Quick Transmigration: Drama Queen's Daily Life-Chapter 756 - 745: Substitute Younger Sister

Prince Li was tall and majestic, with an air of authority between his brows; he appeared to be saying something to a servant, his brow furrowed.

"This common girl pays her respects to Your Highness." Ye Xia led Ye Wangshi to salute and pay homage. After Duan Huaijin signaled for them to rise, Ye Xia immediately looked up with a coy smile, "Brother-in-law, we meet again. Thank you for sending me home last time."

Duan Huaijin waved his hand for the servants to withdraw and then addressed the two women, "It turns out to be my mother-in-law and cousin. Why don’t you stay at the mansion and have lunch before leaving?"

Ye Xia’s face showed difficulty, and she hesitated, "Perhaps my mother and I have somehow upset my sister. Brother-in-law, could you please speak well of us to her, and ask her to stop resenting us."

"Oh? What has angered her?" Duan Huaijin asked with curiosity.

"It was about the dowry from when my sister married you. She complained that our parents provided too little, but in truth, they didn’t do it on purpose. Before that, they had already given my sister one hundred thousand silver taels. Because there are still my brother and me at home, they had no choice but to do so. We never expected that after a year, my sister would still hold a grudge against our parents." Ye Xia spoke with a sigh, insinuating Ye Qiu’s shortcomings in every word. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Ye Wangshi listened with her heart pounding in fear, yet she dared not contradict her eldest daughter’s words.

"It’s about the dowry, huh! I seem to recall that the Princess Consort took only ten chests with her when she accompanied me to the Northwest. I personally don’t mind such a small matter, but the servants have been murmuring about it. It’s no wonder your sister is upset, but it’s alright, the Princess Consort is not lacking that dowry now." Duan Huaijin was actually hearing this matter for the first time.

But it seems the relationship between the two sisters, the Princess Consort, is quite bad. One married him in place of the other for wealth and status, while the other tries to seduce him again? Does she really take him for a fool?

Nevertheless, there is nothing troubling at the moment, so he could play along with them and see what tricks they have up their sleeves.

"Mother-in-law and cousin, please don’t leave yet. Otherwise, outsiders might think I, the Prince, put on too much of an air. It’s just about time for lunch, let’s go to the Princess Consort’s courtyard and have it together," he invited.

Hearing him say this, Ye Xia excitedly pinched her hand and then showed concern and generosity, "Then this common girl thanks Your Highness in advance, and please speak favorably for us later, so my sister won’t resent us."

"Certainly," Prince Li said with a pleasant attitude.

Watching Prince Li returning with Ye Wangshi and Ye Xia, Ye Qiu wasn’t the least bit surprised, as she calmly took a sip of tea, then greeted Duan Huaijin, "What brings Your Highness here today?"

Duan Huaijin looked deeply at the composed Ye Qiu and thought to himself that she indeed had hidden her emotions very well.

"I ran into your mother-in-law and sister on the way, so I invited them to stay for lunch. You too, shouldn’t be angry with your family over anything," Duan Huaijin said amicably, as if he and Ye Qiu had a very good marital relationship.

Like Ye Xia, who now looked on with a jealous face.

"Your Highness knows?" Ye Qiu asked without a good expression.

"Knows what?" Duan Huaijin smiled in a way that made it hard to discern the emotion in his eyes, "Isn’t it just about some dowry? Now that you are the Princess Consort, do you still care about those things?"

"So it’s about the dowry!" Ye Qiu seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

Duan Huaijin squinted his eyes, "Then what did the Princess Consort think it was?"

"Nothing," Ye Qiu said, lowering her eyes to hide her feelings, "Since Your Highness has asked them to stay, let’s have the meal first."

Hearing Ye Qiu speak like this, Ye Xia, thinking herself victorious, looked at her with smug pride, like a peacock.

Then, sweetly smiling at Duan Huaijin, she said, "Thank you, brother-in-law!"

"No need to thank me; we’re all family here."

Duan Huaijin’s gentle demeanor not only took Ye Xia by surprise but Ye Wangshi also let her guard down.

Because he was dining at Ye Qiu’s place today, the variety of dishes was more than twice the usual amount. The Ye Family, as Imperial Merchants, were wealthy in the capital, their daily food, clothing, and other living expenses were without exception of high quality, but still, Ye Xia was dazzled by the wealth of Prince Wang Mansion today.

The Ye Family was indeed rich, but they would never bring in the freshest fish and shrimp from the coast just for a meal. Not to mention, there was also the extremely precious rouge rice, exclusively for the Royal Family, of which she had only heard in books.

The more she thought about Ye Qiu usurping her identity and enjoying things she wouldn’t even dare dream of on a daily basis, the more discontent she became.

Ye Qiu, observing Ye Xia’s covetous expression, remained silent and continued with her meal quietly. She had always been of frail health, and although there were many dishes on the table, most of them were unsuitable for her, so she ate both slowly and sparingly.

Moreover, she was in a bad mood today and had even less desire to entertain others. Ye Xia, seeing her looking so foolishly passive, was infuriated. If it were her, she would have already won over Prince Li by now, wouldn’t she? How could she be so estranged?

But this was also good. With Ye Qiu as a contrast, wouldn’t Prince Li come to appreciate her merits even more?

Ye Xia observed for a while and noticed that Duan Huaijin was particularly fond of a fishball dish, but because it was placed far from him and he disliked having servants help him serve, he only took some once, yet he glanced at it several more times afterward.

Her heart pounding, Ye Xia eventually couldn’t help herself. She scooped two spoonfuls into a small bowl and pushed it towards him: "I see that your highness seems to like it. I hope you won’t find me too bold!"

Duan Huaijin looked at her with interest and suddenly, noticing Ye Qiu’s unsuspecting expression, he decided to accept it and chuckled, "What’s there to blame? I have yet to thank my cousin!"

Seeing that he actually accepted and even ate it, Ye Xia was even more thrilled inside and cheerfully said, "I’m glad your highness likes it."

Duan Huaijin glanced at Ye Qiu’s jealous eyes and laughed even more heartily, "Since it’s delicious, come servants, reward the chef who made these fishballs with one thousand silver taels."

Ye Qiu laid down her chopsticks, seemingly suppressing a furious expression: "Prince, you truly are generous."

Duan Huaijin felt both exhilarated and slightly uneasy in his heart, but still deliberately provoked her: "It’s rare to encounter something I like. What’s the harm in rewarding some silver? Does Princess Consort have any other opinions?"

Ye Xia also chimed in: "That’s right, sister, our brother-in-law seldom takes such pleasure, it’s only one thousand silver taels. You still care about material things as much as before."

Ye Qiu watched the two quietly and then suddenly stood up: "I have finished eating; please continue at your leisure."

Seeing her behave so disrespectfully, Duan Huaijin’s expression suddenly darkened, and Ye Xia hurriedly said: "Brother-in-law, my sister often has these little tempers; please don’t take offense. What else would you like to eat? I’ll serve it for you."

Duan Huaijin noticed that his counterfeit Princess Consort paused for a moment upon his cousin’s words, and then he deliberately said: "Well then, since that’s the case, I’ll trouble my cousin."

Overjoyed, Ye Xia did not notice any peculiarity and readily agreed: "It’s no trouble at all; we are family, after all!"