She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 286 - 285: Justifiably

Chapter 286: Chapter 285: Justifiably

As it turned out, Guan He wasn’t so graceless as to squat on the Qi family’s rooftop eating cheese; instead, dressed in a simple cotton robe and without a hat, he sat grandly on a large chair set out in the Qi Family Courtyard, yelling orders at a group of youngsters as they roasted wild rabbit and pheasant.

"No, you’re Liu Er, right? You need to hold the prey higher, that’s the way to cook it evenly inside and out. Ah, that’s right, you’re a smart kid."

"And you, Sanshun, what are you doing? You should wait for the smoke to clear before you start roasting; otherwise, how can anyone stomach that smoked taste? Didn’t you just roast sparrows the other day? How could you forget so soon?"

"Come here, come here, yes, you, that half-roast of yours is almost done. Bring it here, let Uncle tell you how Uncle was just eating it."

Guan He glanced at the half-roasted chicken the youngster handed over and shamelessly said to Zi Ning, "Little girl, can’t you be a bit sharper? Bring all sorts of seasonings from your kitchen here; we need them."

Zi Ning looked towards Ye Xinyan.

Wrapped in a large cotton cloak, Ye Xinyan sat not far from them under the eaves, watching impassively as the thief who had entered her workshop to steal the night before now sat domineeringly in her courtyard, barking orders. Yet, she couldn’t help but be astonished, could Jiang Yifan really have such an elder martial brother? His master was truly magnanimous, to accept disciples of such differing standards.

Seeing Zi Ning looking at Ye Xinyan and getting no response from Ye Xinyan for a long while, Guan He also turned his gaze toward Ye Xinyan.

Ye Xinyan’s indifferent gaze met with Guan He’s for a moment before she slightly nodded her chin at Zi Ning.

Zi Ning stepped lively towards the kitchen to tend to the seasonings, while Nanny Liu and the folks from Anshun’s Household sighed with relief.

Though, with the influence we currently have, we need not fear Master Guan, since Young Lady had decided he was the guardian sent by Lord Jiang, and this person seemed quite capable, it was not fitting for the Young Lady to fall out with him. Moreover, the Young Lady was a woman after all.

It also happened to be a coincidence this morning, just as Old Master Qi and Xie Chun left, a young worker from the workshop came rushing to report that Zi Ning had sent a message: a stranger was roasting meat in a nearby hollow, claiming to be Lord Jiang’s elder martial brother. Brother Jia and a few others were pestering him and had eaten all his roasted meat, so he then took a group of kids hunting for wild rabbits. The man also told Zi Ning not to worry, as they weren’t going far.

Now already into winter and with not much work on the construction site, plus the incident of the dairy workshop being robbed, Old Master Cheung and Wong Qiao were in the parlor discussing devices that could serve as a warning when they heard Zi Ning’s message. They immediately became anxious and wanted to call people to search, but were stopped by the Young Lady.

"Grandfather Cheung, find a couple of clever kids to follow and see. That man is most likely the guard sent by Lord Jiang," said the Young Lady to Old Master Cheung. "If he says they won’t go far, they probably won’t stray far. Among the group of kids are a few older ones, it should be fine."

The people in their courtyard, to a greater or lesser extent, all knew that Lord Jiang had asked his elder martial brother to come help guard the Qi family. Hearing what Ye Xinyan said, they felt a bit more at ease.

Now that the autumn harvest was over for some time, several of the village’s bigger kids were getting into mischief with Qi Sanshun and the others. To say that so many children could be kidnapped or dealt with all at once was quite unlikely.

The outcome was indeed as the Young Lady had said. The two lads from the Construction Industry who had been dispatched returned, with one bringing news that Master Guan and a bunch of kids were active on the nearby wasteland.

Nanny Liu saw admiration clearly written on the face of the young worker who said that Master Guan really had caught wild rabbits in the wasteland not far away. Anyone would know that wild creatures were naturally found in places rarely visited by humans, so catching wild rabbits nearby was a bit unbelievable.

Approaching noon, Master Guan nonchalantly returned with a group of children. As soon as he entered, he waved his hand at the old woman servant who came to greet him, "No need for formalities with me; I’m here at the request of your Magistrate Sir to look after your household. We are all one of us, so there’s no need to fuss over me. Go about your work."

The old woman servant was taken aback by what he said; her intention had been to stop him to inquire about his identity, not to exchange pleasantries or see to his needs.

Ignoring the servant women and old woman servants in the courtyard who were stunned by his words, Master Guan directed the group of children, "Qi Jia, you know your family’s courtyard well, lead a few people to move tables and chairs over. Sanshun, find some people to get some firewood, set up a stand, and light a fire."

Qi Jiaer, with the heart of a child, didn’t think much and directly led a few to move the tables and chairs. Qi Sanshun, being older, glanced at Nanny Liu and Nanny Qiao while starting to work, then shrank his neck to fetch the firewood.

Nanny Liu stepped forward a few paces, bent her knees towards Master Guan, and before she could speak, Master Guan said, "This nanny intends to ask me a thing or two, doesn’t she? No need to ask. Your master and Jiang Yifan will arrive shortly. Before they come, I will stay in the courtyard and not wander off. Don’t waste your time on me, go on with your work." His words choked off Nanny Liu’s inquiries, leaving her quite uncomfortable.

Grandfather Cheung, Wong Qiao, and Ye Xinyan, who had all been waiting in the parlor, came out when they heard the noise. Ye Xinyan glanced at Master Guan and, discerning from his words and his confident tone, surmised that he and Jinrong were probably acquainted and quite familiar with each other.

"Nanny Liu," Ye Xinyan called out, signaling to Nanny Liu to leave him be.

Both Grandfather Cheung and Wong Qiao stepped forward to ask a few questions, nothing more than the usual who you are and who I am, followed by mutual introductions and customary pleasantries. When Grandfather Cheung asked Master Guan if he had a letter or why Lord Jiang hadn’t notified them in advance, Master Guan was less cooperative, rambling on about this and that but carefully dodging Grandfather Cheung’s questions.

Ye Xinyan didn’t follow them but stood at a distance under the eaves, watching the chaotic courtyard and Master Guan, who was deflecting Grandfather Cheung and Wong Qiao’s inquiries while giving orders to the children, a strong sense of dissonance rising in her heart.

When Qi Jiaer saw Ye Xinyan come out, he dropped the stool he was carrying and ran over, "Sister, this uncle says he’s Lord Jiang’s elder martial brother, which means he’s like a real brother. Lord Jiang’s brother is indeed more impressive than Lord Jiang himself, he’s so good at catching rabbits, and he even caught two big birds, said they were pheasants, I kept some pretty feathers."

As he spoke, he began rummaging through the mess in his pouch to lift a small bundle of colorful feathers up to Ye Xinyan, "Look, Sister, aren’t they beautiful? These are for you, and I also kept a few long ones. I’ll go get them so you can see." Handing the feathers to Ye Xinyan, he was about to run off to search.

Ye Xinyan quickly called out to him, "These are very beautiful. We’ll look at the long feathers when we’re free. Those a few big brothers are waiting for you to work together, go and do your work first."

"Oh, right." Qi Jiaer remembered the task he had left half-done, quickly turned around, and continued moving stools.

Looking over at Master Guan again, he was still casually chatting with Grandfather Cheung. Grandfather Cheung was still managing okay, but Wong Qiao, with less experience and knowledge of the ways of Jianghu, faced Master Guan’s dazzling bluster. Although he wasn’t completely bewildered, he responded with great caution and difficulty, being careful not to be led astray.