Crowned Consort in Golden Age-Chapter 42. The Most Unfortunate Wedding in History (Part 2)
42. The Most Unfortunate Wedding in History (Middle Part)
It was her younger sister’s wedding day. Although Ye Li was not part of the bridal procession and wasn’t originally planning to go, Mo Xiuyao had sent word, so she believed there would undoubtedly be an interesting spectacle. She also felt it necessary to personally discuss the matter of Han Mingyue with her fiancé, believing that good communication fostered mutual trust. After changing into a suitable dress, Ye Li had someone inform the Old Madam. Before she could even leave the house, a servant came in to report that Prince Ding had arrived to escort the Third Miss. The Old Madam, aware of Mo Xiuyao’s limited mobility and not daring to cause any delay, quickly sent Ye Li on her way.
As expected, a carriage bearing the Ding Kingdom’s emblem was waiting outside the Ye Mansion gates. A young bodyguard named Ah-Jin stepped forward as Ye Li approached and said, "Ah-Jin greets you, Princess Consort."
Ye Li felt a touch embarrassed. Even though this was only her second meeting with Ah-Jin, she could tell that the young man was not particularly sharp. She nodded, murmured her thanks for his trouble, and boarded the carriage.
Mo Xiuyao was leaning back in the carriage, engrossed in a book he held. Seeing Ye Li enter, he casually placed the book aside and said with a faint smile, "Have a seat. Were you frightened last night?"
Ye Li sat down opposite him and replied with a smile, "I’m fine. Thank you for going to the trouble of rushing over."
Mo Xiuyao seemed to recall something amusing, and the faint smile in his eyes became a little more genuine. "It’s a good thing I did rush over, or I would never have known you had such tricks up your sleeve."
Ye Li shrugged nonchalantly. She didn’t mind Mo Xiuyao seeing some of her true capabilities; after all, they would be husband and wife, and many things couldn’t be hidden forever. "Just some minor tricks, hardly worth mentioning to you, Prince."
Mo Xiuyao furrowed his brows slightly. "Must we continue addressing each other so formally as ’Prince’ and ’Princess Consort’?"
Ye Li looked at him, puzzled. "How should I address you then? My Lord? Master? Husband? Sir?" Before she could finish, Ye Li shivered. Hearing others use those terms usually didn’t seem odd, but they felt incredibly awkward coming from her own lips. Compared to those options, Ye Li still preferred to follow the common convention of addressing each other as ’Prince’ and ’Princess Consort’.
Mo Xiuyao chuckled. "You can call me by my name."
"Mo... Xiuyao?"
"Xiuyao," Mo Xiuyao corrected. "May I call you Ah-Li?"
Ye Li nodded, relieved he hadn’t chosen to call her ’Li’er’. Honestly, aside from elders, she found it difficult to get used to such intimate forms of address.
"I let that person from yesterday go. You don’t mind, do you?" Ye Li looked at Mo Xiuyao and said seriously.
Mo Xiuyao shook his head, his expression relaxed as he smiled. "It’s no matter. Since you’re not pursuing it, then let it be. Besides, Han Mingyue is not someone to be trifled with."
Ye Li raised an eyebrow. "You don’t seem surprised at all about his relationship with Han Mingyue?"
"Han Mingyue and I had a bit of a friendship when we were younger," he confessed.
Ye Li understood. For Mo Xiuyao to admit to having ’a bit of a friendship’, it must have been more than just an ordinary acquaintance.
"Prince, we’ve arrived at Prince Li’s Mansion," a voice announced from outside.
During their sporadic, leisurely chat, they had already arrived outside Prince Li’s Mansion. Neither of them was particularly talkative, yet Ye Li discovered that conversing with Mo Xiuyao was never boring.
"Ah-Li."
As Ye Li was getting up to leave the carriage, Mo Xiuyao suddenly called out. She turned back, looking at him quizzically. Mo Xiuyao watched her quietly. "Are you truly ready?"
"What do I need to prepare?" Ye Li’s delicate eyebrows rose slightly, momentarily unsure if she had indeed forgotten something.
Mo Xiuyao paused, a very faint smile touching his lips as he said softly, "It’s nothing. Let’s go down."
Prince Ding personally offering congratulations meant Prince Li’s Mansion naturally couldn’t afford to be neglectful. This was especially true considering Prince Ding hadn’t made a public appearance in Capital City for nearly eight years. His personal attendance at Prince Li’s wedding was a considerable show of respect. According to the imperial family’s generational hierarchy, Prince Ding, though of similar age to Prince Li, was actually a generation his senior. Therefore, not only Prince Li himself but also the imperial relatives attending the wedding came out to greet him. The King of Ding Kingdom’s Mansion did not put on a grand display. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the first to descend from the carriage was a young woman in lilac. Her dress was embroidered with elegant, scrolling lotus flowers, and her dark hair was loosely coiled, adorned with jeweled butterfly hairpins that swayed and glittered. A slight turn of her head revealed a clear and beautiful face, lightly touched with makeup. Soon after, two guards lifted the carriage curtain and, as if he weighed nothing, carefully lifted Mo Xiuyao, along with his wheelchair, out of the carriage. Mo Xiuyao indifferently glanced at the somewhat stunned crowd at the entrance of Prince Li’s Mansion, then turned to Ye Li, who stood beside him, and extended his hand.
Ye Li lifted her hand and allowed Mo Xiuyao to grasp it, while behind them, Ah-Jin began to push the wheelchair towards Prince Li’s Mansion.
"Ahem... Greetings to the Prince of Ding Kingdom."
Finally, someone snapped back to their senses. Glancing at Prince Li, who was still staring fixedly at the approaching Prince Ding without reacting, the person who had recovered coughed lightly as a reminder to the host to welcome his guests.
"Greetings to the Prince of Ding Kingdom."
"Today is Prince Li’s wedding, so there’s no need for such ceremony," Mo Xiuyao said gently, then turned to Mo Jingli with a smile. "Jing Li, congratulations."
"Thank you," Mo Jingli ground out, glaring fiercely at Ye Li, who stood by Mo Xiuyao’s side.
Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows. "Aren’t you going to invite us in?"
Mo Jingli had no choice but to step aside, making way for them to enter, yet not another word would escape his lips. Mo Xiuyao, evidently understanding Mo Jingli’s temperament well, looked up at Ye Li and smiled. "Let’s go in." Ye Li pursed her lips into a smile and nodded without speaking. Following Mo Xiuyao through the main gates of Prince Li’s Mansion, she caught sight of Feng Zhiyao out of the corner of her eye. He was standing in an inconspicuous corner, watching the three of them at the entrance with a particularly... infuriating grin.
Upon entering Prince Li’s Mansion, Grand Consort Wise Zhao was personally waiting in the main hall to greet them. Seeing Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li enter side by side, there was only a brief flicker in her eyes before she quickly rose and came forward with a smile. "For Li’er’s grand wedding, it’s truly rare for Xiuyao to personally attend. It truly brings honor to Prince Li’s Mansion. It seems Xiuyao and the future Princess Consort also share a wonderful bond. When it’s time for your wedding, I will naturally send a generous gift."
Mo Xiuyao nodded slightly, the expression on the visible part of his face respectful and gentle. "I’ve troubled the Grand Consort to worry. When the time comes, Xiuyao will certainly await the esteemed presence of the Grand Consort and Jing Li."
Ye Li stood quietly beside Mo Xiuyao, not interjecting. For some reason, ever since her last meeting with Grand Consort Wise Zhao, this seemingly dignified and amiable Grand Consort always made her feel a degree of vigilance.
"There are no outsiders here, Third Miss Ye, please also take a seat." Amid her exchange with Mo Xiuyao, Grand Consort Wise Zhao didn’t forget to invite Ye Li. Ye Li thanked her lightly and sat down next to Mo Xiuyao, unfortunately finding herself directly opposite Mo Jingli. Even without looking up, she could feel Mo Jingli staring fiercely at her. Being stared at so intensely in this situation made Ye Li feel rather annoyed. Shouldn’t a groom-to-be be overwhelmed with preparations? Why did Mo Jingli have so much free time to sit here and listen to idle chatter?
"Oh, what’s wrong with Jing Li? Why is he staring so intently at Third Miss Ye?" a somewhat shrill female voice rang out in the hall. Ye Li frowned and looked towards the speaker. There were only seven or eight people seated in the hall. However, those personally attended to by Grand Consort Wise Zhao were undoubtedly not ordinary guests; at the very least, they were not people Ye Li, as a young lady from a Minister’s household, could afford to offend. The woman who had spoken was scrutinizing Ye Li with a critical gaze, her phoenix-like eyes narrowed. Her brocade robe, adorned with phoenixes and peonies, signaled her extraordinary status. As soon as she spoke, everyone who had been focused on the long-unseen Mo Xiuyao instantly shifted their gazes to Ye Li. But the woman was not about to let it go. Her sharp, phoenix-like eyes glinted coldly as she chuckled and said in a piercing tone, "Speaking of which, I almost forgot. Isn’t Third Miss Ye precisely Jing Li’s former fiancée?"
"Presumably, Jing Li is merely curious about the new ’Capital City’s Number One Talented Woman’. Isn’t everyone here curious as well?" Mo Xiuyao’s voice sounded out calmly in the hall. His voice sounded gentle, without a trace of anger, yet it clearly conveyed his protectiveness towards his fiancée. Ye Li lowered her head, silently looking at her hand, which was now enveloped by a large, slightly cool hand.
"Prince Ding is absolutely right. Third Miss Ye truly embodies the saying, ’Still waters run deep, but when she makes a move, she astounds.’" The white-haired old madam seated at the head of the group laughed heartily, her gaze towards Ye Li warm and kind. "Looking back, Madam Ye was also of a quiet and unassuming disposition, yet her literary talent and grace remain fresh in our memories even now."
Ye Li smiled faintly. "Old Madam, you flatter me. My late mother’s elegance is something I can hardly aspire to match. I only hope to inherit a small part of it."
The Old Madam nodded in approval. "A good, humble child."
"This is the Dowager Duchess of State Duke Hua," Mo Xiuyao whispered to Ye Li.
Ye Li then understood. So, this was Tianxiang’s grandmother.
Then, Mo Xiuyao introduced the few people present to Ye Li one by one. Unsurprisingly, they were all either family members of high-ranking officials who held immense power or relatives of the imperial clan. The brocade-clad woman who had spoken first was indeed the paternal aunt of the current Emperor and Prince Li, the Eldest Princess Zhaoren. She was also the biological mother of Commandery Princess Ronghua. Remembering Commandery Princess Ronghua’s haughty demeanor at the Hundred Flowers Festival, Ye Li could only sigh. Indeed, like mother, like daughter. She wondered, however, why this Princess Zhaoren showed such obvious hostility towards her. Surely it couldn’t be because of Commandery Princess Ronghua?
While Mo Xiuyao was introducing Ye Li, those present were also secretly re-evaluating this Third Miss Ye, who had her engagement with Prince Li broken off only to be betrothed to Prince Ding. The fact that Prince Ding personally introduced her to the most influential nobles of Great Chu was proof enough of his high regard for her. Therefore, aside from Mo Jingli, whose expression grew even more unsightly, the atmosphere in the hall remained generally harmonious and friendly.
