She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 217 - 216 Very Shameless

Chapter 217: Chapter 216 Very Shameless

Facing Jiang Yifan’s question, Jinrong answered with a calm smile, "Qi Ye is after all a woman, thinking too simply. The Qi family cooperating with me in the Dairy Products Store might command respect from the ordinary officials and gentry, and considering most of the share belongs to me, my brothers are also willing to give way. But if the Qi family, with commoner status, owned such a large industry independently and such substantial financial profits, even if related to me, they couldn’t fend off the dark hands of powerful forces."

Jinrong looked at Jiang Yifan and said frankly, "Knowing this outcome, why would I just watch such things happen without taking early control of the Qi family’s industry into my own hands? We are friends since childhood, and as close as brothers, and that’s how I see it—I’m not hiding it from you."

Jiang Yifan stared at the documents in front of him for a long while before lifting his head and saying, "I need to visit the nearby villages this afternoon to check on the harvest, so I can’t accompany you, Sixth Master."

When Jinrong saw Jiang Yifan folding the documents and preparing to stand up, he said, "Wait a moment, I plan to see how the ingenious devices Qi Ye made for her family’s Construction Industry work when their work site starts operating."

Jiang Yifan’s movement to stand halted, and after a moment, he let out a deep sigh and sat back down.

Jinrong laughed, "That’s more like it. Why the rush? Official duties are never-ending, your hurrying is pointless, right?"

Jiang Yifan rolled his eyes at Jinrong, "Easy for you to say, not being the one to do it. You talk lightly—should I just sit and wait for the superior’s questioning, and expect poor evaluations year after year?"

Jinrong chuckled, "But the thing is, your evaluation could never be poor. Having straightened out the disorderly affairs of Qingyuan County and organized the personnel both in the county government office and locally, your evaluation this year has already met the criteria for excellence."

Yet his ambition was to be an Ultimate Minister, a first-rank officer in the Imperial Court.

Thinking of this ambition brought to mind Ye Xinyan, and the unwarranted calamity she had caused him. With his qualifications as the youngest Imperial Top Scholar for decades, even without the support and maneuvering of Duke An’s Mansion, his prospects wouldn’t be poor—an assured start at Hanlin Academy, and certainly not from a remote small county as a magistrate.

Thinking this, his original ambiguous feelings toward the present Qi Ye were overlaid with a layer of unspeakable crisis and embarrassment. The heart, having already been slightly moved, became hesitant once again.

Jinrong, observing the expressions on Jiang Yifan’s face, commented, "The first time I met you, you were young but put on airs as if you were the best in the world. Although it made you look quite punchable, it was also straightforward and appealing. Now, alas, the older you get, the more cautious you become and the less interesting."

Jiang Yifan shot Jinrong a disgruntled look, retorting, "If after getting the upper hand in a few scuffles, you ended up beaten black and blue by a massive group, with nowhere to appeal and getting severely punished by your master on top of that, you would become more cautious too."

That year when he traveled with his master, relying on his reputation as Cloud Central Province’s child prodigy and the Jiang family’s background, he hardly saw anyone as his equal. And then, he had run into Jinrong in the capital city. According to his master, clashing with Jinrong, who was a prince then, was his luck.

Although Jinrong, a little brat, got beaten by Jiang Yifan, he turned it around quite disgracefully, calling in a throng of followers who gave Jiang Yifan a good thrashing, leaving hardly any part of his body unbruised. Yet, he did not make this matter public and explained away the bruises on his body as resulting from his martial arts practice.

The master, who had been right beside him, did not lift a finger throughout this, only watching, and back at their place, gave him a stern punishment.

Jiang Yifan, covered with bruises under the scorching sun, stood in horse stance until he shivered at the mere mention of the capital city for a long time thereafter.

Back then, his master had taught him that to live was to have a fiery spirit and pride, but he also said that the cheapest things were equally a fiery spirit and pride—it all depended on how one thought and used them.

Regardless of the environment, to recklessly exhibit passion and determination in the face of an unknown power without understanding its depths is the least valuable thing one can do. With such a lack of forethought, how could he live up to his own existence in this world, or the nurturing and expectations of his biological parents?

Jiang Yifan peered again at Jinrong, feeling extremely frustrated. This guy had no regard for valor or shame and was utterly unprincipled, always plotting things in secret and capable of doing anything.

Even scheming against a divorcee in such a shameless manner was something he could propose, and still manage to make it sound righteous and proper.

When it was time to start working at the workshop, Hu Jing came in with a smile and said to Jinrong and Jiang Yifan, "The Qi family’s construction site has begun operations, and it’s looking sharp. Would Sixth Master and Lord Jiang like to go over and have a look?"

Jinrong laughed and said, "Of course we’ll go over, otherwise what are we waiting here for?" He then called to Jiang Yifan to get up, "Hurry up; once you’ve seen it, you can inspect your official duties, and I’ll head back to the mansion to recline. This day’s toiling has really tired me out."

The two of them, accompanied only by two servants, followed Hu Jing to the dairy products workshop.

The construction work at the site was not bustling, nor were there many people coming and going, but none were idle either, all engrossed in their tasks.

Hu Jing pointed to the outline of a workshop and said, "Over there is a pulley I saw last time, and they’ve actually connected several pulleys together for use, which can lift very heavy things, quite ingenious."

"Pulley?" Jiang Yifan thought of the windlass used to draw water from a well which could also serve the purpose in construction.

Jinrong suggested, "Let’s take a look; hearing alone is not enough to understand."

As they approached the workshop, they were stopped by a burly, dark-skinned craftsman.

The craftsman, bowing, apologized profusely with a smile, "I’m sorry, gentlemen, it’s very dangerous to work inside, you should stand further away to watch."

Jinrong looked at Hu Jing, who responded, "I didn’t get close earlier, so I wasn’t aware of this rule." He then addressed the craftsman, "Brother, I just saw the use of pulleys here to lift heavy objects, are you still using them? We would like to take another look."

The craftsman hesitated and glanced behind the group. His expression relaxed as he said, "Isn’t that Lady Qi coming over? Let Lady Qi explain it to you, she understands these things."

Jiang Yifan turned around and sure enough, he saw Ye Xinyan approaching, closely followed by Bi Ning and Nanny Zhou. A little further away, the Zhou siblings and the servants were watching from a distance.

Ye Xinyan stepped forward and after bowing, she asked, "Why have the gentlemen come here? Are you here to check on the progress of the workshop’s construction? The frequent transport of materials here presents a hazard, so for your safety, it’s best to keep your distance. If you have any questions, from a safer distance, I can provide some explanations."

Jinrong looked at Ye Xinyan with a smile and said, "We don’t need to check on the progress; the grid house your family is constructing speaks volumes about the pace of your work. We’re here to see how your pulley system is coming along?"

Ye Xinyan blinked, not quite understanding, "A pulley, isn’t it just a tool for lifting things upward? What’s there to see about that?"