She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 162 - 161 Retreat Again

Chapter 162: Chapter 161 Retreat Again

Nanny Liu quickly glanced at Jinrong, and without any apparent exchange of information, she lowered her eyelids slightly, bowed, and stood motionless behind Ye Xinyan.

"This is really unknowable," Jinrong then looked at Ye Xinyan with a pleasant smile, "Lady Qi wouldn’t think that at this time, you could still remain uninvolved, right? Being on the boat of an idle prince is always safer than following the Crown Prince or a potential Crown Prince. You should know these things quite well, shouldn’t you?"

As Jinrong mentioned the prince and the Crown Prince, Ye Xinyan’s expression changed. Was this guy just saying this to scare her?

Ye Xinyan then glanced at the other people in the room, seeing that everyone looked emotionless and very composed.

Alright then, she had gone into partnership with Jinrong in the Dairy Products Store, partly to ensure a steady business, but a more important reason was to provide a support for her grandfather’s construction firm. Bargaining with Jinrong was only incidental, and there was no need to compete with him in a battle of wits.

However, she still had to fight for what she could; she couldn’t just sound the retreat. When the initial investments for the dairy farm were being planned, Jinrong had plenty of people on hand; he didn’t necessarily need her.

Moreover, using her as the manager went against Jiang Yifan’s wishes. Nevertheless, Jinrong still went through with it, so he must have had his reasons.

What was there to fear in testing Jinrong’s bottom line? At worst, if things didn’t go well, she could find a way to smooth things over later.

"Sixth Master," Ye Xinyan’s eyes moved around among him and the household staff of the mansion for a moment before she made up her mind, "how about this? Since you’re determined to profit from the Dairy Products Store, I’ll withdraw. It seems that if the dairy farm in Qingyuan County can be established, you’ll surely open more in other places. As for the Dairy Products Store, Sixth Master, you can manage it by yourself, and it will be entirely your own property.

As for my family’s snack shop, it’s nothing more than a tiny store—having the cow’s milk from Qingyuan County’s dairy farm is already sufficient for our needs. For dairy products and such, we don’t need to handle much; I will hire my own people. Whatever level we can achieve is whatever level it will be."

Jinrong listened as Ye Xinyan spoke at length, expecting that after she finished, she would make a move to leave. However, after Ye Xinyan finished speaking, she remained calmly seated on a nearby ornately carved chair, her gaze sharp as she looked at him, waiting for his response.

Jinrong couldn’t help but laugh silently, saying, "If Lady Qi didn’t have the ability to manage a dairy farm and if Lady Qi wasn’t extremely valuable to me, why would I dispatch my servants to ensure Lady Qi’s personal safety?"

Ye Xinyan frowned, "Sixth Master, that’s not very kind of you. Had it not been for your persistence, I would never have helped set up the dairy farm for you, nor would I have gotten involved with you. That way, the powers in the capital wouldn’t have set their sights on a mere woman like me. I am just a woman, and I’m afraid I don’t have the value that you expect."

If she just allowed Jinrong to hold this over her head and have others lead her by the nose, then what was she doing here? How would there be an end to days like these?

As Ye Xinyan spoke, she stood up, her face wearing a cold smile, "I’m afraid I cannot accept the kindness of the Sixth Master. I have other affairs to attend to, so I will take my leave now." Turning her head to Nanny Liu, she said, "Nanny and this young lady, please stay. I will send the other four back home later."

Jinrong watched Ye Xinyan expressionlessly. He couldn’t understand—wasn’t Ye Xinyan extremely clever now? How could she fail to see that the current situation was very unfavorable for her?

"Lady Qi, one should think thrice before acting, for that is the prudent course of action. Have you not considered that this move might put the entire Qi family in jeopardy?"

Ye Xinyan looked at Jinrong with cold eyes, and a color of indignation gradually appeared in hers, "Whatever I, Ye Xinyan, have done, naturally I will bear it alone. I shall go to the county government office and beat the drum; in the presence of all of Qingyuan County, I will make clear the affair of concealing my identity and deceiving the Qi family, young and old. I’ll voluntarily return to the Ye Family and let the clan deal with me as they see fit."

Ye Xinyan sneered, "I imagine such a sensational and bizarre story, which one hasn’t seen or heard in many years, will certainly be widely rumored. As for what shape those rumors take, that’s beyond my control. I am curious to see whether the Duke’s Mansion can erase me without a trace, whether it can silence the mouths of the world!"

Ye Xinyan flicked her sleeves and walked toward the door of the private room.

Nanny Liu gave Jinrong a quick look and immediately stepped forward, bending her knees repeatedly, "How can Lady Qi speak such words? As long as Nanny serves Lady Qi for a day, I am your servant. Even if it costs me my life, I cannot let the Lady venture forth alone."

Bi Ning was even more insistent, tugging at Ye Xinyan’s sleeve while pleading continuously.

Ye Xinyan was nearly immobilized, with one person from the mansion blocking her path and another clinging tightly to her sleeve.

She suddenly turned around and looked at Jinrong, asking, "What is the Sixth Master’s intention?"

Jinrong smiled, "It seems that Lady Qi is very dissatisfied with the terms I have offered. Whatever Lady Qi deems sufficient, please speak freely. However, before Lady Qi opens her mouth, consider well: if there is not a sufficiently lucrative return, is it worth it for me, the Sixth Master, to collaborate with Lady Qi on this venture?"

Ye Xinyan spoke with a cold face, "Sixty-forty split, sixty for the Sixth Master, forty for my Qi family. Not a tael less."

Jinrong’s smile had vanished, "A seventy-thirty split, you thirty, I seventy. If this business is as profitable as Lady Qi says, thirty percent of the profits will be more than enough. Any more and I fear that a small household like the Qi family won’t be able to cope."

"Fine," Ye Xinyan breathed a great sigh of relief. Damn, that scared her to death. Had Jinrong been unyielding, walking out this door would have meant wracking her brains for another way to relieve the current stalemate. If there truly had been no solution, she would have had to do what she had just said.

But bargaining for an extra ten percent was precisely her purpose for coming here today. Dairy products, even at just one or two percent of modern industry scale, would be an immense enterprise. If the Dairy Products Store could be monopolized by Jinrong’s cattle farm, thirty percent of the profits would be extremely substantial.

For an ordinary civilian household like the Qi family, having too much silver wasn’t necessarily good. Shen Wansan of the Ming Dynasty was enormously wealthy, yet what was his end? In an instant, all turned to ashes. The court didn’t even need a reasonable excuse.

Having traveled from an age of immense information, if she weren’t clear about this much, she would have no business showing her face.

Ye Xinyan thought she maintained her composure, but what sort of person was Jinrong? From Ye Xinyan’s posture alone, he saw that she had let down her guard and couldn’t help but mock, "Lady Qi must have been confident that I would soften, using such tricks with remarkable effect indeed."

Since he had seen through her, Ye Xinyan, unabashed, no longer pretended, "Many thanks to the Sixth Master for your generosity. However, if the Sixth Master intends to use status and life to coerce a little woman, when she is driven to a dead end, she may have no choice but to resort to extreme measures in the face of the situation. A woman cannot always be oppressed by the stain of elopement and keep retreating, can she? When will enough be enough?"