She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 231 - 230: Confused

Chapter 231: Chapter 230: Confused

Nanny Liu, seen by Sister-in-law Yan, also felt helpless. Sister-in-law Yan was only following Sixth Master’s orders and wasn’t aware of Lady Qi’s background, so it was natural for her to be confused.

After all, Lady Qi was originally the young lady of the Duke’s Mansion, not only was her past behavior different from other young ladies, but now it was even more so. Even those familiar things that Young Lady did every day like writing, calculating, sketching, and drawing, let alone other young ladies, even bringing an Old Pedant in, they might not understand them.

Ever since the Young Lady returned yesterday, she had been extremely busy, which must be for helping the Sixth Master. Judging by the expressions of Sixth Master and Lord Jiang when they saw off the Young Lady yesterday, Sixth Master should acknowledge her work.

But the tasks assigned by the Sixth Master had to be assisted, right? Nanny Liu took a small step forward, saying, "Young Lady, Sixth Master means well, it wouldn’t be good to just refuse."

Ye Xinyan looked at her with a smile that was not quite a smile, "Nanny Jin and you have been talking about me these days, all about this rule and that rule. Sixth Master is your main house, as well as my employer, but he’s also an external male. For an external male to casually gift clothes to a woman, now that wouldn’t be appropriate, would it?"

Sister-in-law Yan got anxious upon hearing this, how could this be casual? Since when had Sixth Master ever gifted a woman anything?

With the reputation of Sixth Master on the line, Sister-in-law Yan was about to defend him but was stopped by a look from Nanny Liu.

Nanny Liu gave a slight knee bend towards Ye Xinyan, explaining, "Young Lady, the servant believes that Sister-in-law Yan must have misheard Sixth Master’s instructions. Sixth Master is definitely not that kind of thoughtless person. It’s normal for people to exchange unusual gifts or for the main house or employer to reward an effective official in charge or steward with silver or goods.

The servant thinks that since the Young Lady has helped Sixth Master, he felt grateful and to send some gifts to our household is within reason. The Young Lady should also know, such gifts, which make sense both emotionally and logically, are given out of favor, and accepting them is to give face to Sixth Master. You can’t really afford to reject Sixth Master’s face, can you?"

Ye Xinyan watched Nanny Liu with twinkling eyes. It made sense that Jinrong sent Nanny Liu here; she was indeed talented. To be able to seamlessly turn back the words Sister-in-law Yan had already uttered was no easy feat.

Nanny Liu probably didn’t know the specifics of what she and Jinrong had discussed yesterday, but if Nanny Liu was thoughtful and intelligent, she should be able to guess something from her busyness since returning.

Nanny Liu, under Ye Xinyan’s gaze, felt guilty but managed to maintain her facade, looking back at Ye Xinyan with an honest face.

Ye Xinyan asked with a smile, "Is that so, Nanny Liu? If that’s the case, Sixth Master can openly gift women’s clothes and avoid suspicion of impropriety between genders?"

Nanny Liu replied earnestly, "How could that be? Since Sixth Master is giving gifts, he must have something for everyone in the Qi family, young and old, how could he forget to be discreet and only give to women? That won’t happen, I can assure you, that will never happen."

She spoke with conviction, yet her heart was uncertain. Given the present situation, she had to say so. If the fabrics Sister-in-law Yan brought were really only suitable for women... then they would find a way to make it up later.

Sister-in-law Yan’s eyes widened as she looked at Nanny Liu, filled with great admiration. After all, Nanny Liu was a chief among the stewards at the prince’s residence; she knew without seeing that the carriage didn’t just carry fabric suitable for women. How did she guess?

Nanny Liu, catching Sister-in-law Yan’s expression, finally let her tense heart settle back into her stomach. Indeed, Sixth Master had always been cautious about matters between men and women, not giving others leverage and avoiding unnecessary troubles.

However... Nanny Liu glanced at Ye Xinyan, uncertain in her heart, could it be that the Sixth Master is now willing to stir up the trouble of involving Lady Qi?

Ye Xinyan observed the expressions of the two women and understood that Nanny Liu was right; the tailor had not made it clear—the things in the carriage were most likely ordinary gifts intended for the Qi family. Jinrong’s gesture probably was merely to thank her for her willingness to work on the railway transport document.

She let out a huge sigh of relief. That’s right, after all, the man was a prince, the emperor’s son, accustomed to the company of countless beautiful women and talented ladies of noble birth. How could he take an interest in someone like her, a dismissed wife who neither understood proper etiquette nor cared for trivial matters?

As for the gifts, with Nanny Jin absent, she was somewhat uncertain whether she should accept them or not.

"Would you trouble Nanny Liu to ask Nanny Qiao to come in? I’m somewhat unsure whether I can accept these items; let’s discuss it together," Ye Xinyan said.

Anshun’s Household’s servant came in promptly, and after showing the proper respect, upon hearing Nanny Liu’s recount, first showed a moment of difficulty before speaking, "By all rights, this should be considered a reward from the master to his steward, and it should be accepted; otherwise, it would be rejecting the master’s face."

By all rights, eh? Ye Xinyan asked, "What if it’s not by all rights?"

Nanny Liu hesitated for a moment, looking expectantly at Anshun’s Household’s servant.

Anshun’s Household’s servant answered, "If the Young Lady upholds her status, she can also refuse Sixth Master’s reward." Everyone knew that Lady Qi was the Duke An’s Mansion’s eldest legitimate daughter; rewarding the legitimate eldest daughter of Duke An’s Mansion was slightly beneath Prince Yu’s status.

Nanny Liu quickly interjected with a smile, "Actually, it can’t be said to be a reward from Sixth Master. Sixth Master has always held the Young Lady in high regard and has never treated the Young Lady like a subordinate. The items Sister-in-law Yan brought can only be seen as mutual gifts between friends, with Sixth Master and the Qi family having a very good relationship."

After considering for a moment, Ye Xinyan instructed Nanny Liu, "Nanny Liu, call for some old woman servants to bring in the items and take a look." She understood that regardless of whether these were rewards from the master to his steward or Jinrong’s way of showing gratitude to her, as long as the gifts were not specifically targeting her as a woman and to preserve everyone’s dignity, she ought to accept them.

The foundation of Anshun’s Household’s reasoning was still treating her as the legitimate eldest daughter of Duke An’s Mansion. Reflecting on this, Ye Xinyan took another long look at Anshun’s Household’s servant. It seemed the servants from the Duke’s Mansion had come to keep an eye on her to prevent any further issues.

Nanny Liu called several old woman servants to transfer all the items from the carriage into the house.

Indeed, although the majority of the cloth was suitable for women—with a total of five bolts—two of them, in lake green and moon white satin-damask, were also suitable for children and young men. There were also one bolt each of indigo blue, cyan grey, treasure blue, and dark brown satin with longevity pattern, clearly intended for men and the elderly.

There was also a bundle containing protective gear for masons and carpenters while working.

After the items were laid out neatly, Ye Xinyan, looking at Sister-in-law Yan, asked, "What did your Sixth Master tell you?"

Sister-in-law Yan, faced with the numerous pieces of cloth and belongings, was somewhat taken aback. Upon Ye Xinyan’s question, she kneeled promptly to respond, "The items were loaded onto the carriage under Steward Wan’s instructions. The Sixth Master only ordered this servant to bring a few bolts of cloth to Lady Qi and have this servant tailor a few garments for her to wear when she goes out."

It seemed that Sister-in-law Yan was also confused.