Real Empress from a Noble Family

Chapter 277 I Want Her to Be Safe and Sound

“Yang is good at taking advantage!” Empress Dowager Gu, of course, would be concerned about Commandery Princess Ningtai’s death because Commandery Princess Ningtai was her to-be granddaughter-in-law. Looking at the report sent to her, Empress Dowager Gu couldn’t help but give a cold smile, “I only promised her to promote her son to be a Young Prince. But unexpectedly, she died, leaving her husband alone in the world!”

Maid Zheng asked discreetly, “Empress Dowager, do you approve?”

“Yes, I approve!” Empress Dowager Gu said. She added, “Why did I not approve? Prince’s Mansion of Xihe is an empty shell today. We just need to spend a little silver to support it. I am okay with anyone but Qiu Jinglan to be the Duke of Xihe. It costs me nothing. Now, Qiu Mengmin was convicted of disrespecting the official mother. But I haven’t heard anything bad about his son, Qiu Yinzhi. If Qiu Jinglan dares to say that he is the Young Prince of the former Duke of Xihe, I will accuse him of coveting the title of Prince!”

After all, Princess Yang intended to catch all the people in the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe in one try, except herself and her son. That was to say, if Qiu Yinzhi got the title of Prince, his father, brothers, sisters, aunts and nieces would die in the end. What a tragic story! He was younger than Qiu Jinglan but he had to face wolves, who wanted to steal his stuff. In particular, the stealer was a relative of the Jiang Family. For this reason, it was logical to suspect the Jiang Family of coveting others’ titles.

Empress Dowager Gu thought that the playboys in the Jiang Family finally did a favor for her. “Don’t waste time. You go and send maids and servants there, helping them with their business. Don’t delay. Or Empress Jiang may ruin our plan!”

She might not realize that the idea of a quick win she hammered out was exactly what Empress Jiang wanted, “Father, don’t worry about it. Yashuang intervened in the matter for his wife. But Gu, the b*tch, is the mastermind behind it! I will keep an eye on her. I reasoned as I keep an eye on her, she must want to make it quick and finalize it! The traces made by Yashuang will be covered up!”

Marquess Qin was not very happy after hearing her statement, “He set the decent business aside but did this or that for his wife all the time... He has no priorities.”

Empress Jiang thought so, too. But it was her mother who proposed strongly to let Qiu Yelan marry Jiang Yashuang. Considering this, she had to say, “As we know, Princess Ruan is Yashuang’s mother-in-law and Yashuang is usually a good boy. Even if he did not meet his parents-in-law personally, I think he respects them in his heart. My father raised Yashuang personally. I believe that you know him very well, right?”

He could respect his parents-in-law even if he didn’t meet them. For this reason, he could treat his own family membersvery well. Marquess Qin hoped that his descendants could get along well most of all. The Empress’s words softened him, “But it depends on the time. I think now is the time for him to learn, but he did not care about his learning. What does he want to do? And more, I don’t think this is a matter that whether he should do it personally. Although Qiu Jinglan got sick after hearing the news, it is not a business that needs him to deal with personally. Can’t he manage his business in bed? The news is related to Qiu Jinglan’s mother. It is his responsibility to cope with it.”

He said what he wanted to say, but Empress Jiang knew that Marquess Qin wouldn’t let it go. She smiled, “As father said, Qiu Jinglan and Qiu Yelan got sick after hearing the news. I don’t think they can manage the business well in their bad health. If there is anything wrong, it will be us who help them handle it. Right, father?”

Marquess Qin nodded without complaining about Jiang Yashuang. He then focused on their business, “As you know, the Prince of Qi said that somebody set him up to pretend to be dead. Qiyun is innocent now. But in the long run, we can’t guarantee that she can remain unchanged. To prevent it from happening again, I think we should figure out a plan. We’d better separate them.”

Empress Jiang pretended to hesitate, “But the eldest brother and his wife always care much about Qiyun...”

“What I just said is the words your eldest brother told me,” said Marquess Qin, looking at her, “So, don’t worry about it.”

“How about telling Qiyun to pretend to get sick and move to live on a farm in the suburb. Is this okay?” suggested the Empress. Actually, she got the plan earlier. She resumed, “If my eldest brother and his wife miss their daughter, they can go there without causing trouble.”

Marquess Qin nodded, “Do it as quickly as you can. We have many businesses to deal with in hand. So, we can spare our time to deal with other more important things.”

“But we can’t let her pretend to be sick for a long time, or rumors may spread. How about letting her get a minor hurt?” asked Empress Jiang. She added, “Let her fall from a high place. Anyway, she is young and she can recover quickly. If she pretends to get hurt, I don’t think it will be painful for her.”

She continued, “After she leaves the Prince of Qi, living on the farm, the Prince of Qi will be alone. We have to arrange another girl for him or Empress Dowager Gu may blame me for my negligence of duty.”

“You are in charge of this,” said Marquess Qin, not paying much attention to it. “About Qiu Jinglan...”

At that moment, Qiu Jinglan was sending Jiang Yashuang, who came to visit him, out of the house. He leaned on the cushion, saying to Ruan Ciyi, “He is a good friend.”

“Yelan is a girl with ideas. The man she married, of course, is not bad.” Ruan Ciyi said. What Ruan Ciyi did was not like what Qiu Jinglan did to Jiang Yashuang before. Before Jiang Yashuang married Qiu Yelan, Qiu Jinglan treated Jiang Yashuang poorly, even purposely making difficulties for Jiang Yashuang. On the other hand, she had thought that Jiang Yashuang was a good brother-in-law. Ruan Ciyi smiled lightly and said, “What a miracle. You said he was a good man.”

“If his wife were not my sister, I would have said so long ago,” said Qiu Jinglan. He was a little awkward because of Ruan Ciyi’s words. He continued, “Among the men in the Jiang Family, he seems to be a man not of the same clan. If I were him, I might not behave as well as him. But now, as he is our brother-in-law, his family background is the first. As long as I consider where he was raised, I can’t get a rest.”

Ruan Ciyi smiled, “He is a man of understanding, though his grandmother is not a good one. It was not easy for a man like him, coming over here and explaining to us after calming down Yelan.”

The reasons why Jiang Yashuang came over to visit Qiu Jinglan were those: first, after Su He reported the news to him in private, he wanted to see Qiu Jinglan; second, he wanted to apologize for Empress Jiang taking away Qiu Yelan’s pill; and third, he tried to indicate that Qiu Yelan was a sensible girl who knew what she did. They did not need to be concerned about her life in the Jiang Family.

His attitude made Qiu Jinglan and Ruan Ciyi stop blaming him, although they were still angry with his other family members.

Dongran carried the medicine to the room when they were talking. Ruan Ciyi was about to get it. Qiu Jinglan took a glance at it and said, “Go and pour it out. No need to take more.”

“Why?” Ruan Ciyi frowned, “If you think it is too bitter, I will get you some preserves!”

“I am not a child. I will take it even if it is bitter. But I don’t want to,” said Qiu Jinglan. “In fact, I don’t need to lie down on the bed at all. The reason why I did so is that I am afraid the Jiang Family may cause trouble for my sister. I just pretend to be ill for days. That’s all.” As the same woman gave birth to Qiu Jinglan and Qiu Yelan, the brother, who used to be healthier, fell sick after hearing the news. It was logical for the younger sister to lie down on the bed after knowing the news.

So, even if Madame Tao forcefully said Qiu Yelan was not a good girl, Qiu Jinglan had set an example for her, which gave her a good reason to refute.

Ruan Ciyi understood what he was thinking. She thought, “For his sister, Chunjun did what he could do.”

In the Jiang Family, Qiu Yelan, the one Qiu Jinglan and Ruan Ciyi were concerned about, was now worried about her brother, “My brother’s identity will be exposed the day after tomorrow? Is it a good time considering the mess in the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe?”

Jiang Yashuang smiled, “It was none of their business.”

“None of their business?” Qiu Yelan was surprised, “What do you mean?”

“It has no relations with them,” said Jiang Yashuang. He added, “Prime Minister Xue once said that the maternal grandfather of the Ruan Family and my grandfather-in-law were the father-in-law and his son-in-law. They were a family. As it said, the maternal grandfather of the Ruan Family was a general in the Army. His rank in the Army was higher than that of my grandfather-in-law! And more, the Ruan Family has no titles or money which are coveted by others. The only witness is Sister Ruan. Against the backdrop, I think your brother had better admit that he is the son of the Ruan Family!”

His words surprised Qiu Yelan a lot, “So what?”

“In fact, I realized that your brother had prepared for this when he went to the capital. What he said even hid it from my family. Right?” said Jiang Yashuang. “So, the secret, in fact, is not a secret now. If he uses the secret, he doesn’t need to spend extra time or energy in dealing with it. And the public will not gossip him about intending to seize the title of the Duke of Xihe.”

“What about the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe then?”

“Only Princess Yang and her son will be left after this. Prime Minister Xue will figure out how to deal with them as the Yang Family betrayed Prime Minister Xue in the past!” said Jiang Yashuang dismissively. “Princess Yang just has the title for the time being.”

A maid came in when they were talking, “Her Majesty sent a man over here, summoning young master to go to the Summer Palace.”

“Did he say what it is about?” the couple was shocked, standing up together.

The maid shook her head, “The man just asked me to hurry up. He told me nothing more. But judging from his facial expression, I guess it is not a bad thing.”

“Retreat,” said Qiu Yelan.

After Jiang Yashuang left, she was bored and walked around the room. As she was in good health now, she was going to see Sheng Shishui.

Sheng Shishui was feeling bored after she got pregnant. She welcomed her arrival, “You are here finally. Happy to see you. I am so happy to jump if I am allowed.”

“Don’t make this joke,” said Qiu Yelan, happily.

Sheng Shishui said, “That is exactly what I think. Look at me. Carrying a baby is too inconvenient to walk around. The people who still remember to see me are you and the maids of grandmother,” she said. “The maids of my grandmother are very nice. But I can’t talk with them leisurely as they are on behalf of grandmother. However, I can talk with you about anything I want. Unfortunately, you got sick days ago. I am very concerned about you after hearing the news.”

One of Sheng Shishui’s maids smiled and said, “Our madame prays for you every day, hoping you get better and be here as early as possible!”

“Shishui, you miss me so much. Yazhu may be jealous of me!” laughed Qiu Yelan. “I should be careful. Yazhu may beat me up one day for this!” said Qiu Yelan. She felt regretful after she quickly said this. Jiang Yazhu was a playboy. Sheng Shishui might feel awkward if he did not treat her very well.

Luckily, Sheng Shishui smiled after hearing her words, “He has been busy recently. Grandfather assigned work for him. He is on the go all day until the night.”

Seeing her complain about him but seem to be happy, Qiu Yelan understood suddenly the reason why Jiang Yazhu began to be busy. Jiang Yazhu served grandfather all the time while grandfather was sick.

To a child of a big family, the scariest thing was to have nothing to do. A downright playboy was out of this range, in particular, a family like the Jiang Family, which had been dubbed the Half Regime Jiang. A powerful family like the Jiang Family was easy to arrange a good position for the children even though the family had plenty of children. If the child, who came from the Jiang Family, had nothing to do, it meant that the child was useless or had no influence in the family.

In the past, Jiang Yazhu was the one who had nothing to do. But now, whether he would be the one who influenced the family depended on how he could deal with the business grandfather asked him to do.

Judging from Sheng Shishui’s words, Jiang Yazhu would not be marginalized any longer though he could not be sensational overnight.

Qiu Yelan was happy to see him succeed. She thought, “There are countless businesses in the court recently, which made Yazhu busy. Shishui must feel lonely. I should be here more frequently.” Jiang Yazhu was not a threat to Jiang Yashuang because Jiang Yazhu was too late to get involved in the official businesses and his disadvantages were the blocks on his way, too. Jiang Yadan, the eldest son of the fourth branch, was useless. If Jiang Yazhu, a concubine’s son, could get a promising future and help Jiang Yashuang in the future, it might be good for Jiang Yashuang.

They talked and laughed for half a day. Qiu Yelan began to say goodbye before the dust.

She was feeling happy when she came back. She had been smiling as she stepped over the threshold. In minutes, her smile would freeze after she heard what Jiang Tan said, “Madame! Young master was framed in the Summer Palace, accusing him of breaking into Princess Lexin’s room. Young master was summoned to defend himself in front of Empress Dowager Gu now.”