She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 386 - 385: Back Again

Chapter 386: Chapter 385: Back Again

Jiang Yifan did not immediately spur the horse but instead asked softly, "In that life, was your name also Ye Xinyan?" He felt confident in his assumption since, in his memory, Ah Yan was very familiar with the name Ye Xinyan, with no sense of strangeness or discomfort.

"Yes," Ye Xinyan answered, turning slightly, puzzled as to why he would ask that.

"I’ll call you Ah Yan from now on," Jiang Yifan said, seemingly still not at ease, and he added, "when we are alone."

Suddenly leaning forward, Ye Xinyan turned to look at him and saw the same serene expression and deep, tranquil eyes.

Ye Xinyan’s eyes wandered. Not to mention the past life, even in this one, only Madam Yin called her that, and others called her Xinyan. Before their marriage, Jiang Yifan had met the original host a few times, addressing her formally as miss, and after their marriage, he called her lady.

Ah Yan? What did he mean by that?

Full of wariness, Ye Xinyan felt this man’s nerves indeed were unlike normal people’s. Having witnessed her nervously sing a song, which according to ancient consciousness was a tune only the lowliest would sing, didn’t he wonder if her identity was problematic? Instead of shrinking back, he had said these words? There seemed to be a hint of affection in his tone, which, if she hadn’t misheard, was definitely affection, right?

Meeting her wariness, Jiang Yifan instantly realized he had been too eager, causing Ye Xinyan to be on guard and resistant.

He made his tone as casual as possible and said, "If you don’t like it, forget it. Weren’t you afraid of returning too late? Sit tight and pull your cloak tight. We need to hurry, and I’ll go faster."

The return journey was somewhat faster than the trip there. It was unclear if it was simply due to the need to hurry or because Jiang Yifan felt a certain assurance on the way back. His arms securely encircled Ye Xinyan, urging the steed to gallop swiftly homeward.

As the vague outline of Clear Water Village became visible, the slanted sun still appeared as if it hadn’t had the chance to move. Jiang Yifan reined in the horse and asked Ye Xinyan, "What do you think? Shall we ride back as we are, or shall we get down and lead the horse back?"

Ye Xinyan hastily nodded at the empty air in front of her: "Let’s walk back."

Jiang Yifan looked at the moving hood of the woman in front of him and laughed silently. After enduring such a regrettable marriage, he had actually encountered such a wonderful woman; how fortunate he was.

"All right then." Jiang Yifan dismounted and stretched out his hand to help Ye Xinyan down. As Ye Xinyan let her guard down, he also took the opportunity to adjust her hood for her, only to have her retreat a step back and give him a glare.

Qi Younian, who seemed to be fixing a child’s cart in the courtyard but kept glancing toward the gate, heard the approaching sound of leisurely horse hooves from afar, and his heart finally settled. He quickly put down his work and went out to meet them.

Jinrong and Guan He, who were talking in the guest hall, heard the commotion outside a moment too late. To be precise, only Jinrong heard the noise from the courtyard a moment too late. He glared at Guan He irritably and mocked as he stood up, "There really is a difference between kinship and distance. Some people get things done efficiently. You and your fellow disciples managed to whisk away the woman for half the day and even did it rather smoothly."

Guan He didn’t feel the slightest embarrassment and said with a composed smile, "Sixth Master flatters me, Guan is honored to be praised by you." While Guan He spoke such shameless words, he did not forget to politely let Jinrong go out first.

Jinrong stepped outside, just as Qi Younian was welcoming Ye Xinyan and Jiang Yifan into the courtyard. Qi Younian was still muttering, "They said they were going out to clear their minds, but why did they take so long? It made people worry."

On the other side of Qi Younian were Cheung Wusi and Wong Qiao. Cheung Wusi seemed completely normal, even smiling to console Qi Younian, "Big brother, concern leads to chaos. I told you, with Lord Jiang accompanying Ye Zi, nothing would go wrong. Look, they have returned, haven’t they? It’s still early, not even dinner time yet, not late at all, not at all."

However, Wong Qiao’s face showed a multitude of changing colors. After he spoke with Ye Zi earlier, she had disappeared, and only Heaven knew what he felt then.

Although his uncle had said that Ye Zi felt bored these past few days, so Lord Jiang accompanied her to walk outside and they would return soon, Wong Qiao knew about the conversation he had with her earlier, knew the expression on her face, knew that she was not just feeling bored. What kind of courage must a woman have to ask those questions? After being rejected, would she feel she had lost all face, never to return?

He had spent most of the day in a state of worried hesitation, hardly touching his lunch for fear that something might have happened to Ye Zi, or that she might not return.

If something had happened to Ye Zi because of him, how could he continue to stay at his uncle’s place, how could he continue to utilize all the knowledge and skills he had learned from her, how could he even continue to live!

Looking at Qi Younian and Ye Xinyan walking ahead, Wong Qiao breathed a sigh of relief, but he was also uncertain about how he would get along with Ye Xinyan in the future, whether they could still work together as they had before.

Having already vented her frustrations, Ye Xinyan didn’t have as many concerns. She lightly leaned on Qi Younian’s arm as they walked back, internally complaining, ’Wasn’t it your own arrangement, old man? Do you really think that after I finally got a chance to escape everyone’s gaze, I’d just go out for a short while and come straight back? What were you thinking?’

Yet she had to comfort the old master for her half-day absence, "Grandfather worried for nothing, wasn’t Lord Jiang with me? I didn’t realize how far I had walked into the wilderness until I went quite far, so I rested a bit longer. It’s all right; we had the horses, didn’t we? If I had been truly tired, I couldn’t walk back, I would have just ridden a horse back in a flash."

Jiang Yifan’s face was full of apologies as he repeatedly said, "Indeed, we walked a bit too far and rested there for some time. To have worried you, sir, was my fault." As he spoke, he even bowed respectfully to Qi Younian.

Qi Younian quickly reached out to support him, saying, "It’s mainly because the weather is still cold; this old child worried a bit too much. A few extra words are just out of concern, Lord Jiang, please don’t take offense." He then turned to look at Ye Xinyan, saying, "Being outside for such a long time, you must be cold. Quickly, go back to your room to warm up, Nanny Jin and Miss Zhou have been fretting all afternoon."

As everyone entered the courtyard, they immediately saw Jinrong standing in the middle with a stern face, glaring at Jiang Yifan and Ye Xinyan with an unfriendly look. Behind him stood Guan He, with an unapologetically gleeful expression, relishing in the trouble.

Ye Xinyan ignored Jinrong’s expression; she just went out to unwind. Apart from the possible hit to her reputation, which was her own after all, there was nothing else. If Jinrong’s face looked bad, that was his problem.

She curtseyed to Jinrong and without looking at his expression, said, "Sixth Master, please do as you wish, I shall return to my room."

Jinrong choked for a moment, not expecting this woman, who had disappeared with a young man of similar age for half the day, to return with such calm composure, and even impudence.