Chapter 96 Ye San
After Jiang Li, Tong'er and Bai Xue went to Xihua Tower, it was already late. They did not continue to wander around outside, nor did they go to Lizheng Hall. They went straight back to Ye Mansion.

No one in the Ye family's servants dared to control her, which made it very convenient for her to travel. However, after returning, Jiang Li specifically asked Tong'er to inquire about Ye Jiaer's situation and learned that Ye Jiaer had not returned yet.

Ye Jiaer stayed in Lizheng Hall the whole afternoon after Jiang Li left. It was just business. Ye Jiaer should be back in the evening. She didn't come back yet. Jiang Li guessed that it was related to the "Uncle Zhuang" and "Uncle Zhao" mentioned by Ye Jiaer before. It seemed that the little trouble in the Ye family's business was not small.

But now, even if she asked about the Ye family, the Ye family would not tell her the truth. After all, they have not yet "reconciled", and there is no need to mention too much about these family matters to a guest who is not very familiar with her.

It's not that time yet.

Jiang Li no longer paid attention to Ye Jiaer's affairs. After meeting Qiongzhi today, she finally let go of a worry and felt much more relaxed. That night, she felt sleepy early for the first time in her life, so she went to bed to rest.

Have a good night's sleep.

It was from this day that the Ye family suddenly became busy. In the next few days, when Jiang Li walked around the Ye Mansion, she saw only the housekeepers and maids of the Ye Mansion. Not to mention Ye Mingxuan and Ye Minghui, even Zhuo and Guan were not there. Ye Rufeng and Ye Jiaer were nowhere to be found. Sometimes there was no one there even at mealtime. The housekeeper simply built a small kitchen for Jiang Li. When Jiang Li wanted to eat every day, she didn't have to go to the front hall, but could eat alone in her own yard.

It's not that the Ye family doesn't like Jiang Li, it's just that the Ye family is too busy to eat at the mansion. If you don't know what happened in Li Zhengtang, you would almost doubt that there is no master in such a big mansion.

Jiang Li vaguely realized that the trouble of the Ye family was not a trivial matter, but since no one was there, it was useless for her to find out. She asked Tong'er to ask, but the maids in the Ye Mansion didn't know either. Jiang Li felt helpless.

It was a fine day.

It was late autumn and early winter. Xiangyang was in the south, warmer than Yanjing, and winter came later. Jiang Li stood in the yard wearing her outer coat, watching Tong'er and Baixue making silk brocade.

The two maids were a little lazy in the Ye Mansion. After all, it was not their own home, and they had no mood to take care of the flowers and plants. Sometimes during the day, they had nothing to do except finishing their work in the morning, so Jiang Li taught them to read and write to pass the time.

Tong'er yawned and said, "There are not many people in the Ye Mansion today."

It is certainly not right to say that there are not many people. There are plenty of people in the Ye Mansion, but they are all servants. They know nothing when asked about the Ye family. Tong'er doesn't even have the interest to chat with them.

"It's good that no one is restraining you?" Jiang Li teased her, "You are finally free."

"Miss, you said that this servant seems to like to run wild." Tong'er pouted, "I am just standing up for you. Not only are all the Ye family members not here, but they also didn't ask you to go see Old Madam Ye. These servants are even more secretive about Old Madam Ye. You have been here for so long, but you don't even know which courtyard Old Madam Ye lives in."

The Ye family did not seem to plan to let Jiang Li meet Old Madam Ye right now, nor did they say when they could meet. The wait was endless. Jiang Li could actually find Old Madam Ye herself when the Ye family was not around, but in this way, the Ye family would only have a worse impression of her, and it would be more difficult to repair the relationship.

Moreover, as the Ye family said, Madam Ye is not in good health at the moment. If she gets too excited when she sees Jiang Li and something happens, it will really be Jiang Li's fault.

So Jiang Li didn't take the initiative to touch that fragile string, and kept being confused.

Looking at the sky, it was sunny today, Jiang Li said, "Let's go out for a walk."

Staying in the Ye Mansion all the time will not be of any use, so it is better to go out and take a look.

Tong'er was immediately happy when she heard this, and pulled Bai Xue up, saying, "Okay, where do you want to go, girl?"

"Just take a walk." Jiang Li said with a smile.

Several people left the yard together. The gatekeeper did not stop her, but only asked if she needed a guard. Jiang Li politely declined. At this moment, a team of carriages and horses suddenly stopped in front of the Ye Mansion.

It looked like a caravan, as the horses were carrying bags on their backs and there were heavy wooden boxes tied to the back of the carriages.

Jiang Li paused slightly. Is this a guest from the Ye family?
The caravan stopped, but there was no guard, only a horseman and a man who looked like a servant. The servant saw Jiang Li standing at the door, looked at Jiang Li in surprise, and quickly walked to the end of the carriage, and a man jumped out of the carriage.

The man had a little finger-long scar on his left cheek. He was wearing a dark brown short suit and what seemed to be a layer of soft armor on his upper body. He looked like a peddler, but the boots on his feet were deerskin boots embroidered with gold edges, which looked very expensive.

Jiang Li was stunned. This man was the man she met at the back door of Xihua Tower not long ago after meeting Qiongzhi. At that time, the man also looked at her a few more times. Jiang Li felt that this man looked familiar, but he was also a real stranger.

I didn't expect to meet you here.

When the doorman saw this person, he immediately forgot about Jiang Li, and went to greet him in surprise, saying, "Third Master, you're back!"

Mr. Ye San? This person is Ye Mingyu!

Jiang Li suddenly realized that this person was Ye Mingyu, the bastard master of the Ye family, and also Uncle Mingyu who was born with her mother. No wonder she felt familiar with him, but he was indeed a stranger. She had never met Ye Mingyu before, but she was connected to Ye Zhenzhen by blood, so she was touched.

Ye Mingyu laughed and greeted the doorman, and at this moment he saw Jiang Li. He fixed his eyes on her, and obviously recognized Jiang Li, who he had met once at the entrance of Xihua Tower. Confused, he asked the doorman, "Who is this girl..."

The concierge was extremely embarrassed. He coughed lightly and said, "This is my cousin from Yanjing City, Second Miss Jiang."

Ye Mingyu's servant was struggling to carry something to the gate of the mansion when the box in his hand suddenly slipped and fell to the ground with a clang.

Ye Mingyu was also shocked.

Miss Jiang Er, isn't this the daughter of his twin sister! You should know that Ye Mingyu still cares about this niece whom he has never met. He should be considered as one of the people in the Ye family who still has some feelings for Jiang Li. When Ye Minghui and Ye Mingxuan went to pick up Jiang Li, Ye Mingyu was out doing business. Ye Daye and Ye Erye both heard Jiang Li's hurtful words with their own eyes, but Ye Sanye didn't hear it. Therefore, Ye Sanye was not as upset about it as his two brothers.

Moreover, he was a rough and heroic person in the martial arts world, and his mind was actually broader than others. Simply put, he was careless and thought that Jiang Li was young and that it was nothing to say something wrong. If it weren't for the fact that Old Madam Ye fell ill later, he would have gone to Yanjing to bring Jiang Li back despite the obstruction of the Ye family.

Later, Ye Mingyu often went out to sea with the fleet and only came back once a year. This gradually gave up the idea of ​​bringing Jiang Li back.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, he actually saw the legendary niece here. Ye Mingyu almost suspected that he was dreaming. Jiang Li is here? How could Jiang Li come to Xiangyang? She is the daughter of Jiang Yuanbo, the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's family. How could she come to Xiangyang after traveling so long? How could the Ye family let her in? Didn't the Ye family hate Jiang Li? It seemed that this little girl was doing well in the Ye family?
Damn, what a mess! Why didn't Ye Laoer mention this at all when he wrote the letter? Was he dreaming?
Ye Mingyu had so many words stuck in her throat that she didn't know what to say. Seeing her like this, Jiang Li smiled and said, "You are Uncle Mingyu, right? I am Jiang Li."

Ye Mingyu finally came to his senses and asked, "Jiang...Ali, why are you here?"

"Uncle Mingxuan came to Yanjing and visited the Jiang family. Uncle Mingxuan and I went back to Xiangyang to see my grandmother." Jiang Li glanced behind Ye Mingyu, "Uncle Mingyu just came back, but there are not many people in the Ye Mansion now."

"Forget about it, they are not important anyway." Ye Mingyu waved his hand and said, "Ali, I'm going to put my things away and meet my mother. Tell me what's going on."

Jiang Li paused. Ye Mingyu was not polite and did not treat her as an outsider. But it was good. She had planned to use Ye Mingyu as a gap in the Ye family from the beginning, but Ye Mingyu had not returned for a long time, and she did not know what kind of person Ye Mingyu was. Now that she had met him, Ye Mingyu was more casual than she had imagined, which was good.

There was no need to go out today. Jiang Li smiled and said, "Okay, I'll wait for Uncle Mingyu in the front hall. But," she smiled, "I haven't seen my grandmother yet, and she doesn't know that I'm back at the Ye family. When Uncle Mingyu sees my grandmother, please don't mention me. It would be bad if she gets excited and hurts her body."

Ye Mingyu was stunned again. Didn't Jiang Li say that she went back to Xiangyang just to see Old Madam Ye? But now she said that she hadn't seen Old Madam Ye until now, and Old Madam Ye didn't know she was back. What was going on? What was going on with Ye Lao Da and Ye Lao Er?
Ye Mingyu felt his mind was in a mess and he couldn't tell what was right and wrong for a moment. He had no choice but to agree with Jiang Li and go to do his work.

Jiang Li turned around and walked towards the front hall.

Tong'er asked: "Girl, why don't we go out for a walk?"

"I'm not leaving." Jiang Li said with a smile. She wanted to go out for a walk because she wanted to know what happened in the Ye family. Since Master Ye San had already returned home, she didn't need to go out and could find out from Master Ye San's mouth.

It seems that Master Ye San is a man who is easy to talk to.

……

Back in the front hall, Jiang Li was sitting at the table. Bai Xue had made a pot of tea for her. Ye Mingyu hadn't come yet, but Jiang Li was not in a hurry and waited patiently.

She has always been very patient, and even the servants of the Ye family who served her have noticed this. No matter how long she waited, Jiang Li's expression was always calm and gentle, without a trace of anxiety. This was rare for a girl of this age. She did not have the arrogance of a rich lady, and was approachable like a girl next door.

But even if she is the girl next door, she is still the girl next door whose heart others cannot get into.

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Mingyu finally came back.

As soon as he saw Jiang Li, his eyes lit up and he laughed heartily: "I thought you had left. How about it? Have you been waiting for a long time?"

"Not long." Jiang Li also smiled, "I haven't finished my cup of tea yet."

Ye Mingyu sat down opposite Jiang Li. As soon as he sat down, he couldn't wait to ask: "Ali, I just came back from outside. I don't know what happened. Why did you suddenly come back to Xiangyang?"

"I've already said it," Jiang Li said helplessly, "I wanted to come back to see my grandmother, so I came back with Uncle Mingxuan."

"But you haven't met the old lady yet?" Ye Mingyu said.

"It's not that I don't want to see my grandmother, but Uncle Minghui and Uncle Mingxuan said that the old lady is not in good health. If she is allowed to see me at the wrong time, she will inevitably get angry and hurt her body. I have been in Xiangyang for almost half a month, and I haven't found a suitable opportunity." After hearing Jiang Li's words, Ye Mingyu blushed. Of course, he heard the implication of Jiang Li's words, that it was the Ye family who stopped her from seeing the old lady, not that Jiang Li herself didn't want to. Although Ye Mingyu was not in Xiangyang at the time, he heard about it later. He also knew that the Ye family was rude to Jiang Li. If Jiang Li suddenly returned to the Ye family in Xiangyang, the Ye family would not warmly welcome her.

But Ye Mingyu couldn't make his own decision and let Jiang Li and Old Madam Ye meet right now.

He changed the subject and said, "I see."

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Uncle Mingyu, you have worked hard this time."

Ye Mingyu smiled and said, "Why should I be tired? I just went out to travel and enjoy the scenery."

Ye Mingyu's so-called "going overseas to do business" actually didn't make much profit for the Ye family every year, and the Ye family was too lazy to restrain him. He said he was doing business, but he was actually traveling. Because of his big desire to play, Jiang Li is already fifteen years old, and Ye Mingyu, who is the same age as Ye Zhenzhen, has not yet started a family.

This almost became a source of worry for Old Lady Ye. Every New Year when Ye Mingyu returned to Xiangyang, Old Lady Ye would try to find him a good girl. Ye Mingyu was also quick to escape. As soon as the New Year was over, he would immediately leave and escape to a safe place.

"That being said, not everyone has the courage to travel." Jiang Li smiled, "Not bound by worldly rules, and following one's heart, isn't it the purpose of life to be happy? Seeing different famous mountains and rivers, one's horizons are broadened, and one is freer than those who stay in the mansion all day."

Ye Mingyu was stunned when he heard it. The next moment, he was so excited that he almost regarded Jiang Li as his soulmate. Everyone who knew him thought he was fooling around. As a descendant of the Ye family, he had a huge fortune. He didn't stay at home to take care of the family business, marry a wife and have children, but had to go out to travel around the world. He was simply not doing his job properly. But he didn't like stability from the beginning. He liked to take risks and gain experience, just like an eagle can't be imprisoned under the eaves, and a fierce horse can't be tied in a stable.

But the only person in the Ye family who understood him was Ye Zhenzhen. Perhaps it was because of their blood connection. Because of Ye Zhenzhen's understanding, Ye Mingyu could not bear to alienate Jiang Li. But later, Ye Zhenzhen died, and the last person who understood him was gone.

Unexpectedly, here, Jiang Li once again said something similar to Ye Zhenzhen.

Ye Mingyu couldn't help but feel sentimental. Everyone said that Ye Zhenzhen was simple and honest, without any schemes and not smart enough. But Ye Mingyu thought that it was people like Ye Zhenzhen who could understand the simple truth. Looking closely, Jiang Li's appearance was different from Ye Zhenzhen's. Compared with Ye Zhenzhen's roundness, Jiang Li was much more delicate and delicate, similar to Jiang Yuanbo, smart and beautiful, and more clever.

But she is Ye Zhenzhen's daughter after all.

Jiang Li saw the tenderness in Ye Mingyu's eyes, and her heart moved. Ye Mingyu's attitude towards her had softened, which was a good thing.

Ye Mingyu felt that he got along very well with his niece, and Jiang Li was not as unruly and powerful as Ye Minghui said. He had traveled all over the country for so many years and had seen many spoiled young ladies, but Jiang Li was extremely gentle, with tenderness in her eyes. But this tenderness was different from his niece Ye Jiaer. Ye Jiaer was steady and decent, but Jiang Li was particularly smart. Her vision seemed different from that of ordinary girls in the boudoir, and she seemed more unique. She was a girl with a very "pattern".

Not only because she is Ye Zhenzhen's daughter, Ye Mingyu likes this little girl from the bottom of his heart.

He scratched his head and suddenly thought of something. He said, "I didn't give you anything when you came back this time. My caravan brought some small things from the sea." He was a little embarrassed. "But you came from Yanjing. These things are not rare. I just bought them because they were interesting. I don't know if you will like them, Ali."

Ye Mingyu naturally buys things as he pleases. Even the transactions he makes with the fleet at sea are as capricious as he is. He never considers whether he can make a fortune or not, and simply does things based on his own preferences.

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Interesting things are much harder to come by than precious things."

"You're right," everyone agreed with what Ye Mingyu said to Jiang Li, and called the servant beside him: "A Shun, go get a box!"

He's really an impetuous person.

Jiang Li smiled without saying anything. She wanted to have a good talk with Uncle Ming Yu and deepen their relationship, so that Master Ye San would stand on her side and help her "reconcile" with the Ye family.

Ah Shun and Ah Fu, Ye Mingxuan's servant, should be brothers. They look alike, but their personalities are completely different. Ah Fu is as gentle and smart as Ye Mingxuan, while Ah Shun is as rough and clumsy as Ye Mingyu. Soon a mahogany box was brought in. There were many such boxes in Ye Mingyu's caravan before.

Ye Mingyu asked Ah Shun to open the box, and asked Jiang Li with a smile: "Ah Li, which one do you like? Uncle will give it to you."

The Ye family seemed to like saying this? Jiang Li thought, Ye Jiaer took her to Lizheng Hall and said that she would give her the horse if she liked it, and now Ye Mingyu said that he would give her any thing she liked. Maybe this is what a wealthy family is like, with great wealth and generosity?
Jiang Li lowered her head and looked into the box.

There were a lot of odds and ends in the box. I don't know what they were. There were some pearls and cat's eyes, which were valuable. There was also a peep show, and a small wooden box. When you pressed the mechanism, a little man would come out of the box and dance. It was very interesting. There was also something like a long tube. Jiang Li just picked it up to look at it, and Ye Mingyu said, "This is a kaleidoscope. I'll teach you how to..."

Before the word "use" came out, Jiang Li had already picked it up familiarly, put it on her eyes, and turned the wheel.

Ye Mingyu choked, and Ah Shun looked at Jiang Li in surprise. Even the well-informed Ye Mingyu couldn't figure out how to use this thing when he saw it for the first time, but the cousin of the Jiang family seemed to be very skilled. Could it be that she had seen it before? But didn't the merchant say that almost no one in Beiyan knew about this thing?

"Have you seen it before?" Ye Mingyu asked.

"No." Jiang Li smiled and said, "I just saw someone write about it in a travelogue. This is the first time I hold the real thing in my hands."

Xue Zhao liked these strange things very much and liked to read miscellaneous books without Xue Huaiyuan's knowledge. However, this habit of his made his family accumulate many rare books, and Jiang Li also learned a lot of special things.

Ye Mingyu looked at Jiang Li even more favorably and felt that Jiang Li and he got along very well.

Jiang Li picked up another shell-like object. This shell was very unique, like a peacock's feather, bright and colorful. If you look closely, it will emit tiny brilliance and sparkle in the sunlight. It was placed next to the cat's eye stone, and it was not inferior at all.

"This is a peacock feather." Seeing Jiang Li looking at the shell in her hand, Ye Mingyu said, "I bought it from the merchant caravan this time. I thought it was novel and beautiful, so I bought a lot of it. The boxes in the house are all filled with it. But when I asked after I came back, others couldn't quote the price when they heard that it was a shell. I paid real money for the peacock feather, so I probably lost money this time." He sighed.

Jiang Li disagreed. Ye Mingyu only saw that the peacock feathers were beautiful and rare, but it could not change the fact that they were shells. Even the dullest cat's eye was more valuable than the most beautiful peacock feathers, there was no doubt about that. However, Ye Mingyu probably never asked about business matters and had no understanding of business, so it was normal for him to do such a ridiculous thing. I just don't know what expression Ye Daye and Ye Erye had when they came back and looked at the shells in the box.

Ye Mingyu suddenly remembered something, looked at Jiang Li and said, "That's right, since you like it, this box of peacock feathers is for you. Ah Shun, carry this to my cousin's yard later."

Before Jiang Li could stop him, Ah Shun immediately agreed and walked away carrying the box. Jiang Li suspected that Ye Mingyu saw that he couldn't sell the peacock feathers and couldn't find anywhere else to store them, so he simply asked Jiang Li to help him solve some of them.

But it’s hard to refuse.

"Thank you, Uncle Mingyu." Jiang Li said with a smile.

"No thanks," Ye Mingyu waved his hand, "If you don't have enough, I have plenty. A few boxes will do."

Jiang Li: “…”

If she continued talking, Ye Mingyu might really pile all the peacock feathers in her yard. Jiang Li said, "Uncle Mingyu, let's talk about something else."

As soon as he said this, Ye Mingyu suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "It would have been better if you didn't say it. Now that you said it, I remembered it. I've been talking to you for so long, and there's something I didn't have time to ask you. Ah Li, it was you I saw at Xihua Tower a few days ago. Am I right? What were you doing at Xihua Tower for no reason?"

Ye Mingyu recalled the moment he saw Jiang Li just now, and he recognized Jiang Li as the little girl he met in Xihua Tower. At that time, he was still surprised that the women who came to Xihua Tower to look for people were all women, and this little girl didn't dress like a woman, and her appearance was also very calm, which was really strange. When he saw her, he felt that she looked familiar, and he didn't know where he had seen her. Thinking about it now, he felt familiar at that time, probably because the blood in his bones reminded him that this was his niece.

Jiang Li smiled and said, "I also have something to ask Uncle Mingyu. Uncle Mingyu had arrived in Xiangyang at least three days ago, and he ran into me at Xihua Tower. Since he had returned so early, why didn't he go back to the Ye family?"

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Ye Mingyu's face. He raised his hand and touched his nose, saying, "I...will first get familiar with the environment and make some preparations."

He didn't say it, but Jiang Li understood. Ye Mingyu really went to Xihualou to have fun. He was afraid that someone would find out and tell the Ye family, so he deliberately entered through the back door. As for why he didn't go home, he probably didn't want to go back so early and avoid the nightmare of the Ye family nagging about when he would get married.

Jiang Li didn't come here to listen to Ye Mingyu talk about his romantic affairs, so she nodded and said, "I didn't know what Xihualou was. I thought it was a restaurant. There was no one outside, so I went up to take a look. I didn't expect it to be a brothel. After I found out, I left and happened to meet Uncle Mingyu."

"So that's it." Ye Mingyu understood. He didn't think much about it. After all, Jiang Li went out of her way to find a brothel. If anyone in Xiangyang heard this, even a beggar on the street wouldn't believe it. Not to mention the daughter of the prime minister who didn't touch dirty things, girls from ordinary families wouldn't go to that kind of place.

"Uncle Mingyu, there is something I want to ask you." Jiang Li said after hesitating for a moment.

"What's the matter? Tell me."

"Uncle Mingyu's return to Xiangyang this time is probably not just to visit my grandmother. The Ye family's business seems to have some troubles. Even Uncle Mingyu has rushed back. This trouble should not be easily solved." Jiang Li looked at him: "Can you tell me what the problem is?"

Ye Mingyu was stunned. He never expected that Jiang Li would ask this. He was a little undecided for a moment. As it was related to the Ye family's business, he was a little cautious. However, Jiang Li, who had been speaking to him gently, just stared at him without blinking, very persistent.

Ye Mingyu was looked at by Jiang Li, and somehow his heart softened. He thought that Jiang Li was actually half a member of the Ye family. The Ye family was so wary of her like a thief, and the little girl would feel sad. So he said, "It's not a big deal. Our Ye family's fabrics are sent to clothing shops all over the country every year. Especially the ancient fragrant satin, as you know, the nobles in Yanjing City also like to wear it."

"There's something wrong with this batch of fabrics recently. Some people got a lot of red rashes on their bodies after wearing clothes made of ancient fragrant satin. The doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong. We're still investigating this matter," Ye Mingyu showed a rare worried look, "but I can say it's definitely not a problem with the fabric. The weaving factory is in Xiangyang, and my eldest brother and second brother are keeping an eye on it, and there has never been any problem. It's just that no one listens to us when we say this."

He shook his head, looking very depressed.

As he was talking, he heard footsteps outside, and then someone called out in surprise: "Ming Yu?"

Jiang Li and Ye Mingyu looked towards the door and found that it was Ye Minghui and Ye Mingxuan who had returned.

(End of this chapter)