Queen Dowager Hwanso
im below Wen Tefei and Wei Yianyi is quite mistaken. ";From henceforth sorrow in life flows eastward with the river."; and ";Flowers fall as spring departs; heaven and earth are apart.", could such a...The Imperial Capital Ode 12. The Virtuous and Honorable Consort Dowager
12. The Virtuous and Honorable Consort Dowager
The current matriarch of the Li王府 is not, in fact, the biological mother of Prince Li Mo Jinglei; both he and the current emperor were born to the Empress Dowager. However, the Virtuous and Honorable Consort Dowager is the Empress Dowager's cousin. Unlike other palace consorts who engage in covert or overt competition, these two women have supported each other throughout their lives. The Virtuous and Honorable Consort Dowager once had a daughter, Princess Lin'an, who was married off to the Grand General of the State several years ago and followed him to garrison on the frontier. Meanwhile, the Virtuous and Honorable Consort Dowager has been taken care of by Prince Li in the palace. This is also due to the Empress Dowager's concern for her youngest son living alone outside the palace.
After changing into a different set of clothes, Ye Lü followed the housekeeper lady to Lady Elder Mother’s Rongle Hall where everyone was enjoying pleasant company. Lady Elder Mother was sitting with the Virtuous and Honorable Consort Dowager, while Wang Shi naturally brought Ye Ying over to accompany them on one side; there were also several other noblewomen seated below the main seating arrangement. What surprised Ye Lü the most was that Mo Jinglei was actually seated under the consort dowager’s position as well. After a moment of surprise, Ye Lü vaguely recalled that this world did not have the same strict gender separation rules she had heard about in her previous life; there were no regulations prohibiting men and women from meeting before marriage either. Of course, for young ladies from noble families to meet their fiancés would still require the presence of maidservants or wet nurses. Otherwise, how could Ye Ying have had an opportunity to fraternize with Mo Jinglei.
"Your subject's daughter greets Consort Dowager and Prince Li. Greetings, grandmother. Your subject pays respects to all present ladies."
The lady sitting at the high seat exuded noble and imposing manners. Her phoenix-like eyes were slightly raised, and although she was no longer young, her well-preserved face showed no signs of worry or frown. The Virtuous昭Tai妃 (a title for a respected imperial consort) wasn’t exceptionally beautiful but won over people with her grace and nobility.
"Old Lady, is this the Third Miss" After taking a look at Ye Li, the Tai妃 turned to ask Ye’s matriarch.
The matriarch smiled apologetically and replied, "That's right, Your Excellency. This is my third daughter."
The Tai妃 nodded with a smile, saying, "What a vivacious girl! It’s just too bad… it seems that our Li兒 (a nickname) wasn't fortunate enough to be born into this family." She then praised Ye Li while pulling her closer and slipping an ice jade bracelet from her wrist onto Ye Li's. This caused the corner of Ye Ying’s eyes to darken as she stood beside Lady Wang.
Ye Li didn’t dare accept such a precious item, hurriedly declining with gratitude: "Thank you for Your Excellency's praise, but this kind of valuable thing suits Your Excellency better, I wouldn't dare to keep it." The Tai妃 pressed her hand down, feigning anger and said, "Are you insulting my bracelet This bracelet was a gift from the late emperor. As an old lady, I think younger people should wear such jewelry; it makes me happy too." If she refused again after being told that this was a gift from the late emperor, wouldn’t that be tantamount to despising his things Ye Li finally accepted with a slight bow and smile: "Thank you for Your Excellency's gift. I will cherish it carefully."
The Tai妃 seemed very satisfied with Ye Li’s performance and released her after nodding approvingly. Only then did Ye Li walk in proper order to stand by Lady Wang, beside Ye Ying.
The few ladies who came with the Duchess Dowager were surprised to see Ye Li. The reputation of Miss Ye Three was almost as famous in the capital as that of the renowned beauty, Ye Ying, but while one possessed all-around talent and virtue, the other had none of these qualities, which made it hard for people to believe they belonged to the same family. However, this Miss Ye Three seemed to be a peculiar person who hardly ever attended gatherings of young ladies in the capital. People only knew that after her eldest stepmother's death, she had been sickly and rarely appeared in public. Today, seeing Miss Ye Three with a clear and graceful appearance and elegant manners made them think back to the lady from the Xu family, one of the prestigious clans, who was married into the Ye household. How could such a refined woman have gained such a bad reputation that she had lost her marriage to Prince Li and been given instead to Prince Ding Her life seemed ruined.
Ye Li stood respectfully behind Lady Wang, not noticing Mo Jinglei’s dark expression from the moment he entered the room. While listening to everyone flattering the Duchess Dowager, Ye Li stared at her crystal-clear jade bracelet on her wrist and thought quickly. If the Duchess Dowager liked her or felt guilty about Prince Li breaking off their engagement and thus gave her a relic of the late emperor upon first meeting, she wouldn’t believe it even if others did. Moreover, just now, the Duchess Dowager had casually mentioned Prince Li while Ye Ying and Mo Jinglei were both present, obviously trying to make Ye Li feel awkward. Then what was the purpose behind the Duchess Dowager’s behavior
"Old ladies like us talking here must be boring for you young people. Why don’t Miss Three and Miss Four take Prince Li out for a walk" The Benevolent and Wise Consort suddenly changed the subject, speaking with a pleasant smile.
Hearing this, Lady Wang’s expression turned stiff, as did Ye Ying's face. The Elder Lady Ye was taken aback but quickly regained her composure and said, "What the Duchess Dowager says makes sense. It’s my fault for not thinking it through, keeping Prince Li here to waste his time with us. Ying’er, Li’er…"
Ye Li's heart skipped a beat as she stepped forward and smiled at her grandmother: “Grandmother, Fourth Sister and His Highness are naturally fond of each other, so they can’t help but miss each other. I wouldn't dare to be the one to light up a big red lantern just for the sake of annoying others.” She then stuck out her tongue in Ye Li’s direction and made a silly face, which was somewhat disarming given that she normally had an unassuming demeanor. This caught both Lady Wang and the Elder Lady Ye off guard. With her thoughts called out, Ye Ying blushed furiously and shot Ye Li a glare before shyly looking at Mo Jinglei from the corner of her eye; her beautiful face tinged with red was breathtakingly beautiful. Mo Jinglei’s expression darkened further upon hearing what Ye Li said, and he coldly sniffed as he stood up to say to Ye Li: “It’s good that you know your place.”
Ye Li raised an eyebrow but kept her smile as she replied sweetly, "What does Your Highness mean I’m quite considerate. How could I possibly disturb Fourth Sister and Brother-in-Law's time together I think it would be better for me to stay here with Grandmother, the Duchess Dowager, and all the ladies. This granddaughter admires the Duchess Dowager’s grace and hopes she won’t find me annoying."
Taifei took a deep look at Ye Li and smiled, saying, "If that's the case, why don't you stay here then."
Mojingli snorted and led Ye Ying away. Naturally, Ye Ying followed him with great joy. Taifei watched the serene young lady in front of her and subtly frowned before relaxing again and continuing to chat with Lady Ye.
Ye Li stood behind Madam Wang feeling bored out of her mind. She listened to the chitchat among the noblewomen from the capital city while silently reciting a few chapters of The Art of War twice. This habit had been formed in her previous life. In her previous life, Ye Li came from a military family; her great-grandfather was from a poor background and participated in the Anti-Japanese War. Simply put, he was a rough person. But this rough man despised being called one, so since Ye Li's father's generation onwards, they were all cultivated to be scholarly generals. The old man had the biggest hobby of making his younger generations recite books—books filled with archaic language like "zhi," "hu," and "ze." Unable to bear this torment, most of the younger generations went to schools far away during exams, never returning home even on holidays. But after years of such upbringing, it was indeed beneficial for them.
All the ladies present were influential figures in the capital city, though they looked amiable and chatted idly, none ignored Ye Li standing behind Madam Wang. The longer they watched her, the more they noticed that this Third Miss Ye seemed different from what they had heard about her. No matter what was being said, she showed no signs of curiosity or surprise on her face; not even when talking about Prince Li's engagement to Fourth Miss Ye did she look aggrieved or resentful. Whether it was because she really didn't feel these emotions or just acted like she didn't, the fact that such insightful people couldn't see through her was a remarkable ability in itself. Such equanimity would be rare even among men, let alone maiden ladies.
"Speaking of which, Third Miss is rarely seen around town; are you planning to attend this year's Hundred Flowers Festival" Ye Li was silently reciting when an elderly lady suddenly asked her.s and the birth of a prince in the Ding household, anyone who can make it will not miss this grand occasion.In the Ding王府 (Ding Prince’s Mansion) inside the city, Mr. Qingyun and Su Zhe are sitting un...