She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 704 - 702: Then Just Rob Her Silver

Chapter 704: Chapter 702: Then Just Rob Her Silver

The Emperor, faced with Ye Xinyan’s pitiful appearance, showed not a hint of softening and coldly said, "Since you possess neither skill nor ability, why should others tolerate you?"

Ye Xinyan glanced at the Emperor, uncertain whether the Old Emperor truly intended to bleed her dry or if he simply wanted to teach her a lesson for her arrogance.

Logically, the latter seemed unnecessary. What status did the Emperor hold, and why would he stoop to the level of a mere woman like her? Crushing her wouldn’t bring him any sense of achievement. So it must be the former, he wanted some benefit from her, which was more fitting for his position.

But what did she have that the Emperor could covet? Rather than fixating on her, he might as well focus on Duke An. After all, Duke An could also be considered a pillar of the state. Would it not be better for the monarch to ignore his granddaughter’s offense against the future Imperial Daughter-in-law, and have Duke An be immensely grateful and utterly loyal to the Emperor?

Having Duke An shoulder all the responsibilities was an idea she wholeheartedly liked. Unfortunately, this Emperor seemed to have a problem with his line of thinking, fixating on her from the moment he entered.

Could it be because the Emperor noticed the business she had conducted over the years or Jinrong had excessively praised her abilities in front of the Emperor, leading to overly high expectations?

Ye Xinyan cast a glance at Duke An, wanting to give him a hint, but Duke An still did not look her way.

It seems she still had to walk her path alone.

"Your Majesty," Ye Xinyan bowed and said, "I have no other skills except for some ideas in running a business. Currently, I mainly manage businesses for His Highness Prince Yu, and if the businesses are managed well, that is in fact earning silver for Miss Han’s future household. I believe Miss Han, being generous, shouldn’t take my minor offense to heart."

The Emperor seemed not to have heard Ye Xinyan’s words, absently tapping on the armrest of the Dragon Throne, preoccupied with calculating what would be most profitable.

After a while, the Emperor finally said, "Previously, you have produced many new devices, and Prince Yu has greatly commended your capability in planning works. I have always believed that the most important thing in governing the world is to ensure that people make full use of their talents and resources."

Ye Xinyan’s eyes widened in shock. Your words are indeed correct, but have you mistaken your audience? I am not one of your court officials who receive an official salary from you.

If we follow what you say, and I fully exert my talents and resources for you, will we still be able to live our lives? Will we still be able to earn silver for ourselves? Living off the Emperor’s salary is like being a salaried worker!

No, this cannot be.

"Your Majesty is wise. I indeed have been involved in some things, but they were only possible with the collective wisdom and skills of artisans like Wong Qiao. Without them, it would have been impossible alone," she continued.

Seeing the Emperor stroking his beard and pondering deeply, she felt that her words were not clear enough and tentatively continued, "I work under Grandfather Qi in the Qi Family Construction Business. Grandfather Qi needs to support his family, and the artisans who work with us also need to eat."

Her words were not in vain, as the Emperor came out of his ponderings and looked at her, "Hmm, had you not mentioned it, I might have almost forgotten, you do have a knack for making money. Given the opportunity, you dare to make a large sum from anyone’s silver."

Oh, Ye Xinyan choked, that’s true. Before the new year, she indeed seized the chance to make three thousand taels of silver from the court. The visitors to her house included officials from the ministry, along with one who was... Ye Xinyan’s head throbbed as she looked at the eunuch standing beside the Emperor... Damn, the most distinguished person present at that time was this very eunuch.

Ye Xinyan felt an overwhelming urge to cover her face and weep. How could she have failed to recognize such an important person?

It was precisely because officials and eunuchs had come to the Qi family that day to discuss wages, that Lady Zhao discovered she had overcharged the court three thousand taels of silver. Lady Zhao resented her for not giving the lion’s share to Wong Qiao, who in turn betrayed her by switching his allegiance to Prince Fu.

Although the details of this betrayal were debatable, it had nevertheless forced her to revise her plans. After the fifteenth day of the first month, she would need to start work and retrain her workforce, getting the craftsmen who had signed on before the New Year to adjust to the work pace of the Qi Family Construction Business.

She couldn’t mention it without feeling teary-eyed.

The Emperor saw Ye Xinyan’s eyes suddenly welling up and was taken aback. In his mind, the girl from the Ye Family had always been tough and resilient, not one to be easily upset, so how had she become so sentimental after just a few words?

Hmm, this girl is always cunning, she must be feigning pity.

The Emperor immediately made a highly accurate judgment and continued with his plan, "Han Yufang is to marry into Prince Yu’s Mansion and become an Imperial Daughter-in-law. The mistake you made is severe. However, considering that you have some ability to earn money and can be of other use, the offense against the princess consort will be noted for now. When the court has need of you, we will decide whether to judge you according to the law or let you offset your crime by contributing to the court."

Ye Xinyan’s tearful eyes froze in astonishment. Damn, could the Emperor be so shameless?

Is she your daughter-in-law? She’s not even your future daughter-in-law, and you want to exploit her to extort from me? You should have made a decree earlier! If you had issued it beforehand, I wouldn’t have gone to the Han Mansion but directly demanded ten thousand taels of silver from Jinrong. With Jinrong being so easy to extort, how could I have ended up with such annoying troubles?

The court has need of me... Ye Xinyan felt like crying even more. Is the court’s favor only worth six thousand taels of silver?

This is too shameless! No, she is the granddaughter of Duke An, a noble and prestigious figure at the court. She cannot allow herself to be humiliated!

Indignation surged within Ye Xinyan, and she was about to jump up in protest when she caught the tip of her brow raising. She heard Duke An, who had not given her any hints until now, grunt, sounding as if he had a sore throat, or was clearing it.

Ye Xinyan turned to look and saw Duke An glance at her. It was a casual look, without any particular expression, but she somehow felt that it was Duke An restraining her from struggling further.

She glanced at the Emperor again, who was watching her coldly. Although she no longer felt much of the Emperor’s imposing presence, still being under the scrutiny of the one who ruled over all under heaven was not a good thing.

Such a loss, this time it really was a huge loss. She had previously had a good impression of the Emperor, thinking that, as Jinrong’s father, even if he wasn’t as easy to talk to as Jinrong, he surely couldn’t be that unprincipled... that thing. Who knew that Emperor Qianqing’s skin would prove to be even thicker than hers.

She had only asked the Han Mansion for a bit more silver, and Jinrong, her fiancé, had no objections. What business was it of yours as a prospective father-in-law to meddle so?

Ye Xinyan was completely unaware that all three people in the hall were looking at her, as she grimaced and wondered what the court would want to use her for. Having grown up in an era where possessing knowledge meant having a future, she saw her knowledge as equivalent to hard cash. The Emperor saying the court needed her was tantamount to robbing her of her silver.

After much thought, she felt this harbored future trouble. Gritting her teeth secretly, she steeled herself to look up and ventured to ask, "Your Majesty, there is something I would like to clarify with you, if I may?"