She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 115 - 114: Father-in-law?

Chapter 115: Chapter 114: Father-in-law?

Liang Wanqiu and her entourage returned to the Liang Residence early in the morning, and Mother Yang immediately found two clever maids to inquire about news concerning Sixth Master Rong in the front courtyard.

The maids sent out by Mother Yang, after many twists and turns and inquiries from different sources, only ascertained that Sixth Master Rong was held in high regard by Liang Wanqiu’s father, Liang Qiyuan. However, as for information about Sixth Master Rong’s identity or family background, they did not uncover a single detail.

Mother Yang was not one to give up easily and personally sought out a young servant who attended to Liang Qiyuan to ask questions. To her surprise, the servant indicated that even Liang Qiyuan, as the brother-in-law of the Prefect of Yuyuan Prefecture, didn’t know Sixth Master Rong’s identity, let alone his full name or ancestral origins—those matters were completely out of the question. This caused great disappointment for both Mother Yang and Liang Wanqiu.

Perhaps Mother Yang’s actions were too conspicuous, for it did not take long before Liang Qiyuan found out that his daughter was inquiring about Sixth Master Rong.

At first, when he learned of it, Liang Qiyuan was quite annoyed. Wanqiu, being of the fairer sex, had so unreservedly inquired into the affairs of an adult male outside their household. Should this become known, it would be a disgrace to the Liang family. It must be known that his family was now considered a prestigious clan in Qingyuan County, unlike in the past.

While Liang Qiyuan’s anger had not yet subsided, a second thought struck him, and suddenly he was no longer angry. It seemed reasonable, after all, to inquire about Sixth Master Rong.

The young Sixth Master Rong, in his twenties and with a handsome and imposing presence, was of utmost importance due to his extremely noble status. Hadn’t he witnessed his brother-in-law, the prefect himself, lower his status and eagerly flatter Sixth Master Rong upon meeting him?

Furthermore, having loitered in Qingyuan County for several months, there was never any word of Sixth Master Rong being accompanied by a wife or female relatives. This realisation sent Liang Qiyuan’s thoughts racing. The fact that no wife was seen by Sixth Master Rong’s side, at the very least, indicated that he didn’t have any favored concubine. This was an excellent piece of information.

His daughter was exactly of marriageable age this year. If she could catch the eye of Sixth Master Rong, marry him... or even be welcomed into Sixth Master Rong’s Mansion...

Liang Qiyuan was intoxicated by the wonderful future he envisioned.

His brother-in-law may be the Prefect of Yuyuan Prefecture, but he had to be cautious around Sixth Master Rong. Should his daughter marry into Sixth Master Rong’s family, would he not hold a higher status than his brother-in-law, becoming the father-in-law to Sixth Master Rong?

Liang Qiyuan, in his current state, naturally no longer blamed his daughter. Instead, he went straight back to the inner courtyard and roughly shared his thoughts with his wife, Lady Liu, instructing her to educate their daughter accordingly.

After the brief explanation, before Lady Liu could even react, he called for the nanny serving Lady Liu, asking her to summon Mother Yang to inquire why Liang Wanqiu wanted to inquire about Sixth Master Rong.

Upon hearing the master’s summons, Mother Yang already suspected that her investigation into Sixth Master Rong that day had disturbed the master. Combined with the young servant’s suggestion that Sixth Master Rong’s status was almost certainly very high, Mother Yang felt even more uncertain.

Mother Yang arrived in Lady Liu’s courtyard with trepidation. She certainly dared not say that the young miss had a crush on Jiang Yifan, and upon hearing their young master occasionally mention having seen Lord Jiang in the snack store, had people keep an eye on the establishment until Lord Jiang appeared again, at which point the young mistress followed him there.

Mother Yang then resorted to the official explanation, saying that her young mistress had heard that the leisure snack shop had unique offerings, so she rushed over in the morning, when it was not crowded, to experience the legendary ice cream, after which that series of events unfolded.

Upon hearing this, Liang Qiyuan realized that his daughter’s interest in Sixth Master Rong was not due to an affection for him but an intention to deal with a snack shop under his care.

Liang Qiyuan, who should have been pleased or relieved, was suddenly furious, and he didn’t even notice Mother Yang mention the ice cream, which was a business he himself had once taken an interest in. His sole thought was that he, as head of the family, had been trying to get into Sixth Master Rong’s good graces to bring greater wealth and prestige to their household. Yet these servants at home were instead inciting their master to cause trouble for a nobleman.

Even worse, they had the audacity to tarnish Sixth Master Rong’s reputation. Beat and banish him from Qingyuan County? They dared to entertain such thoughts. Even my brother-in-law has to bow and scrape apologetically before Sixth Master Rong, and just on account of being a member of the gentry from a county town, if I were to offend Sixth Master Rong, would there be any way out for me?

Liang Qiyuan slammed his fist on the table, pointed at Mother Yang, and berated her, "You servant woman completely lack understanding! The miss has offended a person of high status, and you, a close attendant, instead of advising your mistress, you’ve actively encouraged her to make one mistake after another. Such a servant brings nothing but calamity!"

As he spoke, he turned to Lady Liu and instructed, "Quickly, give this troublesome servant a beating, find a buyer to sell her to, and search for a reliable servant to attend to Wanwan. We can’t let such an irresponsible servant lead our child astray."

Seeing Liang Qiyuan enraged and ready to dismiss her, Mother Yang was so frightened that she knelt on the ground with a thud and kept kowtowing, "My lord, please listen, the miss did not offend anyone of high status. Even those who run the small shops were not slighted by us. I have advised the miss to first ascertain Sixth Master Rong’s identity and his relationship with the shop owners before making any plans. The miss heeded my advice."

Lady Liu also interceded, "My lord, please calm your anger, Mother Yang is an old hand in our residence and has always been reliable, which is why I chose her to serve Wanwan. As for today’s incident, I will question the other servants who accompanied Wanwan, and if this servant’s words prove to be false, we can deal with her severely then."

Mother Yang was carefully selected by Lady Liu to act as her daughter’s guardian and escort, and not being of old age, she was intended to accompany the daughter to her husband’s family and lend Wanwan her support. How could she be dismissed so easily without a thorough inquiry?

Lady Liu added, "Moreover, the woman from the small shop is too lacking in propriety, no wonder Wanwan looks down on her. What status does our Liang family have? Wanwan was lured into the shop by a woman who lacks virtue. The fact that she didn’t immediately smash that vulgar shop shows our Wanwan’s kindness and generosity."

Lady Liu’s reference to the Liang family’s status drew Liang Qiyuan’s attention away.

Indeed, his Liang family was no ordinary gentry nowadays; ever since his brother-in-law, Zhou Bingyi, climbed higher and higher in official ranks, as Zhou Bingyi’s brother-in-law, Liang Qiyuan’s status rose accordingly. Especially since Zhou Bingyi had directly taken up the position of Prefect of Yuyuan Prefecture two years ago, the Liang family’s status had surpassed that of the typical gentry.

As the eldest daughter of the Liang family and the niece of the Prefecture Magistrate’s Wife, his own daughter had every right to deal with the owner of a small eatery without needing any justification. Being the niece of the Prefecture Magistrate’s Wife was justification enough.

However, if it involved Sixth Master Rong...

Only then did Liang Qiyuan remember that Mother Yang had mentioned that the treat his daughter had desired to try was ice cream... He asked Mother Yang again, "You just said, which small shop did the miss visit?"

Mother Yang hurriedly replied, "To answer my lord, it is the leisure snack shop next to Great Crane House."

It was indeed that shop. Liang Qiyuan remembered the steward who served his son mentioning that Sixth Master Rong and Jiang Yifan were regular customers at the leisure snack shop, and their relationship seemed to be out of the ordinary and not to be taken lightly.

Now, hearing Mother Yang’s account, Sixth Master Rong seemed to be particularly protective of that woman. Could it be that Sixth Master Rong had a taste for her? Was he interested in that woman? If so, it would indeed be difficult to demand the recipe for the summer ice treats.

Nevertheless... Liang Qiyuan thought to himself, if he could become Sixth Master Rong’s father-in-law, whether or not to make ice cream would be of no importance.

He questioned Mother Yang further, eager to know the exact nature of Lady Qi’s involvement with Sixth Master Rong.