Chapter 3: Chapter 3 Sweeping Out the Door Chapter 3: Chapter 3 Sweeping Out the Door After the entire process of formal proposals and dowry exchanges, Ye Xinyan, at the age of fifteen, upon reaching the age of maturity, got her wish and married Jiang Yifan.
As the saying goes, it’s easy to fall in love but hard to live together. This couldn’t be truer.
Ye Xinyan cried and made a fuss to marry Jiang Yifan, but once her wish was fulfilled and she married him, she got along with him terribly.
She was still that imperious person and believed her status to be noble. She expected Jiang Yifan not only to serve her carefully and honor her above all else but also to love and cherish her even more.
Jiang Yifan was considered a favored son of the heavens, outstanding in every manner since childhood. He could tolerate Ye Xinyan’s arrogance and unreasonableness once or twice, but day in and day out, no one could bear it, let alone Jiang Yifan.
In just a few months, the two of them grew tired of each other. Especially Jiang Yifan, who, not long after Ye Xinyan entered the household, saw the two Senior Maids who had served him get punished and killed without Ye Xinyan even bothering to give him a reason.
Jiang Yifan felt chilled to the bone by Ye Xinyan’s ruthlessness and even became reluctant to spare her another glance.
But Ye Xinyi, her half-sister, was different. With the careful selection of Maternal Aunt Liu and the protection of Duke’s Heir Apparent, her beauty and talent were there for all to see. After a meticulous selection, she married the youngest son of the Imperial Academy Libationer.
The Imperial Academy Libationer held a fourth rank in the imperial court. Strictly speaking, those eligible for such a position were scholars of great learning, enjoying more prestige than even Second Rank officials, receiving compliments from students and parents wherever they went and respected by those in the scholarly community.
As the wife of the Imperial Academy Libationer’s son, Ye Xinyi enjoyed much greater prominence than Jiang Yifan’s wife, who had no significant foundation and was only a low-ranked seventh officer.
Moreover, whether intentionally or not, Ye Xinyi always showed off her marital harmony and illustrious family lineage in front of Ye Xinyan.
This only made the thoughtless Ye Xinyan more envious. Whenever she thought about how her younger half-sister, whom she had always outshone, could marry so well and lead such a comfortable life, her anger was uncontrollable. This directly led to the scandal at Duke’s birthday celebration.
Ye Xinyan knew that her scandal was widely known; to others, it was a disgrace, a profound humiliation. But for Jiang Yifan, this event that would otherwise embarrass him was unexpectedly welcome.
The scandal provided him with the perfect opportunity to completely rid himself of his ruthless and foolish noble wife.
In the end, the Crown Prince’s wife said tearfully, “Yesterday should have been your grandfather’s birthday celebration, a joyous occasion, yet this incident occurred. Your grandfather was furious, and he wanted to send you to the ancestral temple immediately. It was only after your mother’s heartfelt pleas that he relented and postponed it until tomorrow morning. Ah Yan, your mother has done all she could, so don’t be angry. First, go along with their wishes and show up at the ceremony. In a few days, your mother will find a way to get you out.”
Ye Xinyan lowered her head without a word. The ancestral temple? She did not want to go there. Even if the wife of the heir apparent could get her out after a few days, she could imagine what kind of life lay ahead for her—it would surely be a life of hiding and skulking out of sight.
The damned original owner had lived her fill of the high life, wrecked all that could be wrecked, and when misfortune struck, she found Ye Xinyan to take her place. If Ye Xinyan could return to her own world, that would be fine, but if not, according to her so-called mother’s plan, wouldn’t she be doomed to live like a mouse for the rest of her life? Wouldn’t that be just too miserable?
As for the Duke’s Mansion and Jiang Yifan, she forgave them for not having that kind of sentimental attachment. She had no past with them, and it would indeed be best if they never saw each other again.
From the moment the incident occurred yesterday, Ye Xinyan had been unconscious for more than a day. Now that she had awakened, apart from her mother, Madam Yin, no one else had come to even glance at her.
Part of this was due to the original owner’s unpopularity, but the greater reason was that most people believed she had no future and were unwilling to waste any more effort on her.
After all, who cares about a dead dog.
Everyone believed that for Ye Xinyan, after this incident, she was completely toppled to the bottom and would never have a chance to turn things around again; there was, thus, no need to pay her any further attention.
So, even Maternal Aunt Liu, who was favored by the Crown Prince, didn’t bother showing Ye Xinyi the outcome. Yesterday, she had sent Ye Xinyi off in a carriage early in the morning to return to her parents’ home, to avoid being implicated by Ye Xinyan’s affairs. Even her two sons went to school as usual today and were not at home.
Maternal Aunt Liu was even too lazy to pay attention to what happened in Ye Xinyan’s courtyard. From now on, Madam Yin would only bear the empty title of wife of the heir apparent, but she would no longer have any support. After her son succeeded as Duke An, Madam Yin would have to live at the mercy of her, a concubine.
Just thinking about such days filled her with joy.
As for that foolish Ye Xinyan, from now on, whether she was in the ancestral temple or not, she could only live like a rat in the gutters, insignificant and unworthy of fear.
Brimming with happiness, Maternal Aunt Liu’s face showed a genuine sense of delight as she gazed at the clusters of precious flowers and plants in the garden that had not yet withered.
That very evening, only after being sweet-talked and cajoled by Ye Xinyan, did Madam Yin finally return to her own courtyard, with great reluctance.
Ye Xinyan sent all the maids away, keeping only Nanny Jin in the room. She asked, “I heard from Mother that Jiang Yifan has already sent back my dowry?”
Considering her mistress had encountered a scandal significant enough to ruin her life, Nanny Jin was already resigned to her unfortunate fate, preparing for the possibility of being beaten to death. Yet, she was miraculously escorted back, and it seemed as if nothing had happened.
For a moment, Nanny Jin was overwhelmed by a mix of emotions, uncertain which immortal to thank for their sudden act of compassion, which made her mistress, who usually treated people like dirt, show a moment of kindness and pull them back from Ghost Gate Pass.
Hearing Ye Xinyan’s question, she quickly answered, “To reply to the young mistress, the master… I mean, Master Jiang had already sent your dowry back yesterday as it got dark. The Senior Maid in charge of the wife of the heir apparent has already checked off the dowry list, and nothing is missing.”
Logically, the person who knew the most about Ye Xinyan’s dowry was Nanny Jin, but she had already been tied up at that time, so the dowry had been received on her behalf by the housekeeper beside Madam Yin.
Ye Xinyan smiled faintly and said, “Master Jiang? Is he so anxious to disassociate himself from a Ye Family girl in his haste to break ties?”
Nanny Jin opened her mouth but ultimately did not say anything.
Ye Xinyan knew as well that Nanny Jin had advised her to get along with her husband, and she had urged her so much that her lips had grown thin, yet she did not heed the advice. At this point, what more was there to say?
Moreover, Ye Xinyan later regretted marrying Jiang Yifan, and probably Nanny Jin truly didn’t know what to say anymore.
Even though Ye Xinyan knew it was not Jiang Yifan’s fault, being unceremoniously and urgently swept out the door still felt like a blow to her pride.
She suppressed the displeasure on her face and asked again, “Where are your contracts?”
Nanny Jin paused for a moment, then said, “Your dowry, the bulk of it, had been taken into storage, and items like jewelry and clothing were packed away by the wife of the heir apparent. I suppose the maids’ contracts are with her as well.”
Ye Xinyan’s eyes were on Nanny Jin, but her thoughts were focused on how to escape from the Duke’s Mansion.