Chapter 54 Cousin
Ye Shijie was waiting for Jiang Li in the small building in the teahouse next door.

This morning, he asked someone to wait outside the Jiang residence and bring a message to Jiang Li's maid. Ye Shijie asked her to meet him in the teahouse, but even though he had said so, it was not certain that Jiang Li would come in person.

However, Jiang Li finally arrived.

The time for entering the school has not yet arrived, and this place is not far from Mingyi Hall. A simple chat with Ye Shijie will not affect the time for entering the school. Jiang Li came to the appointment after making arrangements.

In the teahouse, Ye Shijie was wearing a blue-gray robe. Although it was a simple color, if you look closely, you can see that the material of the robe is very exquisite, and the dark pattern on the cuffs is also a rare double-needle embroidery. This young man has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and is quite handsome, but he is still a little wary when he looks at Jiang Li.

"Cousin Ye." Jiang Li said as she sat down opposite Ye Shijie.

As if he was shocked by the three words "cousin Ye", Ye Shijie was stunned. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. After a while, he spoke stiffly: "Why did you help me yesterday?"

Yesterday, in a critical situation, Jiang Li suddenly appeared to help Ye Shijie, and Ye Shijie was very grateful to the little girl who drew her sword to help him. But when he sat under the lamp at night, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. The second young lady of the Jiang family in Beijing, wasn't that the daughter of his deceased aunt, his cousin?

If someone else had come to his aid, Ye Shijie might not have thought much about it, but when the hero who came to his aid turned out to be Jiang Li, Ye Shijie refused to believe that there was no conspiracy. After tossing and turning all night without sleeping, Ye Shijie decided to talk to Jiang Li directly and find out what was going on.

"I call you Cousin Ye. Do you want me to stand by and watch my relatives being blackmailed on the street?" Jiang Li said it very naturally, as if she was surprised why Ye Shijie asked such a simple question.

Ye Shijie was choked by Jiang Li's self-righteous words again. After a while, he sneered and said, "Don't be ridiculous. You look down on us merchants, so how can you say we are relatives?"

Jiang Li heard this and asked curiously, "What does this mean?"

Ye Shijie glared at him: "When my grandmother came to the capital to pick you up and take you to Xiangyang, you scolded my Ye family in front of the entire Jiang family, saying that we were lowly merchants and wanted to cut off all ties with the Ye family!" When Ye Shijie said this, his chest rose and fell violently, and he seemed very excited: "After my grandmother went back, she fell seriously ill and rested in bed for a whole year before she recovered. What are you talking about relatives now? Are you kidding?"

Jiang Li stared at him, blinked, and said in amazement: "Did I ever say such a thing?"

Ye Shijie: "...."

"Cousin Ye, maybe you remembered it wrong." Jiang Li shook her head, "I don't remember saying such a thing."

"You don't remember?" Ye Shijie taunted, "But everyone in our Ye family who was present remembers!"

"Yeah, it seems that I did say such words." Jiang Li sighed in her heart. No wonder the Ye family cut off contact with the Jiang family. If Miss Jiang Er really said such hurtful words to the old lady of the Ye family, it would be strange if they could reconcile. However, she would not bear the charge that did not belong to her in vain. Jiang Li said: "It's just that I really can't remember it now. May I ask, cousin Ye, how old was I when I said this?"

Ye Shijie said coldly: "Five years old."

"Five years old." Jiang Li frowned. "Logically, I should be old enough to know things, but I don't remember this. Cousin Ye, don't you think this is a bit strange?"

"What excuse are you going to make?" Ye Shijie stared at her.

"I wanted to say that I was young at the time and my grandmother was far away in Xiangyang. My mother passed away early and my father was busy with government affairs, so my stepmother took care of me most of the time. What I said might not have been taught by someone, or someone threatened me to say it." Ye Shijie was about to make a few sarcastic remarks, but when he saw Jiang Li's serious expression, he couldn't help but be stunned.

Jiang Li's words were her guess in her heart. Miss Jiang was still young at the time, but she could say such hurtful words. Besides, if Miss Jiang really believed that merchants were lowly, someone must have instilled such a view in her. Based on Jiang Li's current observation of Ji Shuran, Ji Shuran's viciousness might not be used on the young Miss Jiang.

Whether it was Ji Shuran's coaxing or threatening, it was definitely not Miss Jiang's idea, but was influenced by the will of others.

Ye Shijie was silent for a while. Jiang Li's words made him a little shaken. Although he had resentment towards Jiang Li, Jiang Li's expression did not seem fake at the moment.

"So what do you want to do now?" After a while, Ye Shijie asked, "Do you want to reconcile with the Ye family?"

Jiang Li smiled: "I just saved Cousin Ye once with a little effort, and Cousin Ye thought I wanted to mend the relationship with the Ye family. You might as well tell Cousin Ye that if I really wanted to repair the relationship with the Ye family, I would not use your help."

"Hmph." Ye Shijie snorted, but his expression was no longer as hostile as at the beginning. He said, "You said it lightly, and acted like you were speaking for justice. Who doesn't know how shrewd you are at heart? Otherwise, why didn't you send Liu Zimin to the authorities and just give him a way out?"

Yesterday, Liu Zimin and Ye Shijie had an argument, and Jiang Li stepped in and turned the situation around with just a few words. Originally, Liu Zimin had no chance of turning the situation around, but Jiang Li took the initiative to give Liu Zimin a way out, allowing Liu Zimin to escape the disaster.

"In Yanjing, the forces of various parties are complicated and there are many officials. Although the Ye family is very rich, they do not hold any official positions. It is like unprotected fat meat, anyone can take a bite. Cousin, isn't it because of your wealth that Liu Zimin has been eyeing you?"

Ye Shijie frowned.

"The Ye family is wealthy, but they are also commoners. Even small officials dare not fight with big officials, let alone commoners against high officials. Sparing Liu Zimin a way out is actually for the good of my cousin. If my cousin keeps pestering me, the Taichangqing Mansion will certainly not give up. The Liu family can afford it, but the Ye family cannot." Jiang Li said.

Ye Shijie discovered that when Jiang Li said this, her expression faded, and she even seemed to have some resentment of being frustrated.

People should not fight officials. Jiang Li felt a hint of sarcasm in her heart. Isn't that right? Her Xue family is still an official family, but because of their low official position, they are just grass in the eyes of noble people like Princess Yongning, and they can be beaten and killed. There is indeed justice and truth in the world, but it depends on what you rely on. Relying on totalitarianism, unreasonableness is also reasonable.

Ye Shijie said: "Of course I know, otherwise I wouldn't have spared him once."

Jiang Li looked at Ye Shijie like this, and she understood that the eldest grandson of the Ye family was not an impulsive person. She asked: "I forgot to ask, why is my cousin in Yanjing City?"

There must be a reason for coming to Yanjing City from Xiangyang for no reason.

"I am studying in the Imperial Academy." Ye Shijie looked at Jiang Li with a somewhat provocative tone, "As you said, the Ye family is poor and unable to protect the family property, so I came to the capital to study and become an official."

"You want to be an official?" Jiang Li suddenly realized.

(End of this chapter)