She Became A Downfall Noble Lady

Ye Xinyan said, "Madam Zhao must have heard the term ’benevolent mother, filial son,’ correct? First comes maternal benevolence, then filial piety. If the mother isn’t benevolent, how can we speak of filial piety? The moment Madam Zhao had servants available but chose to let only her daughter-in-law attend her at all times, that’s when Madam Zhao lost any semblance of a senior’s kindness. What filial piety is there to speak of then?"

Seeing that Lady Zhao furrowed her brows and remained silent, Ye Xinyan asked, "Is Madam Zhao suffering from an illness, or so frail as to be incapable of self-care?"

Lady Zhao was startled.

Ye Xinyan’s expression grew somber as she calmly said, "My mother was a legitimate daughter of a marquis, and I was raised from childhood surrounded by servants, which is why I needed people to wait on me. It was the same for me originally, but since I left Duke An’s Mansion and started doing things on my own, I haven’t needed anyone to serve me. Wong Qiao, you know what happened back then, I’m not wrong, am I?"

Wong Qiao first glanced apologetically at Lady Zhao, then replied, "Yes, when Ye Zi left, she did not have people to serve her. Even later, when His Highness Prince Yu sent people over for convenience, Ye Zi rarely made use of them."

Ye Xinyan then looked back at Jiu Yu and said, "These few were forced upon me by Lord Jiang, who saw me often at construction sites and workshops, surrounded by men, which was really inconvenient. Despite that, I never let anyone wait on me at all times.

I don’t understand what Madam Zhao is thinking. You’ve always been in good health and have always managed everything personally. How is it that as soon as it came to Wong Qiao taking a wife, you suddenly became so delicate, not only requiring attendance but also becoming more fastidious than the ladies of the noble and prestigious families of first and second rank in the capital, dismissing servants as inadequate and insisting that your daughter-in-law serve you at all times?"

Ye Xinyan looked at Lady Zhao with a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile.