She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 313 - 312: The Bizarre Incident Conjured Up by the Mind

Chapter 313: Chapter 312: The Bizarre Incident Conjured Up by the Mind

Regarding Prince Fu’s skepticism, Liu Yu could only respond with a wry smile, "It’s not just His Highness who finds it hard to believe. I’m afraid everyone who knows the Ye Family’s legitimate granddaughter would find such an incredible story hard to swallow. Yet, according to the messages we’ve received from our people in Qingyuan County, Miss Ye truly possesses these abilities. From the time she started doing small business to make a living to being discovered by His Highness Prince Yu, who then entrusted her with the establishment of the cattle farm and dairy products store, all the events were orchestrated step by step by Miss Ye herself, with very clear indications."

Prince Fu furrowed his brow, finding it hard to believe no matter how he thought about it. How could such an incredible thing exist in this world? How could a person who was foolish and impulsive, acting without thinking when relying on the backing of noble family mansions in the capital, suddenly become clever and wise upon fleeing the capital after an incident?

"Did the people from Qingyuan County mention whether there’s anything unusual about the Qi family or Qi Ye?" asked Prince Fu. Perhaps it was Jinrong disguising his moves, using his people with special abilities to conceal his involvement and prevent others from paying too much attention to him, orchestrating this series of events from behind the scenes through the not-so-brainy Ye Xinyan.

If he thought about it carefully, it wasn’t impossible. Last autumn, almost every female relative of status in the capital clearly witnessed the scandal caused by Ye Xinyan. Officially, Ye Xinyan was sent to the ancestral temple and died in depression not long afterward.

In reality, no more than half a year had passed since the supposedly deceased Ye Xinyan, along with Nanny Jin, mysteriously appeared in Yuyuan Prefecture, thousands of miles away. This meant that it was very likely that Ye Xinyan had vanished during the time she was meant to face retribution, even evading Duke An’s pursuit.

Keep in mind, this is Duke An, a defender of the Northern border, famed for his military prowess that struck fear into the barbarians, adept at deploying troops and mounting surprise attacks, yet he somehow lost track of a young woman from the inner household.

No matter how one looked at it, the situation reeked of an extraordinary conspiracy. Perhaps Ye Xinyan’s escape last year was assisted by Jinrong, who then placed her in Qingyuan County, where Jiang Yifan held office.

But why take such a roundabout way? Utilizing an ordinary farm wife or just about any steward would have sufficed for the task. Why insist on using a granddaughter discarded by the Duke’s Mansion? Especially one that Jiang Yifan would avoid at all costs, his ex-wife.

You must remember, during Duke An’s birthday banquet, the legitimate granddaughter was caught entangled in a secluded spot with a nearly naked man by everyone there, nearly angering the Elder Master Ye to death. Even now, despite Ye Xinyan’s cleverness and competence, Duke An’s Mansion’s stance remains ambiguous. Ye Xinyan still carries the name of Qi Ye, embodying Duchess An’s mourning for her granddaughter.

A year ago, Jinrong’s actions seemed to be directly challenging Duke An, which was of no benefit to him.

The monstrous and devilish scenario envisioned by Prince Fu left him feeling overwhelmed.

Liu Yu looked at Prince Fu as his frown deepened, roughly guessing the implication behind his questions.

He shook his head, "The time Miss Ye escaped and encountered Qi Younian matches up, but if one were to look for traces, Qi Ye seems to have her own trajectory, appearing to be a solitary orphan. The people who went to inquire speculated that it must have been His Highness Prince Yu’s people who erased Miss Ye’s tracks.

After Qi Ye and Qi Younian returned to Clear Water Village, everything was normal. Soon after Prince Yu entrusted Qi Ye with setting up the cattle farm, maids and old woman servants from Prince Yu’s Mansion started serving at the Qi family home, all family servants with a clear background. Qi Ye’s daily activities are all quite normal and casual. There doesn’t seem to be anyone hiding in the Qi family. Based on what we understand, apart from Miss Ye becoming smarter and more agile after turning into Qi Ye, everything the Qi family does fits with their respective identities and skills."

Prince Fu rubbed his temples and gave up trying to imagine all sorts of strange scenarios for Miss Ye, asking Liu Yu, "How do you see this drastic change in Ye Xinyan’s personality and her increased intelligence?"

Liu Yu had indeed taken this question to heart. Without any hesitation, he said, "I too have been puzzled by Miss Ye’s transformation and have inquired with several learned scholars and experts in metaphysics. According to them, there is a type of unusually clever people who, if they encounter the right experiences and circumstances, can become extremely excellent. If the circumstances are poor, however, their behavior can take a dramatically different path and become rebellious to the extreme.

Miss Ye might just be such a case. If she inherently possessed extraordinary administrative abilities but was confined to the inner quarters as a gentlewoman, such restriction would have completely stifled the development of her abilities. This suppression could have caused her personality and mental abilities to erupt in an alternate extreme way, resulting in the Miss Ye we see—foolish, domineering, and thoughtless."

Prince Fu raised his eyebrows, quite surprised by this explanation. According to this theory, Ye Xinyan’s condition might not be a problem at all.

While speaking, Prince Fu suddenly had another thought, "What do you mean by Ye Xinyan’s exceptional intelligence, could it be that she can be even more capable than an outstanding man? Could she become a great asset to my Sixth Brother in the future?"

Liu Yu replied, "It’s hard to say for certain. Although Ye Xinyan is just a woman, if she truly is exceptionally smart, it’s difficult to predict future events. There are indeed rumors of women who surpass men in excellence."

Hearing Liu Yu say this, Prince Fu actually felt relieved. The stories Liu Yu spoke of were unverifiable rumors; from previous dynasties or many years ago, there were exceptional women who encompassed the essence of heaven and earth and so on. These stories should be taken with a pinch of salt, not seriously.

Forget it, even if a woman is intelligent, how smart can she be? Even with that Dairy Farm or Dairy Products Store, it could just be that Ye Xinyan seized a good opportunity, encountered some adventure while fleeing, and learned some skills. There must be some exaggeration involved.

Jinrong was always reckless in his actions, and his praises for Ye Xinyan could have some ulterior motives. It could also be possible that he simply wanted to use this to get close to Duke An. Everyone knows that Elder Master Ye’s greatest regret in life is not having an outstanding grandchild.

If Jinrong could praise such an outstanding grandchild into existence, perhaps Duke An, who otherwise never gets involved with princes, might see him in a different light. After all, Duke An is one of the most noble and prestigious men of the current court, and winning over Duke An could bring great benefits, even if one does not plan to pursue that particular position.

This realization left Prince Fu feeling somewhat regretful; that kid Jinrong really did have some wicked luck.

He waved his hand, as if to dispel a bothersome thought, and said to Liu Yu, "After all, she’s just a woman, and no matter how capable or skilled, her status is a limitation. Keep an eye on her, and let’s see if Elder Master Ye can have an outstanding grandchild or not."

In the end, Prince Fu laughed. Thinking about Elder Master Ye’s descendants, they indeed left much to be desired. His son was such a disappointment, not to mention his two grandsons born from concubines, always excessively humble. Considering their status as children born of concubines, even if they weren’t humble, no one would believe they had the right to be arrogant.

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