She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 318 - 317: The Improved Miss Cousin

Chapter 318: Chapter 317: The Improved Miss Cousin

If it came down to awareness of Miss Ye from the Duke’s Mansion, Zhao Gang had a much deeper understanding than the Heir of Duke An, who was her father. Seeing this quietly composed young woman in front of him genuinely surprised Zhao Gang. He had already braced himself for Miss Cousin to have changed a lot, but he was still taken aback by the starkly different woman standing before him now.

In his eyes, the Miss Cousin at this moment, except for having a similar appearance, bore no resemblance to the Miss Cousin he knew—who had ever seen her so peacefully composed?

From the expression on Miss Cousin’s face, it was clear she had recognized him, yet without the faintest hint of agitation, she stood there quietly, waiting for the nanny beside her to speak.

Zhao Gang sighed inwardly. If Miss Cousin had been able to handle things this calmly before, she might have not ended up in such a difficult situation.

Nanny Liu had never met Zhao Gang, but she also knew that in such a situation, it was implausible for anyone to impersonate him. Not only would Miss Ye definitely recognize an attendant of General Zhenyuan, but the Qi family still employed servants from Duke An’s Mansion. If someone attempted to impersonate another, wouldn’t they be walking right into a trap?

Nanny Liu glanced at Ye Xinyan’s demeanor, confirmed that Miss Ye recognized this Master Zhao, but she still needed to make a show of formality and said, "Young Lady, this is Master Zhao, the attendant of Marquis Zhongyong’s heir, entrusted by the wife of the Heir of Duke An to visit our Old Master and see how the Young Lady is doing."

Zhao Gang did not wait for Nanny Liu to introduce him to the woman before him and took a step forward, speaking, "This must be Lady Qi, right? Indeed, you look exactly like my Miss Cousin; no wonder Great Aunt is always worried. Your humble servant Zhao Gang pays his respects to Lady Qi."

Ye Xinyan hurried down the steps and curtsied to Zhao Gang, "The journey from the capital is long and arduous; Master Zhao has worked hard. The humble wife has seen Master Zhao before."

Zhao Gang had taken care of various conciliatory matters for Ye Xinyan since she had begun to learn to talk yet had never received such a treatment. Seeing Miss Cousin act so properly and speak so earnestly, he was moved and almost shed old tears on behalf of his general.

He quickly bowed again, "Lady Qi must not do this; the wife of the Princely Heir regards Lady Qi as her own, and thus Lady Qi is also a master to us servants—where is there a rule for a master to greet a servant?"

Ye Xinyan smiled and did not insist on returning the gesture. Following the common sense that she and Zhao Gang had never met, after the greeting, she looked towards Nanny Liu, waiting for her to arrange what came next.

Seeing Ye Xinyan looking over, Nanny Liu handed over a personally written letter from General Zhenyuan and told Ye Xinyan, "This is a letter from General Zhenyuan, Young Lady, please read it. It’s frigid today, and Master Zhao and the others must be tired and cold from the long journey; please, come into the house to talk. I will have someone call Old Master Cheung to accompany the guests."

Zhao Gang glanced at Nanny Liu and wondered why there were no servants from Duke An’s Mansion in the yard. He asked, "May I inquire, Nanny, how is Nanny Qiao from Duke An’s Mansion doing?"

Nanny Liu replied, "Nanny Qiao went with Nanny Jin to Yuyuan City to scout locations and buy property; she is not here now. Please, Master Zhao, take a seat inside; in a moment, I will invite Nanny Wang from Duke An’s Mansion over."

Ye Xinyan waved her hand, "Let’s go inside and sit down; with the letter here, there’s no need to call anyone from Duke An’s Mansion."

Just as the group was about to enter the house, the door of the first room in the east wing opened, and Guan He gracefully stepped out, standing at the entrance, unable to descend the steps, simply scrutinizing Zhao Gang and his few attendants with an obvious evaluative look in her eyes.

Qi Sanshun and Qi Jia saw Guan He and immediately changed from spectators to eagerly stepping forward to greet her.

Guan He pointed to the doorway, "Go, squat in horse stance for two quarters of an hour more before dinner." Then, without checking to see if the two youngsters complied, she unceremoniously turned and went back into her room, ignoring the hosts and guests in the courtyard with great rudeness.

Zhao Gang watched the door close again, his eyes narrowing. Great Aunt had almost memorized everything Lian Gui had brought back about Miss Cousin and the Qi family, yet she had never mentioned the existence of such a person in the Qi family.

With his keen perception, he could tell at a glance that this person was a highly skilled master hiding her true capabilities. And this person, from the moment she came out to the second she looked at everyone in the courtyard and turned back, conducted herself arrogantly and impolitely, not giving a single person in the courtyard a second thought.

If the Qi family truly had such a person, Lian Gui would have mentioned it.

He glanced again at Ye Xinyan and Nanny Liu, who both wore natural expressions, showing no signs of discord from the previous scene. Did this mean that such behavior from that person was commonplace for them?

As Guan He turned to enter the room, Qi Sanshun and Qi Jiaer had already crisply agreed, and while turning back they whispered a discussion, "The two quarters of an hour of horse stance, should we do it now, or wait a while? Do it when the nannies are preparing dinner?"

Qi Jiaer said, "Let’s go play for a while before dinner, then do the horse stance. That way we can eat dinner smoothly together. Otherwise, you’ll get called back home to eat by Sister Meizi again."

Ye Xinyan looked twice at the two children and noted that they seemed ready to run off to play, forgetting to greet the guest.

Qi Sanshun immediately noticed and tugged at Qi Jiaer, gesturing with his eyes towards Ye Xinyan.

Qi Jiaer was quick-witted. Upon seeing Ye Xinyan’s look, he immediately realized, turned back and neatly greeted Zhao Gang, saying, "The child pays his respects to Master Zhao. You must be tired from the journey." Task accomplished, he threw out a remark, "Sister’s busy, we’re off to play," and pulling Qi Sanshun along, he called out to a group of kids and in an instant they vanished from the courtyard.

Ye Xinyan shook her head and explained to Zhao Gang, "Just now, those were my younger brother Qi Jia and cousin Qi Sanshun, they’re very unruly, please excuse their manners, Master Zhao."

Uh, Zhao Gang was quite astonished at Ye Xinyan’s explanation. Was that considered impolite? If the Great Aunt and the General could hear Miss Cousin speak like that, who knows how comforted and moved they would be.

Ye Xinyan then invited Zhao Gang inside, "Master Zhao and the others must be exhausted from the journey. Please, come inside and sit. Have some tea to warm up, and we can talk in detail."

Obviously, not everyone could be invited into the parlor. Zhao Gang said to Nanny Liu, "Please trouble yourself to find a place for these subordinates of mine to rest."

Nanny Liu glanced at Ye Xinyan, smiling as she said, "I was just about to ask Master Zhao, seeing as you and the young masters have traveled from afar, I’d imagine you’ll be staying several days. Shall I arrange accommodations for you? Once settled, the young masters can rest assured."

Zhao Gang hesitated briefly before replying, "We have quite a number of people with us. If there’s room to accommodate us here, that would be best. If not, it’s also fine, we can find lodging with nearby farmers." He recalled what the Great Aunt had said, that when Lian Gui and the others came over, the Qi family’s new house wasn’t built yet, and they had to lodge with a farming family.

Nanny Liu smiled, "We can accommodate you, it’s just that we don’t have many rooms spare. People may need to share two or three to a room; I hope that won’t be too much of a discomfort."

Zhao Gang didn’t talk much further, simply clasped his hands and said, "Then I’ll be troubling you to arrange that, a room or two to squeeze into will be fine. We come from military stock; we can settle down anywhere." After speaking, he turned and beckoned two attendants to follow him, proceeding to the parlor following Ye Xinyan’s gesture.

Cheung Wusi was leading carpenters in the old courtyard next door, and upon hearing the message from the maid, he immediately put down his work and came to attend to the guests.

Cheung Wusi entered and exchanged greetings and pleasantries with Zhao Gang before taking their respective seats as host and guest, with Ye Xinyan accompanying Cheung Wusi and Zhao Gang’s two attendants sitting at the lower seats on the other side.

The maid brought tea and snacks; after a few sips of hot tea, Zhao Gang initiated a conversation with Cheung Wusi, "Before coming here, my Great Aunt repeatedly instructed me to meet with Old Master Qi to thank him for his benevolence in taking in and caring for the orphaned girl. May I know where the Old Master is now? I haven’t seen him around all this while."

Ye Xinyan’s current status was quite delicate; everyone knew who she was, yet also pretended not to know. When this Master Zhao mentioned the elder brother taking in an orphaned girl, Cheung Wusi really didn’t know how to handle the subtlety of the situation, so he just made a vague response and looked towards Ye Xinyan for guidance.

Ye Xinyan did not feel the least bit troubled and replied, "Responding to Master Zhao’s words, my grandfather is currently away. Next spring in Yuyuan City, there’s a courtyard spanning over ten acres that needs to be built, so my grandfather took people to Yuyuan City to prepare for next year’s construction. The work schedule is very tight, and I’m afraid he may have to stay in Yuyuan City a few more days before returning."

Zhao Gang could hardly focus on the whereabouts of Old Master Qi, being called Master Zhao repeatedly by Ye Xinyan was becoming burdensome for him, "Lady Qi, this humble one cannot bear the title of Master Zhao. Just call me by my name, otherwise, I can’t sit comfortably." While speaking, he continuously clasped his hands towards Ye Xinyan.

"Then," Ye Xinyan blinked and said, "how about we call you Uncle Zhao? Considering your care for the original holder of this estate over these years, you fully deserve this title, Uncle Zhao."