She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 437 - 435: Accident

Chapter 437: Chapter 435: Accident

Regarding his granddaughter’s obsession with wealth, Duke An felt rather helpless, "The court doesn’t need you to do any specific tasks, you’re just there to give some advice and say a few words."

Ye Xinyan frowned as she looked at Duke An. Weren’t those few words of advice exactly what was valuable?

Seeing the frustration evident on Ye Xinyan’s face, Duke An could only offer something more substantial: "Of course, if your few words can benefit the court’s projects, His Majesty might casually bestow a reward, which would be much more than a salary."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xinyan immediately brightened up. That was more like it.

The next day, at the Imperial Court, His Highness Prince Yu, dressed in royal attire, took his place with a look of confusion. Although the court officials were also surprised, they did not show their emotions as openly as Prince Yu and greeted each other naturally.

The Crown Prince addressed Jinrong, "It’s rare to see you here, little brother. What brings you to court today?"

Jinrong was just as confounded, "I have no idea. Yesterday, the palace sent a message telling me to attend court today to listen to state affairs. I thought big brother would know why." Jinrong truly didn’t know why Imperial Father had summoned him to court. He was aware of Duke An’s audience with the Emperor yesterday, but whatever Duke An had discussed with the Emperor should have nothing to do with him.

The Crown Prince also glanced at Duke An not far away. Elder Master Ye met with His Majesty yesterday—could it be related to Jinrong’s attendance at court today?

Seeing the Crown Prince fall silent and look away, Jinrong nudged him again and asked, "Big brother, do you think it could be related to the Railway Carriage?"

The Crown Prince nodded and said, "I think so too. Big brother hasn’t congratulated you yet. Your carriage operation yesterday was quite successful, a veritable historical innovation. You might even go down in history. Congratulations, little brother."

Jinrong didn’t downplay his accomplishment but smiled and replied, "Thank you for your kind words, big brother. If Imperial Father indeed offers praise, I will definitely invite you to a banquet to express my gratitude."

Heaven was merciful and spared Jinrong from losing money. After the court affairs were discussed, and Jinrong was listlessly waiting, His Majesty finally spoke, "Prince Yu."

Jinrong quickly bowed and responded, "Your son is present."

The court officials had also been waiting for this moment to see how His Majesty would reward Prince Yu.

His Majesty said, "I hear that the Railway Carriage operation under your charge yesterday went quite well, and everyone who rode it had nothing but praise. Is that so?"

Jinrong stepped forward and replied, "Imperial Father is too kind. The Railway Service did operate smoothly yesterday, but it is too early to draw any conclusions. It will take at least three to six months of operation to determine the outcome."

His Majesty gave Jinrong a smile that was not quite a smile and said, "I didn’t expect Prince Yu to be so careful in his endeavors. It seems I still don’t understand my own son."

Jinrong looked up briefly, stealing a glance at His Majesty. What Imperial Father was saying significantly differed from what he had expected, and he appeared to be displeased. Why? He thought he had handled the matter quite impressively.

Then, His Majesty provided the answer, "A few days ago, I praised Prince Yu for having the court in his heart and for being able to share my burdens. Yet, looking at the Railway Service’s operation from yesterday, it seems Prince Yu has not devoted all his attention to the Imperial Court."

Jinrong had a look of innocence, puzzled by the comment. He didn’t hold an official position at the court, so why should he devote all his attention to court affairs? Wouldn’t people suspect that he aspired to usurp power?

All the court officials were surprised to hear the Emperor speak, and each had their own thoughts churning inside. Especially the Crown Prince and Prince Fu felt a sense of alarm, since didn’t everyone stick to their own assignments? If everyone’s focus was on the Imperial Court, who would actually manage to do this?

The Emperor continued, "As Princes, you enjoy the offerings from the people of the entire nation and are revered by the people and court officials alike. You should naturally have the well-being of the world and the populace in mind. However, during the construction project of the railway carriage, Prince Yu only cared about keeping the craftsmen and stewards who knew the work for himself, and didn’t consider the other sections of the same project at all. It is understandable to treasure what little one has, but if this mentality is applied to court affairs, to matters of the state, it is absolutely unacceptable."

Jinrong opened his mouth several times but didn’t dare to interrupt. When the Emperor was finished, seeing Jinrong seemingly had doubts, He asked, "Does Prince Yu have something to say?"

Jinrong knelt down and said, "Your Imperial Majesty, there’s a common saying among merchants: ’In business, we talk business.’ The railway construction project is no different. The steward under my command, just like other contractors, received official documents and diagrams from the Ministry of Public Works and constructed according to the specified sizes and materials set by the Ministry. The people from Prince Yu’s Mansion tasked with construction work, don’t have the authority to instruct others on their work, right?"

"Is that so?" The Emperor glanced around at the gathering of officials and then fixed His gaze on Minister of Public Works Wang Xian, "Lord Wang."

Wang Xian quickly stepped forward, bowed, and answered, "Prince Yu is correct, the railway carriage is a large project. At that time, it was divided into ten sections contracted out to seven parties. In order for it to be uniformly operational after completion, the Ministry of Public Works provided very specific dimensions and diagrams for the construction of the railway and carriages and also imposed strict limitations on the materials used for the project. The steward from Prince Yu’s Mansion received the same items as the other contractors for their respective sections."

"Oh." His Majesty then turned back to Jinrong, "Then why was it that your project was able to finish so much earlier?"

Jinrong looked dejectedly at the Emperor, because the worker who led the construction in his mansion had previously worked with Ye Xinyan and Wang Qiao and had suffered under Ye Xinyan’s gruelling demands.

"During the railway construction, I was not in the capital. It was Mr. Hu from my mansion leading a few stewards in the work. Allow me to go back and ask, and then I will provide Your Imperial Majesty with an answer."

The Emperor obviously was not going to wait for Jinrong to go back and inquire; He said, "No need to ask. Aren’t there three railway tracks that are about to be completed? Assign the workers in charge of your mansion’s construction to work together with Duke An’s legitimate granddaughter, Ye Xinyan, to assist with the other sections of the railway project, and complete them as soon as possible."

Jinrong’s eyes widened, and he glanced at the Emperor for a moment, then suddenly turned his head to look at Duke An. What did that old man say to the Imperial Father yesterday? That would make Him assign Ye Zi tasks in the Imperial Court. With His Majesty acknowledging that Ye Xinyan is alive, what else could anyone dare to say? Elder Master Ye sure has some great skills, to have his granddaughter recognized like this.

"Well, Your Imperial Majesty," Jinrong also couldn’t be bothered to maintain his facade any longer, and while prostrated on the ground, he said, "The people from my mansion have recently assisted with the construction work on the adjacent sections, which is done for wages. They work 24 hours a day, and the labourers receive double pay for the eight hours at night. Ye Xinyan is the steward in charge of my dairy farm and dairy product workshop; if she has to take on additional tasks, she should also be paid extra silver."

The launch of the railway carriage operation was a major event, and all the high-ranking officials in attendance knew about it. They were also aware of Qi Ye’s handling of the railway carriage operations in a perfunctory manner, merely to keep up appearances.

However, His Majesty the Emperor’s public acknowledgment of Ye Family’s daughter in the Imperial Court caught the court officials tremendously off guard. Why? Such an absurd situation had already been tacitly tolerated by His Majesty the Emperor, which was quite enough to give Duke An face. By doing this, was His Majesty not boosting the prestige of a woman whose reputation had been sullied?

The fact that Duke’s Mansion’s supposedly deceased granddaughter could return to life so openly was a shock that the great officials had not yet recovered from. And now the distinguished His Highness Prince Yu had made such blatantly mercenary remarks—in doing so, wasn’t He terribly humiliating Himself?

Had the ethos of the whole nation unknowingly become like this?

Duke An, on the other hand, watched Jinrong with a somewhat gloomy expression, thinking that his granddaughter, who was usually indifferent to wealth, had grown so money-minded, and it was all because of Prince Yu’s bad influence.

His Majesty the Emperor watched Jinrong in silence for quite some time before reprimanding him, "Look at you, with little to show for yourself. Where is the dignity befitting a prince of the nation?"