She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 723 - 721

Chapter 723: 721

Jiang Yifan, upon hearing Ye Xinyan say this, immediately perked up, his smile brimming as he asked, "Ah Yan, are you worried that the Duke will be annoyed with me and not allow me to be your husband?"

Shameless! Ye Xinyan unceremoniously gave him a sidelong glance and coolly said, "Besides that, wouldn’t it be fine to send you back to some remote county?"

Uh, Jiang Yifan was taken aback. Even though the likelihood wasn’t very high, it was a gamble he couldn’t afford to take. Although he was confident that he could return, that would be three years later. Three years, and Ah Yan wouldn’t run away from home again.

"That won’t happen, I will definitely not cross the Duke’s bottom line. Don’t you have confidence in how I handle things?" Jiang Yifan said ruefully.

Afterward, he seriously considered Madam Yin’s situation and, somewhat puzzled, said to Ye Xinyan, "Ah Yan, your aunt is presently well in Duke An’s Mansion, living a life that is quite satisfactory. If she leaves, she could only return to Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion, and staying long-term at her parental home is ultimately no long-term solution, I fear she would end up without a place to belong."

Ye Xinyan gave Jiang Yifan a somewhat sorrowful glance, her heart clouding with worry.

In this era, although people are not like moderns who believe that a woman cannot remarry, if there isn’t a very substantial reason, such as maltreatment by the husband’s family or the husband being intolerable to live with, there’s completely no justification for divorce under pleasant day-to-day circumstances.

In the eyes of the world, if one had a good life with their in-laws, if the parents-in-law were kind and the husband wasn’t abusive, and at most the wife was neglected by the husband, if she still wanted a divorce, that would surely be regarded as being discontent, and she would be subject to public criticism.

As a person from modern times, Ye Xinyan, even though she was in ancient times, was always busy with her affairs and, with the bizarre protection of her grandfather Duke An and people like Prince Yu, naturally did not fear others’ criticism and didn’t bear psychological burdens.

But it was different for Madam Yin. She was a true person of ancient times, raised since childhood with lessons on the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, a typical woman of the inner quarters, and she lived the life of the female relatives of the inner quarters.

Asking Madam Yin to withstand the criticism and disdain from others, to bear the guilt of violating moral teachings and rites, would be worse than leaving her to live out the rest of her days in the cold insulation of Duke An’s Mansion. Although filled with desolation and loathing, she could be at peace.

She had hinted broadly and repeatedly, but Madam Yin was not moved in the slightest, not even considering it.

Ye Xinyan glanced at Jiang Yifan again, seeing that he was still waiting for her response.

She said, "I can see that my mother is very unhappy living in Duke An’s Mansion. Ye Yuan is such an adorable child, and my mother is a person who loves children, yet every time she sees Ye Yuan, she avoids him from afar. Although she tries hard to conceal it, she really cannot bring herself to like Ye Yuan at all, and she is also very reluctant to see Maternal Aunt Zhao."

Jiang Yifan immediately understood Ye Xinyan’s implication. How could he marry her in such circumstances?

Sure enough, Ye Xinyan continued, "Now that I am living in the mansion, my mother, seeing me, feels somewhat better. If I marry and leave, Duke An’s Mansion, for my mother, would be nothing but a shackle and a place of loathing. To let my mother endure and spend her remaining days there, I cannot bear it."

Jiang Yifan saw that Ye Xinyan’s mood had sunk while she spoke and quickly sought to reassure her, "As long as you, Ah Yan, have thought it through, that’s all that matters. I’m just afraid that you haven’t considered everything thoroughly, and once your aunt leaves Duke An’s Mansion, lives a life subjected to finger-pointing, without a place to go, you might regret it when it’s too late."

"That will not happen. No matter what, it will always be better than leaving my mother in a place that makes her unhappy, enduring her days in gloom."

Madam Yin had half a lifetime still ahead of her, and thinking about Zhao Gang’s consistent protection of Madam Yin and the original owner, Ye Xinyan firmly believed her decision was right.

Jiang Yifan had long noticed that Ye Xinyan treated Zhao Gang quite differently, probably with the intention of matching Madam Yin with Zhao Gang. However, Madam Yin had been made infertile by drugs, so even if she remarried, it would be fraught with disadvantages.

It was clear to everyone that the father and son of Marquis Zhongyong were very fond of Madam Yin and could even tolerate her excessive spoiling and indulgence of her daughter. But the very fact that Madam Yin had been drugged and had remained at Duke An’s Mansion, unable to bear children, was a very important reason.

No family would be willing to marry in a woman who could not bear offspring for the family.

Jiang Yifan pondered for a long time before reminding her, "Everyone knows about Aunt’s ailment, have you ever thought about the issue of family continuity after Aunt’s passing?" If she was to remarry Zhao Gang, wouldn’t it be necessary to consider this?

Ye Xinyan glared at Jiang Yifan, what did he mean by that? Did he see women just as tools for bearing children; thus, he thought her mother could not be wanted?

Jiang Yifan returned Ye Xinyan’s look innocently, he was talking about his mother-in-law, not his wife Ah Yan. In this world, which woman could be as lucky as you, Ah Yan, to have an outstanding man waiting and guarding you, no matter what kind of person you are.

Ye Xinyan glared at him for a long while, not expecting his gaze to not only show no trace of apology but even a tendency to melt into tenderness... was he an acting master...?

Forget it. Considering he was a native ancient person, carrying the heavy responsibility of continuing the family line, she decided not to argue with him. Ye Xinyan waved her hand in annoyance, dispelling that pool of tenderness.

"In this world, there are couples who cannot bear children. My mother is patient and knows how to care for children. In the future, adopting or taking in a few children, after a hundred years, my mother and her new husband will still have descendants to honor them."

Uh, Ah Yan wasn’t moved by his beauty and affection.

Jiang Yifan could only nod helplessly and said, "Alright, I got it, I will figure something out. After all, you are the one who stays by Aunt’s side, you know best how she lives now. If Aunt is happy being with you, it does not matter if she doesn’t remarry. At most, we can bring her over here to stay."

Having said that, he was still smiling at Ye Xinyan, with a brilliance in his eyes that the dark night could not conceal.

That’s the advantage of having thick skin—it means not shrinking back even when faced with setbacks, still able to say anything. Listen to how he speaks, "bring her over here?" Is he being too smooth? Where is this "here" exactly?

"Um, it’s getting late... I should head back. Lord Jiang, don’t linger on your way, and get home early," Ye Xinyan hurried off before this guy could notice the blush on her face, not even bothering with the pretext of a farewell.

Her face was red, huh. Jiang Yifan touched his chin, watching Ye Xinyan’s figure enter the corner gate. Although Ah Yan was shy and moved, he took it as Ah Yan agreeing to our proposition of having her stay with us. However, the desire to quickly follow in his elder’s and Sixth Master’s footsteps and resolve personal issues seemed unattainable.

...

The railroad from Jiangbei Prefecture to South Zhejiang Prefecture starts at the northern end of Ji County, in Jiangbei, close to the capital.

Since the court had previously constructed a transportation railroad, and the initial design of that railroad was the work of Ye Xinyan, Wong Qiao, and a low-ranking clerk from Prince Yu’s Mansion.

With the experience of laying the Peach Grove railroad, Qi Younian was very confident about this railroad project. Now, with the materials supplied by the Ministry of Public Works not yet in place, what they needed to do was to survey the route given by the Cabinet and prepare for the start of construction, which included leveling the ground and clearing obstacles among other preparations.