ALL NOVEL Chapter 53 - A Rumor that Went Wild (3)
Chapter 53: A Rumor that Went Wild (3)
Translator: Night Fury
The instant that Ye Li got down from the second floor, the whole first floor went silent at once. After Ye Li walked out of the teahouse with a mild smile, people were about to gossip. At that exact moment they saw Mo Jing Li come downstairs in a dark mood and the teahouse went quiet again. However, after seeing how they behaved, at least those who were at the teahouse had a tendency to show sympathy for Ye Li.
When Ye Li walked out of the teahouse, the carriage of Prince Ding’s Manor just stopped. Ah Jin was about to draw the curtain and invite Mo Xiu Yao out.
“Xiu Yao,” Ye Li called softly.
Seeing Ye Li, Ah Jin stepped aside with respect. Stepping on the low stool, Ye Li got into the carriage quickly. Mo Xiu Yao looked at her and raised his eyebrows: “Why do you get downstairs?”
Ye Li sat on his opposite and smiled: “Tian Xiang said there’s no room for another person and asked me to come downstairs. They are just messing with me. I was going to visit your Manor tomorrow.”
A smile appeared on Mo Xiu Yao’s face: “They are doing it at the right time.”
“Why’s that?” Confused, Ye Li asked. Outside the carriage, Ah Jin already started to drive the carriage forward. Thinking for a moment, Ye Li poked her head out of the carriage window and gave Ah Jin an address when she saw Mo Jing Li standing at the entrance to the teahouse house and looking at the carriage with a gloomy face.
Mo Xiu Yao said: “Since this morning, the whole capital is talking about how Jing Li made up and spread yesterday’s gossip just to embarrass you.”
Ye Li was stunned and she started to realize why Mo Jing Li looked so sullen. A person like Mo Jing Li didn’t just suck up the wrong accusations about him. Murong Ting’s firm guess occurred to her once again. Only then did Ye Li realize that Murong Ting’s guess wasn’t out of nowhere.
“Do you have anything to discuss with me since you want to see me, Ah Li?” Mo Xiu Yao looked at Ah Li, whose mind had obviously gone to somewhere else.
Ye Li collected her thoughts and nodded: “This morning, Han Ming Yue gave me two gold notes which value 200,000 Liang, silver notes which are worth over 10,000 Liang, as well as a pair of jade pendants. I am going to take them with me when I visit your Manor tomorrow. It’s inconvenient to bring them with me going out with Tian Xiang and the other girls.”
Mo Xiu Yao shook his head and seemed to not care about that: “He gave that to you and you should just keep them.”
Ye Li didn’t know what to say. Giving out hundreds of thousands Liang of sliver, Han Ming Yue was too generous with the money for her to take. “I will send them to your Manor. You can figure it out for me. I have enough money already.”
Mo Xiu Yao had no choice and sighed: “Ah Li… What Han Ming Yue sent you is yours now. Just do whatever you want with it. You don’t have to feel that you owe him anything. A person like Han Ming Yue wouldn’t in a million years spend one unnecessary Liang. He would send the money to make amends because he thinks it’s worth it. You don’t have to promise him anything.”
Ye Li smiled: “I didn’t intend to make him any promise either.” Ye Li had speculated that Han Ming Yue had probably done something that let Mo Xiu Yao down and this time he did it again. It never occurred to Han Ming Yue that Mo Xiu Yao would let him off so easily, which he did. Han Ming Yue, out of his guilty conscience, couldn’t find any way to make up for Mo Xiu Yao, and thus decided to win her favor, not considering the cost. Unfortunately, Ye Li wasn’t going to interfere by helping the two who used to be friends getting their friendship back once again. So Han Ming probably spent this large fortune on a bad investment.
“So you ask me out for this?” Mo Xiu Yao asked.
Hearing Mo Xiu Yao’s deep and beautiful voice, Ye Li’s heart skipped a beat while she was thinking. She said apologetically: “It’s nothing big really. Was I disturbing you?” Seeing that Mo Xiu Yao seemed not interested in what Han Ming Yue sent at all made Ye Li wonder how rich exactly was Prince Ding’s Manor.
“Usually, I don’t have much to do.” Mo Xiu Yao shook his head, “Since we are out already, would you like to go to this place with me?”
Ye Li nodded: “I don’t know the capital that well. You make the decision.”
After Ye Li agreed, Mo Xiu Yao told something to Ah Jin, who was commanding the carriage. Then Ah Jin turned the carriage and went to another direction.
In the carriage, Ye Li asked curiously: “Fenghua Building? You are not planning to buy me any jewelry, are you? I own a jewelry store myself.”
Mo Xiu Yao looked at her with a smile. “Isn’t it normal to buy a fiancée some jewelry?”
Ye Li kept her mouth shut. Or could she say: why don’t you pay a visit to my Treasure Pavilion? At least keep the money within the family. Even if she had not been in a relationship, she knew that would spoil the fun. But… did Mo Xiu Yao do this to please her? Out of nowhere, Ye Li felt a little annoyed. But looking at the gentle and calm look on his face, she couldn’t tell what was on his mind. Ye Li had no choice but to give up. Wasn’t it a delight to have a man who was not annoying and who was also her future husband buy her some jewelry?
Fenghua Building was a very famous jewelry store in the capital. The jewelry sold there was mainly made of jade. And the reason why it was so popular among the daughters of rich and powerful families in the capital was not only because of its high price and exquisite goods, but more importantly, the jewelry sold there had never been the same exact style. Each one was unique, which won the heart of those noble young ladies and women who didn’t like to be the same as others. Ye Li once considered to make Treasure Pavilion such a high-end store, but she did not have the same great designers and masters of carving as Fenghua Building. Ye Li herself was only an amateur of jewelry design, so she had no choice but to give up.
When they entered Fenghua Building, the shopkeeper immediately greeted them, though for a fleeting moment he was startled seeing Mo Xiu Yao in the wheelchair, then a fitting smile appeared on his face. “So it’s Prince Ding and the third miss of Ye Family. Your presence brings honor to our humble store. Your Highness, Miss Ye, this way, please.”
After the two of them were invited to a separate room, a girl with good looks immediately brought them fragrant tea which was harvested right this spring. Ye Li smiled and drank the tea. She looked around the elegant and comfortable layout of the room and admired slightly at such an enjoyment that was only served to distinguished guests. It was no wonder that Fenghua Building could become one of the favorite places for the nobles in the capital. With such considerate service, the store wouldn’t need to worry about a lack of customers.
Maybe it was because of who Mo Xiu Yao was, the shopkeeper stood before them himself to serve them. “Your Highness, do you want to find something for Miss Ye? Miss Ye, I think this is your first time to our little store. May I ask what kind of jewelry do you like?”
Ye Li turned to Mo Xiu Yao. Mo Xiu Yao was drinking his tea while speaking in a soft voice: “Show us something good first.”
The shopkeeper answered and left to collect the jewelry himself. Ye Li said, confused: “Are we really here to buy some jewelry?”
Mo Xiu Yao laughed and said: “You are overthinking it, Ah Li. Since we are out today, what harm could it cause to buy something we like?”
Ye Li asked a little suspiciously: “Does my usual way of dressing embarrass you?” Come to think of it, that wasn’t exactly impossible. Ye Li had a lot of jewelries, but those were inherited from Lady Xu. However, being superfluous wasn’t Ye Li’s style, so she kept her way of dressing to an extent that wouldn’t offend anyone, especially her head ornaments. She couldn’t bear an excessive way of dressing. However, considering the position of Prince Ding’s Manor, Mo Xiu Yao might feel embarrassed if his future Princess was simply dressed.
Mo Xiu Yao shook his head and stared at Ye Li with a serious look: “I can’t stand you if your head is actually ornamented fully with pearls and jade. To be honest, I have no idea where to go so I brought you here to look for some jewelry. Feng Zhi Yao said they have really nice jewelry here.”
Ye Li looked at him skeptically and tried to find a trace of uneasiness on his face. But that “someone” was so calm and collected. Even though he was saying such apparent words of love, he could still look elegant and collected, as if he was reading an ancient scroll in his study.
Ye Li could only tell herself that she was overthinking. Come to think about it, though that “someone” looked so refined and cultivated, as a fine jade at the moment, it was said that he was once young and frivolous, on a horse on a slanting bridge.
Soon afterwards, the shopkeeper came back with two boxes. He put the boxes on the table and opened them with the greatest of care while saying: “It’s rare to see Your Highness and Miss Ye in our humble store. This set of jewelry is the latest design of our boss. I’m afraid this is the last set of this year. Miss Ye, how do you like it?”
Seeing how serious the shopkeeper was, Ye Li became a little interested in it.
It was a set of jewelry made of light green jade of the highest quality. Light green jade may not be the best among jade artifacts but the quality of this set of jewelry in front of them was beyond anything Ye Li had ever seen in either Virtue Pavilion or Treasure Pavilion. What was more important was its simple yet tasteful style. It looked like an elegant magnolia that blossomed quietly in a night with a bright moon and gave rise to a feeling of silence and softness in one’s heart.
‘No woman in the world could ever say no to such exquisite jewelry.’ Ye Li sighed to herself.
“This set includes two magnolia hairpins, one bracelet, one bangle, and an ornament for forehead.” Seeing the appreciation in Ye Li’s eyes, the shopkeeper opened another box at once. In it was the ornament for forehead. It was made of light green fine jade, without any complex patterns or gems engraved. It was just an ornament made up of several beautiful magnolias, lying there quietly on the silk in the brocade box, blooming with light brilliance.
“Do you like it?” Mo Xiu Yao looked at Ye Li, with a smile, he said: “It matches you perfectly.”
“It’s quite beautiful.” Ye Li nodded.
“We will take this one. Send someone to collect a sliver note at my Manor later.”
Seeing that both of them were satisfied, the shopkeeper was clearly happy to earn a fortune by striking up this deal. “Understood, Your Highness. Miss Ye, do you want to take it with you or have it sent to your Manor?”
Mo Xiu Yao said coolly: “Just send it to Ye Manor.”