She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 677 - 675: No Hope

Chapter 677: Chapter 675: No Hope

Maternal Aunt Liu had hoped that she would spend some time quietly in the Buddhist hall, and once Duke An’s anger subsided, Ye Hongyang would ask Duke An and his Wife again to let her out. But it turned out that not a single man in this world was decent, and that damned man Ye Hongyang was no exception, having let her down like this.

When Ye Hongyang came to visit her for the first time, she saw at a glance that the urgency and love that used to be on his face changed into astonishment the moment he saw her, which was not the look of a man seeing his beloved consort in distress.

She panicked at the time and poured all her energy into plaintive cries and reminiscing, doing her best to show the warm and gentle side of herself, softening Ye Hongyang’s heart a bit. He shed a few tears but that was all, and he didn’t even say he would help her out of her predicament.

What Ye Hongyang showed, rather than pity for her, might as well be pity for the past he had lost.

Maternal Aunt Liu kept begging Ye Hongyang to come to see her again in a few days, to give her something to look forward to. But another month passed before Ye Hongyang appeared again, and this time when he saw her, his eyes showed shock and evasion. That dodging look almost extinguished all of Maternal Aunt Liu’s hope.

Ye Hongyang did not stay long in the Buddhist hall and left hastily, and he has not shown up till today.

Thinking of these things, the pain was unstoppable in Maternal Aunt Liu’s heart, and she could probably guess the shock and dodging of Ye Hongyang came from something. So, all along, the leverage she thought she had actually didn’t exist, right?

As Maternal Aunt Liu thought this, she urgently pulled Ye Xinyi close and asked, "Xinyi, did you bring a mirror?" Then she remembered her daughter was returning to her parental home and wouldn’t have brought a mirror along, and quickly changed her question, "Look at your mother, take a good look at your mother. Has mother become ugly now, has she aged a lot?"

She had also used a water basin to see her reflection, but there was a special stand for the water basin in the room, and the old woman servant watching over her would not allow her to move the basin to a place with plenty of sunlight. Without a mirror, without maids, she couldn’t comb a hairstyle that would complement her features, and could only do a simple round bun, like a servant or a peasant woman would. Therefore, what Ye Hongyang saw must have been quite unattractive.

With nothing, and at her age, it seemed impossible for her to maintain her delicate beauty, wasn’t it?

Maternal Aunt Liu looked eagerly at Ye Xinyi, waiting for her response.

But Ye Xinyi’s face showed sorrow, her maternal aunt really did look very haggard, her complexion waxy yellow and wilted, with wrinkles particularly prominent. In the past, she always thought that her maternal aunt was still beautiful like a woman in her twenties, even though she was forty, but now...

Ye Xinyi’s eyes were blurry with tears, and she didn’t know what to say.

Seeing the expression on Ye Xinyi’s face, Maternal Aunt Liu already knew the answer. The little vigor she had mustered sagged down, and she muttered, "So there really is no hope after all, is there? Once a woman loses her beauty, what does she have to hold a man’s heart, and which man would turn back and take another look?"

The more Maternal Aunt Liu spoke, the sadder she grew, and she couldn’t help crying bitterly, "Can this be blamed on me, what woman doesn’t grow old? What woman can withstand the passage of time? Why is it that a perfectly good woman, a couple in love, will just be discarded by a man because of the passage of time? What kind of world is this?"

Ye Xinyi listened with a heavy heart, sobbing, "No, not at all, Mother is still as beautiful as she used to be. Don’t lose heart, Father just hasn’t had the opportunity, once there is a chance, he will ask Grandfather to let you out."

Maternal Aunt Liu was still weeping lowly without hearing Ye Xinyi’s comforting words. However, upon hearing the last two sentences that Ye Xinyi said, Maternal Aunt Liu immediately stopped crying, and her tears also gradually ceased. Her sorrowful eyes slowly retracted and became cold and stern.

Ye Xinyi saw the expression on Maternal Aunt Liu’s face and the coldness in her eyes and didn’t understand the reason. She thought that Maternal Aunt Liu was resentful because she had lost everything, hating Madame Yin and her daughter as well as Duke An and his Wife. She advised, "Maternal Aunt, there’s no need to be sad. Before I came here, grandmother reminded me to persuade you well, to reassure you to peacefully pray to Buddha here. This is to bless you and pray for good fortune for your descendants."

Maternal Aunt Liu’s complexion gradually calmed, and she sat motionless, seemingly deep in thought.

Ye Xinyi glanced at Liu Xiang’s residence and instructed, "Auntie’s complexion isn’t good. Go ask that old woman servant outside where we can get some hot tea and bring a cup for the auntie, to help her feel better."

Liu Xiang’s residence understood Ye Xinyi’s sign immediately, agreed, called two maidens beside her, and went out engaging the old woman servant who was guarding in conversation.

With the old woman servant distracted and not paying attention to the mother and daughter inside, Ye Xinyi whispered to Maternal Aunt Liu, "Auntie, don’t lose hope. Grandfather is already sixty-four this year, how much longer can he live? Ye Yuan is just a child still. As long as you’re well, you and our siblings can have a future. I will go and speak with father in a while."

Maternal Aunt Liu’s face was cold as she sharply said, "Don’t mention your father to me. He is hopeless. With the way he looks now, I’m afraid he would rather I die right now, so he doesn’t have to lay eyes on me again."

Ye Xinyi was astonished, "What happened? Are you angry with father? Is it because grandfather and grandmother won’t let father come to see you?"

Maternal Aunt Liu lowered her eyelids, and said coldly, "Just coming to see me for one glance—if he wanted to, who could stop him? The truth is he doesn’t wish to see me even once. Don’t talk about him anymore!"

Seeing Maternal Aunt Liu’s face colder and harder than it had ever been, and contemplating her current appearance, Ye Xinyi guessed that perhaps her father truly despised her mother’s now haggard and aged look, even to the point where her beauty was utterly gone.

After all, Maternal Aunt Liu’s present state was too far removed from her past self; she no longer possessed even ordinary looks, let alone beauty. At a glance, she resembled an old crone.

She thought to herself that she would find out after asking her father, but now it seemed improper to bring it up.

Ye Xinyi kept her voice low, "In a while, I will meet with father. And I don’t believe that Ye Yuan will be close to father either. I just can’t believe that father would willingly let Ye Yuan inherit the title. No matter what, father has always treated his two younger brothers well."

In Ye Xinyi’s view, all of their misfortunes at Duke An’s Mansion were due to Duke An. If Duke An were gone now, there was no way the title would fall to Ye Yuan, the child. Even if her father were stripped of the right to inherit, Ye Heng would inherit the title.

But Duke An’s health was robust and it appeared he might live another ten or twenty years without issue. Moreover, those around Duke An and the Duchess were tightly woven and trustworthy, their surroundings and affairs impenetrable to outsiders. Even during Maternal Aunt Liu’s heyday, she had no opportunities to influence anything near Duke An and his Wife.

Maternal Aunt Liu continued to lower her eyelids, speaking faintly, "Rather than pinning your hopes on your grandfather’s demise, it might be better to think of a way to deal with that despicable woman. For the past twenty or so years, we have always lived this way and never had problems. Ever since that despicable woman faced trouble at the birthday banquet, she changed, and so did the Duke’s Mansion."

Ye Xinyi’s expression brightened, and she turned her eyes, "Then what should we do?" She glanced outside again to see the place was now empty. She lowered her voice even further, "Are we plotting against her once more? To confuse her mind again? I’m afraid it won’t be easy to do." In the past, there was Maternal Aunt Liu to help within the mansion, but now it was Maternal Aunt Zhao managing things. By herself, she likely couldn’t stage a plot.