She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 666 - 664 Completion

Chapter 666: Chapter 664 Completion

Wong Qiao consoled her, "Don’t worry, Mother. We’re just going back home to run a small construction business. We won’t be dealing with any major projects that could incite envy or pose any danger."

"But your excellent craftsmanship..."

Wong Qiao interrupted Lady Zhao, "What excellent craftsmanship do I have? The ingenious devices I made at my uncle’s were all Ye Zi’s ideas, which we then tested out together. The wages my uncle pays are much higher than others, and that includes a stipulation not to share the skills with anyone.

Without my uncle’s efficient tools and Ye Zi’s architectural and garden designs, how could there be any major projects? It’s already a stroke of luck not to be crushed by the established construction businesses in Hezhou with deep roots."

Seeing that Lady Zhao’s expression was still one of utter shock, Wong Qiao reassured her, "It’s fine, no one will pay any mind to a small Water Wood Workshop just trying to earn a living. We won’t be the subject of jealousy."

"It really is just for a living," Lady Zhao said, her spirits deflating. She actually wanted people to be jealous; she thought, even if they were, what of it? It meant that her son was capable, and those who were not capable could only feel empty envy.

Wong Qiao’s consolation to Lady Zhao was not just perfunctory, he truly felt at peace.

The planning documents for the wooden railway had already been handed to Ye Xinyan, and after reviewing them all night, they would be submitted to the court the next day. His last task at the Qi family was now complete.

After that, he and his mother would go home and live the life of ordinary citizens, as if these past years had been but a dream. Being able to reminisce on occasion would be enough for him. If he hadn’t gone to Clear Water Village and met Ye Xinyan years ago, wouldn’t he be like any ordinary person, barely making a living from his craft, scraping by to support his family?

Ye Xinyan received the documents and stayed up all night reviewing them. The day after, Wang Xian presented the documents on the Emperor’s desk.

The Emperor had been pondering this issue for the last few days. Duke An’s granddaughter had so conspicuously earned the court Three Thousand Taels of Silver, it was only right to give the court an impressive response.

Looking at Wang Xian and two scribes standing in the Imperial Study Room, scribes who, along with Guangsha Construction, had participated in preparing the documents, the Emperor asked Wang Xian, "Does this document look satisfactory?"

Wang Xian bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, it is well done. To achieve such quality in such a short time is quite an accomplishment."

He had really wanted to find fault with this document to make a stand for himself. However, the structure of this document was completely different from those of the ministry; it was straightforward and clear, nothing unnecessary was included, and it hardly seemed right to nitpick flaws where there were none.

The Emperor turned and asked the other two scribes, "You must have been following the entire process closely. In your opinion, why is the Qi Family Construction Business able to complete their work so quickly?"

This was the first time the two scribes had met the Emperor, and their first time entering the imperial city. The Minister had instructed them to be alert and respond to the Emperor’s questions. So, both had been nervously preparing, waiting for the Emperor to speak.

The middle-aged scribe bowed and answered, "Your Majesty, my colleague and I followed a detailed procedure set by the craftsmen from the Qi family. The procedures were clear-cut, assigning specific tasks to each person. Furthermore, their paperwork was to the point and without delay. They checked their progress every half-day, making few mistakes and maintaining a fast pace."

The scribe paused before continuing, "Initially, the two of us often could not finish our tasks. Later on, Qi Family’s chief manager, Wong Qiao, kept us back and made us work late for a couple of days until we could keep up with the pace of the Qi family workers."

Prince Fu, sitting to the side, narrowed his eyes. According to the information gathered by his men, Wong Qiao was known to be an honest man, and the words of these two scribes seemed to confirm it.

The widely circulated saying within the Craftsmanship Sector, "Teach your apprentice and starve your master," resonated, yet Wong Qiao was willing to wholeheartedly teach his counterparts. Such magnanimity was rare in the Craftsmanship Sector.

The Emperor then asked, "I’ve heard Miss Ye occasionally visits to oversee things, which means she truly understands the work. The procedures you mentioned earlier, were they made by Wong Qiao, or by her?"

The scribe hurriedly bowed his head, "It was done by Miss Ye."

Another scribe also lowered his head.

The Emperor, noticing something off about their expressions, asked, "Can she really make you do your work?"

"...She can supervise," the scribe answered rather reluctantly.

The Emperor, too lazy to speak further, directly said, "Tell me about this Miss Ye, what is her disposition like, is she as knowledgeable as the rumors say?"

Hesitating, the scribe said, "Miss Ye from the Ye Family may not be very familiar with the technicalities of construction, but she is very skilled at planning. She might not understand the finer details of some construction tasks, but she is quick to grasp the essence once pointed out. Disposition ... that, disposition ... not very good."

The scribe was conflicted, having heard that Duke An also had a difficult temperament—if he found out someone was speaking this way about his granddaughter, would they get beaten up without warning? But this was His Majesty asking, and if they didn’t tell the truth, that would be deceiving the Emperor, which was much worse than getting hit with a club.

"Disposition not good?" The Emperor looked at the two minor officials. These two were wearing the uniforms of minor scribes, probably of low status, but even though they were lowly, they still worked for the court. Had they been scolded by the Ye family girl?

Seeing the Emperor’s gaze continuously sweeping over the two men, Wang Xian promptly stepped forward and replied, "Your servant has asked in detail, Miss Ye is impatient with their slow work and often rebukes them loudly."

The Emperor continued to examine the two scribes and asked, "She supervises on the spot? Is it effective?"

The two scribes started to sweat nervously, "Yes, it is, it is." Such a response might sound like they were inviting a scolding or were spineless, but what if it really was effective? They both felt that if the superiors were to assign more tasks to them, their work efficiency would certainly be much higher than their colleagues’.

The Emperor nodded, thinking that if that was the case, then each man’s five hundred taels of silver were not spent in vain.

He then said to Wang Xian, "You will have to work a bit harder. In the next couple of days, have these two scribes explain the wooden track planning to the officials in charge of the construction. During the court recess, let them pay a little more attention, and after the court convenes again, go straight to preparing the project."

Wang Xian was startled, wasn’t it almost the New Year? At this time, such a big task was being arranged, and with so little time, nothing could be done, right?

Wang Xian hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, with only two days’ time, even if the work is reluctantly assigned, I fear nothing much can be done. Your servant thinks, would it not be better to wait until after the New Year to arrange it, wouldn’t it be better to get it all done in one go then?"

The Emperor’s expression turned rather sour, "If they familiarize themselves before the New Year, they will continue working after the New Year, and they will naturally start quickly. If it is arranged directly after the New Year, who knows when the court officials, who draw an official salary, will be ready to get things done in one go."

Wang Xian’s expression was somewhat embarrassed. Although there was indeed some shirking of work in the public service, it wasn’t as severe as you, Your Majesty, are implying.

Prince Fu stood up and started to speak, "Imperial Father, your son has something to say."

"Speak," the Emperor said, looking towards Prince Fu.

"Your son believes that it is better to use experienced hands for the job. Since Sixth Brother has the Construction Industry under him with experience in laying tracks, wouldn’t it be better to entrust this project to Sixth Brother?"