah Li?"
Ye Li nodded; fortunately, he did not choose to call her Li-er. To be honest, other than her elders, she is not accustomed to such an intimate form of address.
"Yesterday, I let that person go. You don"t mind, right?" Ye Li faced Mo Xiu Yao and said.
Mo Xiu Yao shook his head. His expression light and carefree. "Don"t mind. After all, you do not care about those things and Han Ming Yue is not so easily provoked."
Ye Li furrowed her brows, "It would seem like you are not surprised by his relationship with Han Ming Yue?"
"During my teenage years, there was some friendship between Han Ming Yue and me."
Ye Li understood. Being able to make Mo Xiu Yao admit to this friendship, it must not be ordinary.
"My Prince, we have arrived at Prince Li"s Manor."
The two people inside, one word after another, had arrived outside Prince Li"s Manor. The two weren"t people that spoke much, but Ye Li discovered that talking to Mo Xiu Yao would definitely not be boring.
"Ah Li."
Ye Li prepared to disembark, but Mo Xiu Yao called her back.
Ye Li turned her head around, looking at him a bit confused. Mo Xiu Yao calmly returned her gaze, "Are you really ready?"
"What did I need to prepare?" Ye Li raised her eyebrows. At the moment, she couldn"t remember if she had forgotten anything.
Mo Xiu Yao became a bit dazed. His lips perked with a faint smile, "Nothing. Let us go."
Prince Ding had personally come to congratulate; naturally, Prince Li"s Manor could not be neglectful. Especially, Prince Ding had not been seen in public for nearly eight years within the capital. Now, he personally came to Prince Li"s wedding. It could be said that he was giving Prince Li enough face. In accordance with seniority rankings within the royal family, though Prince Ding and Prince Li were about the same age, Prince Ding had a higher position. So, not only Prince Li but other members of the royal family in attendance had to come out to welcome Prince Ding. Prince Ding"s Manor did not put on any airs. Under the eyes of everyone, the first person to descend from the carriage was a maiden in purple. The dress was the color of lavender, embroidered with elegant lotus flowers; Silky black hair was loosely rolled up with a sparkling b.u.t.terfly hairpin made of gems. Just from a side view, everyone could see an elegant and heavenly face in simple clothes. Very quickly, two guards came to lift the curtains on the carriage. As light as a feather, they brought Mo Xiu Yao and his wheelchair off the carriage. Mo Xiu Yao glanced at the somewhat stunned people lining up in front of Prince Li"s Manor. He looked over at Ye Li and reached his hand out.
Ye Li ignored Mo Xiu Yao"s tight grip on her hand. From behind, Ah Jin pushed the wheelchair towards the main gates of Prince Li"s Manor.
Cough. "…Greetings to Prince Ding of the First Rank."
Finally, someone reacted and aimed a glare at Prince Li who saw Prince Ding approaching but stood motionless. The person recovered and coughed lightly, reminding his master to go and welcome the guest.
"Greetings to Prince Ding of the First Rank."
"Today is Prince Li"s wedding. There is no need for the ceremonies." Mo Xiu Yao said. He looked at Mo Jing Li and continued, "Jing Li, congratulations."
"Thank you." Mo Jing Li gritted out each syllable, staring fiercely at Ye Li at Mo Xiu Yao"s side.
Mo Xiu Yao frowned, "Not inviting us in?"
Mo Jing Li could only turn sideways and invite the two in. In the end, his mouth wouldn’t spit out an extra word. Mo Xiu Yao clearly understood Mo Jing Li"s temperament.
He looked up and said to Ye Li: "Let"s go in."
Ye Li smiled and nodded. She followed and entered Prince Li"s Manor. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Feng Zhi Yao standing in the corner, looking at the three of them enter a smile blossomed on his face … asking for a beating.
Entering Prince Li"s Manor, Dowager Imperial Concubine Xian Zhao had personally come to wait and greet them. Seeing Mo Xiu Yao and Ye Li coming in side by side, her eyes flashed. She quickly stood and smiled, "Li-er"s grand wedding. It is rare to see Xiu Yao personally come. It has brought honor to Prince Li"s Manor. It would seem that the relationship between Xiu Yao and your future Princess Consort is very good. Wait until it is your wedding, this seat will personally send a gift."
Mo Xiu Yao slightly nodded, the half of his face exposed showed respect and gentleness. "Have let Dowager Imperial Concubine waited. When the time comes, Xiu Yao would definitely wait for Dowager Imperial Concubine and Jing Li"s arrival."
Ye Li quietly stood next to Mo Xiu Yao and did not open her mouth to interfere. Don"t know why, since the last time she greeted Dowager Imperial Concubine Xian Zhao, this seemingly graceful Dowager Imperial Concubine made her feel that she needed to be vigilant.
"There are no outsiders here; Ye Family"s Third Young Miss should also sit." Though Dowager Imperial Concubine Xian Zhao was conversing with Mo Xiu Yao, she didn"t forget about Ye Li.
Ye Li lightly said "thank you." She sat next to Mo Xiu Yao, but unfortunately, it was right across from Mo Jing Li. She didn"t need to look to be able to feel Mo Jing Li fiercely glaring at her. In this kind of situation, having someone stare so intently, it made Ye Li a bit angrier. Wasn"t a person getting married supposed to be busy? Why is this Mo Jing Li so free as to sit around, watching people gossip?
"Oh Jing Li, what is this? Why are you staring so intently at Ye Family"s Third Young Miss?" A harsh voice sounded in the hall.
Ye Li frowned and looked up at the person. In this great hall, there were only 7-8 people. However, Dowager Imperial Concubine Xian Zhao personally accompanied everyone; of course, these guests weren"t ordinary. At least not someone like a maiden from the Minister"s Manor, like Ye Li, could offend. The person that spoke had Pheonix eyes and stared intently at Ye Li. On her body was a silk shirt with a peony on top, showcasing her extraordinary ident.i.ty. Ye Li had just uttered a sound and the people who were originally focused on Mo Xiu Yao turned their gaze to her.
The person with Pheonix eyes did not want to let go of her intentions. A cold light gleamed in her eyes. She chuckled loudly, "Speaking of which, this seat had almost forgotten. Isn"t Ye Family"s Third Young Miss the former fiance of Jing Li?"
"Mo Jing Li is probably just curious about the newly crowned most talented maiden within the capital. These people sitting, aren"t you just as curious?" The gentle voice of Mo Xiu Yao reverberated throughout the great hall. The sound was soft with not a hint of anger. But the protectiveness in his voice was very clear. Ye Li lowered her head and looked at her hand being held by a larger one, cool and tight.
"Prince Ding is right. Ye Family"s Third Young Miss really give credit to the phrase: not speaking is fine, but once spoken, everyone is amazed. Remembering that year, the temperament of Madam Ye was also calm and noncompet.i.tive. Yet, that kind of scholarly talent, we could all still remember like it was yesterday." An old white-haired Madam sitting at the front laughed and said. Her eyes trained on Ye Li was kind.
Ye Li smiled, "Old Madam has over praised. It is difficult for Ye Li to even touch a shadow of mother"s glory. I just hope to inherent a small portion."
Old Madam nodded in appreciation. "What a good child, knows how to be humble."
"This person is Duke Hua of the First Rank"s Old Madam." Mo Xiu Yao softly introduced to Ye Li.
At this time, Ye Li had a realization. Turned out this person was Tian Xiang"s grandmother.
Afterward, Mo Xiu Yao introduced a few of the people present to Ye Li. It was not by accident that the people present were either highly ranked officials" family or a part of the royal family. The person that originally opened their mouth was the Emperor and Prince Li"s aunt, Eldest Princess Zhao Ren. She was also the biological mother of Princess Rung Hoa of the Second Rank. Remembering the arrogant face of Princess Rong Hua of the Second at the Hundred Flowers Gathering, Ye Li could only let out a long sigh. It"s true. The apple doesn"t fall far from the tree. It’s just, this Princess Zhao Ren obviously had some hostility towards her? For what? The reason couldn"t possibly be Princess Rong Hua, right?
At the moment when Mo Xiu Yao introduced Ye Li to everyone present, the people present secretly reevaluated this Ye Family"s Third Young Miss who was rejected by Prince Li and rea.s.signed to Prince Ding. Prince Ding even personally introduced the most powerful families and aristocrats to her. It could be seen the importance Prince Ding placed upon her. Therefore, except for Prince Li"s increasingly ugly face, the atmosphere within the great hall was just as before, harmonious and friendly.