The room went silent. Ye Li quietly took the teapot and added more tea for Xu Hong Yu. Then she heard Xu Hong Yu asked: “Well, in such a short time, five or six years, Prince Ding’s Manor was ruined. He could have been a peerless and outstanding general while in reality, he fell into a normal life. The invincible myth of Prince Ding’s Manor came to an end with him. Li-er, do you know that, at first… the conclusion that Mo Xiu Yao was a rare talent of his time, with abilities that could be compared to his ancestors was made by your grandpa? Therefore, your grandpa has been regretting ever making that conclusion for dozens of years.”
“Uncle, what do you mean by that?” Ye Li was stunned. Political conflicts never stopped no matter it was in the past or at the moment. Even now, there were still all kinds of speculations about the fall of Prince Ding’s Manor beneath the surface. But hearing that from her uncle still shocked Ye Li. After that, Ye Li quickly collected herself and said: “Indeed, I heard that Prince Ding was a handsome young man with outstanding military services. So even if grandpa didn’t make that conclusion, there would still be people that target Prince Ding’s Manor. Grandpa was only showing that he valued Prince Ding’s talent and he could not predict what would happen in future. For that… grandpa ‘doesn’t have to blame himself.”
Xu Hong Yu nodded and said: "It’s good for you to have this kind of insight at such a young age. I’m telling you that since I hope that you will understand the situation that Prince Ding’s Manor is in. Although in the eyes of outsiders, Prince Ding’s Manor has already fallen and is only left with an undeserved reputation. However…"
Ye Li looked at him, and finished her uncle’s unsaid words: "But Prince Ding’s Manor still has the cards so that the imperial family can"t easily do anything to harm it?"
"Truly. If it is not because of that, Mo Xiu Yao would have long been died of disease. The reason why His Majesty does not dare to harm him is that he’s afraid to involve or harm the people he does not want to involve or harm. The consecutive deaths of the first two Prince Ding have been suspicious already. If any accident happens again to Mo Xiu Yao, I am afraid that will shake the basis of this dynasty."
Ye Li sighed slightly. Feeling a little cold, she held the cup to get the warmth of it. "Does His Majesty choose me because he fears Xu Family? Is His Majesty not afraid that an alliance by marriage between Xu Family and Prince Ding’s Manor would..."
Xu Hong Yu’s eyes were cold. "Xu Family made an oath that as long as the imperial family does not work against Xu Family, Xu Family will never betray the imperial family."
"Do people really believe in that kind of oaths?" Ye Li was puzzled. Even if a treaty was signed, it could still be torn up at any time, let alone an oath. Xu Hong Yu glanced at her in vexation. "That is written in Xu Family rules. Xu Family has pa.s.sed centuries and has established itself as a family with good faith." Ye Li shrank back and asked in curiosity: "Uncle, that... had Xu Family ever made an oath to the emperor of the former dynasty?"
"Well..." Xu Hong Yu coughed a few times and glared at Ye Li out of embarra.s.sment. Ye Li couldn’t help shrugging her shoulders and held her chin in silence. So, how could a family that has pa.s.sed centuries be so pedantic? It’s not like we are not going to betray anyone. It’s just that the reward of betrayal is not high enough.
Finally, Xu Hong Yu gave Ye Li another angry stare and said in a serious tone: "In short, our family will not abandon the imperial family unless it’s absolutely necessary." Xu Family was not short of reputation, and was never attached to power. The throne? What could a throne possibly do? If one wanted to be a good emperor, one should have the awareness to be exhausted to death. If one acted only out of one’s will, one should be prepared to have one’s name go down in history as a byword for infamy.
"I understand now. Uncle, who do you think wants to destroy the marriage between Prince Ding and me, if it is not His Majesty?" Ye Li asked.
Xu Hong Yu shook his head. "I didn’t know for sure. Qing Chen only told me it was a woman. But we almost looked up all the women that were a.s.sociated with Prince Ding, and didn’t find out who it was. Prince Ding would certainly know who it was. Did he say anything?" When Xu Hong Yu mentioned that, a trace of dissatisfaction pa.s.sed his face. Seeing Ye Li shaking her head, he snorted: "He should know how far to go and when to stop. If anything that should not happen happens, you would be better off without this husband. Xu Family could at least provide for a granddaughter."
“I think it might be some woman that’s in love with Prince Ding.” Ye Li didn’t feel embarra.s.sed in front of Xu Hong Yu and said directly what she suspected.
Xu Hong Yu smiled and looked at her: “Someone that’s in love with Prince Ding? If you are talking about the time when he was still young, for sure. When he was young, at least half of the capital’s young ladies admired him. But…none of them… have the ability to buy Tian Yi Pavilion over. Although Han Ming Yue loves money as his life, he was also a close friend to Prince Ding when he was young. Han Ming Yue couldn’t have provoked Prince Ding’s fiancée just for money."
"So… what about a woman who admires Prince Ding and has a good relationship with Han Ming Yue?"
Xu Hong Yu raised an eyebrow. "There is one, but it couldn’t be her."
Ye Li blinked. Xu Hong Yu calmly put down the teacup and said: “n.o.ble Consort Liu."
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This time it was Ye Li’s turn to cough, “Liu… n.o.ble Consort Liu?"
"What"s so strange about that? n.o.ble Consort Liu was called the most talented woman in the capital. She didn’t even look at your eldest brother and she was only gentle to Prince Ding. It was a pity… At that time, Prince Ding already had someone. Otherwise the two of them would have made a perfect couple. Moreover, n.o.ble Consort Liu was a good painter, and when Han Ming Yue was young, he was the best painter in the capital. The second work of his collection which was called Beauties in the Capital of Great Chu was about n.o.ble Consort Liu, and it is still worth a great fortune even now. However, after n.o.ble Consort Liu entered the palace, that painting was also bought with a high price by His Majesty.” Out of nowhere, Xu Hong Yu gave up those heavy topics, and started to talk about old gossips with Ye Li.
Ye Li thought of the woman with a pair of cold eyes like a pear in the palace. She really deserved to be called “a woman of matchless beauty". "Why do you say it wasn’t her, uncle?"
“Your eldest brother knows n.o.ble Consort Liu. Though he didn’t saw what the woman from last night looked like, and with all the time that has pa.s.sed, he was sure that woman was not n.o.ble Consort Liu. Besides, what kind of place do you think the palace is? There was no way that a n.o.ble Consort could roam around outside the palace in the middle of the night.” Ye Li nodded as if she had learned a lesson. She didn’t really think it was n.o.ble Consort Liu either. Though she sensed her contempt and intentional provocation in the palace, there was not much enmity or animosity in her eyes.
“Who was Mo Xiu Yao’s first fiancée?” Ye Li asked. She was really curious about that. What kind of woman would ever beat an absolute beauty like n.o.ble Consort Liu and won Mo Xiu Yao’s heart? Besides, whoever that was able to become his fiancée must have come from a famous family, but Ye Li couldn’t think of any family that had a beautiful daughter who died untimely seven years ago.
Xu Hong Yu was a little vexed that Ye Li failed to meet his expectations and glanced at her: “Su Zui Die.”
Ye Li nodded, “That name sounds like it belongs to a beautiful woman.”
Xu Hong Yu looked at his niece without any expression. Once again, he regretted not insisting on getting her back to Xu Family to educate her. Look what she had become in Ye Family? He was talking about her future husband’s former fiancée. Though that girl had already died, she should at least show some interest in her. Only by then did it occur to this Mr. Xu with a reputation nationwide that his niece didn’t show any shyness like a girl should have whenever she brought up Prince Ding or Prince Li. She didn’t even blush!
“Which family did this Miss Su come from?” It didn’t occur to Ye Li that any famous family in the capital had a family name of Su.
“What do you think Lord Su was there for when Prince Ding’s Manor held the engagement ceremony?”
“Mr. Su?”
“Su Zui Die was Mr. Su’s granddaughter.” Xu Hong Yu said coolly.
“So what was Mr. Su there for?”
“He was there to see what kind of woman Prince Ding, who was supposed to be his grandson-in-law, marry to. Besides, Su Zui Die’s death hit Prince Ding heavily, who was badly ill himself during that period. Mr. Su treats Prince Ding as his own, so he was there to keep up appearances for Prince Ding’s Manor.”
Seeing that her uncle was discontent, Ye Li had no choice but to smile: “Uncle, I know what you mean. Prince Ding and me, we get on well with each other. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Xu Hong Yu looked at her in disagreement: “What does ‘get on well’ mean? If you are the first to be abandoned when he has to choose, do you call that ‘well’?”
Ye Li smiled thinly: “But, if I have to choose between uncles, grandpa, brothers and Prince Ding, I will not choose Prince Ding either. How long has it been since I know him? Naturally, families are more important to me.”
“You are husband and wife. After all, you are going to spend your life with him, not uncles or grandpa.”
“Uncle, do you think Prince Ding is the kind of man who will give up everything for what he cares about?”
“…Yes, as long as you have his heart.”