She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 152 - 151 What’s all this?

Chapter 152: Chapter 151 What’s all this?

Hongzhi blinked his eyes and thought, "Well, it seems that Old Master Qi does not intend to reveal the full truth to him. There’s no helping it then; he can only report the situation to Sixth Master as truthfully as Old Master Qi described it and let Sixth Master judge for himself."

Sixth Master was extremely intelligent and would naturally understand the meaning behind Lady Qi’s words better than he, a mere page, could.

With this thought, Hongzhi felt greatly relieved. Indeed, the old man’s advice was quite reliable. He could now take his leave and return to report to Sixth Master.

Although Qi Younian and Nanny Jin would not interfere with Ye Xinyan’s business dealings, it didn’t stop them from being sincerely kind to Hongzhi. Therefore, when Hongzhi left, he carried with him two large bags of cheese and a jar of yogurt.

Nanny Jin also earnestly reminded Hongzhi that these items were perishable, so she did not give him too much. "If the young man runs out, just come to the snack shop to get more. We will certainly not run out of food for you and your friends," she said.

Hongzhi was embarrassed by Nanny Jin’s instructions but also delighted as he accepted them, thanking her repeatedly.

After sending Hongzhi off, Ye Xinyan found a quiet place to sit and finally had time to worry about the future, watching the Duke’s Mansion’s servants going in and out of the second branch of the Qi family’s rooms and courtyard from afar.

With someone as sensitive and important as Jinrong residing in Qingyuan County, her whereabouts would be exposed sooner or later.

Undoubtedly, she had already successfully caught the attention of Duke An’s Mansion and did so in a way that was impactful enough to make ignoring her impossible.

Exposed amidst the struggle among the most powerful princes in the capital, could there be anyone with worse luck than her?

It was true that there had been negligence on her part, but after much difficulty, she and Nanny Jin had found a place to stay, and it was a remote village far enough from the capital. Wasn’t that sufficiently hidden?

But, as luck would have it, the perfectly coincidental situation arose where Jiang Yifan, who held an enviable position in the capital, was exiled right under the Emperor’s nose to Qingyuan County by the influence of Duke An’s Mansion because of a personal matter.

An Imperial Censor, working under the very eyes of the Old Emperor, to be exiled so casually!

As hard as Ye Xinyan tried to understand, she couldn’t figure out whether the Old Emperor was giving face to Duke An by disposing of Jiang Yifan, who had tarnished Duke An’s reputation, or if it was Jiang Yifan himself who felt too ashamed to stay in the capital after his wife committed such a disgraceful act, leading to his demotion.

And those issues aside, even if Jiang Yifan encountered her in Qingyuan County, given the mutual aversion between them, treating each other as strangers would be the most normal thing to do. A minor figure like Jiang Yifan, exiled from the capital, would naturally not have his movements tracked by capital forces. If it were so, the current situation wouldn’t exist.

What made Ye Xinyan feel most powerless was that ordinary princes were not supposed to leave the capital at will, yet Jinrong, the odd one out, somehow convinced the Emperor to let him leave the capital for his fief in Yuyuan Prefecture—and even roam freely throughout the entire prefecture.

What the hell, the Old Emperor actually trusts Jinrong that much? Jinrong was already an adult prince; wasn’t the Emperor afraid that Jinrong would do something in Yuyuan Prefecture that threatened his royal authority? Furthermore, the fight for succession had always been the bloodiest, most brutal affair. What were the Emperor’s other sons even doing? They’d allowed Jinrong, a fellow prince, to be so carefree, which just showed how inept those guys were!

All these impossible events had occurred when she, plagued by bad luck, arrived in this world, directly leading to the current situation.

Moreover, even if she had anticipated today’s situation and escaped with Nanny Jin at the first encounter with Jinrong, or taken Old Master Qi along with them, it would still require Jinrong to ignore her. Clearly, from the very first moment Jinrong saw her, he persistently wanted to drag her into the scheme.

Now, she was exposed to the gaze of the entire upper echelons of the capital.

According to her previous memories, the most likely action Duke An’s Mansion could take was to make her and Nanny Jin disappear as soon as possible. Once the two of them vanished, it could quickly quell the negative impact of the original Ye Xinyan’s scandal on Duke An’s Mansion and also greatly deter the gossip-hungry upper circles of the capital.

Now that Jinrong had sent people from Prince Yu’s Mansion to her, although it could ensure her safety for the short term, in this strict and evil old society, wouldn’t Ye Xinyan, a woman, be flagrantly labeled with the Sixth Prince’s tag?

Reputation and remarriage were minor issues; being tightly tethered to a prince’s ship was very dangerous!

Ye Xinyan lifted her head and gazed at the high, clear blue sky of the autumn day. It seemed that God had quite the imagination and leisure to, in the midst of his many affairs, craft such a melodramatic script to enrich the exciting life of a minor character like her.

Nanny Jin, without hesitation, handed over the arrangements for the six household members from the royal mansion, as well as the living situation of her and Ye Zi, to Nanny Liu. She, fearing that Ye Xinyan might be overburdened by thoughts, then turned around to talk to Ye Xinyan.

As expected, her young mistress looked utterly distressed and worried, staring blankly at the dilapidated courtyard of the Second Branch family, her brows tightly knitted, as if they would never be undone.

Nanny Jin didn’t bother to scold the young mistress for sitting unseemly on a large rock and directly sat down beside Ye Xinyan. After a heavy sigh, she started to comfort her, "Ye Zi, don’t be too anxious. At this time, preserving your life is what’s most important. It’s not that Duke’s Mansion is cold-hearted, but the capital is the gathering place for all the noble and prestigious officials under heaven. Every family shows off their family’s status and dignity. Our young mistress committed a mistake that a woman should never commit, and what followed was too bizarre and shocking..."

Just the young mistress’s escape from Duke An’s Mansion’s pursuit was enough to cause Duke An’s Mansion to lose face, let alone the fact that the young mistress dared to flee and for such a long time. As a woman born from first-class nobility, drifting ambiguously outside for such a long period was enough for Duke An’s Mansion to make a firm decision to cleanse its family.

Now, with the protection of His Highness Prince Yu, the young mistress’s safety was assured. But the way Prince Yu protected her, what kind of life would the young mistress lead in the future? Even though Prince Yu had been widowed for a few years, with the young mistress’s reputation and past misdeeds, it was impossible for her to marry into Prince Yu’s Mansion. Even if she could enter the mansion, it would only be as a serving concubine without an official status. A serving concubine who must hide from the light would struggle to survive in the harsh environment of the mansion and it would be too humiliating for the young mistress.

Though Nanny Jin was deeply worried about Ye Xinyan’s future, seeing her entangled in worry, she could only continue to advise, "It’s good that people from the Sixth Master’s Mansion have come. At most, in the future, we might take on the name of Chief Steward for the royal mansion. As long as we don’t enter the capital, life shouldn’t be too difficult in the future. With the title of Chief Steward of Prince Yu’s Mansion, our young mistress will have an easier time marrying into a more reputable gentry family."

Ye Xinyan slowly turned her gaze towards Nanny Jin, half a beat behind. What was all this about? Why did it seem like no matter what happened, it always came back to the issue of marriage? Was the situation they were facing now as simple as getting married?

Well, marriage was also not a trivial matter, so... it’s best not to marry.

"Nanny, you know our family is not very wealthy and doesn’t have much income. Suddenly, we have so many idle people to feed; can we afford it? If I ask the Sixth Master for living expenses for Nanny Liu and the others, wouldn’t that be within reason?"

The moment Ye Xinyan opened her mouth, the content of her words nearly made Nanny Jin catch her breath.