CHAPTER 803: CHAPTER 801: MUCH COMPLAINING

Ye Xinyan was quite stunned by such a blunt remark from Duke An. What was going on?

Duke An continued with displeasure, "You wouldn’t leave Brother Jia and Brother Shun at the marquis’s mansion, would you?"

Ye Xinyan understood at once. Ever since she said she wanted to go to the construction site, Duke An had been full of discontent, looking at everyone unfavorably.

With Madam Yin gone from the Duke’s Mansion, if Ye Xinyan left as well, and with Ye Hongyang, the incompetent son, showing a sour face to the children, why would the Qi family’s children still visit the Duke’s Mansion?

If the Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion took this opportunity to lead the Qi family away too...

Thinking this way, Duke An felt the future of the Duke’s Mansion was bleak.

Ye Xinyan stepped forward and supported Duke An’s arm, walking back while smiling, "Grandfather, what are you saying? If Qi Jiaer and the others stayed at the marquis’s mansion, when my grandfather comes back, he’ll be all alone, wouldn’t he have no one to accompany him?"

Duke An’s expression improved somewhat.

"It’s so late, why aren’t you resting? Isn’t there court in the morning?"

Duke An grumbled, "The family’s matters aren’t sorted out, what court to attend?" He’s quite old now, and it was only after this brat came back that he started attending court frequently, afraid she’d cause some big incident and he’d miss the chance to act first.

"Where’s Young Master Qi? Did you send him back to the Qi family?" Duke An asked.

"Yes, it’s so late, of course, they should be sent back first, let them sleep early. They have to get up early to train tomorrow."

Duke An walked along, frowning, "With you and your mother not around, wouldn’t the two brothers feel uncomfortable coming in and out of our mansion? How about we separate the courtyard to the west and let Old Master Qi’s family live there? We can look after each other, and Brother Yuan and Brother Jia can be closer. What do you think?"

"Isn’t it unnecessary?" The moment Ye Xinyan said these few words, Duke An’s face sank.

Ye Xinyan smiled, "It’s truly unnecessary. You’re just worried Brother Yuan doesn’t have a reliable person to play with, right? If needed, let me take Brother Yuan away with me; I’ll certainly make sure he grows strong and healthy."

Duke An glared at her. If it were doable, he might agree, but Ye Yuan was too young, really inconvenient to follow her around.

Ye Xinyan could naturally understand Duke An’s thoughts; he merely wants Ye Yuan to have more exposure to Qi Jia and Qi Sanshun, to toughen up and get an early start on martial arts. He shouldn’t stay in the Duke’s Mansion surrounded by women and become spoiled.

"Grandfather, don’t worry. I’ve already talked with Big Brother Guan. You can let the wet nurse take Ye Yuan and have him occasionally stay at Zi Ning’s courtyard, let Zi Ning take care of him. That way, Brother Yuan can play with Qi Jiaer every day, and he can watch them practice martial arts, adapting early to these matters."

This was indeed a solution, which made Duke An’s expression a bit better.

Duke An’s thoughts shifted and he asked Ye Xinyan, "Zheng Pengfei’s skills are quite good too. Your construction site is just watching over some engineering materials, not worth much money. Regular guards would suffice, why not invite him back..."

Ye Xinyan looked at Duke An with a knowing smile, making the old man awkwardly stop, unable to continue.

Ye Yuan at such a young age doesn’t need a martial arts master. Duke An clearly had eyes on Zheng Pengfei, wanting to keep him around.

But, what would you keep Zheng Pengfei here for? To have him idle around? Even if he was willing, Zheng Pengfei might not be.

"Grandfather, Big Brother Guan and Big Brother Zheng are right here with us. If Brother Yuan wants to apprentice, it’s much more convenient than others. Even if they don’t want to be constrained, Jiang Yifan surely has other Jianghu friends. Ye Yuan won’t be delayed."

Duke An nodded, indeed, that youngster, he had previously misjudged him.

"Earlier, you and Yuanfan were married for three years. I didn’t know he had such opportunities, having been trained with martial arts masters in Jianghu."

"Although Yuanfan’s martial skills aren’t top-notch, ordinary martial artists can’t harm him. Most importantly, he sincerely befriends many Jianghu people, which isn’t easy for a scholar."

Historically, scholars have looked down on military generals and never considered those mingling in Jianghu as decent people. Jiang Yifan could read so well and also deeply engage with Jianghu folks, which greatly satisfied Duke An. This is why, even though Jiang Yifan deeply embarrassed the Duke’s Mansion back then, after three years when he returned, Duke An could better accept him.

Ye Xinyan merely hummed twice, noncommittal. It’s not just Duke An who didn’t know, even Ye Xinyan, though married to him for three years, didn’t know he had such roots.

She didn’t even know Jiang Yifan and Jinrong had such a close relationship.

This guy truly had deep plans, back when Ye Xinyan was causing a stir in his family and complaining to Madam Yin, he repeatedly faced reprimands and suppression from Madam Yin, yet never let Jinrong speak on his behalf.

If Jinrong had spoken back then, even if Madam Yin wanted to stand up for her daughter, she’d have to weigh things carefully.

If not for that incident at Duke An’s birthday feast back then, who knows how long their relationship would have been hidden? Jiang Yifan was a ministry officer at the time, not a high position, but he could move in the imperial court, useful to Jinrong.

Hmph, overall, people related to royal matters can’t be measured by common sense. Poor Ye Xinyan was in a difficult situation back then, basically coerced by Jinrong onto a pirate ship.

Thinking this way, Ye Xinyan’s eyes held less friendliness toward Duke An. If not for the old man forcibly taking her back to imprison her, would she have boarded the broken ship with Jinrong?

Duke An, walking well, suddenly felt cold all over. What was wrong with this brat again? She’s practically become an ancestor now, and nobody dared provoke her.

.........

Two days later, just as the southern gate of the capital opened, Ye Xinyan’s carriage headed out.

Madam Yin and Zhou Biyao, accompanied by Qi Jiaer, Qi Sanshun, and Lian Gui leading several subordinates, followed Ye Xinyan to the pipeline before stopping, reluctantly watching the procession of carriages move away.

The track commissioned by Guangsha Construction started not far from the capital, taking just over an hour to reach.

However, if the nearly thousand-mile winding wooden track were completed to its end, a round trip to the capital by carriage would take much more than three to five days.

If no unexpected situations arose, Ye Xinyan would likely remain at the construction site until the project was completed in winter before returning.

Thus, whether it was Madam Yin or Duke An, they both complained about her departure.

And Zhou Biyao too was full of reluctance. Although Ye Xinyan had made arrangements for the two gardens Guangsha Construction was building, without Wong Qiao and Ye Xinyan nearby to guide her, she felt uncertain doing the work.

But, nevertheless, Guangsha Construction had just started in the capital. Both manpower and resources were still being accumulated. During this period, one had to struggle a lot to gradually form a scale.

Only when Ye Xinyan and her group had disappeared from sight did Zhou Biyao compose herself and say to Madam Yin, "Madam Gu, let’s head back. With Lord Jiang accompanying, he can certainly take good care of Sister Qi."

Lian Gui then respectfully saluted Madam Yin from afar before leading several family servants back to the city on horseback.