Ye Li looked at the girl in the painting for the last time and rolled the scroll back. She was a bit awkward and said: "What should I do with this painting?" Though it was a great painting and was worth a fortune, it wasn"t a good idea to keep it. Even if she wouldn"t feel jealous, she still thought that it wouldn"t be appropriate for her to keep a painting of her husband"s ex fiancée.
Mo Xiu Yao said: "It"s for you and it"s up to you." Ye Li raised her eyebrows. Was he thinking that she would force him to get rid of a painting of his ex fiancée? She just wanted to ask him if he wanted it. She could give it to him if he did.
"I don"t have much interest in paintings or calligraphy. Besides, I won"t feel good about myself seeing a woman that"s much more beautiful than I am day after day."
Mo Xiu Yao considered for a moment and said to Sun mama: "Move it to another box and take this painting to Su Manor later."
Sun mama answered in respect: "Yes, Your Highness." She walked up and got the painting from Ye Li then turned around and handed it to a maid by her side for preparation.
Mo Xiu Yao tilted his head and smiled to Ye Li: "Let"s go. Princess Royal should be up by now." Ye Li nodded. She stood up and held Mo Xiu Yao"s hand. The two of them left together, not noticing that behind them how gratified Sun mama and chief steward were.
"Who do you think has sent that painting?" While they were heading towards the yard that Princess Royal had taken up temporarily, Ye Li asked out of curiosity.
Mo Xiu Yao shook his head and said: "That painting was at first kept in the manor. I planned to send it to Mr. Su. But during that time I was occupied by other businesses. When all things were settled, however, the painting was gone."
Ye Li laughed and said: "This painting by Han Ming Yue is worth several cities. Have you not sent anyone after it? Besides, there was a real unrivalled beauty in it. No wonder that Han Ming Yue dared to name it Reigning Beauty of the Capital of Great Chu."
Mo Xiu Yao lifted his head and looked at her. He hesitated for a while before he finally said: "Talking about painting, I"m as good a painter as Han Ming Yue is. Maybe I can draw you one when you have the time."
Ye Li was stunned. She couldn"t help herself and burst out laughing: "That would be great. Thank you so much."
Princess Royal was already up as expected. As soon as Mo Xiu Yao and Ye Li were at the door, a maid who was close to Princess Royal invited the two inside. Princess Royal was sitting on the couch and having tea. Seeing the two of them, she was all smiles, waving to Mo Xiu Yao she said: "Xiu Yao, come here and let me have a look at you. And Xiu Yao"s wife, come, come here."
Mo Xiu Yao brought Ye Li up close and greeted Princess Royal: "Grand aunt."
Princess Royal pulled Ye Li to her side and let Ye Li sit next to her. She looked Ye Li up and down and nodded again and again with satisfaction, then she said: "Good, good. The hostess of Prince Ding"s Manor ought to look like this. I like you just by looking at you. His Majesty at least did something good this time. Xiu Yao, you get along well with Li-er. If you act willfully and anger Li-er I will sort you out."
Mo Xiu Yao didn"t know whether to laugh or cry. He forced a smile and said: "Grand aunt…"
Ye Li kind of took pleasure in his misfortune. It was rare for her to see him as embarra.s.sed as this. She covered her mouth and laughed up her sleeve. Princess Royal took Ye Li"s hand affectionately and said to her: "Li-er, do you know that when Xiu Yao was a boy he was the naughtiest. He couldn"t stay put for a minute and would go up the roof and take away the tiles. He was one step away from angering his father into fainting. Recently he has adopted a steadier manner. A grown-up is more thoughtful after all. You two get along well together. If anyone bullies you just come to me. I"ll take charge of that for you."
Princess Royal was unexpectedly easy to get along with. Perhaps it was just that Princess Royal was advanced in years and loved to be around young people. She was nothing near the Iron Princess in the stories and was more like an amiable grandma than Old Lady Ye.
Ye Li smiled slightly and said: "Li-er thanks Grand aunt. Xiu Yao won"t take advantage of me." Hearing how Ye Li addressed her, Princess Royal"s eyes lighted up. She was obviously happier and held Ye Li"s hand talking endless about Mo Xiu Yao"s awkward incidents when he was a little boy. Mo Xiu Yao sat there, the corner of his mouth twitching, which was rare for him. He couldn"t stop Princess Royal nor could he walk away. He had no choice but to sit there listening to Princess Royal sold him out and receiving the strange ridicule from Ye Li. Princess Royal clearly paid no attention to how Mo Xiu Yao or Ye Li felt since she even talked about Su Zui Die directly, who was Mo Xiu Yao"s crush when he was a young man.
Ye Li felt a bit awkward, however, seeing that Mo Xiu Yao wasn"t going to stop Princess Royal, she could only hear it from her. It seemed that Princess Royal didn"t notice the looks on their faces. She held Ye Li"s hand and told Mo Xiu Yao: "I"ve told you before. That girl of Su Family wasn"t a good choice for you. Look at Li-er, even you have to admit that I"ve made a better choice than you did. What do you say?"
"Grand aunt…" Mo Xiu Yao had a bitter laugh. "Grand aunt, I have to take Ah Li to pay our respects to Father Prince and Mother Princess. You… how about you talk with Ah Li in private when you have the time?"
Princess Royal lowered her head and thought about it. In the end, she said: "Right, you go and serve tea to your father and mother. Then remember to write Li-er"s name in the family record. I will head back later. Li-er, when you have the time don"t forget to visit me."
Ye Li smiled and said: "Aren"t you staying for a few more days, grand aunt?"
Princess Royal sighed: "I"m old and I am not used to stay away from home. You can always visit and live at my manor after the first few months of your marriage." Since Princess Royal said that, Mo Xiu Yao and Ye Li obviously couldn"t ask her to stay longer. Mo Xiu Yao took Ye Li to burn joss sticks before the manor"s ancestors" spirit tablets. Then they had lunch with Princess Royal before seeing her out.
In the afternoon, Mo Xiu Yao went to the study by himself. Ye Li also had a lot to deal with so she went back to her yard. Seeing the manor went back to its usual silence, Ye Li felt what happened was no more than a dream. Within one day she had moved from Ye Manor to Prince Ding"s Manor and had got married and become Princess Ding. Besides, she seemed to adapt to this new life completely.
Since she just got married, the stewards of the manor were sensible enough not to disturb her with a bunch of ch.o.r.es and accounts at once. So Ye Li just needed to take care of the people in her yard and her dowry. When she was back, Sun mama was chatting with Lin mama and Wei mama while waiting for her. Seeing Ye Li Sun mama hurriedly walked up to her and greeted: "Princess."
Ye Li smiled and said: "Sun mama, you used to work for Mother Princess and you are trusted by His Highness so you don"t have to be so polite."
Sun mama was rather reserved and answered: "Princess, thank you for your kindness but I couldn"t overstep etiquette. I"ve followed His Highness"s order and chosen some people to serve you. Princess, you can keep those you like in your yard." After saying that, she took out a list from her sleeve and handed it to Ye Li. On the list were the names of the people who were given to her.
Sun mama continued: "A princess need four leading maids by her side, another two maids who are responsible for clothes and jewelry and two more in charge of meals. Another four for needle work and eight secondary maids in the yard. Sixteen lower maids for manual labor. Princess, two mamas could take care of the secondary and lower maids. I think it would be best for you to handle the maids who are responsible for clothes, jewelry as well as meals."
While they were talking, several girls in maid dresses walked in. they bent their knees and greeted Ye Li respectfully: "Princess."
Ye Li lowered her head and looked at the list that Sun mama gave her. On it were not only the names and ages of the girls but also their backgrounds. It listed clearly on it who was in their families. And they were all born in the manor. Ye Li nodded and gave one list to Lin mama and Wei mama and let them take care of the secondary and lower maids. She turned and smiled to Sun mama and said: "Sun mama, I trust your choice." She pointed at several names at random and those girls who were chose walked up and thanked her. Ye Li asked Qing Shuang to bring out several pockets with silver ingots and rewarded each chosen maid with a pocket.
After she was done with the maids, Ye Li invited Sun mama to sit down and talk. Sun mama was exactly like what Mo Xiu Yao said, and told Ye Li everything she wanted to know. Ye Li hesitated for quite a while before she finally asked: "Sun mama, except for my sister-in-law, is there… any other woman in the manor?"
Sun mama was stunned but soon realized what Ye Li meant and smiled: "Princess, there"s no other woman apart from two concubines who serve the first lady." Ye Li looked awkwardly at Sun mama who had a strange smile on her face and nodded with understanding. Mo Xiu Yao didn"t have any concubine which save her a lot of trouble. Not considering those foreseeable troubles in the future, Ye Li found that her life in Prince Ding"s Manor was as perfect as she had imagined. She got along with her husband and he didn"t meddle with her privacy. She didn"t have elder members in the family to whom she needed to visit in the morning and evening. She didn"t have sisters-in-law to deal with and talk to. There wasn"t even any concubine who she might be jealous of. If life could keep going like that she was going to appreciate Mo Jing Li for breaking off their engagement and the emperor for unnecessarily sanction this marriage.
"Your Highness."
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Ah Jin looked curiously at Mo Xiu Yao who was staring blankly at the book. Ah Jin was a little slow but since he had been by Mo Xiu Yao"s side when he was young, he could tell when Mo Xiu Yao was really thinking about something and when he was just in a trance. Mo Xiu Yao"s eyes moved. He looked up at Ah Jin and asked: "What?"
Ah Jin rubbed the back of his head a bit distressed and said: "Your Highness… how about you go and check on princess?"