She Became A Downfall Noble Lady-Chapter 53 - Here We Go Again

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Here We Go Again

Chapter 53 -53: Here We Go Again

Ye Xinyan took a brief rest, and when Nanny Jin and Qi Jia woke up, she also got up with them.

Qi Younian in the outer room had only dozed off for a while. Hearing the quiet conversation between Ye Xinyan and the others in the inner room, he stopped lying down and got up to work.

Since Ye Xinyan had already decided to tell Qi Younian about Jinrong’s identity, she had to start with her own. As they worked, she detailed the past of the young mistress of the Duke’s Mansion to him.

Ye Xinyan’s narration gave Qi Younian a shock much more intense than when he had shared his past with her. He was so startled that he stopped his work several times.

His Ye Zi turned out to be the legitimate granddaughter of Duke An from the capital, and what’s more, the wealthy young master who had patronized their small stall today was actually… actually the son of the emperor!

Good heavens, was he still a peasant from Clear Water Village in Qingyuan County? How could he meet such noble people in such a remote little place?

What made Qi Younian even more incredulous was the contrast between the young mistress of the Duke’s Mansion and his granddaughter. He had no firsthand feeling for the young mistress of the Duke’s Mansion as described by Ye Xinyan. His Ye Zi, no matter how you looked at her, was kind and wise, nothing like the unbearable image Ye Xinyan had depicted of herself.

At this point, Qi Younian was too shocked and simply stopped the work in his hands, only to be preoccupied with the past as told by Ye Xinyan.

After a long while, Qi Younian finally asked with a worried heart, “Ye Zi, if someone already knows you’re here, might the Duke send people to take you back one day?”

He had just found his family and just felt the warmth of being with his loved ones. If Ye Zi and Nanny Jin left, he couldn’t bear to think how he would get through the days that followed.

Ye Xinyan smiled. “Grandpa, you don’t know what life is like for a prestigious clan. Although Prince Yu is the emperor’s son, he is an idle prince and doesn’t bother with many things. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t reveal my whereabouts. Furthermore, even if the Duke’s Mansion knows I’m alive, if they have any consideration for familial affection, they will pretend not to know about it. If they don’t care about familial affection, for the sake of the Duke’s Mansion’s reputation, they won’t just not take me back; they might even send someone to silence me.”

Ye Xinyan’s words startled Qi Younian and made him even more worried. “How can this be? If they find out you’re here and really harm you, why don’t we, grandfather and grandchildren, leave here and hide for a while?”

Qi Younian’s words deeply moved Ye Xinyan. She knew how much he cherished his homeland, yet he was willing to leave again because of her.

“Grandpa needn’t worry, we have just settled down; let’s not move for now. We’ll wait and see if there are changes in the situation. If there truly comes such a day, Nanny Jin and I can run once, and we can surely run a second time,” said Ye Xinyan, not quite believing her own words.

This identity had not come easily, and now that she had Qi Younian and Qi Jia, she couldn’t simply walk away.

She could only place her hopes on Jinrong, hoping he wouldn’t leak her situation so she could live peacefully for a few years. If she could live quietly for five or six years, even if the Duke’s Mansion found out about her, considering that she had been living peacefully like a civilian woman, they would probably be too lazy to bother with her again, and she would truly be at peace.

She wasn’t blindly trusting Jinrong. Last year in the capital, she had encountered Jinrong, who should have recognized her then, yet he didn’t reveal that she was still alive and hiding in the slums. Since Prince Yu didn’t intend to expose her at the time, he certainly wouldn’t change his mind or accidentally misspeak.

Could an emperor’s son be idle if he wished? If he didn’t have extraordinary intelligence, sharpness, and a resolute character, he would have probably been dragged into the strife among princes long ago. How could he have the leisure to come to this small town far from the capital, enjoying the simple food of commoners?

Qi Younian was not someone who had been cloistered from the world. Ye Xinyan decided to share her thoughts with him, so that Qi Younian could rest assured that Prince Yu was far from an idle person and had his own plans.

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Given the current situation, Ye Xinyan’s identity faced no immediate danger of being exposed, so life in the second branch of the Qi family continued as normal. The only difference was the addition of the young Qi Jia to their household.

As Qi Jia’s burn scars on his back gradually healed, Qi Younian proposed the official adoption of Qi Jia.

With Qi Yougui as a witness, the process was smooth. In the presence of Qi Yougui and He Quantai, a simple ceremony was held in the ancestral hall of the Qi Family Clan to formally adopt Qi Jia, with representatives from both Qi Younian and Qi Yourong’s families attending.

Afterward, with He Quantai and the local Lizheng’s assistance, they completed the paperwork, changing Qi Jia’s household registration and name, and filed the records at the county government office.

From that moment on, Qi Jia was truly Qi Younian’s grandson and the male heir responsible for continuing the legacy of the second branch of the Qi family.

Qi Younian was right; after a few initial days of anxiety and unease, Qi Jia gradually adjusted to life in the second branch of the Qi family, attracted by the various paper toys Ye Xinyan made for him. Although he was still cautious about observing others’ expressions, he was no longer constantly on edge and avoiding eye contact, nor was he staring blankly ahead. The once tightly sealed lips occasionally let slip a few words.

Qi Younian was delighted by the pleasing changes in his grandson and, driven by his love for the boy, gathered a lot of wood and set to work on making a pedal car for the little one.

Despite Jinrong’s attempt to disrupt the business, the small business of the second branch of the Qi family remained prosperous, much to Qi Younian’s comfort.

After His Highness Prince Yu, also known as Sixth Master, visited the Qi family’s small stall for six days, his grand presence graced their establishment once more.

Nanny Jin, with Ye Xinyan’s reassuring words and comfort, was much more composed when she saw Jinrong sitting at their stall again. Even Qi Younian, who had always lived a humble civilian life, quickly regained his composure after his initial shock and restraint.

The three of them worked smoothly together—flipping pancakes, serving rice tofu, and dishing out the main food—treating Prince Yu with no more and no less regard than any other customer, prompting Jinrong to raise an eyebrow inquisitively.

It seemed that Ye Xinyan and her servants had decided not to acknowledge his identity and treat him as a regular patron, after all?

Looking at the rice tofu brought to him by the old man, Jinrong pseudo-complained, “Why is it still this topping? Didn’t you say you were going to make a different one?”

Qi Younian quickly bowed and responded, “Replying to your Highness, my family runs a small-scale business and doesn’t yet have sufficient capital to prepare the kind of topping you mentioned. We are saving up silver taels, and as soon as we have enough saved up, we will immediately start making the kind you suggested.”

Dealing with people, as long as one spoke with sufficient respect and sincerity, could fend off some difficulties.

Jinrong was about to speak again when he saw the child from the other day cautiously approaching with a plate in his hands, holding corn pancakes.

The child came up to Qi Younian and called out “Grandfather” in a not very clear voice.

Qi Younian took the plate, fondly stroked the child’s head, and placed the plate in front of Jinrong.

Jinrong’s gaze fell on Qi Jia, and he grew quite curious about where the child had come from—was he perhaps someone Ye Xinyan had found?