Crowned Consort in Golden Age-Chapter 19: Ding Kingdom King’s Mansion has guests
19. Guests Arrive at the King of Ding Kingdom’s Mansion
As expected, Ms.Wang quickly sent the clothing and jewelry she had prepared for Ye Li. Looking at the arrogant expressions of the nanny and maidservant who brought the items, Ye Li did not grow angry. She casually glanced at the items on the table, gave them a faintly amused look, and casually instructed her maidservant beside her, "Qingxia, put the items away."
Seeing Ye Li’s light, indifferent demeanor, the maidservant holding a box of jewelry was displeased. Lifting her chin, she glanced at Ye Li. "Third Miss, these items were specially prepared for you by our mistress."
Ye Li’s tranquil, limpid, and beautiful eyes blinked once. She looked at her with a smile and said gently, "I know. Is there anything else?"
The maidservant was taken aback. She was Ms.Wang’s favored head maidservant; who in this residence didn’t treat her politely? This Third Miss, for some reason, spoke to her very politely, but the words were exceptionally grating to the ear. Remembering Ms.Wang’s instructions, she regained her courage and said, "Our mistress has instructed that Third Miss must wear these new clothes and accessories at the Hundred Flowers Banquet, lest people think that our young miss doesn’t even have new clothes to wear."
"Must?" Ye Li leaned back in her chair, her right hand languidly propping up her chin as she gazed coolly at the arrogant maidservant before her. "You are called Cuizhu?"
"Replying to Third Miss, this servant is indeed Cuizhu." For some reason, the maidservant named Cuizhu suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She looked at the young lady seated before her, whose posture was languid yet graceful, and spoke with some unease.
"Are you certain... the mistress told you that I *must* wear this outfit?" Ye Li asked faintly.
Cuizhu hesitated for a moment, then replied firmly, "Yes. These were specially prepared for Third Miss by the mistress. Is Third Miss intending to defy the mistress’s kind intentions?"
Ye Li looked at this maidservant, who was comely but bore an arrogant expression, and suddenly laughed. She extended a delicate, fair finger, hooked a piece of fabric from the clothes in the brocade box on the table, and said dismissively, "Just this sort of quality... would it be better than wearing old clothes?"
The clothes in the brocade box were admittedly new, and moreover, they were new clothes made of precious Yun Brocade. But with those opulent colors and rigid styles, if she really wore them out, people would probably think she wasn’t attending a gathering of the Capital City’s young ladies but was impatient to get married. Could it be that Ms.Wang thought that just because she hadn’t attended any gatherings these past few years, she really understood nothing? Such a bright red color and complex intertwined floral patterns would only displease Eldest Princess Zhaoyang, who was hosting the banquet, and furthermore, earn her the scorn of the other prominent young ladies of the Capital City.
"Third Miss! You... how dare you..." Cuizhu’s eyes widened, seemingly not expecting the usually silent and uncontesting Third Miss to actually say such audacious words. The others who had come with her also showed expressions of shock and dissatisfaction.
"Since the mistress specially prepared them, take them back to Fourth Sister. Tell her, if she can go, to use these, lest the mistress’s kind intentions be wasted. As for me... I presume the mistress doesn’t know my preferences, so there’s no need for the mistress to trouble herself," Ye Li said indifferently as she casually placed the clothes back into the brocade box.
A trace of anger flashed across Cuizhu’s face. She forced a smile and said, "The mistress has already prepared for Fourth Miss. These are for Third Miss."
"Miss," standing behind Ye Li, Qingshuang said with a crisp laugh, "Miss, since the mistress has prepared them, it wouldn’t be good for Miss to disregard the mistress’s kind intentions. If Miss doesn’t fancy them, why not bestow them upon this servant?"
Ye Li glanced back at Qingshuang, nodded, and smiled, "Have I usually mistreated you, girl? Very well, you all can pick what you like."
Qingshuang did not stand on ceremony, stepped forward, and picked out a pair of gilt gemstone earrings from inside. "This servant thanks Miss for the reward."
The other maidservants were not as bold as Qingshuang. They looked at the gemstone earrings in Qingshuang’s hand with expressions of envy and hesitation. Cuizhu hadn’t expected Third Miss to dare to gift the items the mistress had prepared to a maidservant right in front of her. Her face turned unsightly. At the same time, she felt jealous that Qingshuang served such a generous master. She knew that even though she was the mistress’s most favored head maidservant, the mistress had never rewarded her with such valuable jewelry. Seeing the expressions of the several maidservants, Qingshuang’s eyes darted, and she smiled, "Sister Qingxia, Miss is rewarding us, why don’t you come and pick an item? If you don’t pick, Yun’er and the others won’t feel comfortable either."
Qingxia quickly glanced at Ye Li and saw that she didn’t seem angry; instead, her gaze towards Qingshuang held a hint of indulgence. Only then did she step forward, choose a gold hairpin, and thank Ye Li for the reward. Seeing that Qingxia had taken something, the younger maidservants also stepped forward and chose one or two items they liked, their faces full of joy. It should be known that young maidservants like them, unlike the head maidservants close to the master, rarely had the opportunity to receive rewards from their master. Although Miss did not value these exquisite and precious accessories, having even one piece as part of their dowry when they married in the future would be a respectable thing.
"Third Miss, you’ve gifted the items the madam prepared for you to the maidservants. Surely you don’t expect the madam to prepare another set for you? Each young miss only has one set. Isn’t Third Miss making things difficult for the madam by doing this?" Cuizhu said, her face unsightly.
Ye Li stood up and said, "The items the madam sent me are now my things. Since each sister only gets one set, I naturally will not be an exception. Or... are you still insisting that I or Fourth Sister wear such a ’magnificent robe’?" She looked at her with great interest, deliberately emphasizing the words ’magnificent robe’.
"This ser... This servant dares not." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
"It’s good that you don’t dare. Go back and thank the madam for me."
"Miss, the madam has arrived," Jingwen, the temporarily reassigned embroidery maid, reported from outside the door.
Before Ye Li could speak, Ms.Wang had already entered with her people. However, her initially smiling face froze when she saw the items on the table and in the hands of the several maidservants. "Li’er... do you not like the things Mother prepared for you?"
"Thank you for your concern, Madam. However, Aunt sent a set over to Li’er two days ago. Li’er didn’t want to waste your kind intentions, so she gave them to Qingshuang and the others. I’m sure they will be grateful to you," Ye Li said nonchalantly, her gaze falling on the few nannies and maidservants who had followed Ms.Wang in. Clearly, these few people were not from the Ye Family.
Qingshuang led the several maidservants in smartly thanking the madam. Ms.Wang forced a smile and said to Ye Li, "Li’er is still so kind-hearted. These are the steward nannies from the King of Ding Kingdom’s Mansion. Li’er, come meet them."
Before Ye Li could step forward, the leading nanny stepped forward with a serious expression and bowed to Ye Li, saying, "This old servant greets Third Miss. This old servant is a steward nanny by the Prince’s side, and my husband’s surname is Sun. I have come by the Prince’s order to deliver some items to Third Miss. Please, Third Miss, kindly accept them."
The nanny gestured with her hand, and two older female servants and two maidservants, holding brocade boxes, stepped forward to salute Ye Li. "Greetings, Third Miss."
Qingshuang and Qingxia quickly stepped forward to help Nanny Sun up. Ye Li nodded with a smile, seemingly not noticing Nanny Sun’s subtle, appraising gaze, and said with a light smile, "We’ve troubled Nanny Sun. Please help me thank the Prince."
Nanny Sun’s sharp old eyes swept over the items on the table and also took in Ms.Wang’s expression. A trace of satisfaction flashed in her eyes, and her serious face also showed a hint of a smile. "In that case, this old servant will take her leave first," she said, curtsying once more to Ye Li.
Ye Li nodded and said to Qingshuang, "Qingshuang, escort Nanny Sun out for me."
Qingshuang responded with an affirmative. Yun’er and the other maidservants stepped forward to receive the items, while Qingshuang personally led Nanny Sun and the others out.
