Yao Ji

  105. ! Yao Ji

  Both of them were people with exceptional hearing and vision, and the old man's low murmur naturally also entered their ears after just a few steps. Ye Li glanced at Mo Xiu Yao and smiled: "You've been recognized, Your Highness." Mo Xiu Yao smiled lightly: "It's nothing, I used to come here often, but I didn't expect that old gentleman to recognize me." Mo Xiu Yao's life can be said to have taken a complete turn after the age of seventeen, and from then on, he had two completely different personas. If it weren't for people who knew him well, it would be very difficult to connect the two together. Ye Li looked down at the lantern she had just painted, which was still emitting the fragrance of ink, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

  Two people carried flower lanterns and strolled leisurely on the street, just like many other young men and women. Their elegant appearance and temperament attracted not a few curious and envious glances, but compared to those in the palace and among the nobles with their probing and calculating eyes, they were much more pleasant to be around. Ye Li walked while curiously examining the various small stalls on both sides of the street. The things sold there weren't necessarily very good, just ordinary items used by common people. Although simple and unadorned, they seemed more down-to-earth and natural. Mo Xiu Yao smiled and pulled Ye Li to a stop in front of a stall selling jewelry, cosmetics, and perfumes. Naturally, the small stall didn't have any particularly valuable or good items. The middle-aged couple running the stall also realized that the young man and woman in front of them were obviously not ordinary people, but they still enthusiastically promoted their wares.

  Mo Xiuyao picked up a simple and elegant pearl hairpin and looked at Ye Li, but still shook her head and put it back.

  A slender hand as white as jade picked up the hairpin again and matched it to Mo Xiuyao's eyes. Ye Li raised an eyebrow and smiled, "How is it?"

  Mo Xiu Yao let out a soft sigh and said, "This hairpin will only be overshadowed by you, Lian. You deserve the most dazzling pearls. I ordered some night pearls from Feng Hua Lou a few days ago, shall we go take a look tomorrow and see what style you'd like to make them into?" Ye Lian fiddled with the simple hairpin in her hand, smiling as she said, "Even if you're not afraid that I'll squander your family's wealth, I'm afraid that the noblewomen of the capital will kill me with their stares." The accessories from Feng Hua Lou were renowned throughout Chu Jing, and even those noblewomen could only boast about owning a few pieces. But what others didn't know was that Ye Lian herself knew that since her grand wedding, almost all the accessories she used were ordered from Feng Hua Lou. No wonder that despite Ye Lian rarely going out, and choosing low-key accessories whenever she did, there were still many people who couldn't help but stare at the adornments on her body.

  "If having just a few pieces of jewelry can exhaust our family's wealth, it can only be said that our family's foundation is too shallow." Mo Xiuyao smiled and took the hairpin from Ye Li's hand, gently pinning it on her hair and softly saying: "I hope Ah Rui gets the best of everything."

  "What one likes is always the best. If you don't like it, even the best thing is worthless."

  Mo Xiuyao's eyes flashed with a faint smile, and he asked in a low voice: "So, does Ah Lian like it?" It was just a single word of liking, and I didn't know if he was referring to this hairpin or something else. Ye Lian's face turned slightly red, and she turned her head away, saying softly: "It's not bad." After paying the money, they listened to the vendor couple's flattering words, but neither of them paid attention, holding hands and turning to leave. As they walked, Mo Xiuyao glanced sideways at the woman beside him. The unremarkable pearl hairpin in her black hair seemed to shine with a captivating luster.

  "What's going on over there?" Ye Li looked ahead, and the noise from that direction grew louder. The crowd was also surging in that direction, and at a glance, all she saw was a sea of people swarming around. Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Probably something exciting, let's go take a look." He handed the two flower lanterns to the carefree person following behind them, and pulled Ye Li along as they walked towards the crowd. Ye Li turned her head to glance at the stranger holding the two flower lanterns, furrowed her brow and said, "I've almost forgotten, I haven't seen Ah Jian since we got back." Ah Jian was always quiet and rarely spoke, often pushing Mo Xiuyao's wheelchair with a expressionless face. Now that Mo Xiuyao's legs were fine again, it seemed like Ah Jian had been forgotten by everyone.

  Mo Xiuyao turned back and smiled: "I told him to do something else. He's also grown up, he can't always follow me as a guard." Ye Li nodded, Ah Jian was Mo Zongguan's nephew, Mo Zongguan had no children and worked hard for the Wangfu all his life, Ah Jian's parents also died for the sake of the Ding Wangfu, so it was only natural that Mo Xiuyao took extra care of him.

  She squeezed into the crowd and only then saw that a stage had been set up at the corner of the street, with colorful silk fabrics decorating it in a dazzling display. There was no one on the stage, but the atmosphere below was clearly heated. Ye Li looked around at the middle-aged man next to her, who was flushed red with excitement, and asked softly, "What's going on here?" The middle-aged man turned his head and saw a beautiful woman standing next to him, and he was taken aback for a moment before answering with a smile, "The number one courtesan in the capital, Yao Ji, is going to perform a dance on this stage, and she's going to throw an embroidered ball..." He trailed off mid-sentence, seemingly remembering that he was talking to a beautiful woman, and his face turned red. Although he didn't finish speaking clearly, Ye Li still understood what he meant. She hesitated for a moment before turning her head to ask Mo Xiu Yao, "Is the Yao Ji he's talking about...the one I know?"

  "It seems there's no mistake." Mu Xiuyao said with a faint smile.

  Ye Li furrowed her brow, although she had only met Yao Ji twice, but she had a good impression of that woman. Speaking of which, Yao Ji was not only a dancer, but also the owner of the first-class brothel in the capital city. Although dancers were considered to be of low social status, Yao Ji's family background was probably no less impressive than some of the wealthy merchants in the capital. Such a woman didn't need to throw an embroidered ball to find a husband or choose a concubine. Moreover, she chose this place, where there were many people, but most of them were ordinary commoners. If Yao Ji wanted to marry a normal person and live a simple life, it wouldn't make sense for her to be so high-profile. Mo Xiu Yao saw Ye Li's furrowed brow and smiled faintly, saying in a low voice: "I heard that Yao Ji has a close relationship with Mu Yang. Next month, Mu Yang is going to marry the daughter of Sun Da Ren, the Minister of Rites. I wonder if there's any connection?"

  "Yaoji and Muyang?" Ye Li still remembered seeing Muyang two or three times, although they had never spoken. From a distance, he seemed like an exceptional man. Ye Li had also heard rumors about Yaoji and Muyang, as well as Feng Zhiyao, but based on her understanding of Feng Zhiyao, the rumors were likely exaggerated. However, it turned out that the rumors about Feng Zhiyao were false, while those about Muyang seemed to be true.

  Mo Xiu Yao nodded and said, "Yaoji was famous in the capital at the age of 13, and now nearly ten years have passed. If not for Feng San and Muyang's protection, it wouldn't have been easy for her, a weak woman, to support the Qingcheng Fang without being harassed by the powerful and wealthy. The influential people in the capital are not easy to deal with."

  Ye Li nodded in understanding. Yaoji's beauty was unparalleled, ranking among the top five in the capital. More importantly, unlike ordinary rich young ladies who were elegant and refined, Yaoji had a captivating and alluring quality that was hard to resist. Such an extraordinary beauty living in the midst of the city's chaos would inevitably become the object of contention among high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, and spoiled sons.

  Yaoji may have been virtuous and self-disciplined, but as a weak woman without power or influence, how could she fend off those who sought to take advantage of her?

  Ye Li couldn't understand Yao Ji's thoughts, even if she really had a relationship with Mu Yang. Deciding her own future in this way was somewhat irresponsible to herself. If it were a martial arts competition or a literary talent selection, at least they could test the other party's abilities. But throwing an embroidered ball was purely relying on luck. Ye Li still vaguely remembered some TV dramas she had watched in her past life, where rich young ladies threw embroidered balls and ended up with beggars. Yao Ji had deliberately chosen this place, and even if it wasn't a beggar who caught the ball, the most likely outcome would be an ordinary commoner. But for an ordinary commoner, even if they formally married Yao Ji and brought her home, neither side would gain anything.

  "Don't worry, Mo Xiangyao must have known about this." Mu Xiuyao said softly.

  Ye Li nodded, looked around and unfortunately did not see Mu Yang's figure. The matter between men and women was originally hard to say, no one could say whether Mu Yang would appear here or not, right or wrong. After all, he was going to get married next month, he had to be responsible for the Mu Yang Hou Fu as well as his fiancée.

  "Miss, is this person beside you your brother or..." The man standing next to Ye Li suddenly asked in a low voice. Ye Li turned her head and saw that many men around them were staring at Mo Xiu Yao with unfriendly gazes, and couldn't help but smile slightly. Although Mo Xiu Yao was wearing a mask, the half of his face exposed outside was exceptionally handsome, and his posture was tall and outstanding, standing out among the crowd like a crane among chickens, making it impossible for the men around him not to feel jealous. Holding Mo Xiu Yao's hand, Ye Li smiled faintly: "We're just here to watch the excitement, my husband won't fight over things." The eyes of the people around them were filled with disbelief. Although this woman in front of them was not inferior to Yao Ji in any way, which man would complain about having too many beauties? This girl was elegant and noble, obviously a legitimate wife from a prestigious family, didn't she lack a Yao Ji-like concubine who was charming and flirtatious to be pampered and indulged on the left and right?

  Mo Xiuyao didn't mind the rudeness of these people and pulled Ye Li to his side, smiling at the man who asked the question: "Don't worry, I'm not here to steal the embroidery ball. My wife is quite fierce..."

  Ye Li's face suddenly turned black, and she stretched out her hand to pinch him hard without leaving any marks. Mo Xiu Yao's expression remained unchanged, as if Ye Li had pinched someone else's flesh, and he smiled at the person in front of him: "Besides, I don't like women who are too seductive, my wife is gentle and elegant, that's what I like." The gentle and elegant wife secretly grasped a piece of flesh on his waist and twisted it hard. Mo Xiu Yao couldn't help but smile bitterly, raising his hand to press down Ye Li's hand: "Wife, I really won't like any other woman."

  Ye Li rolled her eyes and let go silently. As the saying goes, thugs are not scary, but thugs with culture are. When a normally gentle and elegant person becomes thick-skinned, no one can withstand it.

  The men watching from the side finally seemed to have put their minds at ease, and with a sympathetic smile, they nodded in understanding towards Mo Xiuyao. Mo Xiuyao also didn't stand on ceremony, smiling as he accepted everyone's kind intentions.

  "Oh my, is that Yaoji girl coming out?!" someone exclaimed. Ye Li turned her head to look, and the stunning woman on stage was wearing a five-colored cloud dress, with makeup that shone brightly, and a smile that was both charming and seductive. As soon as she appeared, she won over the crowd with a burst of cheers. Yaoji nodded slightly towards the people below the stage, smiling sweetly, which caused the men in the audience to become excited and start shouting. When Yaoji's gaze swept past Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao, she paused for a moment, then smiled faintly at Ye Li before turning back around, her long water sleeves fluttering as she danced. The music by the stage began to play, and Yaoji swayed gently to the rhythm, her flowing sleeves dancing in the air, and the crowd below erupted into cheers once again.

  Ye Li furrowed her brow, gazing at the woman on stage with a radiant smile, and secretly sighed. Yao Ji was not trying to throw the embroidered ball, but rather intentionally ruining her own reputation. Yao Ji's reputation in the capital was not bad, although it was rumored that she had an ambiguous relationship with Feng San and Mu Yang, but no one had actually seen them together. Moreover, not many people had seen Yao Ji herself. However, now that she was dancing and throwing the embroidered ball in this place, probably more than half of the men in the capital would know what Yao Ji looked like by today. As a result, whether it was the high-ranking officials who wanted to take her as a concubine or the common people who wanted to marry her as a wife, they would likely look down on her even more. Looking up at the woman's face on stage, Ye Li saw a flash of desolation and sadness, and secretly shook her head, wondering if it was because of Mu Yang?

  As the music ended, the people below shouted and urged Yāo Jié to throw the embroidered ball quickly. A middle-aged woman with a powdered face and a smile walked onto the stage, raised her hand to signal quiet below, and smiled: "Everyone is lucky today, today Miss Yao Jie personally throws the embroidered ball to find a husband. Whoever catches the ball will be Miss Yao Jie's new husband tonight. I wish you all good luck here."

  Ye Li's heart sank, and she clearly heard the old procuress say that tonight's new husband was an official. In other words, Yao Ji wasn't really going to get married, but just choose a patron. It also meant that after tonight, Yao Ji would no longer be a chaste dancer who sold her art but not her body. Looking at the stunning woman standing on stage with bright and charming eyes, Ye Li sighed regretfully. Mo Xiu Yao asked in a low voice, "A Li, what's wrong?"

  Ye Li shook her head and said, "Miss Yaoji's actions are too extreme, why must it be like this..." Ye Li knew in her heart that she could never do what Miss Yaoji did for a man. It wasn't because she didn't love him, but... her love also had its limits. If even one's own dignity could be abandoned, such love was too heavy for Ye Li to bear.

  Mo Xiuyao whispered in Ye Li's ear, "I absolutely won't let Ah Li be like this. I will sweep away all obstacles and make Ah Li Mo Xiuyao's only wife."

  Ye Li raised an eyebrow, "The prince is particularly good at speaking sweet words today."

  "My daughter likes to tell you about her husband every day." Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mu Yang is a bit stupid but he's still a good person. He'll definitely come."

  Ye Li nodded. What's the use of coming? Mu Yang can't marry Yao Ji as his wife, nor can he give up the Mu Yang Hou Fu for Yao Ji. And that Miss Sun, she is actually the most innocent one too.