She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 735 - 733: The Default Battlefield for Female Relatives

Chapter 735: Chapter 733: The Default Battlefield for Female Relatives

Liu Chengzhi’s face was filled with the strained color of constipation, of course, accompanied by a heavy shadow of anger.

Just moments ago, the two had reached a certain consensus on an event, yet Han Yanhui, seeing Liu Chengzhi like this, still felt a sense of pleasure.

Jinrong subtly glanced at Jiang Yifan, thinking that this youngster was becoming more cunning, proposing such a logical yet unreasonable suggestion, clearly intending to make the two dignitaries suffer.

What followed was much simpler. Neither Ye Xinyan nor Jiang Yifan, although their side had a full grasp of reason, could actually allow the various nobles, led by the two high officials, to apologize and make guarantees to them in front of everyone.

After pondering for a while, Ye Xinyan reminded herself that she must speak plainly to the opposition, as if holding a parent-teacher meeting for these clueless children. It was to let these parents from wealthy families hear just how ignorant and insensitive their children were, to give them a clear idea of the situation, so they could discipline their offspring accordingly.

The scene of Great Xia Dynasty’s one and only wealthy parent-teacher meeting was a bit shabby, not due to the General’s Mansion’s lack of funds, but rather because the mansion lacked such a grand venue.

Madam Liu, under much difficulty, had no choice but to use screens to divide the back courtyard’s main hall, arranging the parents of each household on one side of the screen and the female relatives who participated in the banquet on the other.

There were no elaborately carved chairs, huanghuali wood desks, or small tables—simply because there was no room for them.

Both sides of the screen were lined with brocade stools, and for those who couldn’t get a brocade stool, they would just have to bear the inconvenience of sitting on ordinary high stools.

Although Han Yanhui was annoyed, the troublemaker was Ye Xinyan, and she had the substantial financial support of the Sixth Prince. Besides, having suffered a loss at her hands once, when the situation recurred, he had developed a certain tolerance.

Not so for Liu Chengzhi and the other high-ranking officials and several family heads. They had almost forgotten how many years it had been since they felt so stifled. At this moment, to be completely unreasonable and make a big fuss by a woman, they had to grit their back teeth and endure, it was like they were going to suffocate with internal injuries, right?

All the family heads, regardless of age or position, had faces as pale as death, eyes cold, each staring at their respective areas, without the face or mood to exchange pleasantries with those around. Even those opportunists who usually sought chances to cozy up to the dignitaries now remained silent, not daring to provoke the wrath of those who could ’cover the sky with one hand’.

Almost unanimously, everyone’s gaze eventually focused on a young man standing to one side.

The granddaughter of Duke An did not need to navigate the Imperial Court and had the support of her profound family background, so naturally, they couldn’t do anything to her. But that Jiang lad...

For a while, Jiang Yifan, standing respectfully to the side, received countless dagger looks. Fortunately, dagger looks had no lethality; otherwise, Jiang Yifan might have died countless times over.

In such a situation, Ye Xinyan still knew to restrain herself. She stood on the female relatives’ side of the screen, acting as the teacher or host of this parents’ meeting, or something of that sort.

This time, she didn’t trouble Grandma Wang, but chose that articulate maid and let her recount the day’s events in the side hall, along with everyone’s words.

As the maid spoke, Ye Xinyan herself was not idle. She interrupted from time to time to clarify the hidden meanings behind some of the ambiguous words. It wasn’t that those present weren’t smart enough, but their bellies were filled with too many twists and turns, too clever; unless you beat the drum loudly in their faces, they would pretend to be confused.

To prevent some from playing dumb later and wasting time, she could only continue attracting hatred here.

After the young girl finished retelling, Ye Xinyan, who was sitting to the side, also completed her explanation. Only then did she ask in a very sincere tone, raising her voice to the people on either side of the screen, "I’m not sure if the recitation of the young miss just now contained any errors?"

Both sides were silent, the expressions on each person’s face varied, but the irritation, embarrassment, and shame were the same.

Who would have thought that the customary social interactions of the women in the backhouse, the battlefield among female relatives that had been taken for granted generation after generation, would today be exposed by someone who did not follow the rules? And the battlefield that everybody had grown accustomed to, when exposed, turned out to be something so shameful that it couldn’t be discussed openly.

How humiliating! If there weren’t others around, they would be beating their chests and stomping their feet in frustration.

The faces of the two high-ranking officials were turning green, and the faces of Ji Xiaoyuan and others were as dark as the bottom of a pot.

In the midst of everyone’s silence, there was a reluctant acceptance of the young girl’s retelling, a silent protest of the situation, and more importantly, a feeling of being stripped naked with shame.

What kind of education did that old fellow Ye Tang give his children? Someone with status, cunning, and manners, who would tear down something that everyone had approved of so unsightly?

"Oh, so there aren’t any," Ye Xinyan decreed to the silent room, and then she continued, "Then, does anyone have any objections to the explanation the young widow just gave?"

Old man Liu Chengzhi was on the verge of slamming his hand on the table. Dammit, just finish the darn thing already! We’re sitting here because we have no choice. We’ve already been humiliated to this extent; who would argue with a divorcee who should not be seen in public over right or wrong? Wouldn’t that just add to our disgrace?

Minor Subsidiary Liu turned his head around, looking for a table to bang on. Bloody hell, he was in a right mess! That old rascal from Ye Tang really was a piece of work, raising such a scourge!

Ye Xinyan didn’t need to peek to know that the faces of the parents across the screen, whether young or old, must be turning green. After the young girl’s narration and her own commentary, the change in complexion of the young ladies, the young madams, and their elders on the side of the female guests spoke volumes.

Ye Xinyi had thought her plan was very thorough. She had not discussed her legitimate elder sister, nor had she premeditated anything; she had simply seized an opportunity.

Besides, even if things escalated, she could defend herself by claiming her words were spoken in defense of her legitimate elder sister. She could excuse her inappropriate remarks as being too indignant at the time, and at most, be blamed for a lack of consideration.

She was willing to accept the responsibility for this oversight because the harm it would cause Ye Xinyan was enough to outweigh any punishment she would face.

However, Ye Xinyan had specifically pointed out those few comments Ye Xinyi thought were veiled. The full malice in her words then became undeniably evident.

If not directly addressed, people might not have taken the comments seriously. However, being exposed in front of everyone made the malice indisputable, especially as the target of the scheme was her own elder sister from her parent’s home.

With everyone already having their own understanding, any further defense would only result in further humiliation.

Although Ye Xinyi put on a tearfully pitiful facade, she could still feel the disdain in people’s eyes. She didn’t even dare to glance at her mother-in-law, Madam Zhou up front because of her, a high-ranking divorcee was challenging the honor of her proud mother-in-law. She could hardly imagine what she would face when she got home.

On the other side of the screen, Ji Xiaoyuan, who was having a parent-teacher meeting for her fourth daughter-in-law, clearly had a tough expression on her face. But in order not to draw more attention or to be talked about by even more people, she had to suppress her anger and sit in uncomfortable silence like everyone else.