She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 305 - 304 Harmony between Heaven and Earth

Chapter 305: Chapter 304 Harmony between Heaven and Earth

Ye Hongyang glared at Madam Yin, who clearly dismissed him as nothing, and anger rose within him. He, Ye Hongyang, was the future top-ranking noble and was being disdained by a woman of the inner court; the very thought was preposterous!

With his temper flaring, Ye Hongyang didn’t bother with any more pretense or worry about saving face, and blurted out, "Madam Yin, those two Pastry Houses of yours have just started, and I imagine it’s not easy to get a new business off the ground. I have some fresh pastry recipes here, praised by His Majesty as excellent cheese desserts. I propose these recipes be incorporated into your venture. I’ll help you purchase the cheese and butter required from the Northern Barbarians. Let’s say I hold a forty percent share in the business of the Pastry Houses."

As he spoke, Ye Hongyang took out two densely written sheets of paper from his sleeve and, with a whoosh, flicked them open and slapped them down on the kang table where Madam Yin kept her account books.

Madam Yin, planning how to maximize profits from the Pastry Houses, hadn’t paid any attention to Ye Hongyang’s ramblings and started upon the sudden noise on the table. She focused her gaze on the two sheets of paper on the table, then looked up at Ye Hongyang with furrowed brows, asking, "What is this? What are these?"

Ye Hongyang nearly choked on her question. He glared at Madam Yin for quite some time before he caught his breath and snapped, "Madam Yin! Have you no understanding of the ’Three Obediences and Four Virtues?’ I am your husband. Such disrespect towards your husband is unbecoming of a wife’s virtue!"

Upon hearing this, a mocking look immediately crossed Madam Yin’s face as she retorted with a sneer, "Really? Having married into the Duke’s Mansion over two decades ago, I had thought all along that the Princely Heir was only Maternal Aunt Liu’s husband, and that’s exactly how the Crown Prince had presented himself to me. Please forgive me, but I’ve become accustomed to the idea that you are Maternal Aunt Liu’s husband and would not dare to presume otherwise for myself."

Turning her gaze to the papers on the table, she spoke to Nanny Huang in a most malicious tone, "What is this? Return these to the Crown Prince. All things belonging to the Crown Prince are meant for Maternal Aunt Liu, the Second Miss, and the two young masters. We dare not touch them." Ye Hongyang’s things were Maternal Aunt Liu’s, and she had no interest whatsoever in knowing about them.

Nanny Huang hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth. The Crown Prince had long since fallen out with Aunt Liu and the lady of the house, so why should her mistress still protect his dignity?

Nanny Huang reverently picked up the two cheese dessert recipes with both hands, laid them on the table in front of Ye Hongyang, saying, "These belong to you, Your Highness. Please take them." She then stepped back twice with utmost respect and stood attentively near Madam Yin at the side of the kang.

Ye Hongyang, with a face ashen, suddenly stood up, trembling as he pointed his finger first at Madam Yin and then at Nanny Huang, bellowing, "You lowly servant, how dare you act wildly in front of the Duke’s Heir Apparent? Who gave you the gall? Was it your mistress?"

He then turned to Madam Yin and yelled, "Have you forgotten? You are a Madam of Ye Family. Having married into the Ye Family, you’re expected to follow the Ye Family’s rules. Gallivanting outside every day, how disgraceful! Do we all seem blind to you? From tomorrow on, the management of the Pastry House will be transferred to the public accounts of the Duke’s Mansion, and you shall remain in the inner court fulfilling the role proper for a woman of the inner court."

After berating her, he flung his sleeves as if to leave, and then turned towards Nanny Huang, saying, "You insubordinate wretch, tomorrow go to the steward and receive twenty strokes. If you dare repeat the offense, I’ll have the Broker sell you off!"

Madam Yin laughed coldly, "What a joke. Nanny Huang is a servant of my household; do you think all of my servants are here just to loaf about? The Pastry House was established with my own silver without touching a cent from Ye Family’s property. The Duke’s Heir Apparent has no right to decide how to handle my business. Perhaps Your Highness should return to your pleasant diversions, for you and Maternal Aunt Liu are truly a match made in heaven. The affairs of my household do not require your concern."

Ye Hongyang’s affection for Maternal Aunt Liu and his preference to devote all his attention to her was one thing, but having Madam Yin declare them a heavenly match was grating to his ears.

"You viper, I am the registered heir of Duke An with the court; how dare you speak so scandalously of me!"

Madam Yin let out a light laugh and said slowly, "The deep affection between Your Highness and Maternal Aunt Liu is a consensus amongst the entire household. What’s with Your Highness’s expression? Do you feel that Maternal Aunt Liu is unworthy of you, or is it that you, as the esteemed heir of Duke An, do not match up to the angelic beauty and gentle Maternal Aunt Liu?"

Madam Yin suddenly realized that as long as she didn’t care, this man, even though he was her husband, could be regarded as worthless by her, could be discarded like a worn-out shoe.

She hadn’t felt this refreshed in a very long time.

"You, you! I’d like to see if the wife I, the Ye Family, brought back home, can be controlled by me, her husband." Ye Hongyang strode out furiously, flung open the cotton curtain, and upon reaching the courtyard gate, shouted for a maid nearby. "You, get Qiao Laiyun for me, and tell him to bring a few capable men, there’s an urgent matter at hand. Do it quickly, if you delay my business, beware of your little life!"

The maid, hearing the order and seeing the Princely Heir’s face full of rage, quickly turned around and jogged toward the direction of the Second Gate.

Ye Hongyang watched the maid leave, then suppressed the anger in his heart and walked back to the main house with a composed gait. He lifted the front of his robe and sat down on the chair once more, coldly looking at Madam Yin and saying, "I have long found this courtyard displeasing. In Duke An’s Mansion, the dignified residence of the first-rank noble Ye Family, to actually have a mansion within a mansion, a place not under the control of the Duke’s Mansion, it’s a laughingstock if word gets out! Today, I will see whether this place belongs to the Ye Family or not!"

Madam Yin gradually furrowed her brows, closed the account book in front of her, pushed it to the side, and stared at a corner of the room. She sat silently and motionless. She should have known long ago how stupid Ye Hongyang was. Pity that she had desperately tried to be the genuine wife of the heir of Duke An, and yet for so many years had stood on the same foolish ground as him.

Seeing Madam Yin’s expression turning somber, Ye Hongyang said with pride, "Today, I am going to deal with this servant. Tomorrow, I shall go to Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion. I’d like to ask the Marquis how his family teaches their daughters. Is it proper that when her husband arrives, she not only fails to greet him, but instead sits on the couch and puts on airs before her own husband? Not only that, but she also runs outside all day long, bringing shame to Duke An’s Mansion. Is this also the discipline taught by the Marquis’s household?"

As Qiao Laiyun made his way without hindrance to the Morning Moon Courtyard’s main house, he saw the Crown Prince and his wife each sitting apart, ignoring each other without speaking; the atmosphere in the room was extremely heavy and gloomy.

Qiao Laiyun, a hereditary servant of the Ye Family and also the steward of Duke An’s Mansion for over a decade, knew that it wouldn’t be good news when he heard from the inner court. It had been a long time since the Princely Heir visited the Morning Moon Courtyard, and the fact that he was summoned here with the instructions to bring capable men indicated trouble was brewing.

While sending someone to relay the message to the Duke, he hurried to the inner court. Upon entering, he bowed roundly to Ye Hongyang and Madam Yin and greeted them, "This one has seen the Princely Heir and the wife of the Princely Heir; I hope the Princely Heir and my nephew’s wife are well."

With a glance from the corner of his eye at the two, Qiao Laiyun noted that Madam Yin remained silent and still, serene as ever. The Princely Heir, on the other hand, looked quite self-satisfied, casting smug glances at Madam Yin from time to time, seemingly looking down on his wife.

Ye Hongyang waved his hand and said, "Stand up. It’s getting late, let’s settle this matter quickly so that I can rest early." Saying that, he glanced at Madam Yin again and added, "Heavens bear witness that you and that unworthy daughter of yours are both the fate of abandoned wives. Only you, Madam Yin, have some self-awareness to back down, which is why you still have a public status."

Pointing at Nanny Huang, who stood beside Madam Yin, he said to Qiao Laiyun, "This lowly servant relied on having some influence in this courtyard and showed disrespect to me, utterly defiant. Where are the men you brought? Drag this lowly servant out and give her twenty lashes, let her learn a lesson."

Uh...

Qiao Laiyun quickly cast his gaze between Ye Hongyang, Madam Yin, and Nanny Huang. Punishing Nanny Huang... this was not something he, a mere servant, could do. Everyone in the mansion knew that the servants of Morning Moon Courtyard were sent from Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion, and their contracts were not even held by the wife of Duke’s Heir Apparent but were controlled by Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion.

The Princely Heir was being willful again. In the past, when the Princely Heir scolded a couple of servants in this courtyard, the wife of the Duke’s Heir Apparent would tolerate it a little. But ever since the incident with the eldest miss, the wife of the Duke’s Heir Apparent had not even shown the slightest pretense of accommodation towards the Princely Heir. Now she sat there, her expression as still as water. It seemed she wasn’t speaking up, but Qiao Laiyun believed if he dared to touch Nanny Huang, the wife of the Duke’s Heir Apparent would likely explode on the spot.