She Became A Downfall Noble Lady

As this thought arose, Maternal Aunt Liu’s composure began to falter. If things were as she feared, wasn’t her decision to use the recipe to divide shares in Madam Yin’s Pastry House a foolish move? No wonder Madam Yin had brought the matter to Duke An; she had the cheesecake recipe in her possession all along.

This despicable wretch! She had the cheesecake recipe and yet kept it hidden, what was she waiting for? Was she waiting for her to make a fool of herself, waiting for her to be punished by Duke An and his wife?

Duke An took in Ye Hongyang’s and Maternal Aunt Liu’s expressions, one clueless, the other enlightened; both so starkly obvious and so irritating to the eye.

He spoke slowly, "When Lian Gui returned from Yuyuan Prefecture, Qi Ye brought back two cookbooks for Madam Yin. Besides the cookbooks, there were also several recipes for desserts and dishes made with cheese, far more than the recipes you’ve copied onto these two pieces of paper. Additionally, Madam Yin has methods for making dried cottage cheese and butter with cow’s milk; it’s not difficult, one can manage by simply following the methods. Thus," Duke An’s eyes filled with pity as he looked at Ye Hongyang," Madam Yin must have despised you, looked down on you deeply, seeing you divide her business with these few recipes. How could she possibly respect you?"

Ye Hongyang’s eyes widened in shock. How could this be, it couldn’t be, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! The cheesecake recipe was brought back from Yuyuan Prefecture by the Butler of Prince Yu’s Mansion, how would Madam Yin know about it? If she knew the recipe, wouldn’t those two Pastry Houses have already started selling cheesecake desserts?"

Duke An’s palm swept across the tabletop, taking the two pieces of paper and handing them back to Ye Hongyang, saying, "I didn’t wish to become overly involved with several princes, so I admonished Madam Yin that she mustn’t use the cheese or let anyone know about the cheesecake, but she could do as she wished with the other items in the cookbook. Hence, although she opened a Pastry House with the cookbook, she did not use any cheese in it."

Ye Hongyang’s eyes swept furiously across the faces in the room, finally settling on the Duchess, "Mother, is this true? Why didn’t you tell me? Ye Xinyan is a person of Duke An’s Mansion; what she brought back doesn’t just belong to Madam Yin, as her father, I am the real person in charge of the cookbooks and recipes.

The Duke’s Mansion can’t just raise her for nothing, bringing up the Duke’s Mansion when there is shame, but claiming all the benefits for themselves when there’s profit to be had. Where is the reason in that?"