She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 271 - 270: Huge Changes

Chapter 271: Chapter 270: Huge Changes

Shi Yu walked on the outskirts of a group of children, bored and only paying attention to the ground, picking up a suitable pebble or two and casually tossing them.

Hearing what Qi Sanshun’s two boys were saying and thinking about his own Eldest Son, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Miss Ye’s reputation was indeed formidable; although she had retreated to the countryside and appeared as nothing more than an ordinary peasant woman in front of others, even children knew she was the most powerful figure here, not the Magistrate Sir. Just now, at the Qi family’s place, he had heard how the subordinates from Prince Yu’s Mansion had been given a hard time and worn down by Miss Ye.

Jiang Yifan, holding Qi Jiaer’s hand, listened absently to him boasting about how amazing his sister was and how smart Third Uncle Wong was, responding occasionally with a word or two. Fortunately, Qi Jiaer was satisfied with just talking to him and didn’t expect his full engagement, so their way of conversing was oddly compatible.

The Qi Ye spoken by the children in their conversation and the Ye Xinyan in Jiang Yifan’s impression were completely different people.

As Jiang Yifan responded to Qi Jiaer, he pondered the various possibilities of Ye Xinyan becoming Qi Ye. Now that Nanny Jin had accompanied Ye Xinyan through great upheaval and fled with her, perhaps in such an entirely different situation and with daily companionship, she simply felt relieved that Miss Ye had become sensible, but she might not deeply grasp the enormity of this change—a change so great as to be unimaginable.

And for people like Jinrong, who had only heard of the Duke’s Mansion’s Young Miss’s reputation, hearing about it and being with her day and night were absolutely not the same thing. They would have no idea of just how astonishing Ye Xinyan’s transformation was and could not feel the same shock and bewilderment as he did.

Jiang Yifan was truly bewildered; even if Ye Xinyan had faced a great upheaval, could she have become a completely different woman, one who was lovely and intelligent?

Jiang Yifan remembered the first time he met Ye Xinyan after the Duke’s Mansion’s troubles, on his way to take up his post in Qingyuan County. Even then, Ye Xinyan had changed from the past. At that time, the look in her eyes was cunning like that of a common thug; there was not much fear or disgust, and her casual request to borrow one hundred taels of silver did not fit the style of someone from a noble background.

Moreover, the term "compensation for loss of youth" she blurted out in exasperation back then, just like how she acts and speaks now, was something unheard of and unseen by others, much like the deeply meaningful joke she told today.

If she were truly a fairy that had descended to the mortal world... perhaps she wouldn’t leave as abruptly as she had come, would she? Jiang Yifan could hardly imagine what the world would lose without this fairy-like woman’s presence, and how much less wonderful it would be.

The two adults and a bunch of rowdy children, along with Zi Ning who followed not too far behind, headed toward the open space Qi Sanshun had pointed out.

Indeed, the place was not close. The children ran and jumped along, and Jiang Yifan’s stride was also quite large; the group walked for almost two quarters of an hour before reaching the spot Qi Sanshun had mentioned.

The vegetation in this place was not lush. Sparse, unimpressive wild grass dotted the barren gravel ground, and in many places, the grass couldn’t even cover the soil completely. But the flat, unobstructed land was perfect for burrowing, grass-eating creatures like wild rabbits to thrive.

It was far from the village; not to mention homes, even the nearest farmland was only visible from a distance.

Qi Sanshun led the children to a stop, gestured around with his hand, and said to Jiang Yifan, "This is the place where my dad, my Second Grandpa, and I often come. There are more wild rabbits here than anywhere else; often, while walking, one or two would just dart out from afar. It’s just a pity we can never catch up to them."

Then, with shining eyes, he looked at Jiang Yifan and tentatively asked, "Sir, should I go run around a bit? Maybe I can scare out a rabbit."

Jiang Yifan looked around and seeing it was safe, nodded, "Brother Jia and Xiao Si stay, you all go ahead, and keep an eye on this brother; don’t stray too far from him. Shi Yu, watch over them, call out to make sure they don’t run too far away."

Shi Yu could only nod her head and follow the dozen or so children scattering in all directions to chase after the wild rabbits that excited them so.

Qi Jiaer watched Qi Sanshun run off eagerly yet didn’t dare to break free from Jiang Yifan’s grasp. Little Xiao Si looked even more pitiful, craning his neck to closely watch his friends dash away, his mouth agape.

Jiang Yifan said, "You two are too young to run around with them. Don’t be envious, although it’s quiet here, we can still catch wild rabbits."

Soon after, a child’s shriek pierced the air from afar, "Over there, over there, big brother, look." Followed by his shriek was a burst of cheers, "We really got one!" "Big brother is so amazing, we can have roasted rabbit meat now."

Qi Sanshun called out excitedly, "There are so many wild rabbits here, let’s drive them out again, there will be more." Then, another round of commotion erupted.

The silence of the desolate wilderness was broken. When Shi Yu caught the third wild rabbit, Xiao Si, who was following Jiang Yifan, rushed forward two steps and cried out, "Sir, a wild rabbit, quick, quick, go!"

Qi Jiaer also pointed towards the front, "There, over there." A plump grey rabbit, in its panic, sprinted a short distance ahead and was about to vanish from sight.

Almost simultaneously with Xiao Si’s shout, Jiang Yifan flicked his finger and a pebble, previously unseen in his hand, shot out. The wild rabbit fell, tumbling to the ground, motionless.

Xiao Si hopped up and down shouting, his voice breaking with excitement, "We got it, we got a big wild rabbit." No longer concerned about whether the Magistrate Sir would restrain him, he dashed towards the rabbit.

Jiang Yifan also led Qi Jiaer over. Xiao Si had already grabbed the rabbit with both hands and was holding it high, "See? It’s a big one." It seemed that Xiao Si had expended some effort lifting the rabbit.

Qi Jiaer broke free from Jiang Yifan and darted over, circling Xiao Si and saying, "Yes, it’s really big, almost as big as the one grandpa caught last time."

Xiao Si blinked, looked at the rabbit in his hands again, and said, "It’s much bigger than the one Second Grandpa Qi got, right? Take a good look, Jiajia."

Qi Jiaer tilted her head for another look but insisted, "I think it’s about the same size, the one grandpa brought back was really big too."

Xiao Si might have been young, but he understood that Qi Jiaer must think his grandpa was the best and that anything his grandpa brought had to be good. Reluctantly glancing at the rabbit he was holding, Xiao Si conceded his point, "Alright, the one Second Grandpa Qi caught was pretty big too."

When Qi Jiaer heard Xiao Si’s words, he was immediately delighted, throwing his arm around Xiao Si’s shoulder and saying, "I knew Brother Xiao Si was the best."

In maintaining the grand image of his grandpa, Qi Jia looked at the rabbit again, then turned to Jiang Yifan, his eyes brimming with admiration, "Lord Jiang, you’re so amazing, to catch a wild rabbit with just a pebble. Would you please teach me how?"

Qi Jiaer’s words immediately caught Xiao Si’s attention. Indeed, if they could learn that skill, wouldn’t they be able to have rabbit meat whenever they wanted? Lord Jiang was so generous; if he taught Qi Jiaer, they could surely learn by watching on the side.