She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 284 - 283: Everyone Knows It’s Guan He

Chapter 284: Chapter 283: Everyone Knows It’s Guan He

Although it was awkward to speak, Jiang Yifan couldn’t remain silent. He took a deep breath and set down his teacup, "Elder."

"My lord, please speak," Qi Younian looked at him.

"My eldest senior brother’s surname is Guan and his given name is He. He arrived a few days ago," Jiang Yifan said as he stood up and bowed to Qi Younian, "Eldest senior brother has always wandered in Jianghu, holding worldly rules lightly. If he has shown any disrespect at your place, please forgive him."

Qi Younian quickly stood up to return the bow, "My lord, you worry too much. In the past, I have also met quite a few people from Jianghu. Many are unrestrained, but that doesn’t necessarily mean their character is bad. There are many gallant individuals among them. I understand this and won’t take such matters to heart."

Jiang Yifan breathed a sigh of relief, gesturing to Qi Younian, "Elder, please sit. Let’s sit down and talk."

"My senior brother arrived several days ahead of me, and he wasn’t opposed to helping the Qi family. However, he said he needed to observe the situation at your place first, to see if he could get along before agreeing to stay," Jiang Yifan explained with a troubled expression. "He went there five days ago. Before leaving, he instructed me not to send any message to your place. He wanted to see the real Qi family for himself. So..."

So, the one who stole the cheese was, nine times out of ten, or rather, certainly Guan He. Losing something was a secondary issue. The main thing was, if my elder brother saw that a place could be easily burglarized, he would probably die of shame right away.

Qi Younian laughed upon hearing this, "That’s good, that’s good. Capable people may have some unusual temperaments, but it’s okay as long as it wasn’t infiltrated by someone else. Ye Zi said that we produce ingredients, and they are supplied to affluent households. If these could be easily tampered with by intruders, silently doing God knows what, then this business perhaps couldn’t go on."

Jiang Yifan dared to guarantee this matter, saying, "Knowing that elder is understanding, I am at ease. I dare not make other claims, but as long as my senior brother is there, he will definitely take good care of everything inside and outside your household. There will be no mishaps."

"That’s settled then. There are many extraordinary heroes whose actions deviate from the ordinary. If Master Guan has the abilities you speak of, having some unusual habits is also understandable," Qi Younian said.

Although Qi Younian’s words seemed to make excuses for Guan He, Jiang Yifan couldn’t help but smile wryly. He explained, "Well, my senior brother actually doesn’t have any bad habits, nor would he ever commit theft. As for why he went to the workshop to take the cheese, I will find time to ask him about it."

"It was me who did not make myself clear, causing you to have such thoughts. A person recommended so strongly by you, my lord, can’t have bad character," Qi Younian waved his hand and smiled, "Three days ago, Ye Zi took some fermented cheese pieces for tasting. On the first day, everyone said it wasn’t good..."

Qi Younian recounted the experience of the whole family tasting the cheese, "I figure, it must’ve been Master Guan’s curiosity about that cheese. Perhaps it’s a rare delicacy, and Master Guan didn’t think too much of it, so he took a piece when no one was around. Initially, we found it odd. What kind of thief would enter a place and only take a small piece of cheese, especially the one that has fermented the longest, clearly someone knowledgeable yet without malice."

Jiang Yifan shook his head with a chuckle: "This is indeed something my senior brother might do. He acts accordingly to his will, and it’s possible he was curious about cheese fermentation. But...sigh, this is too outrageous. If he had wanted some cheese, even Sixth Master would have had to give him some respect. There was no need for such a situation, causing everyone to worry."

Qi Younian also laughed along, finding Lord Jiang’s senior brother to be a fascinating person. He had initially been concerned that this righteous figure would be high-maintenance, requiring formal courtesies every day. Now it seemed that he was someone who didn’t sweat the small stuff.

After exchanging a few jokes, Jiang Yifan asked, "So, is the fermented cheese from the Dairy Products Store truly a delicacy?"

Qi Younian nodded with deep emotions and said, "That thing is truly odd. It looks quite ordinary with no enticing scent or color, yet the more you eat it, the more delicious it becomes. The first time, I couldn’t eat much, but the second time I began to appreciate the taste, and with last night’s noodles, it was definitely gourmet."

Listening to this, Jiang Yifan also found it intriguing. He said, "When Xie Chun goes back to Sixth Master with the message, Sixth Master will surely guess that it was made by my senior brother. It seems Sixth Master is also curious about the taste of the cheese. In that case, let me accompany the elder to Sixth Master’s Mansion. It’s likely that Sixth Master has been planning to check out the stream of wealth he’s been thinking about, and we might as well head to Clear Water Village together."

Indeed, as soon as Jinrong heard from Xie Chun about the theft at the cheese scene, he immediately burst into laughter.

He waved his hand, smiling, "With this affair, there’s even less to worry about. You all just carry on with your work. With this thief around, your place is safer than ever. No one else will be able to get into your workshop."

Xie Chun was utterly bewildered by what he heard. The place had been burgled, allowing free access to the cheese workshop, and yet Sixth Master could still laugh like this.

"Sixth Master, what is actually going on? Please, tell me so that I can be clear about it too," Xie Chun’s expression was full of confusion.

Jinrong laughed again for a while before he said, "That person is a guard found by Lord Jiang for the Qi family, extremely skilled. He could take not just one piece of your cheese but if he wanted, he could empty your entire cheese workshop and even with all of you included, no one could stop him. It’s fine, he must be joking with you."

"..." Xie Chun was speechless.

His way of joking sure could infuriate people for a while. It seemed not only did Lord Jiang bring this person, but Sixth Master himself was also very familiar with him. What kind of people did Sixth Master and Lord Jiang know?

"What have you all been doing? How did he set his sights on the fermented cheese?" Jinrong asked.

Xie Chun recounted the cheese tasting event they had, and Jinrong’s expression became less pleasant. He stared at Xie Chun for a long time before asking, "Was it Lady Qi who arranged the tasting? She arranged for you to try it first?"

Xie Chun, already chilled by Jinrong’s penetrating gaze and uncertain of his mistake, heard Jinrong’s question and immediately replied with a bow, "I think that it was probably because the cheese didn’t look appealing, which is why Lady Qi had us try it first, to see if the taste was satisfactory. If the taste was passable, then Lady Qi would make other arrangements."

Jinrong still spoke with a stern tone, "You sure know how to make excuses for her."

Xie Chun quickly bowed deeply, "Replying to Sixth Master, I’m not making excuses for anyone, but when the fermented cheese was first opened, it indeed did not look good. The surface was splotchy with patches of yellow and brown, a sign of spoilage, and when using it, we had to cut off that layer of discolored surface before slicing it as an ingredient."

Seizing on Xie Chun’s words, Jinrong asked keenly, "So you’re saying that the rind actually did go bad, and you removed the spoiled part and used the good part that was left?" If that were the case, such ingredients would likely be scorned by the upper-class officials, nobles, and rich magnates.