She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 408 - 407: Take the Opportunity to Appreciate Her Kneeling?

Chapter 408: Chapter 407: Take the Opportunity to Appreciate Her Kneeling?

Ye Hongyang, disdainfully regarded by his daughter, was infuriated. He had never imagined that the foolish creature in his eyes would dare to speak to him, her father, in such a manner, let alone utter such irrefutable words.

In his view, this creature was originally stupid and rash. After being in a lowly place and in dire straits for two years, she had unexpectedly learned to talk back sharply, and she was now using that sharp tongue against him. That he, a father, should be contradicted by a daughter who had committed all sorts of disgraceful acts—if word got out, it would be the laughingstock of the community.

And this disgrace should not have returned, or even lived. Just for the scandal she caused at her father’s birthday banquet the year before last, people still pointed fingers at him. That matter had not been handled properly—instead of sending her to the ancestral temple, he should have ended it with a white silk noose and spared himself all these troubles.

If this creature had died back then, why would Maternal Aunt Liu be enduring such grievances now? How could Madam Yin be so smug?

The more Ye Hongyang thought about it, the angrier he became. He suddenly stood up, shaking with rage, pointed at Ye Xinyan, and ordered the old woman servant standing by the door, "What are you waiting for with this disrespectful and insubordinate wretch? Why aren’t you dragging her down and using domestic punishment right now? Summon the punishment room’s old woman servant, take her and beat her to death!"

The old woman servants at the door looked at each other in dismay. Weren’t they told not to mention that she was the eldest daughter? If she belonged to the Qi family, wouldn’t their domestic punishment be unjust?

Yin Xiaocheng, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, scoffed heavily and glanced over Ye Hongyang before asking Duke An, "May I ask Your Grace, when Hongyang says ’beat her to death,’ is he just speaking in anger or does he truly intend to do so?"

Duke An, with a darkened face, had not yet spoken when Madam Yin already stood up, walked swiftly to Xinyan’s side, and sternly said to Ye Hongyang, "This child is my life. If the Crown Prince does not like her, he can ignore her and cherish his two illegitimate sons instead. Just don’t accuse my daughter groundlessly. You have never treated her as your daughter, so her actions have nothing to do with you."

Ye Hongyang immediately wanted to rebuke Madam Yin, but just as he opened his mouth, he caught sight of Yin Xiaocheng across the room and involuntarily shrank back. Though Xiaocheng was not looking at him directly, Hongyang could feel that if he really rebuked Madam Yin, Xiaocheng, as her brother, would immediately grab him and throw him out.

Seeing the look of disappointment on his father’s face, Ye Hongyang opened his mouth but ultimately dared not say anything, resentfully returning to his seat. Deep down, he detested this feeling of helplessness. Wasn’t he the heir of Duke An? Wasn’t he going to be the pillar of Duke An’s Mansion? What did all this amount to now?

Though his own son had been put in his place, Duke An truly had no power to protect him. The daughter, who had been lost for over two years and to whom he, as her father, had maintained a sullen silence, did indeed do wrong. But to immediately cry out for her punishment was indeed not the way of a father.

Duke An had no choice but to explain to Yin Xiaocheng, "Xiaocheng is not unaware of Hongyang’s foolhardy nature. He was just speaking out of frustration. He wouldn’t actually do it."

His son was truly spoiled. If it were not for the two elders and Madam Yin’s influential maternal family, this foolish son might have actually been swayed by the concubines’ instigation and drive Madam Yin and her daughter to their deaths.

Watching Ye Hongyang angrily return to his seat, Yin Xiaocheng finally turned to Ye Xinyan, who still stood confidently in her place, and said slowly with a stern face, "The people in this room are all elders; do you think it is acceptable to speak so insolently? Your kneeling salute has not yet ended, who gave you permission to stand up?"

In Xinyan’s memory, the beating she received in Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion didn’t make her obedient, but it did instill in her a certain fear of Yin Xiaocheng.

Xinyan herself had a good impression of Yin Xiaocheng. It wasn’t easy dealing with such an obstinate sister and a niece who caused so much trouble. It was already remarkable that Xiaocheng hadn’t neglected them entirely, let alone the fact that he had been fully supporting the doomed mother and daughter all along.

When Yin Xiaocheng spoke, Ye Xinyan simply had to give him face. Being punished by kneeling was within Nanny Jin’s expectations. Before entering the mansion, she had already wrapped thick cotton pads around her knees, so the punishment wasn’t too harsh.

Additionally, Madam Yin was involved in all this. At that moment, Madam Yin was looking at her own brother with a somewhat sorrowful expression, though filled with helplessness despite the grievance.

The string of troubles caused by her daughter made kneeling as a punishment quite questionable. Moreover, the Duke had somehow come to terms with the situation, and given that the old Master had never really cared about others’ opinions, Ye Xinyan could have never returned to Duke An’s Mansion otherwise.

Ye Xinyan glanced at Madam Yin, couldn’t help but curl the corners of her mouth, and decided to kneel again. As she obediently accepted the punishment, Madam Yin could sit back down with peace of mind. Half-pushing Madam Yin, she whispered, "It’s all right, Nanny has already taken care of it for me, please sit back down first."

When Ye Xinyan knelt back down, Qi Sanshun and Qi Jiaer were a bit restless, especially Qi Jiaer, who stood up without being summoned and seemed ready to walk over.

Although the two children were not old, they could sense the malice Ye Hongyang had towards Ye Xinyan. And next to the old gentleman of the Duke, that man was questioning their sister with a stern face, and then she knelt down again.

This was clearly their family bullying their sister and the nanny.

No sooner had Ye Xinyan knelt down than she saw the two little ones standing up with worry, Qi Jiaer already stepping forward toward her. She frowned and motioned to Qi Sanshun with a nod of her chin, telling him to lead Qi Jiaer back to their seats.

Qi Sanshun was hesitant. His thoughts were simple, if Duke An’s Mansion did not welcome them, they could leave. Wouldn’t it be better to seek out Sixth Master? He felt closer to Sixth Master, yet he didn’t understand why they had to stay at Duke An’s Mansion.

Ye Xinyan’s frown deepened, she signaled Qi Sanshun to go back again and then gave him a reassuring look. With no choice, Qi Sanshun took Qi Jiaer’s hand, humbly bowed his head, and returned to his seat. However, his heart no longer held the initial good impression towards this family, and he was less enthusiastic in his responses to Duchess An.

Seeing the two obediently sit down, Ye Xinyan said no more. The punishment was inevitable; she might as well kneel with acceptance. If she were to resist fiercely, it was not impossible, but she did not know what kind of consequences it would provoke, mainly because it was not worth it.

Ye Xinyan was, after all, the granddaughter of Ye Tang, who, bolstered by the reputation and status of her family, had been arrogant for many years. Being arrogant was one thing, but to create a scandal during the sixtieth birthday banquet of her family was another. One should know that being surrounded by the distinguished female relatives from almost the entire capital and witnessing the disgrace of their own granddaughter weighed heavily on the old Master.

It was better to kneil. Ye Xinyan didn’t feel wronged.

Ye Xinyan gave another glance to the few people present and contemplated internally, wondering how they had arranged their schedules. Did they plan to sit here drinking tea and chatting indefinitely while also admiring her kneeling posture?

While Ye Xinyan was puzzled with these thoughts, Lian Gui came in to report.