She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 459 - 457 Settlement

Chapter 459: Chapter 457 Settlement

Duke An saw this was getting nowhere and said to Maternal Aunt Liu in a detached tone, "Alright, if you’re told to go, then go. Don’t waste time." He then turned to Madam Yin and said, "You too, don’t concern yourself with so many trivial matters. Just make sure the three children eat properly."

Only then did Madam Yin realize that there were still two young children at the dining table. She hurriedly turned her attention toward them.

Indeed, she saw the two little ones, especially Qi Jiaer, whose glossy eyes were constantly shifting among the adults, seemingly oblivious to the piece of vegetable that had fallen from his chopsticks.

Madam Yin, her face flushed with embarrassment, quickly attempted to cover up by smiling at the two children, "Brother Shun, Brother Jia, don’t just sit there watching. Eat your food. Didn’t we say that after a good meal we were going to set off firecrackers? Auntie has prepared lots of little ones just for you, all suitable for children to light."

Sitting below Ye Hongyang, Ye Heng and Ye Yi, no longer young, one sixteen and the other thirteen, were naturally aware of the undercurrents swirling beneath the surface of the dinner table. Seeing their own mother being edged out and chastised made them feel terrible. Yet there was their grandfather, whom they had always feared since they were young, at the table, and neither dared to speak in defense of their mother. Even their angry glares directed toward Ye Xinyan, Qi Jiaer, and Qi Sanshun were evasive of Duke An, for fear of their grandfather’s reprimand.

Maternal Aunt Liu stood behind Ye Hongyang with a heart full of grievances while attending to his dining needs.

By now, Madam Yin held no feelings toward Ye Hongyang, completely ignoring the Duke’s Heir Apparent as long as he didn’t cause her any trouble.

With Maternal Aunt Liu no longer behind her, the discomfort she had felt was gone, and she devoted herself to attending to the three children’s meal. She even unprecedentedly complained about Ye Xinyan occupying space beside her and, disregarding etiquette, made Ye Xinyan and Qi Jiaer switch places to facilitate serving Qi Jiaer food.

After receiving several inexplicable looks from Ye Xinyan, Madam Yin could even innocently complain, "Brother Jia is so young; he naturally needs someone to look after him during meals. It’s already enough that you can’t care for your brother properly, but why aren’t you satisfied when your mother is taking care of him?"

"Who..." can’t look after a brother properly? Forget it, the mother’s love is swelling again. Ye Xinyan picked up a chopstickful of stir-fried baby bok choy for Qi Sanshun, "Eat more greens. The greens at this time of the year can be sold at a sky-high price. Eat more."

The rest of the dinner went rather quietly. Duke An could not be bothered with Ye Hongyang. His son was essentially beyond help, and no amount of talking could change that. As long as the couple did not cause more trouble and did not affect the relationship between the Ye Family and the Yin Family, that was fortunate enough for him.

With the dinner table quieted down, Duke An had the mood to reflect on the past and look forward to the future.

Looking back, the year that was about to pass had been a rather satisfying one for Duke An after many years.

This year, he had continuously received news from the Northwest Yuyuan Commandery. His granddaughter was not only capable but had also matured, conducting herself with great order and measure. He regretted more than once that the child wasn’t born a boy. At the same time, he was relieved that his granddaughter, having run out of options the year before last, fled the mansion, leading to her transformation today.

At the dinner table, Duke An enthusiastically praised Ye Xinyan’s achievements over the past two years since she left the Duke’s Mansion, as well as her accomplishments during the short twenty-some days since her return to the capital. She had not only brought a breath of fresh air to the capital city but had also brought great honor to both Duke An’s Mansion and the Ye Family.

Ye Hongyang, who disliked Madam Yin and Ye Xinyan, had never inquired about Ye Xinyan’s situation in Yuyuan Prefecture. Even if he heard anything, he would turn away at the first opportunity.

Now, with Duke An bringing it up at the dinner table, he felt somewhat surprised but also extremely displeased. A woman discarded by her husband’s family should have stayed quietly in the inner courtyard to see if there was a chance to remarry. Instead, she made public appearances every day. How was this bringing honor? It was disgraceful.

The father was getting more and more senile.

After dinner, Qi Jiaer and Qi Sanshun first went out under the guidance of Xiao Si to set off a round of firecrackers, having their fill before returning.

While waiting for Zhaizi, the two youngsters took out a new land battle chess game made by Duke An. Qi Jiaer and Jiuhua’s group battled against Qi Sanshun, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

In contrast, Ye Heng and Ye Yi looked down on the chess variety that Duke An had praised more than once, considering these simple things unworthy of attention. When it came to chess, Go was the only true game of elegance.

Duke An watched his two grandsons provocatively set up a Go board next to the children of the Qi family and shook his head secretly. If only their chess skills were presentable. Without the talent or intelligence, they always envied those elegant scholars... Anyway, he just couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for his two grandsons.

In their spare time, Duke An and Ye Xinyan discussed in detail the feasibility of implementing railway transportation.

As a military general, Duke An was well aware of the importance of supply and forage transportation for the army. His previous opposition to railway transportation stemmed from the same reasons. In his view, these devices laid on the ground were unreliable, far inferior to the solidity and mobility of soldier transport.

However, the successful operation of the Railway Carriage made Duke An more hopeful about railway transportation. If the tracks for transporting goods could be as well-maintained and guarded as the Railway Carriage, it might indeed be a good method of transportation.

Madam Yin felt extremely gratified to see Duke An discussing such serious issues of military and state affairs with a woman, and this woman was her own daughter.

After the sacrificial rites at Zhaizi, everyone went back to their rooms to stay up and welcome the New Year. Ye Xinyan just went through the motions and then leaned on Madam Yin, falling asleep on the couch.

Qi Sanshun and Qi Jiaer managed to stay up a little longer before Nanny Jin took care of them, putting them to sleep in the warm pavilion of Madam Yin’s main room.

On the first day of the first month of the lunar year early in the morning, following Madam Yin’s arrangement, she led Ye Xinyan and the two children to Cien Temple to offer incense in a lively manner, giving thanks to the Buddha for his care of Ye Xinyan. Along the way, she also took the two children to witness the scale of the largest temple in the capital.

On the second day, to avoid an encounter with Ye Xinyi, they still got up early; Madam Yin and her son, along with Qi Jiaer, Qi Sanshun, Nanny Jin, and Jiuhua, bustled about getting dressed and ready, preparing gifts, and set out at Chen Hour to head to Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion.

The fight incident before the New Year passed smoothly with Elder Master Ye at Duke An’s Mansion, but it was settled at Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion.

Ye Xinyan and the two little ones stood in the Protectorate General’s study, facing a good scolding from Yin Xiaocheng.

What with the capital being a place full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons, who knows who you might run into? If you confronted a prince, would you have been so lucky?

What with not understanding how to measure your own strength against others’, acting rashly, what if you had been beaten instead? With Qi Jiaer so young, if something had happened to him, how would you explain it to Old Master Qi?

What with the two children not understanding the intricate powers of the capital, don’t you understand either? Just having returned, you’ve already made many enemies, is it worth it?

...A variety of topics, a variety of reprimands, which went on for quite a while, leaving Ye Xinyan in awe of her uncle’s eloquence.