Consort Mei’s heart had initially turned cold from Ye Jin’s harsh words.
Even seeing Ye Qingweng treat her with unusual warmth didn’t fill her with any sense of being overwhelmed by favor.
It wasn’t until Ye Qingweng uttered those words that her heart gave a lurch.
She glanced at Ye Qingweng with some hesitation.
She knew very well what Ye Shaohua was like. Since childhood, he had disliked studying. Although his true nature had emerged after moving to the separate estate, and he had even hired a tutor…
Consort Mei also knew that deep down, Ye Shaohua was still fond of play. Over these past three years, the number of characters he’d actually read from books could be counted on one’s fingers.
Hiring that scholar tutor had merely been for show, a prop kept in the room.
The Eldest Young Master, Ye Shaoming, had shown a natural talent for studying since he was young. With a Tanhua scholar as his teacher, and even while still living at the Ye residence, Consort Mei had known how hard Ye Shaoming worked.
Now that Ye Shaoming had placed ninth, the Ye family was making such a grand fuss…
Yet Ye Shaohua had taken the top spot as the Provincial First Place Scholar?!
Upon hearing this news, Consort Mei’s first reaction was that it felt utterly unreal.
With Ye Shaohua running out every day, otherwise walking dogs and playing…
Could he really achieve the top rank?
Could the imperial examinations nowadays be that easy?
“Mother, this is the most joyous occasion for the Ye residence! And this is just the provincial examination. Lord Li praised Shaohua highly,” Ye Qingweng hadn’t encountered such a happy event in years, the smile never leaving his face. “He directly praised my son for his startling talent and peerless brilliance, saying that placing within the top three in the metropolitan and palace examinations isn’t out of the question!”
Hearing that a young master from the residence had achieved the Provincial First Place Scholar rank, the Old Madam thought for a good while.
Only then did she recall Ye Shaohua’s name.
“You’re talking about the Fourth Young Master?” the Old Madam was stunned for a moment.
Ye Qingweng nodded. “Yes. It seems the eminent monk from the Guardian Temple misunderstood Shaohua’s fortune. If his destiny was truly so harsh, how could he achieve the top rank? The courtyard Consort Mei used to live in has been empty for a long time. The Pear Garden that was renovated recently is quite nice.”
The Ye residence producing a Provincial First Place Scholar was indeed a great joyous event.
Seeing a grandson from a concubine have such accomplishment naturally filled the Old Madam’s heart with great joy as well.
It was as if the suggestion to exile Consort Mei and Ye Shaohua to Jiangnan hadn’t come from her at all.
Lady Ye sat in her place maintaining a smile, but the hand adorned with painted nails was clenched so tightly her nails dug deep into her palm. Listening to the Old Madam and Lord Ye’s arrangements, her lowered eyes gradually grew somber.
As for Ye Jin, still standing to the side, her expression was somewhat dazed.
She looked at Consort Mei with a pitiful, mournful gaze, but Consort Mei didn’t look at her once from beginning to end.
**
Because Ye Shaohua had achieved the top rank, Ye Qingweng specially held a family banquet to celebrate both young masters from the residence passing the provincial examination.
Several branches of the extended family attended.
Two tables were set up in the house.
“Sister, this is a set of the Four Treasures of the Study I had someone bring back from the south this year,” Lady Ye’s face no longer held the sharpness from before; she was now extremely amiable as she presented a set of the Four Treasures to Consort Mei. “I hope Hua’er will soar to great heights in the spring metropolitan examination next year.”
Consort Mei took the set of Four Treasures, glanced at it, and then had Liu’er put it away.
“Thank you for your generous favor, Madam.”
High-quality Four Treasures of the Study were indeed hard to come by these days, and the waterways from the south were notoriously difficult to navigate.
The reason Lady Ye could have someone purchase these was because she had an uncle in the family engaged in business. It was also why the standard of living for Lady Ye’s branch was more affluent than others in the residence.
This was precisely the reason Ye Jin was determined to curry favor with the Old Madam and Lady Ye.
Ye Jin sat in a place relatively far from the two. Seeing Consort Mei’s brief, dismissive thanks, she couldn’t help but speak up, “Consort, Mother specifically asked a merchant to bring these back from the south. Generally, only those of imperial or aristocratic lineage can use items of this quality.”
“These things are that precious?” Consort Mei was actually surprised.
Just this year, she had seen friends of Ye Shaohua’s frequently bring him such items, also said to be from the south. However, Ye Shaohua rarely used them.
So Consort Mei hadn’t paid them much mind.
Now, hearing Ye Jin say this, she was somewhat startled. Were the things she had casually piled up in the storage room really that valuable?
Seeing Consort Mei’s unsophisticated, uninformed manner, Lady Ye couldn’t help but give a faint, derisive laugh.
Ye Qingweng didn’t bother with the subtle conflicts among the women. He simply asked Consort Mei, “Why hasn’t Shaohua returned yet? Is he still at home reviewing his studies? Even Shaoming has come out to eat. Should we send someone to fetch him?”
Consort Mei thought that Ye Shaohua was probably out drinking with someone at that very moment. She hemmed and hawed, not giving a clear answer.
Just then, the servant from outside returned.
“Master, the Fourth Young Master has returned,” the reporting servant said, his face wearing an expression that seemed to hold back words.
Ye Qingweng and the others didn’t notice it.
Until a handsome youth in a moon-white robe entered.
By now, the sky was somewhat dark, and several lanterns were lit in the room.
In the interplay of light and shadow, the youth was breathtakingly handsome, his beautiful eyes slightly narrowed with a touch of careless, casual elegance.
His presence instantly made the entire room seem more brilliant.
He was also holding a birdcage, inside which was a brightly colored bird.
At a glance, he looked more like a carefree, worldly young nobleman playing amongst mortals.
Not at all like a concubine’s son who had been exiled to a separate estate.
A servant standing to the side stole a glance at those clean, elegant facial features. The Third Miss of the Ye residence had always been famous for her beauty and talent, drawing praise from many young noblemen outside. But if one were to truly compare… she wasn’t even one-tenth as good-looking as this Fourth Young Master.
The Old Madam and Ye Qingweng had initially been all smiles. Seeing Ye Shaohua carrying a birdcage, their brows furrowed slightly.
“Consort, a friend of mine just acquired this parrot. They say it’s very clever. I specially begged for it to keep you amused,” Ye Shaohua handed the birdcage to Consort Mei. “Tomorrow I’ll go out again to see what other interesting playthings I can find.”
“Wait,” Ye Qingweng sensed something amiss. “You spend your whole day just going out to play?”
Ye Shaohua sat down beside Consort Mei and glanced sideways. “Yes, Father. Is there a problem?”
Ye Qingweng’s face turned cold, and he didn’t speak. Lady Ye, however, smiled imperceptibly: “Hua’er, don’t think you can relax just because you achieved the Provincial First Place rank. The spring metropolitan examination in February next year is still waiting, followed by the palace examination. That’s where one’s lifelong learning is truly tested. Look at your elder brother. He has been studying diligently in his study all this time. On ordinary days, he either meets with literary scholars or serves as a study companion to the Third Prince.”
