She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 371 - 370 Both Worried

Chapter 371: Chapter 370 Both Worried

Qi Sanshun grabbed Qi Jiaer, who was about to help Ye Xinyan free her sleeve, and shook his head, saying, "Forget it, women are always so clingy. Let’s go back out and wait to see if Uncle Guan and the others are returning today."

"Uh-huh, go wait for Lord Jiang to come back." Qi Jiaer immediately dropped the matter of extricating her and nodded in agreement.

Ye Xinyan looked at the two little ingrates as they left together, pursed her lips, pulled her sleeve from Zhou Biyao’s hand, and said with a tilt of her head, "It’s not that I want to criticize you, but you really need to change this habit of always grappling with people. Look at the young ladies from reputable families, do any of them behave like you? It’s not good, you know that."

Nanny Zhong hurriedly explained with an apologetic smile, "Lady Qi, don’t be offended. This is just our Second Miss trying to be close to you, she doesn’t act this way with others."

Her Second Miss truly did not act this way with others. Second Miss had said that she must act this way towards Lady Qi, for if she were proper and courteous, Lady Qi would certainly scorn her company, a woman who knew and could do nothing. Otherwise, wouldn’t she really be stuck in the back house for a lifetime?

Ye Xinyan felt helpless. Never mind, who knew why Zhou Bingyi had raised his daughter to be such an oddity, actually liking to cozy up to someone like her, an Abandoned Wife with neither status nor decent exposure.

Ye Xinyan watched as another maid and old woman servant continued to get down from the three carriages, along with four guards unloading item after item. She asked in surprise, "What’s going on here? These maids and guards, and these," she pointed at the various wrapped packages, boxes, and other items with her hand, and asked, "what’s all this about?"

Zhou Biyao replied, "They’re to stay here." Her tone was matter-of-fact, "Originally, father planned to send the festival gifts to your family before the New Year, but then he thought since I was coming here after the New Year, it’d be better to bring them all together. It’s not even the fifteenth yet—saves the trouble of traveling back and forth."

"..." Ye Xinyan almost choked, "Lord Zhou thought... you were coming after the New Year?"

"Yes, isn’t this the people father sent to accompany me?" Zhou Biyao cheerily responded, and then tugged at Ye Xinyan to head toward the inner courtyard, "Come on, I’ve been traveling for three days straight, and I’m so tired I feel like my bones are falling apart. I need to sit down and rest."

Alright, big sister, I’m not as tough as you. Ye Xinyan let herself be pushed along toward the inner courtyard, but warned, "I should tell you early on, Sixth Master Rong and Lord Jiang are staying here temporarily, and both the outer courtyard and the old dwelling are full to the brim. You should arrange for those guards of yours to find accommodation early; they can’t stay here."

"Ah?" Zhou Biyao was momentarily surprised, glancing back, "They’re staying at your place? Why haven’t I seen anyone?"

"They’re not here, they’ve gone hunting. They probably set off around the same time you did, leaving early on the sixth, and said they would be back today." Ye Xinyan glanced at the sky, feeling a vague sense of worry, "It’s getting late; I doubt they’ll make it back today."

Zhou Biyao then remembered she had not seen any other members of the Qi family and quickly asked, "Did Grandpa Qi go too?"

Ye Xinyan gave her a sidelong glance, "How could he? How could Grandpa and Grandfather Cheung of such an age engage in such frivolous activities. Only Wong Qiao went with them."

"Third Brother Wong went too?" Zhou Biyao exclaimed, surprise evident in her voice, her mouth slightly agape in shock.

Ye Xinyan gave her another look, as if to remind or warn, "Isn’t your reaction a bit too much?"

Zhou Biyao met her gaze, but strangely did not argue or explain. She just pursed her lips and followed Ye Xinyan into the house.

In the outer room where Ye Xinyan resided, the desk on the bed had its original papers and ink put aside, replaced with an assortment of dried fruits and pastries.

Zhou Biyao, having worked in this room before, was very familiar with it. She ignored the pastries on the table and headed straight for the pen, ink, and paper set aside.

Fortunately, she knew her priorities and only took a glance before turning her head back with a smile and asking, "Sister Qi, were you just doing something? You see, I knew this would be the best time to come. I can definitely help you."

Ye Xinyan didn’t feel like chatting with her at this moment and simply said, "Aren’t you tired? Sit down first and have some tea, eat some snacks to tide you over until dinner time."

Zhou Biyao returned to her seat sulkily, not bothering with courtesies, and sat directly on the right side of the kang table, muttering to herself, "Sister doesn’t like me anymore, she doesn’t look happy at all to see me."

"I..." liked you before? Ye Xinyan opened her mouth to speak. Alright, there was still a little bit of fondness, although it was just a little bit, but it was certainly not dislike.

"Alright, alright, Biyao, you’ve been through a lot these past few days. You should really take a good rest. After you’ve rested, we can talk about other things, okay?" Ye Xinyan was truly at her wits’ end.

Zhou Biyao immediately responded with a beaming smile, "That’s more like it. We are good sisters, aren’t we?" Then she immediately asked a string of questions that Ye Xinyan did not like, "Could there be any issues with Third Brother Wong and the others? What did they say before they left? Did they guarantee they would return today?"

Ye Xinyan scowled, "Do you still want to rest or not?"

"Yes, yes, I do want to rest." Zhou Biyao hurriedly agreed, not forgetting to turn back and instruct Nanny Zhong, "Nanny, go and plead with Nanny Liu to let the guards rest here for a while. After dinner, they can make do for the night at Uncle’s place and head back to Yuyuan tomorrow to report."

"So the guards alone are going back to report? Zhou Biyao, does this mean you intend to settle down here with me?" Ye Xinyan raised her eyebrows.

"Yes," Zhou Biyao said, eyes wide open, "Aren’t there many things to be busy with at the start of spring? I am here to help Sister with the work."

Ye Xinyan held her forehead.

......

That day, they waited until very late, but Jinrong and the others still had not returned. It wasn’t until the Zi Hour that the second branch of the Qi family finally closed their doors and bolted them.

At bedtime, feeling Ye Xinyan’s irritation, Zhou Biyao asked anxiously where the hunting had taken place and whether they should send someone to look for them.

Ye Xinyan held her patience and told her, and also reminded herself, that they were a group of more than a dozen people. Each of the several bodyguards were highly skilled in martial arts, and most importantly, Guan He was with them, so they definitely wouldn’t encounter any problems.

Facing Zhou Biyao’s confusion, Ye Xinyan explained Guan He’s background and abilities, and then the two went to sleep separately.

Even though Ye Xinyan consoled herself with various reasons, she still didn’t sleep well.

The next day, in order to put a stop to Zhou Biyao’s endless worrying, Ye Xinyan kept her busy with some tasks. During her inspection of the cattle farm and dairy product workshop, she took a few extra rounds to pass the time until lunch.

Ye Xinyan and Zhou Biyao, each preoccupied with their own concerns and finding no taste in their food, ate only a few bites before sending the meal away. Ye Xinyan was already distraught since Jinrong and the others didn’t return at the agreed time. But Zhou Biyao’s manner of worrying made her feel even more irritable.