She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 229 - 228 Unqualified to Make Decisions for Her

Chapter 229: Chapter 228 Unqualified to Make Decisions for Her

Having secured Jinrong’s promise on the price, planning the rail transport became much simpler for Ye Xinyan, resulting in a relatively detailed project proposal akin to a feasibility study report. It only involved more specific steps and details.

She had done this before, and not just once.

Ye Xinyan nodded, "Sixth Master, I understand your intention. I will go back and write down everything that needs attention. I don’t understand how the court engineering department arranges the construction, so I can only put together the overall structure of the rail transport. As for the labor cost, Sixth Master, you can decide on the pricing after reviewing the work," Ye Xinyan said.

It was good enough that the Great Aunt promised to take on the task; the specifics of how it was done or what the outcome looked like were flexible. Moreover, based on her past behavior, she always tried her best to fulfill her promises and was never one to do things half-heartedly.

So Jinrong replied very readily, "Alright, Ye Zi, start with the work, and if you have any doubts in the meantime, we can discuss them together. Do you have enough staff? If not, I can transfer some people from the Imperial Workshops Bureau to your Qi Family Construction Business. You don’t have to worry about their identities; I’ll have them work permanently for the Qi family, just as your craftsmen, with no other involvement."

Ye Xinyan raised an eyebrow and looked at Jinrong, sneering, "Sixth Master is quite shrewd. I won’t need the people, thank you. It’s best for my Qi family to stay away from your men." Permanently placing your people in the Qi Family Construction Business, would it still belong to the Qi family?

Jinrong smiled awkwardly, "We’ll do as Ye Zi says. Just let me know whenever you change your mind."

"Let’s leave it at that, I have many matters to attend to and must be going now," Ye Xinyan stood up.

Jinrong and Jiang Yifan also stood up. As Ye Xinyan turned to leave, she paused and then decided to speak, "Has Sixth Master considered the matters after the railway is put into use?"

"What?" Jinrong was momentarily at a loss.

Ye Xinyan said, "The areas that the railway passes through might stimulate the prosperity of nearby streets and shops. The value of land and stores in those areas could significantly increase. Even without flipping the properties, just operating those shops could be more profitable than in other places."

Jinrong listened, startled. There was a connection between building a railway and the surrounding streets?

Jiang Yifan, who had practical experience and had traveled widely, immediately understood Ye Xinyan’s words and explained, "If the areas the railway passes through are convenient for coming and going, many people will likely want to live there. More people means greater prosperity in all aspects."

Taking advantage of the moment before Jinrong could speak again, Ye Xinyan quickly added, "Land and shops are managed by the government office, and I really don’t understand these things. I just wanted to mention the opportunity to make silver from a business perspective and couldn’t help but remind Sixth Master."

Ye Xinyan’s face was not looking good as she left the reception hall, and she remained silent all the way to the carriage.

Nanny Jin’s heart was tight; both Prince Yu and Jiang Yifan were tough opponents and it was no small feat for the young mistress, who though much smarter, could still easily be at a disadvantage when dealing with them.

She wanted to ask Ye Xinyan about the talk with Jinrong and Jiang Yifan, but before she could say anything, the carriage had already arrived at the entrance of the small food shop.

Ye Xinyan knew that Nanny Jin occasionally glanced at her worriedly, but she didn’t know how to explain herself, so she pretended not to see. It was only when Nanny Jin was about to get off the carriage that she comforted her, "Nanny, go and take care of the shop. I’m worried about the construction business and how to handle Sixth Master’s courtyard; his demands are quite troublesome. Go ahead, I will think it over when I get back. We still have Grandfather and Wong Qiao to consult with at home; there’s nothing to worry about."

Nanny Jin straightened Ye Xinyan’s hair bun and advised her to not hurry and to take it slowly before she got off the carriage and watched the carriage disappear into the distance.

Alas, the young miss had been pampered for so many years, but now had to deal with more and more things on her own; it truly pained Nanny Jin’s heart to see this. With a sigh, she entered the snack shop.

After seeing Ye Xinyan out, Jinrong and another person returned and sat down by the small table.

Only then did Jinrong comfortably pick up his tea and take a big sip, then, with a smile that was not quite a smile, he looked at Jiang Yifan and commented, "I didn’t expect you, Yuanfan, to be so open. You called her ’Ye Zi’ so naturally."

Jiang Yifan picked up the paper and pen nearby and, while hurriedly jotting down what Ye Xinyan had just said about rail transport, replied indifferently, "She is my ex-wife."

"Ex-husbands and ex-wives are usually no better than strangers."

Jiang Yifan snorted coldly, "My relationship with my ex-wife is not the usual kind. And that is Qi Ye, not just anyone in the ordinary sense. Otherwise, how could Sixth Master allow someone to talk back at him like that?" he thought resentfully, annoyed that Jinrong had taken the opportunity to climb the ladder and casually call her ’Ye Zi’ as if he had any right to be familiar with her.

Jiang Yifan handed the paper he had finished writing to Jinrong, "There you go. Sixth Master should go back and arrange things with Mr. Hu. I am a man with official duties, and I cannot keep Sixth Master company."

Jinrong took the sheet of paper, glanced at it, and while folding it, he remarked, "We should have invited Mr. Hu here today. Listening to Ye Zi’s insights would have been eye-opening." The regret in his expression only took up a tiny part, overshadowed by satisfaction and pride.

Jiang Yifan’s brow twitched, his body, which had begun to rise, paused, and he resettled himself before saying, "Sixth Master should stop harboring any thoughts about Ye Zi. Let me remind Sixth Master, given her temperament, she will not be someone’s concubine or secondary wife."

Jinrong seemed very unconcerned about Jiang Yifan’s words, leisurely placing the folded paper into his sleeve before saying, "The one who was divorced and sent away is Ye Zi, and the one who decides whom to marry and whether to marry at all is also Ye Zi. No one else has the right to make those decisions for her."

Jiang Yifan felt a sinking feeling in his heart, mixed emotions surging up. This guy had brought up his divorce from Ye Xinyan again. Could he be blamed? The Ye Xinyan of that time was entirely different from the Qi Ye of now. Anyone else in his place might not have fared any better.

But from Ye Xinyan’s perspective, in order to extricate himself at a time when she was in great difficulty, he had abandoned her. No matter his reasons, the fact was, he delivered the most critical blow to an already fallen Ye Xinyan, which led directly to the Ye Family confining her in the ancestral temple and her decision to flee the capital and escape from the Duke’s Mansion overnight.

Jiang Yifan thought of the Ye Xinyan he had met on his way to take up his post in Qingyuan County, disheveled and dressed in ragged clothes, holding a bowl of wild vegetable soup, sitting by the roadside crowded with weeds, a clear picture of hardship.

At that time, beyond feeling relieved that she was alive, he had also vaguely felt that she had brought it upon herself, that nobody else was to blame.

Was such a man as himself truly unworthy of entering Ye Xinyan’s sight again?