6. Prince, You Have to Pay When You Shop
"Heh... Xiuyao, your fiancée is quite interesting."
「」
Outside Shende Pavilion, a spacious, unpretentious carriage had parked at some unknown time. Although the person sitting inside couldn't see what was happening within the pavilion, his hearing was clearly far superior to that of an ordinary person, allowing him to discern everything occurring inside Shende Pavilion with perfect clarity.
Inside the carriage, a man in red brocade, with sharp eyebrows slanting towards his temples, was extraordinarily handsome and refined. A smile on his face, he leaned lazily against the carriage wall, jestingly watching the quiet man opposite him.
"Feng Zhiyao, are you too idle?" The man in plain clothes, sitting upright in his wheelchair, calmly regarded the man laughing incessantly before him. Despite being in a wheelchair, his back was ramrod straight, as if nothing in the world could make him bend. His handsome face carried an air of gentle refinement, yet his clear eyes could inexplicably send a chill through anyone he looked at directly. He turned his head to look at the man in brocade, revealing a somewhat menacing scar on his left cheek. It instantly ruined his original refined elegance, making others dare not look at him directly.
With a SWISH, Feng Zhiyao flicked open the folding fan in his hand and fanned himself leisurely. "Indeed, am I not too idle? His Majesty won't let me leave the Capital City. But things shouldn't be too boring lately; after all, Prince Li and His Highness Prince Ding are both getting married within the month. The Emperor is too biased. Ye Ying is hailed as the foremost beauty in the Capital City, while this Ye Li is the capital's famously 'talentless, virtueless, and beautiless' young lady. Xiuyao, are you really going to marry her? Isn't the Emperor clearly trying to make things difficult for you? To be a 'three-lacks' young miss is one thing, but she was also the one whose engagement with Mo Jingli was broken. The Imperial Family clearly wants to trample the dignity of the King of Ding Kingdom's Mansion underfoot!"
The man in plain clothes was none other than the current Prince of Ding Kingdom, Mo Xiuyao. Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly. From outside the carriage, the woman's voice from within Shende Pavilion—clear and soft, yet devoid of any weakness—gently reached his ears. "If the sovereign demands a subject's death, the subject has no choice but to die. What's more, this is merely an imperial edict for marriage? Besides, didn't you also say that Third Miss Ye is quite interesting?"
Feng Zhiyao frowned, looking at him with concern. "This is a matter of your lifelong happiness. Marrying a Princess Consort is different from taking a concubine. Have you truly thought it through?"
"And what if I haven't thought it through? It's just... with my appearance, I'm afraid I'll be wronging her."
Feng Zhiyao fell silent. Indeed, what difference did it make whether he had thought it through or not? The Emperor's decree could not be defied; otherwise, it would only bring catastrophic disaster upon the King of Ding Kingdom's Mansion. Moreover, Mo Xiuyao was already twenty-five, long past the appropriate age for marriage. Yet, which of the prominent noble young ladies in the Capital City didn't avoid him as if he were a snake or a scorpion? Now... one could only hope that this Miss Ye from the Ye Family was truly a decent woman. But would the Emperor really assign a good wife to Mo Xiuyao?
「」
Before they could send away the young man selling paintings, a handsome man and a beautiful woman walked in from outside. The shopkeeper, as if seeing his saviors, cried out repeatedly, "Ying'er... Ying'er! Your Highness, save me!"
The pair who had entered together were none other than the renowned Prince Li, Mo Jingli, and Ye Ying. Ye Ying glanced at the handsome man beside her, then gracefully walked over to Ye Li's side and said in a sweet voice, "Third Sister, what are you doing? Has our cousin-uncle done something wrong to anger you? Please, considering he is an elder, don't be too hard on him." With just a few gentle words, she framed Ye Li as being disrespectful to her elders. Upon hearing this, Mo Jingli frowned as he stared at Ye Li.
Ye Li looked at Ye Ying with a half-smile and said calmly, "Fourth Sister must have mistaken him for someone else. My maternal grandfather's family only had two sons, my uncles. And currently, only my second maternal uncle is in the Capital City. Besides, although Shende Pavilion was part of my mother's dowry, my uncles, even if they were concerned, wouldn't need to personally act as shopkeepers. This is merely a servant from the household. How could Fourth Sister mistake him for my elder?"
Ye Ying's pretty face flushed red with anger, and she grew even more furious in her heart. She would be a fool if she didn't understand the meaning behind Ye Li's words. In Ye Li's eyes, she didn't consider her relatives from the Wang Family as actual relatives, and naturally, she didn't recognize the Wang Family elders as her elders. Therefore, since her mother's cousin was acting as the shopkeeper of Shende Pavilion, in Ye Li's eyes, he was merely her servant. This woman, who usually appeared so gentle and conflict-averse, actually dared to humiliate her like this in front of Prince Li!
Biting her cherry lip, Ye Ying forced a smile. "Third Sister, you must be joking. It's just that Shende Pavilion had no one to manage it before, so our cousin-uncle was entrusted by Mother to look after it on her behalf. How could he be a servant?"
Ye Li nodded, smiling knowingly. "Oh, so that's how it is. It seems I misunderstood. In the future, there will be no need to trouble Madam's elder brother from her natal family with this matter. I will arrange for someone to manage it myself. In a moment, I'll have to trouble this... Master Wang—this gentleman—to accompany me to the Ye Mansion to conduct a formal handover in front of Father and Grandmother."
Both the shopkeeper's and Ye Ying's expressions changed. The shopkeeper was naturally concerned about this lucrative position. Although Ms. Wang's eldest daughter was now Her Highness Zhaoyi in the palace, the Wang Family's foundation was too shallow; otherwise, a legitimate daughter of the Wang Family wouldn't have had to marry into the Ye Mansion as a concubine. Even though their fortunes had improved over the years, only a few of them served as officials in the imperial court. This shopkeeper, Ms. Wang's paternal cousin, had originally just idled at home doing nothing. How could that compare to his current comfortable life managing Shende Pavilion? Ye Ying also knew very well how much silver her mother obtained from Shende Pavilion each year. Even she herself would directly take any rare curios or antiques she fancied, which allowed her to cut quite a figure among the young ladies of the Capital City. If they lost control of Shende Pavilion, such easy benefits would no longer be available in the future.
Ye Li paid no mind to what these two were thinking. Smiling, she took Ye Ying's arm and said, "Never mind all that for now. But Fourth Sister, what brings you to Shende Pavilion at this time?"
Ye Ying's expression stiffened. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "His Highness Prince Li has taken a liking to a Goddess of Mercy statue in the shop and wishes to gift it to the Empress Dowager... I accompanied His Highness to come and see it."
Ye Li's smile remained unchanged; she was still composed and serene, showing not the slightest hint of resentment or sorrow one might expect upon seeing the man who had broken off her engagement. In fact, her smile became even warmer. She inclined her head and smiled at Mo Jingli. "So, it is His Highness Prince Li. This humble daughter greets Your Highness. It's just... Fourth Sister, why did you let His Highness Prince Li come to the shop in person? Couldn't we have just sent it directly to Prince Li's Mansion?"
Ye Ying frowned at Ye Li, thinking to herself: Could it be that she hasn't given up and still wants to curry favor with Prince Li?
Mo Jingli stood to one side with his hands clasped behind his back. A faint look of disdain flashed in his eyes as he watched Ye Li, clearly also believing that her actions were an attempt to curry favor with him.
Then, Ye Li continued with a smile, "However, since His Highness is here, Master He, please wrap up the Goddess of Mercy statue for His Highness. I wonder... will Your Highness be paying with silver cash or bank notes?"
Everyone was stunned. Mo Jingli's face turned somewhat unsightly as he stared at Ye Li and demanded, "What did you say?"
Ye Li frowned, saying with a look of innocent confusion, "Isn't Your Highness buying the Goddess of Mercy statue? However, since you are Fourth Sister's fiancé, and it is a gift for Her Highness Empress Dowager... Master He, let's give a twenty percent discount then; that's an auspicious number."
Over there, Master He had already carefully taken out the Goddess of Mercy statue. Ye Li glanced at it; it was a white jade Goddess of Mercy statue. Even a distant glance was enough to clearly perceive the Goddess's compassionate expression for the world, evident that both the jade quality and the carving skill were of the highest grade. She hadn't expected Shende Pavilion to possess such a treasure. If she hadn't come today, she would have suffered a great loss.
"Miss, it's all packed. The total is five thousand one hundred taels of silver," Master He said, having understood Third Miss's intentions. He was originally an old servant from the Xu Family who had come to the Ye Family with the dowry. Now that Third Miss had taken charge of Shende Pavilion, he naturally favored his own young mistress. Ye Li was very satisfied with Master He's astuteness. She nodded and smiled faintly at Mo Jingli. "Let's remove the odd amount, making it an even five thousand taels of silver. What does Your Highness think?"
"Third Sister! You..." Ye Ying looked uneasily at Mo Jingli, then cried out to Ye Li with an aggrieved expression.
Ye Li sneered inwardly. Over these years, who knows how much silver and how many items Ms. Wang has secretly taken. Now Ye Ying has gone a step further; to curry favor with Mo Jingli, she actually wants to bring him to take things from the shop for free. Do they really take me for a sucker?
Qingshuang, inwardly disdainful of Ye Ying's feigned weakness, said with a grin, "What's the matter, Fourth Miss? Our Miss has already given a discount of several hundred taels of silver out of consideration for His Highness Prince Li being the future husband of our Fourth Miss. You wouldn't get this price from any other establishment. Or... this servant understands now! His Highness probably didn't bring that much silver cash with him."
Ye Li smiled faintly. "That's alright. I naturally trust His Highness. Your Highness may as well take the item first. It's no trouble for me to have someone deliver the bill to your mansion later and collect the silver then. What does Your Highness think?"
Mo Jingli's expression was rather unsightly. What else could he do? If he refused, people would just assume he wanted to take things for free. If he said he wasn't buying it, everyone present knew it was a gift for the Empress Dowager; deeming it too expensive and not buying it would be unfilial. Everyone in the Capital City said this Ye Li was without looks, talent, or virtue, but no one mentioned she was so cunning!
With a cold snort, Mo Jingli nodded, signifying his agreement. As if unwilling to stay in the shop a moment longer, he pulled Ye Ying and strode out, ignoring even Shopkeeper Wang's calls.
Ye Li smiled with satisfaction and waved her hand at Master He, saying with a laugh, "His Highness is indeed straightforward. Master He, later, just send someone to deliver the bill to His Highness's Mansion. Oh, right, also check if there are any previous outstanding accounts and settle them all with His Highness at the same time. A grand princely mansion like his certainly wouldn't be short of this little bit of money of ours."
Mo Jingli, who had just stepped out of the entrance, heard this, and his face turned livid. His steps faltered for a moment, then he pulled Ye Ying along and left without looking back.