“The ones you’ve set your heart on are naturally the finest,” the matron replied with a smile.
Marchioness Anle looked and looked, then let out a sigh. “If there truly were someone perfect, I wouldn’t be racking my brains like this.”
She had been trying her best to select from among the older unmarried young men of various families, but no matter how she tried, she always found something unsatisfactory.
Either their looks were truly hard to stomach, or she’d heard they didn’t conduct themselves reliably in daily affairs, or they even had physical ailments.
If even she couldn’t abide these men, there was no way she’d let her beloved daughter marry into such a household.
There were widowers in the capital, to be sure, but either they were too old, or their family standing was insufficient, or they were scheming sorts like General Jingyuan.
It was too difficult—she propped her forehead and sighed.
“Don’t fret, my lady. If no suitable match can be found in the capital, we can look to official families outside it,” the matron suggested.
Beyond the capital there was no shortage of young men from distinguished families. Though they weren’t capital officials, their rank and influence were in no way inferior—many came from families of regional governors.
Compared to the small capital city, the range of choices suddenly expanded by a great margin.
Marchioness Anle had already been thinking along those lines. “I’ve recently had the Marquis make inquiries outside the capital for suitable families.”
Previously she had always wanted to find her daughter a husband within the capital, so that they could look after her after the wedding. But that was no longer possible.
In a few months it would be the new year, and after the turn of the year Ye Su would turn twenty-three.
When Ye Su had made her scene before, Marquis Anle had felt guilty toward his daughter and dragged things out for two or three years. Now it had reached its limit.
He had already instructed his wife that she must settle their daughter’s engagement within this year, and preferably have the wedding as soon as possible.
…
Ye Su had no idea that her parents were anxious to marry her off within the year. Having lived an easy life for so long, she’d developed the illusion that she could continue living this easily forever.
She had recently been attempting to cultivate the orchid seeds she’d obtained a few days ago, taking great care with every step. Every day upon waking, she’d hope the seeds would sprout soon.
Bai Cha walked into the flower room, long accustomed to its slightly stuffy, warm environment. She came before Ye Su and said softly, “Miss, Mama Huang has come with a message. The Marchioness asks that you dine with them at the main courtyard this evening.”
Ye Su thought it had indeed been several days since she’d last paid her respects to her mother, so she nodded. “Tell Mama Huang I’ll be over shortly.”
After Bai Cha left, Ye Su busied herself a while longer, first moving the jar with the seeds to a spot with more suitable temperature. After inspecting everything, she left the flower room and returned to Fanxiang Court to freshen up.
She changed her clothes, re-did her hair, and only then set off at a leisurely pace toward the main courtyard with Biqing.
When she arrived at the courtyard, the maids were just serving the dishes. After paying her respects to her mother, Ye Su noticed her father was absent and found it a bit strange.
Hadn’t Mama Huang said both her father and mother were waiting for her?
Just as she was about to ask, Marchioness Anle spoke up first: “No need to look for him. Your father was just summoned to the palace.”
Ye Su was taken aback. “Has something happened at the palace?”
Though Marquis Anle held the title of marquis, aside from his noble rank, he only held a leisurely post in the Ministry of Rites.
Matters of state never involved him, and on ordinary days he didn’t even go to the palace. Why would he be summoned so late in the evening?
Marchioness Anle seemed somewhat irritated. “It’s those troublemakers again—they made a spectacle of themselves in the palace. Your father and your uncle went in to clean up after them.”
“Made a spectacle? Mother, do tell me!” At the hint of gossip, Ye Su’s spirits perked up at once. She dropped her noble lady’s airs and curiously sidled up to her mother.
“Shoo, shoo. You’re still a child—what business do you have prying into such things? It’ll only corrupt you.” Marchioness Anle pushed her daughter away.
But Ye Su wouldn’t give up. “Mother, I’m twenty-two years old, not a child anymore. What’s there that I can’t hear? What did they do in the palace? Could it be…”
She let her imagination run wild—could they have been so eager to enter the palace that they threw themselves into Jiang Zhaoyi’s arms in public?
Imagining Jiang Zhaoyi’s frail, pale appearance, and then picturing Ye Wei and the others coyly throwing themselves at him, Ye Su found it quite amusing.
“If only they’d been that subtle. That girl Ye Wei ‘accidentally’ fell into the water, and His Majesty was right there—she nearly dragged him in with her!” The Marchioness nearly dropped the cup in her hand.
When the eunuch who’d come to deliver the message said that the fifth young lady had accidentally slipped into the water, his expression had been laden with meaning, and Marchioness Anle had immediately caught the implication.
It was deliberate!
And not only that—Ye Wei had even tried to pull His Majesty into the imperial lake along with her. Anyone with eyes could see what she was after.
An unmarried woman and a man falling into a lake together, both soaked through—did one even need to guess how that would end?
But Ye Wei’s most unforgivable offense wasn’t her little scheme—it was that to achieve her goal, she’d disregarded His Majesty’s safety and health.
Even with guards, eunuchs, and palace maids all around, His Majesty falling into the water was still a grave matter.
On top of that, His Majesty’s health was already poor. If he caught an illness from this, a hundred Ye Weis wouldn’t be enough to pay for it—and it would drag the entire Ye family down with her.
“Is… is His Majesty alright?” Ye Su put away her smile.
But judging by her mother’s expression, nothing serious had happened—otherwise she’d be more than just irritated.
Indeed, Marchioness Anle said, “His Majesty is fine—he was alert enough to dodge in time.”
“As for Ye Wei, she swallowed quite a bit of lake water and is still unconscious in the palace.” She really had thrown caution to the wind, jumping in despite not knowing how to swim, and in the end, it was a eunuch who could swim who pulled her out.
Not only that: “I heard that earlier, at the Empress Dowager’s palace, those three wouldn’t let up either, constantly belittling each other in veiled words. It was only after Her Grace grew weary of it that she suggested going out for a stroll—and then this happened.”
Playing such petty tricks in front of the Empress Dowager—those three were truly foolish to the core.
She hadn’t even entered the palace today, and just hearing a few words from the eunuch had already exhausted her. Let alone her sister-in-law, who had brought those three into the palace—she probably had half a mind to draw a blade and chop them up on the spot.
Marchioness Anle decided to retract her earlier assessment of Ye Wei. That woman couldn’t even be credited with petty cleverness—all she had were crooked schemes.
Ye Su was equally speechless. “This won’t spread, will it?”
With something like this happening, if word got out, it would be nothing but a stain on both their families, making it seem that the Ye family had raised daughters of this sort.
Especially her aunt—she had originally wanted to give her natal family a leg up, and yet these three had made her lose all face.
She wondered whether Jiang Zhaoyi had known in advance about the Empress Dowager aunt’s intentions.
“Don’t worry about that—it won’t spread.” Marchioness Anle said.
She too feared those three would drag the Ye family down. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager was family as well, and no matter how angry she was over today’s events, she wouldn’t let it leak out.
“Let’s eat first.” She had originally wanted to summon her daughter over to let her meet the prospective husband she and the Marquis had picked out for her, but after the eunuch came with the message, Marchioness Anle had completely lost the mood. They’d talk about it another day.