She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 216 - 215 If You Lose Without Taking Action

Chapter 216: Chapter 215 If You Lose Without Taking Action

After Qi Younian and Zhou Shuyu went out, the four corners of the wooden house were immediately watched over by several men under Hongzhi’s command.

Jinrong pulled over two cushions from beside the low couch and leaned against them, smiling at Jiang Yifan as he said, "Yuanfan, you guessed right. Duke An indeed planned to keep a close eye on Ye Xinyan, and at the same time, to clarify her identity as a member of Qi Ye. It seems that the Duke’s abilities aren’t limited to eating his meals; his mind is still sharp." Jinrong said this with a sly smile, "It’s just that he’s somewhat lacking when it comes to guiding his children."

Jiang Yifan glanced at Jinrong and Hu Jing, then shifted his gaze back to a document in his hand, not engaging in the conversation.

Jinrong nudged Jiang Yifan and said, "Yuanfan, the construction proposal sent over by the dairy products store manager Xie Chun contains designs and construction documents that are quite well done. For someone to single-handedly make such precise and detailed construction proposals, that Wong Qiao really isn’t an ordinary person; he has quite the talent for Imperial Workshops."

Jiang Yifan looked up, frowning slightly, "Wasn’t Ye Xinyan helping with it?"

"Exactly, exactly," Jinrong immediately sat up straight, his interest piqued, "You’re right, Yuanfan. Ye Xinyan is indeed extraordinary. At least Wong Qiao comes from a craftsman background, said to have been mixed up in the construction industry since childhood, and has been involved in various craftsman sectors within construction. Yet Ye Xinyan, with her first encounter, managed to produce construction-related documents that are well-structured and orderly in accordance with the Construction Regulations, appearing indeed to be a bit more capable than Wong Qiao."

Jiang Yifan’s frown deepened, Jinrong was getting excited like this, certainly up to no good.

"Sixth Master has taken Ye Xinyan’s affairs to heart too much, not only paying attention to industrial matters but also tying her to Duke An’s Mansion in front of Young Master Zhou. Sixth Master is using Young Master Zhou’s mouth to send a message to the Prefectural Magistrate, which is a rather painstaking effort." Jiang Yifan’s tone became somewhat sarcastic, "However, for someone of Sixth Master’s status to do such things, it’s a bit excessive."

Hu Jing was thinking that perhaps he should also step out for a bit when he heard Jiang Yifan articulate his thoughts so clearly. He regretted not leaving with Qi Younian earlier since these weren’t the kind of conversations he, as an advisor, should be hearing.

Hu Jing looked at Jinrong and immediately met his suggestive gaze, taking the cue to say, "I suddenly remember there are matters I haven’t arranged yet; I must excuse myself and take care of them."

Watching Hu Jing leave, Jinrong sat up, his face losing its jesting expression as he spoke slowly, "Yuanfan, don’t blame me for not reminding you, Ye Xinyan has changed, changed a lot. If you have any other thoughts, don’t put on the attitude you have now. If you miss the opportunity and delay matters, that will be due to your own oversight and lack of understanding, and you can’t blame others."

Jiang Yifan’s face stiffened for a moment, staring at Jinrong for a good while before he asked, "What do you mean, Sixth Master?"

Jinrong lowered his eyelids, saying, "It means nothing much; I’m just reminding you to consider your actions carefully. Previously, due to Ye Xinyan’s escape, her circumstances were quite bad, and there was no man around her worth her attention. But it will be different moving forward; the Ye Xinyan of the future, the open identity of Qi Ye, will appear before the world in a different guise."

Jinrong looked directly at Jiang Yifan, speaking earnestly, "With Qi Ye’s capability as of now, she can fully support the prosperity of a family, fitting the status of an Imperial Clan Matron in any grand family or noble house... If you lose without even making a move, you’ll surely regret it and even resent others, and by then, you’ll lose the demeanor of a gentleman."

Jiang Yifan’s face immediately darkened, and he said angrily, "If you’re going to speak like this, how can you say it means nothing? You should be clear about your status; even should you lift someone into the mansion, you’d have to investigate their family heritage clearly and thoroughly. She’s not suitable!"

Jinrong laughed softly, murmuring to himself in a barely audible whisper, "That’s now, but who can know about the future? Besides, I am well aware of her true identity."

Jiang Yifan sneered, "Sixth Master really has grand ambitions, to actually consider such a matter as a future goal. I originally thought that Sixth Master was only interested in her abilities, to enlist her to work for him."

Jinrong retorted sarcastically, "Yuanfan, you have already divorced Miss Ye, and after the divorce, both parties are free to remarry and must not interfere with each other, which is the norm. Besides, this woman is now Qi Ye, bearing an unrelated identity. It doesn’t matter if you look down on her, there are plenty of people who can see her excellence. Just make sure you don’t regret it afterwards."

Jiang Yifan became alert and asked with gravity, "So, Sixth Master is only interested in her abilities and wants to take her into his mansion?"

Jinrong did not speak, only silently looking at Jiang Yifan. Ye Xinyan was after all a woman, she was bound to marry at some point; if she were to marry into another family, she would only accumulate great wealth for that family. Such an outcome would not only cause him to lose his financial support, but would also give the court additional worries about confronting a family with vast financial power.

"Everything was fine before, so why suddenly bring this up?" Jiang Yifan squinted his eyes, staring at Jinrong as he asked.

Jinrong’s gaze swept around the wooden hut and asked, "Yuanfan, don’t you feel anything at all about this hut that was built so leisurely?"

Jiang Yifan frowned, "What feelings?" He felt an unease in his heart, as if something was quietly slipping away from him, reaching a place beyond his grasp.

"Although this lattice hut is not exquisite enough, considering the construction time, it’s already very good, or rather excellent. At least I haven’t seen such rapid workmanship. Yuanfan, you have spent time in the Six Ministries, you should have a rough idea about the Imperial Workshops’ construction costs. Such a wooden hut, if considered as a pavilion, would also require a fair amount of silver.

Yet the Qi family was able to build this hut in less than two Shichen. One can imagine their future prospects. I also had professionals review the construction plan for the Qi family’s dairy products workshop. The experts’ evaluations said that in terms of private construction industry, the Qi family’s plan was outstanding.

That is to say, the Qi family’s construction industry absolutely has the capability to grow large."

Jiang Yifan kept a close watch on Jinrong, his brows furrowing deeper.

Jinrong continued, "When we came over, we could generally see the dairy factory beside the cattle farm, and the construction was also rapid. Last time Hu Jing came to get the cheese powder and cheese pastry recipes, he saw some rough sketches of ingenious tools used for construction at the Qi family’s workshop."

Jinrong looked earnestly at Jiang Yifan, "We are brothers, I cannot keep the truth from you. I think, the dairy products store that Ye Xinyan proposed to cooperate with me on is just a stepping stone for her. What the Qi family really wants to engage in is the construction industry. Their cooperation with me on the dairy products store is just so that Qi family can flourish their family’s enterprise and earn a huge fortune in a short period of time with a basis to rely on."

Jiang Yifan’s eyes flickered for a moment and then calmed down.

He asked in a deep voice, "So, Sixth Master sees a vast financial support and has changed his strategy of enlisting Qi Ye to work for him, and instead wants to treat the entire Qi family and Qi Ye as his own private assets?"