When Jiang Zhaoyi was a child, he wasn’t just a sickly boy—he was a sickly boy full of mischief.
When he didn’t like his medicine, he would go out of his way to bring it to Ye Su’s room and pour it over her beloved orchids.
After killing her orchids, he would look completely innocent. If she hadn’t smelled the strong medicinal odor in the soil, she would never have discovered what he’d done. So it was perfectly understandable that she later put a handful of salt in his medicine bowl.
A person so quietly wicked, paired with the shy, expectant looks on Ye Mo and the other two girls’ faces, was enough to make one secretly disdainful.
Of course, what she disdained wasn’t Ye Mo and the others—it was Jiang Zhaoyi.
But Ye Su had heard that her eldest uncle had long intended to send one of his daughters into the palace, hoping to replicate the Empress Dowager’s path.
If they succeeded, the Ye family could secure another two generations of wealth and honor. How could that not be tempting?
As emperor, Jiang Zhaoyi had married the Empress at fifteen. She had been chosen by the late emperor himself—the eldest legitimate granddaughter of the Grand Tutor.
She came from a family of pure-minded scholars and had been a staunch royalist back in the day.
That year, Ye Su had been nineteen and was supposed to marry the second son of Marquis Jinheng. The Empress Dowager and Jiang Zhaoyi had even sent word that they’d prepared a list of congratulatory gifts for her dowry. But then the marriage fell through.
In Ye Su’s opinion, her eldest uncle’s idea was lovely in theory but not very realistic.
Setting aside the Empress, one only needed to look at the consorts currently favored in the palace to see Jiang Zhaoyi’s preferences—he clearly favored gentle, graceful women.
Of the Ye family’s daughters, only Ye Su had inherited her mother’s voluptuous, striking looks. The others were all as fragile as willows that a single gust of wind could topple.
But her opinion didn’t matter, because Ye Wei and Ye Fu clearly weren’t opposed to entering the palace—in fact, they seemed quite eager.
Between the two, Ye Fu was slightly more beautiful than her sisters, while Ye Wei was more tactful and clever. So her eldest uncle was probably still agonizing over which one to send.
As for Ye Mo—well, as the saying goes, the crying child gets the milk. With Ye Su, that troublesome eldest daughter, occupying all of Marquis Anle’s attention, he couldn’t possibly think about anything else.
Besides, the Ye family couldn’t send two daughters into the palace at once.
Lost in these idle thoughts, a soft voice suddenly came from beside her: “Third Sister, did you know from this morning that His Majesty would be coming today?”
Startled back to the present, Ye Su followed the voice—it was Ye Mo.
When their eyes met, Ye Mo had just shifted her gaze away from Ye Su’s hair.
Ye Fei and the others also looked over, and everyone noticed the plum blossom hairpin in Ye Su’s hair.
One glance told them this hairpin was no ordinary piece. Combined with Ye Mo’s words, they understood it was a gift from the palace—and not any of the items they’d seen before. It must have been a private bestowal.
As daughters of concubines, they had each received one or two such gifts—a hairpin, some fabric, or clothing—and they treasured them dearly. Yet today, no one was wearing theirs.
Only Ye Su was wearing something bestowed by His Majesty. Could it be that she knew from this morning that the emperor would visit today, and so…
With that thought, Ye Wei and Ye Fu’s expressions shifted slightly.
Ye Su was speechless. She hadn’t expected a single plum blossom hairpin to spark such suspicion among her sisters.
No wonder Ye Mo’s eyes had kept drifting toward her during breakfast at the main courtyard this morning.
But she wasn’t the type to take malice lying down. Since Ye Mo had brought it up, Ye Su raised her wrist to adjust the plum blossom hairpin, revealing two translucent, emerald-green imperial jade bangles on her wrist.
Once their gazes fixed on the bangles, she smiled. “To me, this is just an ordinary hairpin. I have plenty in my room—I’d long forgotten it was a gift from His Majesty. Fourth Sister is young, so her memory is naturally sharper than others’.”
“As for these two jade bangles, I remember they were specially bestowed by Aunt on my birthday two months ago. Didn’t Fourth Sister receive any?” Though they were years apart in age, Ye Su’s and Ye Mo’s birthdays were only ten days apart.
As she spoke, she deliberately swept her gaze across Ye Mo’s wrists.
Ye Mo hadn’t expected Ye Su to strike back so quickly and mercilessly. Her fingers twisted the sash at her waist in embarrassment, wishing she could hide her hands behind her back.
Ye Su could receive gifts from the Empress Dowager because she was her father’s legitimate daughter and could often accompany her mother into the palace to show her face before the Empress Dowager.
Ye Mo was just a concubine’s daughter. Only since age ten had she been allowed to occasionally accompany Marchioness Anle to banquets at other households.
As for entering the palace—that was out of the question. The only one Marchioness Anle brought along was her own daughter, Ye Su. The Empress Dowager probably couldn’t even recall that there was a young concubine’s daughter in the West Manor.
Ye Wei and Ye Fu, who had been about to speak, closed their mouths.
Their mothers were somewhat more favored in the East Manor than Ye Mo’s mother was with Second Uncle, but Ye Su was both the legitimate daughter of the Second Branch and their elder sister—her status naturally surpassed theirs.
It was all Ye Mo’s fault for stirring up trouble. Third Sister was so much older than His Majesty—how could she possibly compete with them?
If you had an imperial gift, why wouldn’t you wear it to gain face? It had nothing to do with whether the emperor came to the manor or not.
With that thought, Ye Wei and Ye Fu smiled. “Third Sister, Fourth Sister just misspoke. That plum blossom hairpin looks wonderful on you—you should wear it often.”
“Yes, we shouldn’t waste His Majesty’s kindness.” The two sisters played off each other, and the previously awkward atmosphere finally thawed.
Ye Fei and Ye Man had listened from start to finish but never spoke a word.
They could both see that aside from the third sister, the other younger sisters had ambition, and with their father willing to put in effort, who knew what they might achieve.
Perhaps one of them would become an imperial consort tomorrow—before the outcome was decided, it wouldn’t do to offend anyone prematurely, so they simply pretended they hadn’t heard anything.
No one paid attention to the quiet maneuvering between the sisters, because at that moment, sounds came from outside.
Two rows of armored guards carrying long spears stretched out of sight, marching until they stopped before the Ye residence’s gates. Further in the distance, the Emperor’s carriage slowly approached as well.
When the carriage arrived at the Ye residence’s gates, everyone knelt in reverence except for Old Madame Zheng.
Old Madame Zheng was a First-Rank Lady of the State, and as the current Emperor’s biological grandmother, she enjoyed the privilege of “being exempt from announcing her name at court and not having to hasten when entering the palace.” Naturally, she need not kneel.
Leaning on her serpent-headed cane, she bowed slightly, gazing intently at the luxurious black carriage.
The carriage came to a stop, and a young eunuch emerged from the side—none other than Dehai, the chief eunuch at the Emperor’s side.
A figure in a wide-sleeved black and gold robe ducked as he stepped out of the carriage.
A jade crown held his hair in place, and his young face bore a faint pallor that still couldn’t hide his handsome features. He was tall and slender.
The moment this figure appeared, everyone hailed him in unison with cries of “Long live the Emperor.”
Jiang Zhaoyi’s otherwise expressionless face broke into a warm smile upon seeing Old Madame Zheng, softening his cold features.
He waved away Dehai’s hand extended to support him, stepped steadily down from the carriage, then quickened his pace to support Old Madame Zheng as she bowed.
As he drew near, a faint scent of medicinal herbs wafted into the surrounding air, yet no one dared to take a deep breath.
A steady voice, youthful yet composed, rang out above everyone’s heads: “Grandmother need not stand on ceremony.”
“The Emperor shows such consideration for this old woman—this old woman thanks you.” Old Madame Zheng said with a beaming smile. The old and the young looked remarkably harmonious together.
Ye Su, head lowered, secretly curled her lips. Making them stand and wait for nearly half an hour—that’s what he called consideration?
After helping the old lady up, Jiang Zhaoyi finally took pity on them and waved his hand: “Everyone, rise. Today is the Lady of the State’s birthday celebration—I am merely here to offer my birthday wishes to Grandmother.”
“Both uncles, please rise.” Jiang Zhaoyi even made a gesture of supporting Marquis Jiayuan and Marquis Anle, who stood closest to him.
“We thank Your Majesty.” The Emperor’s attitude was warm, addressing them by family relations—clearly today was about kinship. The two marquises naturally played along, wearing relaxed and pleasant expressions.
“Grandmother has been waiting for me here for quite some time—that is my fault. Allow me to escort you inside.” Supporting the old lady’s arm, the two walked through the gates chatting and laughing together.
Marquis Jiayuan deliberately encouraged his sons to get closer to His Majesty, and Marquis Anle also signaled his two sons with his eyes. Ye Jiyu and the others gathered around.
Jiang Zhaoyi was gracious enough to oblige, calling each of them “cousin” in turn.
Truth be told, during the years he had lived at the Ye residence as a child, he had often met the eldest children of the Ye family, so he was indeed more familiar with them than with others.
But now that he was Emperor, the cousins he had grown up with could barely hide their unease beneath their forced ease in his presence.
Ye Wei and Ye Fu stood nearby as well, unfamiliar with him and in awe of imperial authority, not daring to utter the word “cousin.” They were completely overlooked.
Ye Su remained at the very back, not joining the rest of the Ye family in crowding around.