She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 467 - 465 Second Miss Returns

Chapter 467: Chapter 465 Second Miss Returns

Ye Xinyan shot back a question, "Don’t tell me you can’t even handle your own household affairs?" As the old general who leads troops into battle, scouting for intelligence, tracking down trails, and interrogating spies all fall within your purview. You have people at your command and authority in your hands, yet you can’t manage just a bit of land under your own roof—how can you pass that off?

Duke An looked at Ye Xinyan for a moment, then averted his gaze, "The matter wasn’t discovered right away. It was when my mother, Madam Yin, felt unwell and the imperial physician came to check her pulse that we found something amiss. By that time, nearly two months had passed since the poisoning, making the investigation very difficult."

Ye Xinyan nodded, waiting for Duke An to continue. Time has changed, so are you just going to let this go, Elder?

Duke An looked at Ye Xinyan’s face, full of skepticism, and was speechless. This child, after spending two years outside, had become quite shrewd; even her gaze held a challenging question that left no room to hide.

Duke An couldn’t help but smile bitterly. His granddaughter’s eyes held a mocking chill, and the reality wasn’t far from her cold assessment.

"I did put effort into the investigation at the time, and all the suspicion eventually fell on a second-rank maid in your mother’s courtyard," Duke An said with some difficulty. "However, before we could interrogate her thoroughly, she was kicked to death by your father."

That was his foolish son, always as soft as a pile of mud and impossible to rally. Yet, faced with such a matter, he acted with decisive ferocity, kicking with the force of a military general.

Ye Xinyan curled her lips, "That’s silencing someone by killing them. Was this Aunt Liu’s doing, or did the Princely Heir, deeply in love, only want the child of his beloved woman to inherit the title, so he cut off my mother’s line of succession?"

Ye Xinyan raised an eyebrow, looking at Duke An.

Duke An found himself at a loss for words and had to continue, "At the time, your maternal grandfather and uncle wouldn’t let it go and insisted on punishing Aunt Liu, but your father, like a madman, was adamant that it was Madam Yin who mistreated the servant, saying it was personal vengeance by someone in your mother’s own household. So your mother could not use her own mistake as an opportunity to eliminate his concubine."

"In fact, aside from your father killing the maid when no one was looking, there was no evidence to suggest that someone had instructed her to poison. Your uncle originally wanted to bring your mother back to her own family home, but your mother couldn’t bear to leave you and couldn’t let go of your father, plus your maternal grandfather disagreed, probably because he thought a woman unable to bear offspring, if divorced, could only lead a desolate life at her parents’ home."

In the end, your mother remained at Duke An’s Mansion. Because of this incident, many servant women were executed or sold, and all the people in your mother’s and your courtyards were replaced with folks from Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion, only Nanny Jin, who has been with you since you were little and whom you couldn’t do without, stayed."

Ye Xinyan asked coolly, "So your son is untouchable, the concubine he protects is fine too, and you’ve only dealt with a few irrelevant servant women—is this how the matter is settled?"

Duke An furrowed his brows, "What else can be done? What’s done is done, what more can we do? Surely I can’t just throw my own son out of the house, can I?"

Ye Xinyan nodded, that much was true. In ancient times, offspring were of the utmost importance. In a household like Duke An’s Mansion, where Ye Hongyang was the only son, even if Madam Yin was indeed tricked and lost her life, his son couldn’t possibly be expelled.

Moreover, probably since then, Madam Yin no longer needed to report to her mother-in-law morning and evening, and could follow her own whims. That was how she had the opportunity to spoil her daughter into a simpleton.

"What does this have to do with me? Even if I come back, your son and grandson are still the same," Ye Xinyan asked.

Duke An said, "Now your father has Maternal Aunt Zhao, doesn’t he? Or maybe I’ll adopt a young child from a collateral branch of the Ye Family. When the time comes, with you as the elder sister to guide him, just manage him like Brother Shun and Brother Jia, and with a child like that, we can definitely support Duke An’s Mansion."

Reflecting on the future, Duke An was filled with regret. "Ah, if it weren’t for what happened back then, it would have been great if you could have had a full sibling brother, a legitimate child is still somewhat more outstanding."

Ye Xinyan rolled her eyes. What nonsense, isn’t your son legitimate? Your granddaughter is also legitimate. And she’s considered outstanding?

Perhaps Ye Xinyan’s skeptical expression was a bit too apparent, for Duke An said with displeasure, "Are you so sure that this old man will never have a grandson who turns out well?"

Seeing the old man getting agitated, Ye Xinyan quickly responded, "Not at all! The granddaughter just feels that she’s not very good with children, afraid that she might lead your grandson astray." With your son’s genes, it would take someone really capable to bring him up properly. I’m neither obligated nor competent to help raise your son’s child.

Duke An saw the look on Ye Xinyan’s face, stroked his beard, and said peacefully, "You must understand, only those who are brought up by your own hands can become truly close to you. Just like those two little ones from the Qi family, they won’t allow anyone to say the slightest thing against you. In the future, your closeness to the Duke will naturally make him treat your mother well, and of course, he will be hostile to those who are against you and your mother. You always hope for your mother to be happy, don’t you?"

"We’ll see about that. You need to have a grandson first, right?" Ye Xinyan stood up. "If grandfather has nothing else, the granddaughter will take her leave. The granddaughter just came to ask if you wish to attend the banquet at Prince Fu’s Mansion."

Duke An also knew that this matter couldn’t be rushed, and considering his own son’s wrongdoings in front of Madam Yin and her daughter, it was no wonder the granddaughter felt no sense of belonging to Duke An’s Mansion. The old master nodded helplessly, "Alright, go ahead. Don’t worry, as long as it doesn’t involve politics or defamation of the royal family, there’s nothing to fuss about. Even if there is some displeasure caused, no one would dare do anything to you."

Ye Xinyan nodded happily. Three passions, right? The basic principle for citizens in the Great Xia Dynasty, she understood that.

...

Preparing the clothes and jewelry for the invitation was naturally not an issue; Madam Yin had sent plenty to Clear Water Village through Zhao Gang. Before leaving Clear Water Village, Ye Xinyan had picked a few necessary items to bring with her—not many, but all of them were of fine quality.

And ever since Madam Yin knew that her daughter would be returning with Nanny Jin, she had begun preparing new fashion accessories according to the latest trends in the capital, more than enough for Ye Xinyan to handle her outfits for going out during this period.

The Spring Welcome Banquet hosted by Princess Fu was scheduled for the eighth day of the first month. On the sixth, just after Chen Hour had passed, Ye Xinyi returned.

Ye Xinyi paid her respects to the Duchess at Yangyi Court and sat with her briefly before excusing herself. She had her maids inform Maternal Aunt Liu of her arrival to arrange for her stay, while she, accompanied by her maids and old woman servants, made her way to Madam Yin’s rooms at Morning Moon Courtyard.

Ye Xinyan was naturally in Madam Yin’s room with Qi Sanshun and Qi Jiarr. After having breakfast together and strolling around the garden, they still returned to Madam Yin’s room to chat.

When Cui Zhu came in to report that the Second Miss had returned to the mansion, having already met with the Duchess, and was on her way to Morning Moon Courtyard,

"What does she want?" Ye Xinyan looked towards Madam Yin.

Madam Yin frowned slightly, "Probably just to make an appearance. We don’t see her, and naturally, she will be happy to get closer to her birth mother."