She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 705 - 703

Chapter 705: 703

The Emperor had been sizing her up above the teacup, finding the constant changes in her expression rather amusing. Suddenly, when he saw her looking up at him, he quickly lowered his eyelids and sipped his tea.

After swallowing a mouthful of tea, he leisurely said, "Do you have objections to my proposal?" His tone was rather unfriendly.

"Not at all, how could I? Your Majesty’s wisdom is unmatched, and your proposal is undoubtedly the most reasonable and magnanimous in all the land. It’s like this, sir, your humble wife simply wishes to inquire what exactly Your Majesty wishes her to do. Could you please reveal a bit, so if it is beyond my capability, I can inform you in advance and prevent any misunderstandings about disobeying your orders."

The Emperor looked at her askance, truly worthy of being Duke An’s granddaughter; a little fox taught by an old fox, she was clearly securing her own escape route.

He had previously met the son of Duke An, who indeed had little to commend him. It was unexpected that such a father would have such a clever and astute daughter.

Gazing down at the girl dressed as a boy standing below him, with eyes full of slyness and hope, the Emperor felt a twinge of melancholy. Ordinary families’ children must be like this towards their elders, he thought, not like the grandchildren of the royal family, who always approached him, their elder, with a natural reverence and distance. They were nothing like the direct and candid girl from the Ye Family.

The Emperor found it amusing and said, "Enough, stop with your little schemes. You are a subject of the Great Xia Dynasty, and contributing to the court is only right. As the ruler of a nation, I naturally will not ask you to do the impossible."

Ye Xinyan immediately seized the opportunity to flatter him, "Thank you, Your Majesty. You are truly wise. Well then, since you’ve said it, you must keep your word. In the future, if the court has any use for your humble wife, it must be within my capacity. Also, one woman’s strength is ultimately limited; if the court assigns tasks, I will still need some knowledgeable people to brainstorm and work together."

The Emperor waved his hand in disdain, "Enough, you’re so tedious. I’ve also heard that you’re quite a spirited woman. Now seeing you in person, it turns out you don’t live up to your reputation."

The Emperor had agreed, right? Ye Xinyan didn’t care whether the Emperor scorned her or not; she had already breathed a huge sigh of relief. Working alone for the Emperor was acceptable, even if somewhat of a loss, but the damage wouldn’t be too great.

Ye Xinyan smiled obsequiously and praised, "Thank you, Your Majesty. You are wise and valiant, peerless, for thousands of..." damn it, she nearly blurted out "for all eternity, supreme over the Jianghu," "Who else but Your Majesty possesses such discernment? I am indeed a superficial woman with no depth of knowledge, unworthy of the term ’spirited’."

Looking down at the self-professed superficial girl’s smug appearance, then glancing at Duke An, the Emperor felt that the old man deserved more sympathy than he had previously thought.

Seeing his incompetent son and then this outrageously arrogant granddaughter, it’s fortunate that Duke An had such a strong resilience and an unwavering will, otherwise he would have been tormented to death by these two.

Thinking of Beloved Minister Ye’s miserable life, the Emperor looked again at Ye Xinyan and found her attire exceedingly disagreeable. Looking at her well-groomed appearance, if she were to go out, how many people would be deceived into believing she was a genuinely upright and dashing gentleman?

The Emperor said indifferently, "I heard you have a very lavish outfit; remember to wear that the next time you are granted an audience. Looking at you, these clothes really don’t suit you."

Ye Xinyan looked down at her clothes and raised an eyebrow, almost rolling her eyes. How was she unsuitable for these clothes? It wasn’t her first time wearing them. Every time she wore these robes out, both her mother and the maids in the house couldn’t stop praising her.

Without a doubt, the Emperor’s vision must be flawed.

"Your Majesty, the day before yesterday after I returned from Marquis Ye’s residence, my mother thoroughly scolded me. To prevent me from causing more trouble, she disposed of that outfit. If Your Majesty finds this robe displeasing, I’ll wear a different one next time," Ye Xinyan said nonchalantly as she bowed. That garment was only suitable for a visit with a young lady about to be engaged to a prince; in any other circumstance, it was embarrassingly inappropriate and downright ugly.

Duke An, who had always considered his granddaughter to be cautious, was startled by her nearly rolling her eyes and then turned to look at the emperor. Although His Majesty was clearly not pleased with the implication of her raised eyebrow, his face showed only disdain and no anger.

Fortunately, Ye Xinyan was aware that her behavior was improper and didn’t dare to roll her eyes completely. Instead, she obediently lowered her gaze, restrained her expression, and stood still, shrinking her neck.

The emperor glanced at the grandfather-granddaughter pair, thinking that all that needed to be said had been said, and that there probably wasn’t anything else to add.

"That will be all, you may withdraw."

Duke An quickly led Ye Xinyan in performing the ritual of bowing before exiting. As they were leaving, the Emperor threw in a parting remark, "Beloved Minister Ye, you really should manage your granddaughter better... but never mind, never mind, let it be, I suppose such a temperament is hard to change. You may leave."

Ye Xinyan secretly curled her lip, thinking that as long as one held a high enough position, they need not consider others’ feelings or sentiments. Listen to what he’s saying, what’s wrong with her temperament? She hadn’t said a single wrong word or done a single wrong thing from beginning to end.

A little eunuch escorted them out of the palace gates. The attendants and guards waiting outside from Duke An’s Mansion, seeing that the pair had emerged unscathed, also breathed a sigh of relief.

It was true that having a young lady at home capable of stirring up such trouble was indeed a worry. They knew that her ostentatious behavior the day before would attract attention from various families in the capital, but they hadn’t expected that the emperor would summon them so soon.

Only when they were far from the palace did Ye Xinyan approach Duke An and asked in a low voice, "Grandfather, did we suffer a loss today? Why do I feel that taking these six thousand taels of silver is like holding a hot potato?"

Duke An, with an unprecedented serious expression, replied, "What are you talking about?! We are subjects of the Great Xia Dynasty; serving His Majesty and sharing his worries is our fundamental duty as his subjects. Having the opportunity to serve the court is a great honor. How can we speak of gains and losses?"

At this time, the grandfather and granddaughter were riding their horses at a leisurely pace towards Duke An’s Mansion.

Hearing Duke An’s righteous response, Ye Xinyan couldn’t help but be taken aback. What was going on with her grandfather? This was completely out of character for him. Was it possible for him to say such things? Hadn’t he always been a cunning old fox?

Ye Xinyan looked up at the sun; indeed, it had risen from the east as usual.

Then she leaned forward to inspect Duke An’s expression. The old man’s face was stern, and he sat upright on his horse with an air of solemnity and dignity like never before.

Ye Xinyan withdrew her gaze feeling disgruntled. It seemed that the emperor was indeed quite influential. She had thought her unrestrained grandfather would be radically transformed after being in His Majesty’s presence, becoming instantly as if baptized by noble sentiments—a virtuous person, a pure soul, free from any lowly disposition.