She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 438 - 436: Happy or Not?

Chapter 438: Chapter 436: Happy or Not?

Jinrong was also very displeased as he watched the Emperor. Just like Ye Zi often said, what’s so special about the daughter of Duke An’s Mansion? Without food, she would still be hungry: without clothes, she would still be cold: and without silver, she still wouldn’t survive. So, what’s so special about the sons of the nation? Don’t they need to eat and dress as well?

Then the Emperor said something that surprised the court officials, "When I ask you to assist with work, am I asking you to work for free and encourage laziness in others?"

"..." Although His Majesty claimed he was the Emperor of all his people and placed national affairs first, what he cared about most was still his son.

Filled with satisfaction upon hearing this, Jinrong hurriedly knelt to give thanks, "Imperial Father is truly wise."

As Jinrong stood up, he swept a challenging gaze across the court officials. When his workers did a job, wasn’t it only right to pay them their wages? The officials felt wronged: they hadn’t thought in such a way at all, okay?

Actually, there was no need for Prince Yu and the daughter of Duke An’s Mansion to worry about the wages of Jinrong’s laborers.

Following the Emperor’s request to attend court, Ye Xinyan went to the temporary office of the railway carriage company at the small teahouse, as usual, to work.

Before she even entered, she saw Liu Qing already waiting for her at the teahouse.

As soon as Ye Xinyan set foot inside, she saw Liu Qing, seemingly having waited for her arrival. The moment he saw her appear, he immediately came forward to greet her.

She thought that there must be some issue with the railway carriage company and subconsciously stepped back, glancing towards the railway. The railway carriage was operating normally, and passengers waiting to board were queuing orderly; nothing seemed amiss.

Guan He, impatient from behind, urged, "What’s going on, are we going in or not? Even if we’re not, don’t just stand in the doorway."

Ye Xinyan shot Guan He a glare but figured it was best not to provoke a highly skilled and currently bad-tempered man.

As she continued to walk inside, she asked the approaching Liu Qing, "Steward Liu, have you been here long? Is there a matter?"

Liu Qing joined Ye Xinyan and walked to the table. Once she sat down in her usual spot, he began to speak, "There is a bit of an issue. Last night, merchants from two sections of Yingfang Street came to me with concerns about their construction sites."

Ye Xinyan was taken aback. Wasn’t this too coincidental? Duke An had just finished discussing the Emperor’s intentions with her the day before: the Emperor seemed to plan on having Jinrong continue to help expedite other construction sites to complete the railway carriage’s paving work as soon as possible.

Jinrong hadn’t even received the message yet, and these contractors had already approached them. Could it be that these merchants couldn’t wait for the new year and wanted to push out some projects before the year’s end?

"What did they say?" Ye Xinyan asked.

Liu Qing roughly explained to Ye Xinyan that the merchants had seen how quickly the work on the section of Changping Street had been completed with the help of foremen and craftsmen from three neighboring sections. It was finished in just ten days, faster than they had imagined. These people approached Liu Qing to discuss having those craftsmen direct the work at their sites after completing their own. They mentioned that the wages could be negotiable.

Ye Xinyan, accepting a cup of tea from Bi Ning, smiled and asked, "These people even said the wages are negotiable? Do they mean they are also willing to pay double for expedited work?"

Liu Qing replied with a smile, "Yes, these people are eager to see our project completed and put into operation, while they are worried about how to deal with the materials and supplies piled up at their construction sites after the year-end shutdown. It seems they’re willing to pay more just to have those materials placed on the track for easier supervision."

After thinking it over, Ye Xinyan asked Liu Qing, "Have you asked Mr. Hu about his opinion on this matter?"

Liu Qing shook his head and said, "They came to see me last night around dinner time, and by the time they finished talking, it was very late. I thought it wasn’t an urgent matter, so I did not disturb Sixth Master. This morning before coming here, I left a message for Mr. Hu. He should be able to arrive shortly."

Ye Xinyan asked Liu Qing, "Steward Liu has been working outdoors all this time, do you think this is feasible? What about the workers, seeing that the New Year is approaching, are they willing to earn this double wage?"

Liu Qing laughed and said, "Although people place great importance on celebrating the New Year, making money to support their families is equally important. Now, those working on the construction site, from the capital and its surrounding areas—labourers and craftsmen—most are willing to stay and continue working."

"That’s good," Ye Xinyan said, "It’s already the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, and it’s cold. They’re working outdoors. If it’s finally decided to help other construction sites speed up before the end of the year, the wages and double night wages need to be increased."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qing felt greatly relieved. He knew that those who relied on manual labour and their skills to eat were not afraid of working hard; what they feared was a lack of work and an inability to earn money. Their own construction site, although meticulous and compact with its arrangement of projects, didn’t allow for any laziness, but importantly, they never owed wages.

Moreover, there were no risky jobs that disregarded the lives of those suffering; thus, many would rather work harder and prefer to work at their construction site.

The double pay for the last few nights had already sent the workers into ecstasy. If there could be even more, they would be very willing to do the work.

Liu Qing said, "That would be wonderful, allowing those doing the hard labour to earn more Silver Coin and have a good new year’s celebration is a good thing. However, I wonder if our involvement in the entire railway project might offend some people?"

Ye Xinyan sighed and said, "Indeed, there are such concerns. Right now, we are only discussing the feasibility, whether or not it can actually be done will have to be decided after Sixth Master and Mister Hu discuss it."

Mister Hu had some other matters to handle, so after finishing with them, he arrived at the small tea house, but by then, it was already late.

Only when she heard it from Mister Hu did Ye Xinyan realize that Jinrong had actually gone to the imperial court; no wonder he hadn’t arrived yet.

Mister Hu still left the main seat empty, sitting himself in a chair on one side of the table, and said, "It was almost nightfall yesterday when Sixth Master received a message from the palace, requesting Sixth Master to enter court for an audience. I reckon that Sixth Master could only come after the court session is over."

Ye Xinyan nodded, "Whether this matter is considered small or not, it’s actually not trivial. But if it’s made out to be bigger, it could indeed lead to something major. We need a legitimate reason to act. If His Majesty could speak and arrange the task, that would be the best."

Mister Hu had some guesses about Jinrong’s visit to the palace, "His Majesty summoning Sixth Master to court at this time could only be regarding the railway construction. However, those construction sites are too far behind, and even if they speed up, it’s certain they cannot be finished before the end of the year. Managing to embark the main materials from the construction sites would be good enough; at least that would prevent the materials from being lost during the New Year period."

Only at the End Si Hour did Jinrong arrive at Changping Street with two young pages and two attendants.

Although Jinrong had matters to discuss with Ye Xinyan and Mister Hu, he had not yet seen how the Railway Carriage ran on the tracks, naturally arousing his curiosity.

Thus, Jinrong did not rush to enter the small tea house but delayed for a while not far away, watching three carriages leave the station one after another, at intervals, starting to trot smoothly and lightly on the tracks before he walked contentedly into the small tea house.

As Jinrong entered, he hadn’t even sat down before he asked with a smile, "What have you been discussing here?"

Mister Hu and others stood up, welcomed Jinrong in, and after letting him take a seat, Mister Hu laughed and said, "What we’ve discussed here, Sixth Master would never guess. However, we can make some guesses about the matters of Sixth Master at court."

Jinrong pushed forward the teacup passed by Bi Ning and said with a smile, "It’s not surprising you can guess, there’s nothing else but the railway project if Imperial Father summons me to court at this time. But there are also things you can’t guess."

Speaking of this, Jinrong turned to Ye Xinyan, looked at her with a smile, and said slowly, "Imperial Father said that the workmen from Prince Yu’s Mansion and the Legitimate Granddaughter of Duke An, Ye Xinyan, are to assist with the construction of the other railway projects to ensure their early completion."

"Oh, so isn’t that just helping other construction sites expedite their work?" Ye Xinyan said this before realizing there was an additional implication in the words, and she said in surprise, "His Majesty is arranging tasks for the Legitimate Granddaughter of Duke An at court?"

Smiling, Jinrong kept nodding at her, "Not only can you return to being the Legitimate Granddaughter of Duke An, but you are also a woman whose tasks have been arranged by Imperial Father at court. From now on, no one dares to take you lightly. Are you pleased?"