Capital Rhapsody 34: The Great Confucian Scholars of This Generation

  Prominent Confucian Scholars of the Current Generation

  The Xu family's several young masters, under the full guidance of their eldest brother Xu Qingchen, had a cordial meeting with Ye Shangshu and Ye Old Lady. As for Wang Shi, who was sitting on one side and tried to speak up several times but couldn't get a word in edgewise, she was deliberately ignored. After the event, the fifth young master of the Xu family stated that his grandfather did not have the habit of chatting with other people's concubines. Indeed, in the eyes of the Xu family, Wang Shi had never been recognized as the legitimate wife. Not to mention the grudges between Wang Shi and the late Madam Xu, the Xu family itself did not acknowledge the practice of promoting a concubine to the position of legitimate wife. This may also be related to the fact that for generations, the Xu family had rarely taken in concubines, except for a few individual cases. If Wang Shi were truly a virtuous and frugal lady from a prestigious family, they would have given her some respect, but unfortunately, she did not possess these virtues.

  Afterwards, Xu Qingchen tactfully expressed his father's longing for his niece, whom he had not seen in many years, and requested that Ye Lian come to the Xu family's secondary estate to stay for a while. Old Lady Ye naturally refused without hesitation, stating that Ye Lian was about to get married and needed to stay at home before the wedding. Xu Qingchen then stated that because his aunt had passed away early, his grandfather feared that after his cousin got married, she would not be taken care of and would be looked down upon by her in-laws. He specially asked Second Aunt to invite several ladies from the capital who were skilled in managing a household to instruct Ye Lian. Several matrons were also sent over to re-teach Ye Lian etiquette. After all... outsiders had been saying that the third young lady of the Ye family was a talentless, virtue-less, and appearance-less "three-nothing" noblewoman. From this, it can be seen that Ye Lian needed strict instruction in terms of etiquette, demeanor, and speech.

  Looking at Old Lady Ye's reluctant expression, a look of having grievances that cannot be spoken. Ye Li reaffirmed that when dealing with old people like Old Lady Ye, it is absolutely impossible to have a hard and bitter confrontation. Looking at her own cousin's elegant and polite demeanor, who would not believe that this is an absolutely gentle and polite junior listening to the opinions of his elders? But looking at Old Lady Ye's absolutely unlovely expression, can she really come up with any opinions? Even the idea of Old Lady Ye wanting Ye Shan and Ye Lin to accompany Ye Li to the Xu family's villa was rejected by Xu Qingyan with a smile, saying that it would affect the reputation of the two young ladies. All they could do was watch as Ye Li was taken out of the Ye family gate by several young masters from the Xu family.

  As soon as they left the Ye family, everyone seemed to relax a lot, even Xu Qingze, who had been cold-faced all along, showed a faint smile. The estrangement between the siblings that had not seen each other for many years seemed to disappear instantly. As for Xu Qingyan, who was too young to have an impression of Ye Li, he was naturally familiar and soon became close like siblings who grew up together since childhood. Because the current head of the Xu family, Xu Qingchen, Xu Qingbai, and Xu Qingyan's father, Ye Li's second uncle Xu Hongyu, did not want to make too much noise, they did not stay in his brother's imperial censor's mansion, but instead went directly to a relatively small villa of the Xu family in the capital. Therefore, Ye Li and her entourage also headed straight for the Xu family villa.

  "Big Uncle..."

  Seeing the middle-aged man in front of him who was still elegant and refined, Ye Li called out in a low voice.

  Xu Hongyu looked at his little niece, who had been pampered since childhood, and saw that her face was 70% similar to his late sister's, but with a few more strong features. He couldn't help but let out a light sigh, beckoning to Ye Li: "Li'er has worked hard these years, Uncle knows all about what happened in the capital. With me around, who dares to bully you?" Ye Li also felt her eyes getting slightly sour, forcing a smile: "With Second Uncle here, who would dare to bully Li'er? I just miss Big Uncle and Grandpa." Xu Hongyu glanced at his brother sitting on the side with some dissatisfaction, saying: "If he was useful, could he have let those two women from the Ye family be so arrogant?" Xu Hongyan also knew his older brother's temper, but could only smile bitterly and say: "Big Brother is right to scold me, it's just that I didn't take good care of Li'er."

  "Uncle!" Ye Li shook her uncle's arm. She had no pressure at all when it came to acting cute in front of her uncle, after all, she had been doing that since she was a kid. Who let her be a real child back then? And also the only child in the entire Xu family who wasn't afraid of her uncle.

  Xu Hongyu gently rubbed the back of Ye Li's head and smiled: "Alright, Uncle was just joking. You little girl hasn't seen me in so many years but only sticks to your Second Uncle."

  "Not at all, Lier has always missed her uncle and grandfather."

  "Then your grandfather wants you to go to Yunzhou, are you still daring to decline?"

  “……”

  Accompanied by her two uncles for a while, Xu Hongyu asked Xu Qingyan to take her to the already prepared room and meet the two ayis who had been waiting for a long time. Ye Li also knew that her uncle and cousins probably had something to say, so she followed Xu Qingyan obediently.

  Ye Li's room had been set up long ago, in the quietest courtyard at the back of the other mansion. The Xu family's residence, whether it was the Imperial Censor's Mansion, the former Xu Mansion in the capital, or this other mansion, all shared a simple yet elegant and atmospheric style that suited Ye Li's taste perfectly. As soon as she stepped through the gate, someone came to greet her, "Miss!"

  Two neatly dressed aunts came forward, and when they saw Ye Li, they couldn't help but stare for a moment, their eyes welling up with tears.

  "Lin Niang... wet nurse..." Ye Li called out. Lin Niang had been her mother's personal maid since she was a child and was almost fifty years old now. Ye Li's wet nurse was also a servant born into the Xu family and was over forty this year. Ye Li still remembered how when she tried to send Lin Niang and Wei Niang back to the Xu family, they had knelt in front of her, begging not to be sent away, even if it meant death. Although from then on until she met Qingfeng, there hadn't been anyone by her side that she could trust, Ye Li didn't regret it. Because she was very clear that at that time, having just recovered her memories and with a mind still confused and a body extremely weak, she couldn't protect these two people who were truly good to her.

  "Miss... Miss..." Two ayis walked quickly to Ye Li's side, Lin Ayi said with tears: "Miss has finally grown up... and looks just like Big Miss..."

  Wei's feelings for Ye Li were deeper, after all, Ye Li was the one she had personally taken care of since childhood. "Wu wu... I'm sorry, young mistress, for letting you be alone in the Ye manor for so many years. Fortunately... fortunately, young mistress is fine..."

  Ye Li sighed inwardly, still a bit awkward in dealing with such situations, and could only clumsily persuade the two matrons. Xu Qingyan watched Ye Li's slightly stiff demeanor from the side and secretly laughed, even more convinced that the Ye family had wronged their own cousin. "Cough cough. Lin Matron, Wei Matron, from now on you'll be following Miss Ye around. It's not suitable to stay here for a long time. Why don't we go inside and talk slowly?" Reminded by Xu Qingyan, the two matrons hastily wiped away their tears and nodded repeatedly: "Young Master Xu is right, it was our fault. Quick, miss, take a look at your room and see if you like it. If not, we can change it."

  Watching Ye Li being dragged away by two matrons, Xu Qingyan was stunned for a moment, rolled his eyes at the sky before turning around and walking out.

  Ye Li was pulled into her own room to endure the enthusiasm of two ayis, while the atmosphere in the study of the other courtyard seemed somewhat chilly.

  Xu Hongyu sat behind the desk, looking at his younger brother with a smile on his lips, but for some reason, Xu Qingfeng and Xu Qingbai couldn't help but shiver. "So, does Prince Li think that Lier is not worthy of him and has turned to flirt with Ye Jia's fourth miss? And does the Emperor think that Lier's reputation as a 'three-nothing' golden girl and the shame of being abandoned by Prince Li can be used to humiliate King Ding?"

  Everyone couldn't help but twitch at the corner of their mouths. Flirting... Grandpa (Dad), you are a great scholar in this world, can't you speak more elegantly?

  Xu Hongyan nodded and said, "Indeed it is."

  It seemed that the air pressure in the study was not low enough, and Xiu Qingchen, sitting at the lower seat, took out a letter from his sleeve with an even more elegant smile than his father's: "Just earlier today, King Li publicly stated in Chuxiang Pavilion that no matter how much Lier flaunts her popularity, he will absolutely not marry her."

  Xu Qingyan just slipped in and leaned against his fourth brother's back without a trace.

  Xu Hongyu took the letter and read it for a while, not saying a word for a long time. Just as Xu Hongyan was about to speak up in concern, he heard Xu Hongyu burst out laughing loudly: "Not bad... worthy of being my Xu family's daughter..." As she said that, she handed the letter directly to Xu Hongyan, who pulled at the corner of his mouth and suppressed a laugh. He had always stayed in the capital city, so how could he not know that his own niece was absolutely not as gentle as her appearance suggested? But this... ferocity was also rarely seen; probably she really had been provoked by Prince Li.

  "Was Ding Wang there at the time?" Xu Hongyan folded up the letter and, ignoring Xu Qingyan who was still waiting with bated breath behind him, directly stuffed it into his own sleeve. He wanted to go back and study how to add more fuel to Li Wang's fire, indeed he had too much free time to come looking for trouble with Lian'er.

  "Lier seems to have had another conversation with King Ding. It appears that the two of them have reached some sort of understanding." Xu Qing said with a faint smile.

  Xu Hongyu thought for a moment, then waved his hand and said: "Your grandfather has a high opinion of Ding Wang, and since Lier seems to have no objections to the marriage either. Qingchen, I'll leave the rest to you."

  Xu Qingchen nodded and smiled: "Son understands. It's just that son has been away from the capital for many years and hasn't seen Ding Wang for a long time."