The Ye Family's Reckoning
"What did you say? Ye Li took the top oiran title?"
The words came out sharp, nothing like the soft, measured voice Ye Ying was known for. In the flower hall of her courtyard, a servant girl knelt on the floor and answered without lifting her head. "Miss, that is what is being said outside. The Third Lady has returned home, and the Qin family, the Xu family, Huaguo Gongfu, Yangwei General's Residence, the Prime Minister's Mansion, and the Ministry of Rites Shangshu Residence have all sent gifts to congratulate her on winning the championship."
Ye Ying's hand swept across the side table. Everything on it crashed to the floor. The girl at the front of the group was struck by something but swallowed her pain and pressed her forehead lower. "Miss, please calm yourself."
"Calm down." Ye Ying repeated it like the words were foreign to her. "How did that girl become the flower leader? How?"
She had pushed Ye Li forward precisely because she had seen the opening. Their mother had never arranged proper instruction for Ye Li over the years. Competing against Princess Qixia, a girl even Ye Ying herself was not certain she could beat, Ye Li should have collapsed quietly and without ceremony. No winner, no shame, just the quiet proof that only one daughter of the Ye family truly mattered.
But Ye Ying was her mother's daughter. She breathed once, straightened her sleeves, and the sharpness left her face as smoothly as a candle being covered. She rose and said, "Get up. Come with me to see Mother."
The girls in the hall let out a collective, silent breath. They cleaned up the mess and followed.
In Rongle Hall, the gathering had a surface warmth that pressed down on everything underneath it.
Ye Li sat in her place, composed and unhurried, while Ye Shangshu, the family matriarch Mrs. Ye, and Wang occupied the room's center. Mrs. Ye's smile was full and approving as she looked at her granddaughter. "Li'er is a true legitimate daughter of the Ye family. A blockbuster, just like that. Two flower leaders from our house. Who in this capital could say we do not know how to raise our daughters?"
Ye Li pressed her lips into a small smile. "Grandmother is too generous. Whatever I know came from Grandmother and Father."
Ye Shangshu studied the girl sitting before him. He had never paid her much attention, not really, not the kind of attention a father should give. She looked nothing like her half-sisters in manner. There was no performance in her, no studied grace. The composure seemed to come from somewhere below the surface, the way a deep river does not need to rush. It reminded him, with a pull in his chest he had not expected, of her mother. The same stillness. The same quality that made a man feel he was standing too close to something too fine for him.
Even without the Xu family's instruction, even without the best of everything, the blood had come through anyway.
He thought of Ye Rong, pampered soft by Wang and Mrs. Ye both, and a thought moved through him quietly. Why was Li'er not born a son?
"For the families who sent congratulatory gifts, the Qin family, the Xu family, Huaguo Gongfu, the Liu family, the return gifts must be handled with care." Mrs. Ye's gaze shifted to Wang.
Wang lifted her eyes briefly, then lowered them again. "Please do not worry, Old Lady. Your daughter-in-law will see to it."
Mrs. Ye nodded once. "Good. Send the gifts themselves to Qingyixuan. Li'er, look through the jewelry and clothing and take whatever you like. More can be purchased. The houses that sent invitations, you need not attend all of them, but you cannot ignore them entirely. We must not embarrass the Shangshu Residence."
Before Ye Li could answer, a girl at the door announced the Fourth Lady's arrival.
Ye Ying had changed into pale white clothes that made her face look drawn and fragile. She came in holding her attendant's hand, dipped in greeting to Mrs. Ye, Ye Shangshu, and Wang, and lowered herself to her knees. "Ying'er has shamed the Ye family. Please, Grandmother and Father, give me my punishment."
Mrs. Ye's white brows rose slightly. She said nothing and looked toward Ye Shangshu.
Ye Shangshu had always been soft when it came to this daughter. Wang moved first, pulling Ye Ying up from her knees and folding her into her arms. "Foolish child. How could anyone blame you? If something had not gone wrong, Ying'er would have been this year's champion."
Ye Shangshu followed without hesitation. "Your mother is right. Something beyond your control happened. Get up, quickly. The floor is cold and you are not well."
Ye Li watched the three of them settle into their familiar shape together, her expression even and correctly deferential. She was already thinking about Qin Zheng. Her future cousin's husband, technically, and a new acquaintance worth considering carefully. What would be an appropriate return gift? There had been a great deal happening lately. Too many obligations, too little time. She let her mind drift further, past the room and the year, into some quieter future. A husband who was decent if not exceptional. A household of her own. Perhaps a child or two.
Mrs. Ye glanced at the girl in green sitting still and separate while the rest of the room arranged itself around Ye Ying's distress.
She sighed inwardly.
She had thought well of Ye Yue and Ye Ying for years. She understood now that she had been looking at the easier surfaces. This one was something different. With that kind of steadiness in her, if Ye Li had entered the palace, she might have gone very far.
But Ye Li had been promised to the crippled Prince Ding. A man with no path forward. It was a waste, and it was done.
"Grandmother," Ye Ying said, stepping close once the scene had run its course, her voice soft and considered. "It is wonderful news for our family that Third Sister took the top title. Should we find a way to share it with Second Sister as well, so she can celebrate too?"
Ye Shangshu smiled. "Ying'er always thinks of others. A fine idea. Mother?"
"We will be going to the palace in a few days to pay respects," Mrs. Ye said. "We can bring the news to Empress Zhaoyi then." She glanced at Ye Li with an easy smile. "Your second sister has always treated you warmly. The two of you should spend more time together once you each have your own households to manage."
"Grandmother." Ye Ying ducked her head, covering her face with a hand, a flush rising on her pale cheeks.
Ye Shangshu looked at her with obvious affection.
Ye Ying lifted her eyes to Ye Li, and a gentle smile crossed her face. "Third Sister, it has been some time since you have seen Second Sister, has it not? Mother ought to prepare a fine gift for Third Sister to bring along to Second Sister when we visit."
Wang stiffened slightly and looked at her daughter with a small frown.
Mrs. Ye's expression shifted, just a fraction. She turned her gaze back to Ye Li and said nothing, waiting.
Ye Li read the room in a single pass. She looked at Ye Ying with an untroubled face, curious to see where it led.
Ye Ying noticed that Wang had not yet caught on, and that Mrs. Ye was not moving to stop her. She pressed forward, her voice gentle as ever. "Empress Zhaoyi is with child now. I have heard that a woman's appearance changes when she is carrying. Something striking, to look at..."
No one in the hall was slow. The moment the word "look" landed, Wang understood, and her eyes moved to Ye Li with a new brightness. "Master," she began.
Ye Li exhaled quietly somewhere inside herself.
Not a fool among them.
"Ying'er makes a good point," Ye Shangshu said. He had already decided, his tone carrying no question in it. "Li'er, we will send the Zhanyan Pearl to the palace as a gift for Empress Zhaoyi. Whatever you need for the preparation, speak to your mother."