She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 264 - 263 Miss Sister

Chapter 264: Chapter 263 Miss Sister

Ye Xinyan and Nanny Jin were talking when Zhou Biyao sighed, "Alas, my uncle has already pawned quite a bit of his property. His days are now much worse than before, it’s rather pitiful to see."

Ye Xinyan didn’t like hearing this. She glanced at Zhou Biyao and asked, "What? Are you feeling aggrieved for your uncle?"

She didn’t want that silver, happy to earn her own and spend it brightly; that was her business. Liang Qiyuan pawning his family assets wasn’t worthy of pity—it was his own fault, a well-deserved consequence. Such myopic people who also tried to bully others by throwing their weight around deserved such treatment. Without power to rely on, he would naturally become subdued, which is good for everyone.

Zhou Biyao wasn’t intimidated by Ye Xinyan’s tone at all, she just curled her lips and said, "Look at what Sister Qi is saying. Where have I shown any grievance? It’s just that I lament the unpredictability of life. Just like my uncle, a single crooked thought led to ruin, alas." Saying so, she shook her head like an old sage.

Ye Xinyan also curled her lips, "Your uncle had just one crooked thought? He had one after another, okay? Having no sense himself, he still indulged in crooked schemes meant for the clever, and this is the result."

Sister Qi agreed with this, "Yes, yes, I think so too. Uncle’s mistake was that he didn’t put his mind in the right place." Zhou Biyao even put down her pen, promptly joining in.

After looking at her for a few moments, Ye Xinyan nodded and exclaimed, "Hmm, you truly are your father’s own daughter; you have his manner." On the official path, success is all that matters; for Zhou Bingyi to have reached the position of Prefectural Magistrate, he must deeply understand this principle.

Clearly picking up on the implication in Ye Xinyan’s words not being praise, Zhou Biyao asked, "What’s wrong, Sister? Did I say something incorrect?"

"Shouldn’t you say that your uncle’s mistake was harboring bad intentions in the first place?" Ye Xinyan countered scornfully.

"That’s true. But people often say, ’Plan thoroughly before you act.’ If someone harbors ill will, controls the situation well from beginning to end, they should succeed and not end up in a sad state, right?" Zhou Biyao continued to muse.

Ye Xinyan shook her head inwardly. Zhou Bingyi was out of luck; if Zhou Biyao were born a boy, just with this mindset, she would be an offspring that brought glory to the family.

"These matters are none of our concern," Ye Xinyan said. "Have you finished transcribing the statutes I gave you? It’s been so long; if you can’t even manage this little task, how can you do anything else?" Her tone dripped with disdain.

"How has it been so long? You gave them to me only in the afternoon, Sister, and there are so many. I’ve already written out a lot, come see if you don’t believe me." Zhou Biyao immediately retorted, attempting to tug on Ye Xinyan’s clothes.

And so it began again. Nanny Jin and Nanny Liu exchanged a glance, then promptly turned and left, leaving Bi Ning and Qian Yue to watch their young mistress argue helplessly.

"Alright, alright, I know you’ve written a lot," Ye Xinyan hurriedly said when she saw Zhou Biyao about to pull at her again, "Once you’ve finished with these, you won’t have much else to do. When are you going back home?"

As soon as Zhou Biyao heard this topic again, she immediately withdrew and sat back at the table. While dipping her brush in ink, she made excuses, "Father hasn’t said when we are leaving."

Ye Xinyan urged again, "Why don’t you visit your uncle again? It would be best to stay at his house for a few days. His family has encountered a great disaster; staying with them for more days would show that you don’t disdain their downfall and that your affection for your uncle’s family remains unchanged."

Speaking of this, the sly look on Zhou Biyao’s face turned listless, "I went there the day before yesterday. My cousin hardly gave me a warm welcome, my aunt made veiled jabs at me for staying with you, saying I was only interested in climbing the social ladder, and my uncle flatly ignored me. I’m afraid even if I offered to stay, my aunt would claim there’s no room for me."

What high branch is there to climb onto, when there are no high branches available?

Ye Xinyan was stunned for a moment before saying, "Didn’t you tell them that the only reason Lord Zhou brought you here at this time was to find connections for his family’s case and to make things happen?"

"I didn’t say. Most of my uncle’s house has been sold, and the profit from the shops is gone too. The family can only survive on the farmland in the countryside; our days are nowhere near as good as before. I can’t bear to talk about making connections for them." Zhou Biyao’s mood was very low. No matter what, her uncle was her close kin, and seeing her family’s fortunes decline so severely was hard on her as well.

Ye Xinyan couldn’t bring herself to drive her away anymore and said in a gentler voice, "All right then, you can stay for now. Wait for news from Lord Zhou and then make your travel arrangements."

Zhou Biyao fell silent for a moment before saying, "Sister, I can finish copying these regulations today. Tomorrow, let me write the construction documents for the courtyard for Sister. After copying these past few days, I’ve gotten the hang of it. Sister just needs to guide me."

Ye Xinyan stood up with her hands folded and said, "Guiding you would take longer than doing it myself. It’d be better for you to stick with Nanny Zhong and do needlework."

Zhou Biyao rose quickly to her feet as well and insisted, "What’s so interesting about needlework? Can’t I follow Sister and work in construction instead? I’m quite clever; Sister won’t need to spend much time instructing me, and I’m sure I will be able to help very soon."

Ye Xinyan looked her up and down several times, "Being out and about means dealing with all sorts of people. Let’s set aside whether you’re clever or not, but you need to understand your own identity. You are the daughter of the Prefectural Magistrate, not the same as people like us."

Zhou Biyao stubbornly said, "I don’t want to be like my mother and sister. I want to be like Sister and Wong Qiao, writing documents, drawing designs, and constructing various houses and courtyards. Just like the courtyards you’re working on now, turning the drawings on paper into beautiful little bridges over flowing water, Pavilions, and Towers." She even sighed with admiration, "To live such a life, what more could one ask for!"

Ye Xinyan was a bit dumbfounded, "I say, little Miss, you’re not planning on sticking around and refusing to leave, are you?"

...

When Jiang Yifan came to inform Jinrong about the outcome of the case, Jinrong was sitting beside a small table in the study, all smiles as he read a letter. Seeing Jiang Yifan enter, he quickly invited him, "Yuanfan is here, come in and have a seat."

After exchanging greetings, Jiang Yifan sat down on another chair and asked, "What’s got Sixth Master in such good spirits?"

Jinrong, shaking the letter in his hand, said with a smile, "This is a letter from the capital. Didn’t I send some dessert recipes and ingredients to the Imperial Father? After trying them, he praised me greatly, saying that after all these years, I’ve finally done something serious. This is a letter written by his own hand."

Handing over the letter to Jiang Yifan, he said, "From now on, I’ll openly run a cattle farm, let’s see who dares to say a word against it!"

Jiang Yifan took the letter and tossed off a comment, "Really? Strutting about like this."

"Why not? I shall keep this letter safe and sound. It’s as good as an official decree from His Majesty the Emperor. In the future, when our cattle farm breeds draft cattle and processes dairy products, even selling the cattle, no one will dare to object. Dairy cows only produce cow’s milk when they breed calves. They surely won’t forbid me from selling the useless bulls and cows."