She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 434 - 432 Men Gossip Too

Chapter 434: Chapter 432 Men Gossip Too

Yang Hao’s eyes sparkled with the light of gossip as he followed up on Xu Deng’s question, asking, "So Qi Ye is Ye Xinyan of the Ye Family, right? I saw her today; she’s unmistakably the Miss Ye of the Capital. She’s quite famous here, different from other women behind the scenes; all of us have seen her, I would never mistake her for someone else."

Jinrong glanced at the two of them askance and spoke slowly, "Regardless of whether she is Qi Ye or Ye Xinyan, she is the Chief Steward I, the Sixth Master, painstakingly unearthed. Let me warn you in advance, no one should provoke her. If you encounter Miss Ye, withdraw immediately, regardless of the reason, at least by a distance of three zhang (about 30 feet)."

"Is that how it works?" Xu Deng and Yang Hao almost asked in unison.

Jinrong nodded seriously, "It must be done this way."

The group exchanged glances. Did it mean that His Highness Prince Yu intended to protect Ye Xinyan? The Miss Ye from Duke’s Mansion whose reputation was tarnished and could no longer be lifted? Moreover, the intensity of this protection was so strong. His Highness Prince Yu... didn’t need to avoid suspicion?

Xu Deng, who understood the situation well, immediately changed the subject and asked, "We have long heard rumors that the daughter of Duke An’s Family appeared in a small mountain village in Yuyuan Prefecture. At that time, I thought it was just idle gossip, but it turns out to be true. Hey, Sixth Master, could you tell us what happened to Miss Ye two years ago? How did Duke’s Mansion announce her... what was it? Is she really reformed and starting anew?"

Jinrong was reluctant to mention Ye Xinyan in front of this group of profligate sons.

"What do you mean starting anew? She’s always been fine. Women of the Ye Family are naturally intelligent; she was just a little spoiled. Away from home, without support, of course, she became sensible."

"Always been fine? And intelligent?" Xu Deng’s eyes nearly popped out, "Sixth Master, are you sure those are the words you meant to say, and not a slip of the tongue?"

"Go on, don’t make a fuss," Yang Hao pushed Xu Deng aside and asked Jinrong, "Elder Master Ye hasn’t yet acknowledged Qi Ye as his granddaughter, and she has already made such a big splash with the railway project. Now, even if she wanted to hide, she couldn’t. Sixth Master, what do you think Elder Master Ye and Ye Xinyan are planning?"

Xu Deng and the others nodded repeatedly, signaling that this was their common question. After all, it was Elder Master Ye himself who had announced that the person had succumbed to depression and died. How could a dead person be brought back to life using any excuse?

Xu Deng even added, "Two years ago, Duke’s Mansion formally announced that Ye Xinyan had passed away. If Duke An wants to quietly acknowledge his granddaughter, this... is probably not feasible, right?"

In fact, Jinrong also didn’t know Duke An’s plans. The degree to which Ye Xinyan’s reputation resonated in the Capital and the shock her return caused were beyond Jinrong’s expectations. Hearing his friends’ comments, Ye Xinyan was already in a precarious position; Duke An’s hope to quietly bring back Ye Xinyan and then gradually gain people’s acceptance of her seemed infeasible.

Before Jinrong could speak, Xing Zhonghe said, "If she just continues with the title of an ordinary woman, relying on her ability as the Chief Steward, that’s not bad either. Though, if she were truly acknowledged by Duke An, while she would have the backing of Duke’s Mansion, with her reputation, she would hardly be able to socialize in the circle of female relatives in the inner court; living such a lonely life..." Xing Zhonghe shook his head and did not continue.

Upon hearing this, Xu Deng forgot the question he initially asked Jinrong and retorted, "Miss Ye’s return this time clearly indicates her escape in the past. Just the other day, my father and mother mentioned in passing that someone who could escape from Duke An’s pursuit, and a woman at that, must be somewhat capable. Miss Ye’s actions cannot be measured by the standards of secluded ladies."

Xing Zhonghe glanced at Jinrong. Ye Xinyan had returned with Prince Yu, and just now, His Highness had afforded her a lot of protection. Without a clear understanding of His Highness’s intentions, it would seem prudent not to discuss her matters too much.

"My point is, if Miss Ye were a commoner, it would be more convenient for her to engage in business. A person with such abilities, if confined to the inner court, it’s a bit of a waste of talent," Xing Zhonghe said, then looked at Jinrong, "Of course, the premise is that Miss Ye truly has remarkable abilities. Wouldn’t you agree, Sixth Master?"

Jinrong ignored Xing Zhonghe’s probing and instead asked Yang Hao, "Didn’t you go to see the carriage business opening? What did you think?"

Yang Hao replied with pride, "Only the liveliest events capture my interest, and this one was certainly not bad."

Then, after taking two large gulps of tea to invigorate himself, Yang Hao continued, "You didn’t see it, but those waiting to ride the carriages were swarming. At first, no one rode, and such fine carriages actually made two trips empty. Later, some laborers, probably to save their strength, were the first ones to get on. After that, you couldn’t stop the masses, and they needed the yamen’s officers to help maintain order. People had to queue up and wait their turn to get on."

Turning to Xu Deng, Yang Hao said, "Your old man really has insight, if the operation of the Railway Carriages is truly the work of a woman from the Ye Family, this lady truly cannot be constrained by the usual norms for women. Just take the yamen’s officers, if they hadn’t been informed in advance, and only sought help from the yamen when trouble arose, wouldn’t that have been a disaster?"

Xu Deng turned to Jinrong and asked, "Did you arrange for someone to find the Capital Prefecture’s yamen?"

Jinrong gave Xu Deng a sidelong glance and urged Yang Hao to continue, "Go on, didn’t you say that Prince Fu was also there? Did you see him?"

Yang Hao nodded, "Yes, in the past, the people in the capital were very skeptical of the Railway Carriages, but today, the restaurants around the tracks were fully booked. If I hadn’t leveraged my cousin’s reservation, I wouldn’t have found a proper spot. I was seated only two tables away from Prince Fu. Prince Fu was in civilian dress, and since he was there on serious business, I didn’t go up and disturb him."

"Hmm, it’s good that you didn’t disturb him. Alright, let’s serve the food, after running around half the day, I’m really hungry." Knowing enough was enough, Jinrong ordered the dishes to be served.

"But I haven’t finished yet," Yang Hao said.

Xu Deng looked at Jinrong, then patted Yang Hao, "The grand opening of the Railway Carriages and the presence of His Highness Prince Fu has already been discussed. Isn’t that enough? What else is there?"

Yang Hao shook off Xu Deng’s hand, "I haven’t gotten to the details yet."

Jinrong replied helplessly, "Do we need to go into details? A large crowd just means many people rode the carriages. Besides, what you’re describing as grand and spectacular is because these past few days were free of charge. The real test will come when they start collecting silver."

Yang Hao looked at Jinrong, and looked again, deflated, "Such an exciting event, and you all talk about it like this, it’s making me lose interest. Hey, the main thing is you didn’t see it, those carriages were really good, fast and lightweight. Especially the four-person carriages, they’re so exquisite and pretty. If it wasn’t for all the eyes on me, I’d be embarrassed to ride as a grown man, but I really wanted to try."

Jinrong refilled his cup with tea, consoling him, "You’ll get the chance, just wait until the carriages have been running for a while and no one’s paying attention anymore. Then us brothers can go and try it out. We’ll charter a whole carriage for ourselves, from start to finish."