Mo Li

"Miss! Miss, something terrible has happened!"

In the quiet, somewhat desolate courtyard, a figure clad in pale green rushed into the inner chamber like a gust of wind, causing the wind chimes by the door to jingle chaotically.

Inside the elegantly simple room, a slender figure sat by the half-open window, her needlework undisturbed by the sudden intrusion. Only when the little maid caught her breath did the woman pause her embroidery and turn around with a smile. "What has you so flustered?" Her features were delicate and refined, though her eyes held a sharpness and acuity that contrasted with her gentle appearance. Dressed plainly, her long hair was casually pinned up with a single jade hairpin. An outsider would never guess that this woman was the legitimate eldest daughter of the prestigious Minister's household.

"Miss! How can you still be embroidering? Don’t you know—don’t you know Prince Li has annulled the engagement?" The little maid snatched the embroidery from her hands, stomping her feet in frustration. Ever since Prince Li had called off the engagement three days ago, she had been frantic with worry, yet her mistress remained utterly indifferent.

"Qing Shuang, Prince Li annulled the engagement three days ago. Isn’t your reaction a bit delayed?" Ye Li chuckled, unbothered by her maid’s impudence.

"Miss!" Qing Shuang glared at her in exasperation. "I’m not worried about Prince Li!" If her mistress didn’t care about Prince Li, why should she? But—"Oh, Miss! The Emperor has issued another imperial marriage decree for you! The master is summoning you to receive the edict!"

"Another decree?" Ye Li froze, unable to suppress a frown. She had thought that after the annulment, she would have a few years of peace—after all, few men in this era were willing to marry a woman who had been rejected. "Our family is only a Minister’s household. Why would the Emperor pay such close attention?" An annulment three days ago, and now another decree. Was the Emperor overly fond of the Minister’s household, or did he simply dislike the groom-to-be?

Qing Shuang’s eyes reddened with anger as she gritted her teeth. "It’s Prince Ding! It must be the Eldest Miss who goaded the Emperor into this. She’s always bullied you since childhood, and now—now she’s making you marry Prince Ding. Wuwu..."

Ye Li sighed at her maid’s dramatics. Such a crybaby hardly suited the name "Qing Shuang" (Clear Frost). "Enough. Don’t say such things outside. Let’s go receive the edict."

Main Hall of the Ye Residence

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Ye Li, eldest daughter of the Ye family, is wise, virtuous, and accomplished, a fitting match. She is hereby betrothed to Prince Ding, Mo Xiuyao, as his principal wife. The wedding shall be held on an auspicious date. So it is decreed."The Ye family members collectively expressed their gratitude. The eunuch delivering the imperial edict handed it to Ye Li with a smile, saying, "Congratulations, Madam Ye, congratulations, Miss Ye." Ye Li accepted the edict, enduring the eunuch's somewhat grating laughter as she calmly smiled and replied, "Thank you, sir. We appreciate your efforts." The eunuch gave Ye Li a surprised glance. It was said that the third legitimate daughter of the Ye family was famously known in the capital as the "Three-Nothings" young lady—lacking talent, beauty, and virtue. Yet, the woman before him, though not as dazzlingly beautiful as Ye Zhaoyi in the palace nor as peerlessly stunning as the Ye family's fourth daughter, hailed as the capital's top beauty, was still an exceptionally refined and lovely maiden. Moreover, her demeanor was dignified, and her speech measured—nothing like the tactless and unrefined image Ye Zhaoyi had described. Glancing at the undisguised schadenfreude on the faces of the Ye family members nearby, the eunuch understood the situation. Though he felt some pity for Miss Ye, these matters were beyond the reach of a mere eunuch. Murmuring a modest "I dare not accept such thanks," he took his leave.

The Ye family matriarch eagerly had the steward personally escort the eunuch out before casting a sidelong glance at Ye Li and forcing a doting smile. "Fortunately, His Majesty is wise and has arranged another fine marriage for the third young lady. Otherwise... how could a woman who's been jilted ever hope to marry?"

Ye Li's expression remained unchanged, though inwardly she sneered. A fine marriage, indeed. Did they think just because she seldom went out that she knew nothing? Prince Ding, Mo Xiuyao, had suffered severe injuries at eighteen, leaving his legs crippled and his face disfigured. Since then, he had been bedridden with illness. He had previously married two principal consorts—one drowned unexpectedly less than half a month after entering his household, while the other died from excessive fright on their wedding night. Rumors claimed she had been scared to death upon seeing Prince Ding's face. Were it not for this, how could a man of Prince Ding's status and position remain without a principal consort at twenty-five? "Madam speaks truly. Regardless, Prince Ding is a first-rank hereditary prince. It is indeed an honor for Li'er."

The Ye matriarch's expression stiffened slightly. After a pause, she said, "Since you understand, prepare well for the wedding. Do not disgrace our Lord Ye's household. Your fourth sister will also be marrying soon, and the household is very busy these days."

"I understand. Thank you for your concern, Madam."

"As the matriarch of the Ye family, it is only natural that I oversee such matters," the matriarch replied. With a cold humph at Ye Li's unruffled composure, she flicked her sleeves and left.

Ye Li watched the matriarch depart with an amused smile, raising an eyebrow but saying nothing. Though she was the Ye family's legitimate daughter, she was not born to the current matriarch, Wang Shi, but to Lord Ye's first wife, Madam Xu, who came from a scholarly family. Madam Xu's health had declined after giving birth to Ye Li. Lord Ye favored his concubine Wang Shi, who had entered the household earlier, and even handed over household authority to her when Madam Xu fell seriously ill. When Ye Li was seven, Madam Xu passed away—and it was then that the current Ye Li came into being. After Wang Shi was elevated to principal wife, fearing accusations of mistreating the first wife's daughter, she dared not openly abuse Ye Li. Yet, frequent provocations were inevitable, all of which Ye Li quietly defused, earning her Madam Wang's growing resentment."Congratulations, Third Sister." As soon as Wang Shi left, the unmarried daughters of the Ye family immediately gathered around, their faces filled with various expressions of pity and schadenfreude as they offered their congratulations. The first to speak was the sixth young miss, Ye Lin, a daughter born of a concubine who had always followed the legitimate daughters born to Wang Shi, occasionally making trouble for Ye Li to curry favor with them. Ye Li usually didn't bother with her—it was just a survival tactic for a concubine's daughter, and as long as it wasn't too excessive, she didn't want to make an issue out of it with a child barely over ten years old.

"What's there to congratulate Third Sister about? Marrying Prince Ding—just thinking about it is terrifying. Prince Ding is crippled and ugly, and he even scared one of his wives to death. Who knows if he didn't kill his first wife too? We should be congratulating Fourth Sister instead. In just a month, she'll be Princess Li." The fifth young miss, Ye Shan, fawned over the fourth young miss, Ye Ying, known as the number one beauty in the capital, her eyes unable to hide envy and jealousy.

Ye Ying truly lived up to her reputation as the capital's top beauty. With willow-leaf eyebrows, autumn-water eyes, and jade-like features exuding exquisite perfection, every movement carried an enchanting delicacy and elegance. However, to someone like Ye Li, who had seen countless beauties in her past life, such delicate charm lacked the element of awe.

"We're all sisters. There's no need for congratulations. In the future, Mother will surely find good matches for Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister too," Ye Ying said softly, her voice gentle and melodious, her breath like orchids. Every gesture was captivating, stirring waves of jealousy among the onlookers. "But as for Third Sister, about Prince Li... I hope you can forgive me." Her limpid eyes brimmed with apology as she gazed at Ye Li.

Ye Li smiled generously. "It's fine. Perhaps Prince Li and I just weren't meant to be. We shouldn't let a man ruin our sisterly bond, right?"

Ye Ying was taken aback. The lack of the expected reaction left her somewhat dissatisfied. She had thought that receiving the news of the marriage annulment three days ago would devastate Ye Li, but to her great disappointment, her third sister had merely remained silent for a moment before saying, "I understand," and then retired to her room. Today, there wasn't the slightest trace of distress on her face. Prince Li was the dream husband of every noble young lady in the capital—could she really not be upset? After a pause, Ye Ying forced a shy smile. "I know Third Sister cares for me the most. If you ever face any difficulties in the future, you can always come to Prince Li's Palace to find me."

Ye Li acknowledged her words indifferently, not bothering to look at the poorly concealed triumph on her face. After bidding farewell to the sisters who were all too eager to make her feel worse, Ye Li strolled back to her courtyard with Qing Shuang. Along the way, Qing Shuang muttered indignantly, "What does Fourth Young Miss mean by that? She's the one who stole Prince Li, yet she puts on such a hypocritical act—it's disgusting!"

Ye Li turned to look at her with amusement. "Enough. If someone hears you, you might get into trouble. I really don't care whether I marry Prince Li or Prince Ding."

"How can you not care?!" Qing Shuang glared at her. "Prince Li is the capital's renowned elegant gentleman, the emperor's own brother! Everyone knows Prince Ding is a cripple with ruined looks, plagued by serious illness—uh..." Remembering that Prince Ding was about to become her mistress's husband, Qing Shuang swallowed the word "waste" with difficulty.“So what?” Ye Li raised an eyebrow, amused as she looked at Qing Shuang. “Don’t tell me you think Prince Li is handsome and want to marry over with me to become a concubine?” Whether he was handsome or not, Ye Li had no interest in knowing—though her former fiancé was reputedly one of the Four Great Beauties of the capital. But Mo Junli’s character was certainly no better than Prince Ding’s. She had heard rumors before about Mo Junli’s affair with Ye Ying, but his insistence on waiting until the wedding was nearly upon them to annul the marriage was worth pondering. Thinking of this… the Emperor’s timing in issuing an imperial marriage decree to Prince Ding for her, who had just been publicly jilted, was equally thought-provoking. “Wise, virtuous, talented, and virtuous enough to be a good match…” Who in the capital didn’t know that the Ye family’s third young miss was infamous for being ugly, talentless, and clumsy at needlework—a so-called “three-without” lady? Were they implying that this “three-without” lady was a perfect match for the so-called useless Prince Ding?

“Miss!” Qing Shuang’s face flushed red as she stomped her foot. “Absolutely not! I’d rather marry a servant or a stable boy than become a concubine.” Most importantly, she would never become a concubine to her own mistress’s husband. Qing Shuang’s mother had originally been a concubine in a wealthy household. After her father’s early death, she and her mother were driven out by the main wife and left to wander the streets. After her mother died of illness, Qing Shuang nearly ended up sold into a brothel—fortunately, her young mistress had bought her, given her the name Qing Shuang, and even taught her to read and write. Qing Shuang was not an ungrateful person; she would never forget this kindness.

Seeing the little maid so flustered, Ye Li couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, alright, can’t I even joke with you?”

“Miss…”