She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 739 - 737 Suddenly Got Angry

Chapter 739: Chapter 737 Suddenly Got Angry

In fact, Ji Chengru was very reluctant to believe it was true, but the events that happened today at the Shi Mansion had been recounted publicly by a young maid from the Shi Mansion. Although it was difficult to claim every word was accurate, given that Ye Xinyi and so many others present had no objections, it could only mean the account was nearly factual, with at most a few discrepancies.

He refused to believe that with Ye Xinyi’s intelligence, she did not know what kind of consequences shouting those privately discussed words in public would bring about.

Moreover, what his mother had said about the past of Duke An’s Mansion filled him with sorrow. To put it plainly, when his parents proposed this marriage, they were actually speculating, banking on the fact that none of the four brothers could uphold their prestigious household. They were hoping to rely on the hereditary position of Duke An’s Mansion to support them, waiting for a talented and intelligent offspring in the next generation.

In other words, his parents were aware that this marriage to Duke An’s Mansion was flawed, they just had not expected Ye Xinyi to do something that would disgrace the Ji Mansion in public.

Ye Xinyi also stared blankly at Ji Chengru, who had mercilessly pierced through this veil of pretense, leaving her with no way to defend herself, uncertain how to do so.

Ji Chengru’s gaze fell on the teacup, and he was lost in thought for quite a while before he sighed deeply and said dejectedly, "Mother doesn’t trust you to raise the child. It’s late today, so she has only sent two wet nurses to stay in Brother Sheng’s room, but first thing tomorrow morning, Brother Sheng will be taken to Mother’s room to be raised."

"No!" Ye Xinyi couldn’t care for anything else and suddenly jumped up, "Brother Sheng is my child, my own flesh and blood; you can’t take him away."

As she spoke, Ye Xinyi, disregarding her image, grabbed Ji Chengru’s arm and shook it wildly, crying and pleading, "Husband, I beg you, I beg you, Brother Sheng is my life; I can live without my own life, but not without Brother Sheng."

Ji Chengru looked at Ye Xinyi, and his wife no longer had her usual grace and literary charm. Instead, she seemed delirious, her makeup mottled and her vehement shaking causing her hair bun to come loose, hairpins askew.

Ji Chengru felt sorrow in his heart at the sight of Ye Xinyi. What was the need for this? Was it so difficult to simply live a good life? Or was it that he had treated her poorly, or maybe she was discontent with her life since marrying him, leading her to create such disturbances?

If she could live peacefully, even without her father securing the position of the Princely Heir, with her dowry, intelligence, and his unwavering support, her days in the Ji Family would always be better than those of his three sisters-in-law.

Ji Chengru sighed inwardly, breaking free from Ye Xinyi’s hands, and said, "Don’t overthink it. With such an incident having occurred, it’s natural for Mother to be worried. If you can calm down and sincerely repent, after some time, I will plead with Mother on your behalf to bring Brother Sheng back."

After speaking, Ji Chengru stood up, dropped his final words, "You should rest early, don’t move around these days, take the time to quiet your mind and copy out scriptures." He then pulled on his outer robe, passed through the outer chamber, and left.

Ye Xinyi watched blankly as Ji Chengru left without room for dispute, and it took a long while before she realized that Ji Chengru would no longer be spending the night in her room.

The few words Ji Chengru left behind were, in essence, telling her that she was grounded, punished to copy Buddhist scriptures. This realization sank into her stunned mind, inexplicably making her think of Maternal Aunt Liu’s current situation.

......

Ye Xinyan and Madam Yin’s carriage, watched by many complicated gazes, left the General’s Mansion, escorted by eight guards, and quickly disappeared down the road.

The two guard captains who had stood firm in the inner court, much to Shi Zongyi’s annoyance, rode lazily on their horses far behind the Duke’s Mansion carriage, accompanied by Deputy Head of the Ministry of Revenue Jiang Yifan and two servants.

As the carriage entered the Duke’s Mansion, Jiang Yifan didn’t even have a chance to greet his fiancée before Guan He dragged him away, still grumbling, "Alright, alright, you big man, don’t be such a dawdler. We need to find a tavern quickly to give Brother Zheng a proper welcome."

Zheng Pengfei wasn’t much of a talker, only watching his martial brothers squabbling. He was a man of average stature, dressed in a gray cotton robe, with plain features that would not easily be remembered after several encounters. From his appearance, one could scarcely tell that he was a skilled warrior of the Jianghu.

Ye Xinyan had glanced at Zheng Pengfei when she left earlier, and from that single look, she understood why Zheng Pengfei could survive by robbing the rich to help the poor. With such an appearance, he was the kind of person perfectly suited for espionage, one who could vanish into a crowd and, even with careful scrutiny over a dozen times, would not attract any attention.

Jiang Yifan looked towards the closing gates of Duke An’s Mansion and then at Guan He. Forget it, his senior brother was going to be married in a few days and would come out to support Ah Yan, he had already exchanged a few words with Ah Yan. Indeed, it was time to welcome Brother Zheng first.

He had sent a servant to meet Zheng Pengfei at the city gate early that day, not expecting that Zheng Pengfei wouldn’t come to see him, but went straight to Guan He instead. Before he had time to share a cup of tea with Guan He, Ah Yan called for help.

He really had to thank Zheng Pengfei; one at the front gate and another at the back had secured the inner court of the General’s Mansion. Ah Yan’s presence was assured. He still remembered the look from Shi Zongyi, a mix of annoyance and envy, fiercely pursuing the backs of his senior brother and Zheng Pengfei.

......

Naturally, Duke An knew that several more guards had been sent from his household to General Huwei’s Mansion. Once Ye Xinyan returned and recounted the events, Duke An sighed with mixed feelings.

His granddaughter had stirred up such a significant incident, yet without the intervention of the marquis’s or duke’s mansions, she had come out on the favorable end, which pleased him.

However, when he thought of his second granddaughter who played a significant role in the event, the old master felt a small pang of regret, sensing that things were not quite perfect.

In Duke An’s eyes, Ye Xinyi, albeit spoiled by Maternal Aunt Liu and his son, selfish, and misusing her intelligence, was ultimately from Duke An’s Mansion. Her character being trampled upon was a slight to his honor as the head of her maternal family.

Fortunately, Duke An had a broad-minded perspective, not dwelling on such matters. Which family didn’t have a black sheep or two? That he had one granddaughter who brought honor to the family was already commendable, let alone in such an earth-shattering way.

He, who had been insignificant for so many years, had only begun to gain some confidence in the last two. A bit of dissatisfaction was nothing. Moreover, the one addressing the parent-teacher conference for his second granddaughter today was the old Ji Xiaoyuan, who prides himself on his distinguished scholarly family and nobility, yet he had to face that embarrassment too, right?

Duke An took it easy, believing the stir his granddaughter caused was enormous. To be honest, it was far from earth-shattering, but it had indeed disturbed the Son of Heaven.

The Emperor, seated high on the throne, having seldom had the opportunity to step out of the imperial city since his ascension, was not truly secluded from information or only influenced by the flattery of court officials.

That morning, several high-ranking elderly officials suddenly left, and a few minor Ministry of War officials also took leave from their superiors and departed from their offices.

By the afternoon, the heads of departments had suddenly become irritable. Tasks that could have been addressed cordially now provoked furious thunder. The officials, unsure of the reason, were all extremely cautious, tiptoeing around their duties, for fear a tiny mishap or the slightest noise could provoke the sharp gaze of their superiors to cut their way.