She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 240 - 239: No Comparison, No Hurt

Chapter 240: Chapter 239: No Comparison, No Hurt

Hearing the commotion at the door, Wang Qiao instinctively stopped the work in his hands and looked up. Jinrong waved his hand at him, making a shushing gesture.

Wang Qiao, a craftsman by trade, had not yet fully transitioned out of his focused state. He nodded to Jinrong’s signal, paused slightly, and then, glancing at Ye Xinyan who was still fully engrossed in her task, bent his head again to continue his drafting.

Jinrong swept his gaze around the room before it came to rest on Ye Xinyan.

The fabric he had sent clearly hadn’t been used yet, or maybe it was yet to be used. Ye Xinyan was still without jewelry, just as before, and dressed in her previous semi-worn clothes; the narrow-sleeved short jacket and slim skirts seemed not to hinder her work in the slightest.

The Qi Ye one usually saw, while not sharp-tongued, had a bit of a temper and frequently revealed a decisive nature, unwilling to be dominated by others. But at this moment, Qi Ye appeared focused and serene, her writing concentrated, her contemplation tranquil. Her gaze was deep and restrained, seemingly existing in a realm of her own, far removed from the noise of the world.

Jinrong shifted his gaze away and once more surveyed this room, which, having just been completed, seemed barren and plain.

The spacious reception hall was devoid of excess furnishings; apart from the desk and chairs used by Ye Xinyan and Wang Qiao, there was nothing else. If there was anything to note, it was the two large, uncut sheets of paper tacked to the side wall. One sheet was covered with rows of text, each line’s number clearly marked from a distance.

The other sheet appeared to be a sketch, with scattered lines and drawings.

Jinrong stepped softly forward to take a closer look, and realized it was a diagram depicting the project’s progress. With its squares, line arrows, and intricate details, it looked quite complex. Inspecting a portion of the squares and arrows that were labeled, it was evident these were tasks already completed.

Although much of the handwriting was too poor to bear looking at, this diagram was extremely straightforward for grasping the progress of the work.

What his household lacked was such a diagram; without a clear progress chart for reference, every inquiry for an update usually resulted in verbal reports of how much had been done and where it had reached. But the exact amounts and degrees of progress were vague.

Jinrong quietly moved back to Qi Younian’s side, signaling that it was okay for Qi Younian to speak now.

With a smile, Qi Younian took heavier steps closer to Ye Xinyan and said, "Ye Zi, Sixth Master Rong has arrived."

Ye Xinyan was aware someone had entered the room. She had assumed it was Nanny Zhou or Bi Ning coming to add wood to the fire or change the tea, and hadn’t paid any attention, certainly not taking the time to look up and see what they were doing. It was only when she heard Qi Younian’s voice that she looked up.

At a glance, she saw Qi Younian standing beside Jinrong, with Hu Jing behind them, and two other unfamiliar faces she hadn’t seen before.

Ye Xinyan set down her writing brush and came around from behind her desk to bow to Jinrong, "I’ve seen Sixth Master, I pay my respects to Sixth Master."

Jinrong waved his hand, "No need for such formality. Have you and Brother Wong already started on the documents?" Jinrong asked, nodding towards Wang Qiao.

Wang Qiao had already ceased his work when Qi Younian spoke, and seeing Jinrong looking toward him, he quickly made a bow with his hands clasped.

Ye Xinyan said, "We’re short on manpower here, only Brother Wong and I can lend a hand, and it’s our first time doing this kind of task, so progress is somewhat slow."

Jinrong glanced at the two clerks who came with him and asked Ye Xinyan, "Ye Zi is being too modest. These two people I brought are officials in charge of operating the railway documents. Could they take a look at the documents you’ve made, and also those two drawings on the wall?"

Ye Xinyan nodded. "Sure, since the two of you are experts in this field, if you see anything amiss, please give us some pointers. It would save us the trouble of working in vain, only to have to start all over again."

Ye Xinyan had acknowledged that she was now on Jinrong’s sinking ship. For her and her family’s future, she had to do her utmost in matters concerning Jinrong. She was sincerely willing to exchange knowledge with Jinrong’s subordinates. No matter which side benefited more from the exchange, it was Jinrong’s team that would gain.

If Jinrong succeeded, at the very least, everyone’s life and property would be safeguarded. Therefore, she answered decisively and efficiently.

Jinrong smiled, "That won’t be necessary. In my opinion, there are hardly a few people in the whole world who could match Ye Zi’s abilities in doing this kind of work. The two of you, go take a look at those two large sheets on the wall first, and learn how others manage such complicated affairs."

The two craftsmen who had worked in the Ministry of Works glanced at each other. The young man working there seemed decent enough. Although a look at his technique revealed he wasn’t formally trained and had taken an unorthodox path, at least he looked like he knew what he was doing.

This woman must be Lady Qi. There was no need to bother about her; she surely wasn’t cut out for this kind of work. With her age, what could she accomplish? But then again, one shouldn’t expect too much from a young woman; being able to gesture a thing or two would be quite an achievement.

Therefore, they did not take Ye Xinyan and Wong Qiao seriously. When Jinrong told them to look at the two drawings, they did so just to comply, not taking to heart what they were supposed to review.

As they approached, what first caught their eye were the disordered and unappealing characters on the two large sheets of paper. Out of consideration for His Highness Prince Yu’s dignity, they tried their best to hide their disdain and moved closer, planning to give it a cursory look.

To their surprise, as they drew near, they didn’t even need to scrutinize closely before beads of sweat formed on their foreheads. As people involved in planning engineering projects, they could clearly understand these drawings that indicated the project’s progress and tasks. It was all too clear to them.

After exchanging glances again, they couldn’t help feeling guilty, and their legs even began to feel weak.

Sixth Master Rong had repeatedly urged the drafting of the railway transportation plan, and these past few days, he had been asking almost daily about the progress. Their responses had also been straightforward – it was a new project, especially this railway transportation that Sixth Master Rong spoke of, which was completely novel. Naturally, it required time to plan and organize, so slow progress was to be expected.

So they always reported that there had been advancements, that they had completed quite a bit, and that they were about to finalize this or that and soon could get started.

But in comparison with these two large sheets, their days of busyness had actually been spent hovering around the very first title on this draft sketch.

They had thought they were giving it their all, moving quickly. The progress they made on this task might not have been the fastest in the industry, but it was efficient. However, that was under the assumption that there was no draft sketch like this one for comparison. From the different markings on this sketch, it became evident that Sixth Master Rong’s other team was moving forward with the project at an unimaginable pace.

Did that mean they were not much use to His Highness anymore? Would His Highness think that they had been deliberately delaying and shirking their duties?