Chapter 188 Dating after Dusk

Qiu Yelan and Ruan Ciyi worried all the way, so Jiang Yashuang specially arranged Qi Shuluo’s wagon to go alongside the Ruan Family’s team.

But as he said, with the royal family and n.o.ble families going to Mount Dizi together, the guard of honor, the scale and road conditions all led to the slowness of the journey.

So Qiu Jinglan had been safe before they arrived at the residence. Qiu Yelan and others were relieved.

The three brothers and sisters lived in Ruan’s residence. It was not the old one that General Ruan had bought. At that time, they had no other property except the General’s Mansion.

This one was bought by Qiu Jinglan himself during the summer vacation last year. Because he was still a proud student with high hope of Xue Chang at that time, it was very close to the villa of the Xue Family.

And Xue Chang, as an important minister, lived not far from the palace. In the same way, the manors of the Jiang Family, the Gu Family and so on were all around here.

However, although Qiu Yelan was called to “accompany cousin Ruan” during the summer vacation last year, Qiu Jinglan kept a close watch for fear that his sister would be taken advantage of, so Jiang Yashuang had no chance to come in. This was the first time he had set foot in this “Green Villa”.

The villa was far smaller than the Jiang Family, but the former owner also took a lot of effort to build it. A stream was brought in to form a lake. Evergreen trees and vines were planted all over the bank to match the name “Green”.

“This villa is quiet and lovely. Although there are few flowers, it is full of green and has a unique charm.” Jiang Yashuang looked around and praised.

Ling Zui did not need to please his brother-in-law, so he said “It is none of his credit. This villa has never been worked on since he bought it. It was said that the previous owner had a family who could not see flowers, and if she saw them, she would have rashes. That’s why there are only plants but no flowers here. By the way, didn’t you say you wanted to plant some flowers? Why haven’t you done it yet?”

Qiu Jinglan said helplessly, “How can I manage such a trifle now since I am like this?”

Jiang Yashuang was about to take over the matter when Ruan Ciyi said, “Let my cousin does it!”

“Me?” Qiu Yelan was winking at Jiang Yashuang, thinking that this was his opportunity to show off. Hearing what Ruan Ciyi said, Qiu Jinglan and Ling Zui were stunned and looked at her.

“That’s a good idea.” Qiu Jinglan muttered and nodded unexpectedly, “It is thoughtful of you!” Then he explained to her, “The summer vacation has just begun and you have nothing to do anyway. You should walk around and get to know more people! Now all the people in the mountain have flowers and plants in their courtyards, and it is not a problem to get a few from them. Besides, we won’t get for free.”

This was one more reason for her to go out and socialize with people. Ruan Ciyi was a genuine n.o.ble girl and experienced in the growth and cultivation of n.o.ble girls. Neither Qiu Jinglan nor Jiang Yashuang was as thoughtful as her in this respect.

Jiang Yashuang was even more delighted and frequently looked at Ruan Ciyi gratefully. Just because of his huge team of cousins, when Qiu Yelan began her “n.o.ble lady diplomacy”, he was not afraid that he could not find chances to be with her alone.

As long as a small number of his cousins learned from Princess Yongfu, this summer vacation would never be sweeter!

However, after Qiu Yelan began to move about, Jiang Yashuang found that it was too early to be happy!

At first, everybody was willing to help. They took turns to ask Qiu Yelan out, then called him over, found an excuse and left. Everyone was so understanding and full of the spirit of fraternity between brothers and sisters!

Then one day it was Zhuang Man’s turn. Being a true disciple of the barbecue circle with a good memory, she dragged Qiu Yelan out for a picnic. In Qiu Yelan’s words, Mount Dizi was full of delicious food in summer!

Zhuang Man was satisfied with this trip. Of course, she showed off to others. So next, all the people who asked Qiu Yelan ignored Jiang Yashuang. Instead, they called out a large group of ladies to join in “A Bite of Mount Dizi” initiated by Zhuang Man and Qiu Yelan.

Of course, they would not let Qiu Yelan cook alone for them. After all, not everyone was good at the barbecue and Qiu Yelan didn’t like being ordered about by anyone. But they all felt excited to cook in the wild with local materials and to listen to Qiu Yelan teaching them how to survive in the wild.

The moms and grandmas of the girls felt good when they knew about it. “They are all girls from decent families and it is a good thing for them to get together often and exchange cooking skills with each other. After all, it’s something that girls should learn. Just tell the maids be careful not to let them get burnt.”

Jiang Yashuang ran to his sister-in-law Madame Zhuang Junior, Zhuang Man’s sister, and said angrily, “It’s all because of Zhuang Man! Please help me! She’s the leader and is with Lan outside all day in such hot weather. Can Lanlan stand it?”

Madame Zhuang Junior giggled and said, “I’ve heard that this would-be sister-in-law is a heroine. When she saw a hare more than thirty yards away, she pulled out a hairpin and made them a course. Is she weak?” Then she said, “Don’t you know about Zhuang Man? I can’t control her. She might obey my aunt if she is here.”

The aunt she was talking about was Jiang Yashuang’s mother, Madame Zhuang.

Madame Zhuang was known for her shrewdness and jealousy. When she heard that Jiang Tianchi had taken a mistress in the north, she left young Jiang Yadan without hesitation, cried and insisted on “taking care of her husband” before her parents-in-law. Then she gave the mistress away as soon as she arrived in the north. About six months later, the mistress found Jiang Tianchi with a baby boy in her arms. After a lot of trouble, the baby boy was accepted into the family. That was Jiang Yazhu, the sixteenth young master of the Jiang Family.

But the mistress was driven back to the family she had originally been given by Madame Zhuang.

After that, Madame Zhuang was even stricter against Jiang Tianchi. Later she gave birth to the twins Jiang Qizheng and Jiang Yashuang in the north. Because the sister and brother were not used to the climate in the north and were often sick, Jiang Tianchi advised her to take the children back to Jing City. She refused, let her servants take the babies to Jing City and gave it to her parents-in-law so that she could stay there and keep an eye on her husband.

How could such a jealous aunt come back to discipline his niece?

Jiang Yashuang said gloomily, “You are kidding me!”

Madame Zhuang Junior, who was both his sister-in-law and cousin, softened when she saw that he was unhappy and said with a smile, “Well, I’ll call Man over and talk to her later. But I can do nothing if she doesn’t accept my advice.” Then she joked, “I say, Yelan is your fiancee now. What’s your hurry? After the summer vacation, you’ll have to go back to your hometown to take the exam. If you don’t concentrate on your study but constantly go to find your fiancee, your elders will scold you!”

“I’ve almost reviewed all of my lessons.” Jiang Yashuang said, “And it’s dangerous for girls to go outside on such a hot day.”

“It’s not hot in the mountain. There are so many trees and so many cool places. How could they ruin themselves?” Madame Zhuang Junior said ironically, “You are thinking about your fiancee but you wouldn’t admit it!”

Although Madame Zhuang Junior teased Jiang Yashuang, she was reliable. The next day she called Zhuang Man over. “You know how much Yashuang cares for Qiu Yelan. They are not married yet and it’s inconvenient for them to date in the city. Now people live far away from one another in the mountain without the disturbance of the neighbors. It’s a good time for them to date. Why do you play gooseberry?”

Hearing the words, Zhuang Man felt wronged. “I didn’t want to get in their way, but Sister Qiu also had a good time with us! If she told me she wanted to meet him, I wouldn’t go out with her.”

“She is timid!” Madame Zhuang Junior glanced at her and said, “You are his cousin. Even if she wants, it would be embarra.s.sing for her to tell you.”

Zhuang Mam rolled her eyes, “So it’s Yashuang who wants to see her, she may not…”

“Are you sure you want to offend him?” Madame Zhuang Junior half-smiled and said, “Did you forget what Jiang Qiyun and Jiang Qisheng did last time under Jinxiu Slope? What’s the ending of them now? I heard only yesterday that Jiang Qisheng’s father had betrothed her to Ou Bikong, a cousin of Ou b.i.+.c.heng, who is serving in the north. That’s okay. But don’t you know about our aunt? When Jiang Qisheng arrives in the north, if aunt knows that she had a problem with her son and would-be daughter-in-law, she is sure to upset her!”

“Cousin Jiang is not like a dreadful monster. But those two have no brains of their own!” Zhuang Man disapproved. “However, Jiang Qiyun is lucky. She was betrothed to Prince Qi thanks to her grandfather. When I see her again in autumn, I have to salute her! She is always domineering, and I wonder if she will be c.o.c.kier after becoming a princess!”

Madame Zhuang Junior shook her head, showing a trace of bitterness on her face. “Cousin Jiang won’t upset you with your marriage. But you are both grown up. You can no longer do things as freely as you did when you were a child. Anyway, he is your cousin. You don’t have to involve Qiu Yelan in anything. Why should you offend him? As for Jiang Qiyun, you are too naive. Do you think she will be on top of the world when she becomes the princess? Her would-be mother-in-law is the Empress, who favors Cousin Jiang most!”

She and Jiang Yahong were relatives who had seen each other a lot since childhood. She had believed that after they got married, they would be dear to each other. But what was the result? Although Jiang Yahong was good to her, he brought several mistresses home. She thought that they were childhood sweethearts and she was his legal wife and quarreled with him several times, but Jiang Yahong ignored her.

Now there was nothing wrong with the husband and wife, but there were gaps in their hearts. Although Jiang Yashuang had made an engagement with Qiu Yelan and it was impossible for him to marry Zhuang Man, Madame Zhuang Junior deeply realized that childhood friends.h.i.+p was not necessarily reliable when people grew up, so she was naturally afraid that her sister would make the same mistake.

Zhuang Man did not like what she said. “Well, I know what you mean. I won’t go to Yelan in the future without any reason. But I can’t stop other people.”

She couldn’t do it, but Jiang Qizheng could. Or rather, she was not stopping them. At her brother’s request, she had to hold poetry meetings and salons with He Shuijin over and again and find reasons not to invite Qiu Yelan. With the help of the two, Jiang Yashuang got what he wanted and was able to meet Qiu Yelan alone.

As soon as they met, Qiu Yelan forced a smile and said, “I made an appointment with Cousin Xin the day before yesterday to see lotus in her villa tomorrow. If I like, I will dig a few and plant in the Green Villa. The date was set, but the appointment was ruined by Princess Chunfu. What punishment shall I give you?”

“You want to see lotus? It’s so easy.” Jiang Yashuang looked at her with a smile. “There is a big lake in the valley south of Mount Dizi. There are quant.i.ties of lotuses at this time of the year. The lotus in her villa was also dug there! How can the flowers in their pond be compared to those in the valley? Come on, I’ll take you there to pick!”