She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 249 - 248 Such an Obvious Thing

Chapter 249: Chapter 248 Such an Obvious Thing

Lian Gui sauntered to the small food shop, first instructing Qi Ercheng to go near the Liang family to inquire about their movements and see if Liang Qiyuan had any reaction to what happened in the main hall of the county government office. Then, he sat in the still deserted shop and recounted the interrogation at the government office to Nanny Jin.

Upon hearing this, Nanny Jin’s face lit up with joy, "So, they are pursuing the Liang family now. From now on, we can peacefully run our business. Although the commotion these days hasn’t affected our income much, that’s not how business should be done. We must open our doors and trade to be a proper business."

Lian Gui picked up the teacup and sipped slowly as he looked around the small food shop.

In the past, such a small business wouldn’t catch Lian Gui’s eye, but now he dared not underestimate this little shop.

During his days handling matters for the Qi family, sometimes, when manpower was tight, Lian Gui also led people to the county town to deliver goods and messages. After going back and forth a few times and seeing the operation of the small food shop, he had also seen the various pastries in the shop’s kitchen.

Having worked in Duke’s Mansion since he was young, and later closely serving the Duke, it couldn’t be said that he was lacking in experience. However, the pastries and soups managed by Young Lady and Nanny Jin were more refined and tastier than anything he had seen before.

And Nanny Jin, who had suffered much under the Young Lady in Duke’s Mansion, had now transformed, capable of running the small food shop and receiving a different kind of respect from the Young Lady.

He had seen the Young Lady and Nanny Jin discussing the affairs of the food shop. If the Young Lady had a different opinion from Nanny Jin, she would abandon her own views and let Nanny Jin make the decisions. This empowerment wasn’t just empty talk; it was really entrusting the business to Nanny Jin. For a servant to be revered to this extent was indeed the epitome, no wonder everyone in Anshun’s Household always said that Nanny Jin’s hardships had turned to sweetness.

Therefore, when he heard Nanny Jin say that they needed to open their doors to be a proper business, he wholeheartedly agreed. Such a delicate enterprise could thrive even in the capital city and naturally should not be given up lightly. Furthermore, since the small food shop was Nanny Jin’s labor of love, it was naturally a given that she would value it highly.

Lian Gui reassured her, "Nanny Jin, rest assured. Lord Jiang has served as a Censor for several years, he naturally didn’t get there through empty credentials. How could he be troubled by a local gentry? You just focus on managing this small shop. After another year or so, we can save some Silver Tael and open in Yuyuan Prefecture, where profits will be even greater." If it weren’t for the constraint of status, this business could be directly opened in the capital city.

Nanny Jin hastened to thank him, "Thank you for your auspicious words, Steward Lian. We’ve just settled in Qingyuan County and dealt with the neighbors. It’s better to do business here for a longer time, establish a foundation, and then make other plans."

Lian Gui nodded and said, "Nanny Jin is truly blessed."

Hearing this, Nanny Jin immediately smiled like Qi Younian, continuously saying, "Oh, no no, it’s all Ye Zi’s skill. I am just a servant following in Ye Zi’s glory."

On the way back to the village, Lian Gui pondered repeatedly and felt it was better to tell the Young Lady about the disposition of the government office. So after lunch, he recounted the process of Jiang Yifan’s interrogation to Ye Xinyan and also told her that Qi Ercheng had obtained reliable news that Liang Qiyuan had been arrested overnight and was now in jail.

Ye Xinyan was momentarily stunned and asked, "What does Jiang Yifan mean by this? If it was to catch the mastermind, why wait until now? So many people made a ruckus at the county government office door. ’Overwhelmed’ only when they couldn’t suppress it anymore? That’s too passive."

"Over... overwhelmed?" Lian Gui was also taken aback.

Ye Xinyan quickly clarified, "No no, that, it means that they couldn’t handle it, couldn’t suppress it. Overwhelmed, understand?"

"Yes, yes." Lian Gui quickly nodded, indicating that he understood. It was indeed not easy to keep up with the Young Lady’s speech.

"Young Lady, what do you think was Lord Jiang’s intention in doing this?" Lian Gui inquired.

What does that mean? Ye Xinyan thought for a moment and tentatively said, "Could it be that Jiang Yifan was waiting for these people to make trouble in the main hall?"

Lian Gui nodded, "That’s what I think too. Young Lady, think about it, why would Lord Jiang wait for these people to cause trouble at the Yamen before taking action?"

Ye Xinyan looked at Lian Gui. Was this a test of her intelligence? She frowned, her eyes darting back and forth as she contemplated for a long while. Suddenly, she thought of a common scene in TV dramas: an official stomping his feet and shouting, "How dare you, you rascals, are you trying to rebel?"

Could that really be the case? Ye Xinyan felt it was a bit melodramatic. She ventured another guess, "To pin a charge of rebellion on them?"

Her conjecture received validation once more, and Lian Gui commended her, "The Young Lady is indeed quick-witted and intelligent. In my opinion, only this reason could justify Lord Jiang waiting for all these days."

Ye Xinyan uttered an "Oh" in admiration of the ancient people’s capacity for strategic thinking. A small eatery was disrupted, and her thoughts were simplistic: it would not majorly affect their own business and would bleed the Liang family dry of silver, so why not let it happen?

But the methods of those from ancient times were clearly different from hers, proving much cleverer. Liang Qiyuan actually aimed to trouble Jiang Yifan with it, and maybe even hoped to use the momentum to bring Jiang Yifan down.

Logically, Liang Qiyuan could engineer such a scenario, driving the common people to push Jiang Yifan into a dead end, not a sign of weakness. But unfortunately for him, he was up against Jiang Yifan, who was precisely waiting for the people to cause an uproar.

Now things were looking up, rebellion ah, what a hefty charge, such a serious affair. Feudal courts fear nothing more than rebellion. Wouldn’t Liang Qiyuan’s hapless brother-in-law need to lose a layer of skin to save him?

The key point was, it’s not up to the brother-in-law to decide if he wants to lose that layer of skin, he must save this troublesome brother-in-law. Otherwise, being tied to a rebel brother-in-law, his esteemed position as prefect, I’m afraid he won’t be able to hold on to it.

Ye Xinyan was so engrossed in her thoughts that she inadvertently blurted out, "If his brother-in-law wants to save him, won’t he have to lose a layer of skin?"

Lian Gui felt greatly reassured, knowing that with the Young Lady’s wisdom, there wouldn’t likely be any more unseemly deeds in the future, no further troubles for the Duke. He praised, "So the Young Lady does understand, she simply hadn’t pondered these dirty affairs, truly wise as a fool."

Ye Xinyan just chuckled dryly in response. There was really no great wisdom, just too many melodramatic plots in TV dramas.

......

This obvious matter didn’t take Zhou Bingyi and his advisors many discussions to decide on, as they personally made a trip to Qingyuan County. The whole affair was simply Jiang Yifan taking advantage of Liang Qiyuan’s disturbance, smoothly guiding the incident towards a charge of mobbing the county government office, standing up for Lady Qi.

To facilitate the matter more smoothly, Zhou Bingyi brought along his daughter Zhou Biyao, hurrying to Qingyuan County. No matter what, during her last visit to Qingyuan County, his daughter had deliberately befriended Qi Ye. Letting his daughter go first to speak with Qi Ye, to defuse Qi Ye’s anger, would make it easier for him to speak before His Highness Prince Yu and Jiang Yifan.

Upon fully considering this affair, the key was this Qi Ye. It was uncertain what status Qi Ye held, to warrant full protection from both Prince Yu and Jiang Yifan.

What is she but someone who resembles the granddaughter of Duke An’s Mansion, and even then, a granddaughter with a tarnished reputation? Surely His Highness Prince Yu wouldn’t bother to send someone to attend to her?