She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 376 - 375: Balancing

Chapter 376: Chapter 375: Balancing

Qi Younian handled Ye Xinyan’s plaintive pleading with reluctance, finally standing up to make one last attempt at persuasion, "Clothes can be new again, but people can’t return to old ways, Ye Zi, consider it carefully. You’ve been married to Lord Jiang for three years, you know what he was like after he married. Others haven’t lived with you under the same roof, and as the saying goes, it’s easy to get along when you meet, but hard to live together. Only after you truly live with someone do you realize that they are far different from what you imagined, and by then it’s too late."

Ye Xinyan looked at Qi Younian with a frown, her grandfather was set on Jiang Yifan, why? What was wrong with Wong Qiao?

She stopped urging Qi Younian to leave, instead, she stood still and stubbornly asked, "Are you saying, Grandpa, that you’re unsure of Wong Qiao’s character? Afraid that he’s not what he appears to be?"

Qi Younian was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly, "No, that’s not it, Ah Qiao is a good kid. But, you really aren’t suited for him, you would overwhelm him. In a marriage, if he’s unhappy, how could you be happy?"

"How could that be? How could I do that?" Ye Xinyan retorted immediately, raising her eyebrows. How could she possibly overwhelm someone to the point where they couldn’t breathe, she wouldn’t do that to anyone, right? She couldn’t believe her grandfather would say such things about her.

Qi Younian stepped back, settled back down at the table, and spoke slowly, "Ah Qiao has contributed significantly to the Construction Industry since he arrived here, but his help was also under your guidance. Ah Qiao has his strengths, but you haven’t spent much time learning them, nor do you need to. You’ve always been directing his work, advising on various matters, drawings, construction, the extension of the apparatus structure.

Most of the time, you’re consulting with each other, but we all know the essence of this ’consulting.’ You are the one who is in charge of the affairs, and he is working under you. This is not how couples should interact. It might not seem like a big deal at first, but letting a man live like this forever is not okay."

"Balancing the two sides, as a man, faced with an exceptional and dazzling person like you, and Second Miss Zhou, who is lively and cheerful with ordinary abilities, I’m afraid more would choose Second Miss as their wife."

Ye Xinyan stood beside Qi Younian, her expression murky and indistinct. Qi Younian was viewing the relationship between Wong Qiao and her from the perspective of an ancient man, and it was undeniable that a lot of what Qi Younian said was true. Even a thousand years later in modern times, if the wife is too dominant in a marriage, it seems few couples are happy.

"Wong Qiao is a gentle child, not a top figure among men. And you, even when dealing with prominent figures like Sixth Master and Lord Jiang, you don’t lose your footing. If you two really get married, how will you get along in the future?" Qi Younian felt troubled just thinking about the marital life for these two.

Ye Xinyan stood silently beside Qi Younian. With her experience from two lifetimes and the various research summaries of ancient times from a thousand years later, she knew Qi Younian was not wrong. But can such matters of the heart be clarified with reason?

Qi Younian waited for quite a while, but when Ye Xinyan did not respond, he sighed and said, "When you’re in too deep, it’s harder to see the situation clearly. Wait until your mind is calm, and then think things over carefully. This isn’t just about you, your grandfather is just telling you that, whether it’s Ah Qiao or Second Miss Zhou, neither are bad people. No matter the outcome, you need to handle this right, so that good friends and family don’t become sworn enemies in the end."

Ever since the day before yesterday when he saw Second Miss Zhou’s attention to Wong Qiao and Wong Qiao’s ambivalent responses, Qi Younian hadn’t stopped thinking about this matter. He was very pessimistic about the outcome between his granddaughter and Wong Qiao; not only because the two are incompatible, but also because of Wong Qiao’s attitude towards his granddaughter. As his granddaughter, Ye Zi was naturally all kinds of wonderful, but as a wife, he feared that this ’wonderful’ might not be so wonderful after all.

"Let’s go, with the time that’s passed, they should have almost readied everything in the front courtyard. I told them that you were busy and had come over to call you out to join the festivities. We’ve been delayed long enough." Qi Younian stood up.

His granddaughter Ye Zi was a kind and cautious person. Although they had not recognized each other as family for long, her character and conduct were exceptionally good; she rarely quibbled with others.

In the beginning, they didn’t mention it, simply because they lacked the ability. However, as their circumstances improved and their retinues grew, their influence became increasingly powerful. Yet, in Ye Zi’s case, she never resorted to rash actions despite having capable people and power at her disposal.

Qi Younian was confident that with the intelligence and composure of his granddaughter, a little reminder was all she needed to prevent things from getting out of hand.

Ye Xinyan followed Qi Younian out of the back yard with her expression already back to normal.

In her case, emotional entanglements could lead to frustration or loss, as well as the sweetness and pain of gaining or losing love. But such matters would never disrupt her normal life and work. After all, she had been in love before, had experienced heartbreak—life had to go on as usual, didn’t it?

The yard was indeed very lively with five piles of charcoal burning brightly in the spacious courtyard. Having been ignited for a while, and with the help of wood charcoal, the fires were blazing strongly yet with little smoke.

Guan He sat in the middle next to a grill, bossing around a dozen children who were in a flurry, fetching meat, seasonings, exchanging the two, and adding fuel to the fire... His area was bustling with most of the excitement and fervor.

Jinrong stood at the front of the table behind Guan He, talking with Jiang Yifan nearby, while rolling up her sleeves, looking like she was ready to personally grill a couple of skewers.

Cheung Wusi and Wong Qiao each manned a fire, already tending to it on their own.

Zhou Biyao had been standing under the eaves of the utility room, watching the group’s enthusiastic preparations, her expression full of excitement yet tinged with hesitant indecision.

Upon catching sight of Ye Xinyan emerging, Zhou Biyao didn’t wait for Jinrong and the others to react. Her smile brightened, and she hurried over, whispering, "I was really afraid Sister Qi wouldn’t come out. If you didn’t come, I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the fun here either."

Zhou Biyao pointed to a table close to them with her finger, "Nanny Liu said this table is prepared for us." She stuck her tongue out at Ye Xinyan, "I was afraid you wouldn’t come and thought about fetching you, but I couldn’t bear to miss out on the fun here. Luckily, Grandpa Qi brought you out."

Ye Xinyan followed Zhou Biyao to the table, laughing as she said, "With such a lively occasion, how could I bear to miss it?"

"Sister Qi, you’re just humoring me. I’ve already asked Sanshun; you often have barbecue and roast game, so these festivities are nothing special to you. Sanshun said that you usually wouldn’t come if you could avoid it."

Ye Xinyan coughed lightly, laughing awkwardly, "Isn’t Second Miss Zhou here? I had to at least consider your wishes; I couldn’t just think of myself."

As Ye Xinyan spoke, she casually glanced in Wong Qiao’s direction and indeed saw Wong Qiao looking their way. Upon noticing Ye Xinyan’s gaze, he smiled warmly before continuing to place the skewers of meat he was holding onto the grill.