Chapter 89: A Drastic Twist at the Wedding (1)
Translator: asa.s.sin
The reputation of Prince Li's Manor had been tainted by its last wedding so this time Consort Xian Zhao had gone through a lot of trouble hoping to restore its name. The wedding of marrying a consort was no less lavish than that of marrying a legitimate princess. However, since Princess Ling Yun was the princess of a country, n.o.body could find fault with the arrangement which made Ye Ying's originally gloomy mood even worse.
At the day of the wedding, Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao arrived at Princess Li's Manor together. Mo Jing Li greeted them himself at the gate. Ye Li found that Mo Jing Li was as gloomy as he ever was, not happy at all. If it hadn't been his bright red wedding robe and handsome appearance, she was afraid that those guests would have gone back home and change to a black or white robe… before attending the wedding.
Now, Ye Li did feel sorry for Ye Ying. Mo Jing Li wasn't born indifference but was used to be pretentious. If anyone dare to act more dead than alive on her wedding, she was going to kick him to death no matter it was in her previous incarnation or this life.
Signaling to Mo Jing Li to let them be, Mo Xiu Yao and Ye Li went inside with the company of the manor's chief steward. Mo Jing Li didn't have time for them to be honest. Consort Xian Zhao not only arranged a most ostentatious wedding but also invited Empress dowager to host it which was probably for restoring the reputation of Prince Li's Manor. This was a rare opportunity to fawn on the Empress dowager so those n.o.bles and officials in the capital, no matter having or not having received an invitation did everything possible to come with congratulations. For the time being, Prince Li's Manor was crowded as a market place with guests coming from all directions.
“What's the matter? What are you thinking about, Ah Li?” Next to him, Ye Li looked strangely confused. Mo Xiu Yao asked with a smile.
Ye Li shook her head and smiled: “Nothing. I'm just wondering if Prince Li only has one expression all year round. Isn't today his wedding day?” If it were other people, they might think Mo Jing Li was unhappy about the sanction of this marriage by His Majesty.
Mo Xiu Yao looked back at Mo Jing Li, who was standing by the gate and laughed: “Jing Li doesn't like to smile since he was little. Those who know him well learned about that a long time ago.”
Ye Li didn't care about it that much.
Before the ceremony began, male guests were separated from female guests so once they were inside the manor, there were stewards leading them to where they ought to be.
A stewardess of Prince Li's Manor guided Ye Li to the inner manor. Other female guests that were here for the ceremony gathered around a pavilion inside the garden of the manor. Walking across the garden where n.o.ble ladies gathered in twos and threes, Ye Li was led to an elegant pavilion in the east of the garden in which there were highborn and senior ladies with Consort Xian Zhao and Ye Ying accompanying them. Ye Li sighed to herself when she saw the bitterness on Ye Ying's face and hidden unhappiness between Consort Xian Zhao's eyebrows. Both Ye Ying and Ye Yue were w.a.n.g-shi's daughters and were bewitchingly charming. Why did they differ so much? It turned out that Old Lady Ye and Minister Ye were right. Though Ye Ying was more good-looking than Ye Yue, given her personality, she was bound to be torn apart if she was to enter the palace.
“My Lady.” Ye Li went forward and greeted Consort Xian Zhao.
Consort Xian Zhao was about to stand up and greet her but Ye Li wouldn't let that happen. Before Consort Xian Zhao had a chance to speak, Ye Li smiled and said: “Ladies, you are here way early before me while I am the last one to arrive. My Lady, please forgive me for that.”
Consort Xian Zhao moved a bit and sat still. She said proudly with a smile: “Never mind. Your presence brings light to Prince Li's Manor, Princess Ding. I wonder if Prince Ding…”
Ye Li smiled: “His Highness is here, too. But he went to the outer manner first. I think he can only meet you later, My Lady.”
Consort Xian Zhao was full of praise about Ye Li but of course neither of the two took it seriously. Though Consort Xian Zhao wasn't young, she was Mo Xiu Yao's peer in terms of order of seniority so she didn't expect that he would really come and greet her himself.
After a few words of greetings, Ye Li looked around her and found all of them familiar. But Princess Royal Zhao Yang, Princess Royal Zhao Ren and Old Lady Hua didn't arrive yet. Marquise Nan, who was sitting in the front gave her seat to Ye Li. Ye Li thanked her with a smile. Marquise Nan was the mother-in-law of Ye Zhen, the first miss of Ye Family. Her first brother-in-law had left a good impression on Ye Li so she talked a little with Marquise Nan.
Hearing the gossips of the capital from those n.o.ble ladies, Ye Li was able to chip in from time to time. Confusingly, Ye Li found that Ye Ying, who was sitting on the right of Consort Xian Zhao didn't open her mouth at all. She sat there by herself like a beautiful doll. Because of the wedding, Ye Ying was wearing something different from her usual elegant and refined style. She was in a red gown with gold peonies. However, it made her less natural and somewhat awkward in the eyes of others. It had to be said that Ye Ying was nothing near a legitimate daughter of a n.o.ble family since she was spoiled by w.a.n.g-shi who let her spend all her brain and time on the four arts, poetry, singing and dancing which in fact girls of n.o.ble families didn't learn about or just learn part of. They had a good enough family which was a guarantee that they would marry a man from a good family. It would be better if they had the reputation of being talented. But when it comes to ability to take control and manage, everyone would choose this.
“Come to think of it, Princess Ding, you haven't been talking with Ying-er for quite some time. Us old women can't ask you to stay with us all this time, doing nothing. Ying-er, take Princess Ding out for a walk.” Consort Xian Zhao was clearly aware that Ye Li was looking at Ye Ying so she didn't give Ye Ying a hard time and directly told her that.
Ye Ying looked at Ye Li and stood up with her lips curled.
Ye Li stood up and smiled to Consort Xian Zhao: “Then, thank you so much, My Lady. Ladies, please excuse me.”
Seeing the sisters leave, Marquise Nan said with a smile: “Well, Princess Ding talk in good taste and act in a controlled manner. If it were a girl of an ordinary family, she would have felt wronged. No wonder that even Old Lady Hua has praised her.” Other ladies repeated their agreement. They all had daughters, if it hadn't been Princess Ding who married Prince Ding, it would have been one of their daughters. Though Prince Ding's Manor was prestigious, Prince Ding didn't have any power or influence in court. Besides, he was a cripple. They would cry their heart out if their daughters married him. Therefore, they couldn't help but are sympathetic to Ye Li. Besides, she was 15 or 16, tops but could remain so calm and collected having married to such a husband. She was indeed a good girl.
On the contrary, the once widely envied Princess Li was a disappointment. Wasn't she the most beautiful woman who was good at all of the four arts? How come she knew nothing about how to treat people and had no sense of propriety. What did Prince Li see in her? She was nothing like that Princess Ding who came from the same family as she did. However, everybody kept this kind of remarks to themselves rather than spill them out in front of Consort Xian Zhao.