Chapter 168 Don’t Ruin My Cousin!

Qiu Yelan failed to stay in the Ruan Family, as Qiu Jinglan personally forced her to get in the carriage and sent her away.

She felt depressed, rolled up the curtain of the carriage and looked back at the door of the Ruan Family. However, she saw Qiu Jinglan standing there in his ordinary coat and silver hairband. He was quietly watching her. The complexity and unhappiness in his eyes gave her an ominous feeling.

Just when she was about to put down the curtain, she suddenly saw Jiang Yashuang, who had sent her over, coming from the side alley on his horse. He gave her a wink, and then followed her carriage with an indifferent look.

Returning to Prince’s Mansion of Xihe, Qiu Yelan didn’t go to greet Qiu Mengmin and his wife as usual, but sent Su He for Princess Yang, “It’s getting late, and I’m also tired. I’m afraid that if I greet her now, I may disturb her. Ask her if it’s OK for me to go tomorrow?”

Su He smiled and said, “Princess Yang must say that you won’t need to go tomorrow either.”

“Isn’t it nice for all of us to save some troubles?” Qiu Yelan snorted. Princess Yang hadn’t always been so kind, as Qiu Yelan had been asked to be trained to be a lady every day before sunrise. Qiu Yelan had broken a few pieces of the ancient porcelain of the former dynasty’s famous kiln, and accidentally dropped the glazed screen every now and then. She had also “hit” Qiu Jinzhu every so often without saying much.

Princess Yang was tormented by her to a great extent. Then she finally got it and excused her to concentrate on the mourning period instead of greeting her anymore.

Mrs. Zhou and others left in the yard had prepared hot soup and dishes. When she came back, they exchanged some pleasantries, and then the others waited for her to bathe and change her clothes. The table in Flower Hall was full of her favorite dishes.

Soon after picking up the tooth duster, Su He came back to report. What she said was expected, “Princess Yang said that she knew the whole thing was complicated this time, and you must be very tired. She wanted you to rest well and not to worry about greeting.”

Qiu Yelan nodded, thinking it was over, but it was actually not, “It’s weird that Princess Yang invited Aunt Qiu back today, who is now serving over there. According to the maid, Aunt Qiu was still like that, but Princess Yang tolerated her a lot, and smiled at her. And it was almost the same as when Lu was alive.”

“If she treated Aunt Qiu so well, she must be planning something in secret.” Qiu Yelan pouted, “But I don’t know what they plan to do with Aunt Qiu. Well, is it that Kang Lizhang is really going to be a concubine? But even so, it’s not like she is going to be a Princess. Even if she is, they are not supposed to be so subservient. Seeing this situation, others may think that Kang Lizhang is going to be Empress or even Empress Dowager!”

She thought about it for a while and then said, “Tell the servants to keep an eye on them and see what they are really planning to do.”

When she came into the house tonight, it was already very late. Jiang Yashuang ran over. Without a word, he kissed her and said with a smile, “You are finally back. I went to the gate of the city personally to see if you were these days. Now you are back!”

Qiu Yelan pushed him away and hummed, “Personally? Who was so late to save me that day? If it wasn’t for Brother Ling, I don’t know what Kuang Qingwu would do to me!” Since Kuang Qingwu was their enemy, of course, she had to work hard to bring hatred to the enemy.

Not surprisingly, Jiang Yashuang immediately promised, “I’m determined that I won’t spare that man!” Then he explained, “The homework a.s.signed by my grandfather is a lot. This year I’m going back to Kuixian to partic.i.p.ate in a provincial examination, so he will not allow me to take a good rest easily for now… I could only go to look for you for a little while every day, but I just didn’t see you. Then I was delayed by that stupid servant who was beaten to death and dragged out!”

Speaking of which, he still gritted his teeth and it was clear that he was pretty angry with the servant.

Qiu Yelan used to see a lot of deaths in her past life, so she didn’t really feel much about deaths. And of course, she wouldn’t care much about the death of an unfamiliar servant. She said, “Forget about it now. I want to ask you something about Deng Yi. Do you have any idea? I just heard Qiu Jinglan say that Deng Yi and his mother are all good now!”

Jiang Yashuang frowned after hearing it, “It’s really weird. Originally, your cousin and I all sent people there. I don’t know about your cousin’s men, but my men were all blocked by another group of men. It seems that the Gu Family deliberately did it to use them as a bait.”

“The one who stopped you… do you really have no idea who he is?” Qiu Yelan asked suspiciously, “Is it because the men you sent were not good enough?”

Jiang Yashuang didn’t know how to react, “Would I use unreliable men for such an important matter?”

Qiu Yelan was relieved when she saw that he seemed to be telling the truth, “It seems that the relations.h.i.+p between my cousin and ‘Tianya’ is indeed very secret. Even you didn’t notice!”

She was about to speak when Jiang Yashuang said again, “I borrowed the men from my grandfather. And they were sent because my grandmother helped me.”

Known as “Defender of the State”, the men who followed Marquess Qin were certainly the elite of the elite.

“Even men like them were stopped?” Qiu Yelan had a new thought, “Were they stopped by Western Army’s elite?”

Jiang Yashuang shook his head, “Not really. Some suspect that they are masters from the underworld. As for who they are, we are still investigating it.”

“…” As Qiu Yelan was hoping that Qiu Jinglan would not be implicated by this, Jiang Yashuang changed the subject again, “Jiang Qiyun is going to marry someone soon. And she won’t come here in the future. Even if she was invited by Jiang Qizheng again, I don’t think she would come.”

Qiu Yelan was not very interested in Jiang Qiyun and asked indifferently, “Well, who is she going to marry?”

Jiang Yashuang said, “Prince Qi.”

Prince Qi was the eldest son of the Emperor. He got twenty years old the year before. However, the birth of his mother was humble. And there was no legitimate son. Therefore, being the eldest son, he had always been low-key in the royal family.

Qiu Yelan unexpectedly said, “Your aunt, I mean Her Majesty, has she decided?”

The meaning was pretty clear. Empress Jiang didn’t have any biological sons, nor did she raise any princes. Even though it was all right before, now the Emperor and Empress were over forty years old, it was time to consider the candidate of the Crown Prince. Empress Dowager Gu had two grandsons, Prince of Yan and Prince of Zhou, to choose from. How could Empress not find a good-looking prince to support?

Empress Jiang showed her intention by marrying Jiang Qiyun to Prince Qi.

Qiu Yelan had almost no impression of Prince Qi. When Qiu Jinglan or anyone else mentioned the royal family to her, Prince Qi was always briefly introduced in one sentence, “He is the Emperor’s eldest son, whose birth mother was humble. He is very mediocre.”

But Empress Jiang certainly didn’t care. She and Empress Dowager Gu didn’t want a capable Crown Prince. What they want was just a puppet.

Jiang Yashuang replied, “It’s almost decided. Empress Dowager Gu is also going to choose Princesses for Prince of Yan and Prince of Zhou.”

Qiu Yelan rolled her eyes and smiled, “Who is she going to choose as the Crown Prince? As for Princesses for Prince of Yan and Prince of Zhou, I think Princess Shou’an, Commandery Princess Jing’an and the Tang Family young lady are most likely to be chosen, right?”

“Empress Dowager wants to pick the young lady Xue Er, but Prime Minister Xue will definitely not agree.” Jiang Yashuang said, “If Kuang s.h.i.+han had a daughter, she would definitely be one.”

Qiu Yelan felt a nerve in her heart all of a sudden, “Normally, Prime Minister Xue would not agree to marry his daughter into the royal family, but what if he was forced by Empress Dowager?” For example, one of his disciples changed the name and origin after the fraudulent death, and he had an obvious oversight without knowing…

Seeing Qiu Yelan frowning, Jiang Yashuang reached out for her face, smiled and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“The outing tumult this time hasn’t subsided yet. When I came back, I heard about the fighting for the Crown Prince again. I just felt very surprised.” Qiu Yelan perfunctorily said, “What about Jiang Qisheng? Has she entered the palace?”

“Not yet. It’s not fully decided.” Jiang Yashuang hesitated and said in the end, “My Third Uncle likes your cousin better.”

Unsurprisingly, Qiu Yelan changed her look before he even finished speaking, “What do you mean? It’s not enough for you to bully me all the time. Now you want to trap my cousin for a lifetime?”

Jiang Yashuang embarra.s.sedly said, “That’s just what my Third Uncle wants. My Third Aunt listened to Jiang Qisheng, and she didn’t think the same way. I don’t think it is going to work out.”

“It should never work out!” Qiu Yelan said firmly. “No matter what method you use, even if you have to roll around in front of your grandparents, be sure to stop it from happening! Or I’ll make you pay.”

Jiang Yashuang grieved and said, “It’s not like I want to marry Jiang Qisheng to your cousin!”

“Whatever!” Qiu Yelan said angrily, “Do I look like I’m reasoning with you?”

Jiang Yashuang saw her being unreasonable, pointing at her lips for a moment, “What can I get out of it?”

“You can get…” Qiu Yelan got a fake smile, and a cold look, “Do you think I have really forgotten what had happened outside your farm that day?”

“I will get it done for you!” Jiang Yashuang hurriedly said, “But Lanlan, since I’m behaving so well, do you want to…?” Then he pointed to his lips.

Qiu Yelan narrowed her eyes, “Go get it done first.”

In fact, she didn’t need to worry about it at all.

Because even if Jiang Yashuang didn’t go to beg Madame Tao to stop the marriage in his cute way, Jiang Qisheng couldn’t marry Qiu Jinglan anyway.

The reason was simple. Empress Jiang wouldn’t want it.

She wouldn’t want such a talented man who entered Hanlin Academy at eighteen being ruined by her niece.

The word “ruin” was the original word used by Empress.

In this regard, the attendant could only make a smile, “Jiang Qisheng, the young lady… she is just a little bit rash.”

“She is little better than Jiang Qiyun.” Empress Jiang looked disdainful. “At least, she doesn’t grit her teeth and try to hurt others just because they are prettier. Does she really think that her beauty is everything? Even girls in the brothel are better than her. But since she dared to offend my mother in this palace for Tao Peibin, repeatedly had trouble with the nineteenth, and went against Commandery Princess Ningyi, I knew that she is not a smart girl. She is not worth cultivating!”

Compared with the word “brothel”, the words “not worth cultivating” was the most important. It meant that if there was no accident, Jiang Qisheng would not be able to have a future depending on Empress!

The people around didn’t dare to say anything even though they heard the words, and they only put on a smiling face.

Instead, Princess Yongfu, who was listening to her mother’s lecture, asked curiously, “Since you don’t like Jiang Qiyun and Jiang Qisheng, why do you want them to marry Prince Qi? I think Qizheng is good!”

“Little fool!” Empress’s tone softened at once when speaking to her biological daughter, and said compa.s.sionately, “Do you think I want Qiyun to be a Princess because I like her? Think about your brothers. Who knows whether your eldest brother is capable of doing things or not? Would he be hurt by your grandmother? If I let Qiyun marry him, it shows my att.i.tude to support him. But if something goes wrong, I won’t be distressed… I really like your eighteenth cousin. How can I decide for her life before the situation is clear?”

Princess Yongfu suddenly got it, “Now it makes sense. I was confused as you never liked the First Uncle’s family, but you chose his daughters to marry the elder brother.”

“Don’t say it to others.” Empress Jiang made a mute gesture towards her. “In addition, I chose your fifteenth cousin for another important reason. She is stupid and easy to manipulate. If things went well in the future, she wouldn’t get out of my control.”

As she was saying, someone from the palace hurried in and said, “The Empress Dowager lady asked Your Majesty to go to the Hall of Tais.h.i.+.”

“What’s the matter?” Empress Jiang straightened up immediately, restoring the n.o.ble coolness as the first lady in the nation.

“I heard that General Jiang killed Young Prince of Marquess Zhang’s servants, and beat him up pretty badly. That’s why Empress Dowager asked you to come.” The eunuch bowed his head carefully and said it.

Empress Jiang didn’t receive the news, but she didn’t care. She snorted, got up and told her daughter, “Go practice your calligraphy for today. I’ll see it when I come back.”

Then, she sorted her clothes for a little bit, and said proudly, “Let’s go!” Wasn’t it just a battle of words? Did Empress Dowager really expect her to agree to punish her nephew by asking her to be there?