Chapter 140 The Princess Yang’s Request
When Jiang Yashuang invited Ruan Qingyan to negotiate, Qiu Yelan was facing the invitation in her hand and tilted her lips, “Go hiking? Can I not go hiking?”
“Chunfu Princess wants to introduce you to the n.o.ble girl of the Jing City.” Chunran reminded, “Now, although you’re not in mourning, the Princess Yang doesn’t want to show you around. Even if she is willing to take you, we still have to prevent her from having a bad idea. Fortunately, Princess Chunfu invited you. How can you not go?”
“I also know that the personal connection needs to be managed, but think about it. Princess Chunfu invited me to Yunyi Building two years ago. She is also kind-hearted. But what happened?” Qiu Yelan hummed, “The ladies of the Jiang family all took part in the hiking organized by his Highness. Don’t give me an ugly look at that time. Now my cousin won’t marry Jiang’s daughter again. I serve them impatiently.”
Xiaran said with a smile, “Please don’t be angry. Think about it. The outing is going out of town. A large area is not like an elegant room in Yunyi Building where it is difficult to hide when you meet a person who is difficult to get along with. Why don’t you do her Highness a favor and go a little further after you go out? It’s impossible for so many girls not to hit it off with you, is it?”
Su He described it for her, “You have never been out of the city for an outing. I have heard that in this season, the scenery outside the city is very beautiful. The water is clear and the sky is blue. The peach blossom and apricot blossom is in full bloom. The swallows in the south fly back to the north. The fish and shrimp jump in the water. It can be said that everywhere it is like a painting, and we can play with kites… How nice it is!”
“Birds, fish, shrimp…” Qiu Yelan’s eyes lit up. She thought of a series of dishes in an instant, such as fried sparrow, braised quail, crucian tofu, grilled prawns… For a moment, Jiang Qizheng’s invitation had become an outing on the tip of her tongue, and she nodded solemnly, “You’re right. We have to go!”
The maids were very happy and twittered out their ideas, “It looks best to wear the newly made green and white coat with a gold skirt.”
“In this season, the mountains and rivers are green. How can you wear green again? It is better to wear red. The color of scarlet is too dazzling. I am afraid to steal the limelight of Princess Chunfu. The color of pink is just right, and it also looks pretty.”
“Although the pink color is good, if the princess enters the peach forest, the duck yellow is not afraid of being stolen from the limelight anywhere…”
Qiu Yelan waved her hand, “These are little things! Listen to me. Take all the oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar, and bring more woods at that time…”
Chunran and others were stunned, “We will prepare the food for the outing and take it there. What do you want to do with these? Do you want to cook there? There’s no place to find a stove.”
“Then bring a pot.” Qiu Yelan’s wild survival skills in previous lives were too high. At that time, she survived in the wild under the threat of zombies and mutant animals. Under this condition, she could hardly dream of it at that time. How could she miss it? “Isn’t it easy to have a stove? Build it temporarily.”
Chunran and others were stunned again, “But you are going for an outing.”
At such an aristocratic and artistic moment, the maids and old women of the other family surrounded them who were gorgeously dressed. Some masters were n.o.ble and refined. Some masters were sad, and others were erogenous. Took a broad view. The scenes were pictures that could be named as “Photo of Beauty” and “Beautiful folded Flowers”. However, they squatted on a stove to cook food in a pan in the face of public disdain and ridicule. Was this really all right?
“Don’t you say I can go a little further then?” Qiu Yelan said straightforwardly, “Besides, if you go for an outing, don’t you just go to play? It’s fun to have a picnic.”
Chunran and others looked at each other. For a long time, Su He stood up slowly and smiled reluctantly, “I… I’ll go to the kitchen and see if the bird’s nest stew is ready for Your Grace.”
Qiu Yelan glanced at her sideways, “Are you going to complain to Mrs. Zhou?”
“How could it be?” Su He was so perfunctory. When she went out the door, she went straight to Mrs. Zhou and told her what had happened. Finally she had a headache, “Grandma, what does Your Grace mean? Even if she resents the grievances she suffered in Yunyi Restaurant, she should not humiliate Chunfu Princess in this way, right? Even if Chunfu Princess doesn’t care it for the sake of General Jiang, but…. is it really good to offend her Highness?”
Hearing what she said, Mrs. Zhou frowned immediately, but pondered for a moment and asked, “Is Your Grace annoyed when she said she is going to take those things with her?”
Su He said, “No. I think Your Grace is the same as usual, but…”
“Then she may not want to be angry with Princess Chunfu.” Mrs. Zhou was older. Even if she didn’t spend as much time with Qiu Yelan as Su He, her grasp of Qiu Yelan’s temper was not under Su He. She said firmly, “The Commandery Princess is not an emotional person. If she were really angry with Princess Chunfu because of the matter in the Yunyi Restaurant, she would probably not go this time. Since she’s going there, she won’t make trouble on purpose. The Commandery Princess is not one of those people who are confused and do things without thinking at all.”
“Then Commandery Princess…?”
Mrs. Zhou thought it for a while, “Maybe the princess dislikes that the food is brought in the food box, and even if she tries to eat it hot, it is not to her taste. She wants to cook it there. It doesn’t matter. You just pick a hidden place at that time. The place for outing is so big. Are you afraid that you can’t find a corner where there is no one? In addition, if you meet someone, you can borrow a stove. Just give them some money.”
Su He was relieved when she said this, “It doesn’t matter if it’s true. I’m afraid the Commandery Princess is angry.”
Su He returned to the house and winked at Chunran and Xiaran and told Qiu Yelan that it would take a while for the bird’s nest to be stewed. Qiu Yelan asked her with a faint smile, “What did Mrs. Zhou say?”
“Grandma said everything is up to you.” Su He had followed her over the past two years and had become thick-skinned. She answered with a smile, “It is clever of Your Grace to guess that I ‘happened’ to meet my grandmother when I came back from the kitchen.”
Qiu Yelan snorted and didn’t pursue it, only saying, “Hurry up to prepare things.”
“Just talk to Mrs. Li.” Chunran reminded her to be serious, “It is the dress and jewelry you wear when you go out that matters.”
Qiu Yelan only thought about eating at this time. She didn’t have the idea of dressing up, so she shamelessly said, “Everything looks good on me. I look beautiful no matter how I dress up. There’s nothing to argue about. Just wear a new dress at that time.”
Chunran and others couldn’t help crying and smiling, “Yes, yes, yes. Everything looks good on you, but if you dress up carefully, you will look better, won’t you?”
The master and her maids were laughing. The Princess Yang came here with her own daughter, Qiu Jinzhu.
Qiu Yelan was surprised. In the past two years, although they lived together in the Prince’s Mansion, there was basically no contact between the two sides. They did not even eat New Year’s Eve dinner together. What did Princess Yang mean this time?”
“What’s Aunt Yang doing here?” She asked lukewarmly after finishing her salute.
Compared with her att.i.tude, Princess Yang was much more enthusiastic at this time. She first cared and greeted her, and then apologized for what had happened before. Then she revealed her purpose, “I heard you’re going out in a couple of days?”
Jiang Qizheng’s post was cast on the door. It was not surprising that Princess Yang knew about this invitation.
It was just that Qiu Yelan wondered why she thought she would take Qiu Jinzhu with her. She said faintly, “Yes.”
“Can you take Jinzhu with you?” Sure enough, Princess Yang asked for it.
“That’s not good, is it? After all, Chunfu Princess only invited me.” Qiu Yelan refused it immediately. Qiu Jinzhu pouted and looked at her injuredly.
But Qiu Yelan had already seen this vicious cousin. She didn’t buy it at all, only quietly watching Princess Yang waiting for her to speak.
Princess Yang smiled stiffly for a moment before she said, “Chunfu Princess treats you like her own family. How can you not be able to bring Jinzhu? Anyway, you are sisters, not to mention the fact that you have to go out of town for an outing, and you can take care of each other, don’t you?”
Qiu Yelan thought who dared to be taken care of by your daughter? She just said, “Oh. Don’t worry. I will bring more servants.”
“You see. You can bring a lot of servants. It’s okay to bring Jinzhu, right?” This time, she didn’t know what happened to Princess Yang who was particularly tolerant, and even took the initiative to equate Qiu Jinzhu with her subordinates, which made Qiu Jinzhu pinch her fists hard.
But Princess Yang’s sudden change in att.i.tude made Qiu Yelan suspicious, “What do they want to do?” So she refused it even more.
The two sides could not reach an agreement. At last, the Princess Yang realized that her intention of coming seemed to be suspected. She sighed and simply said it bluntly, “Since Jinzhu’s First Uncle left the Jing City, the female relatives I a.s.sociate with are not of a very rich family now, or they only have names like our family now. I just want Jinzhu to go out with you to broaden her horizons. I already told her. She will never cause you any trouble, let alone disobey you. Just do me a favor and help me this time, okay?”
She continued to say, “I really didn’t take good care of you at the beginning, and I made you suffer a lot of grievances. But now, the old Princess and your mother’s dowry have been returned to you. I have changed in the past two years. I haven’t offended you, have I? At least we are a family. If you don’t think about anything else, just think about your grandfather, after all, you and Jinzhu both have his blood.”
Qiu Yelan looked at her suspiciously, “In any case, you are also a princess. How can you need to let the sixth sister go out with me?” A lean camel was bigger than a horse. The Prince’s Mansion of Xihe, a hereditary royal palace, was more enviable than the emperor’s sons crowned princes. After all, as long as the hereditary power existed, even if the power was temporarily lost, there was always a chance to make a comeback.
The Princess Yang looked around and saw that Qiu Yelan refused to dismiss her servants. She had no choice but to say, “At that year, Yifu and Yishi… It’s only been two years since this matter happened, and many people still remember it.”
“I see?” Qiu Yelan was relieved. Yang Yifu and his cousins, Yang Yishi, had an affair with others and died one after another. In particular, the matter about Yang Yishi was particularly serious. The Princess Yang, as their own aunt, was finally affected. The influence also dragged Qiu Jinzhu. Those women from powerful families also had other families similar to the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe to get along with, so they naturally didn’t want to choose Yang Family’s daughter and granddaughter, who had a bad reputation.
So should she agree to their demands?
Qiu Yelan thought for a moment, but did not answer immediately.
The Princess Yang and Qiu Jinzhu waited for a while. When they saw that she seemed to have no intention of promising, they were anxious and blurted it out, “Lord Zhang’s Young Prince Kuang Qingwu, will enter the Jing City in a few days to study in the Imperial College… It is said that he intends to mess with your cousin.”
“Where did you hear the news?” Qiu Yelan frowned, asking questioningly. The Prince’s Mansion of Xihe was down and out now. Where could it be well-informed? Ruan Qingyan, even in the mourning period, was selected to enter the Hanlin Academy. His future was also optimistic by most people.
“Jinzhu’s First Uncle happens to be demoted to the west.” The Princess Yang reminded, “This news was sent by him quickly… It can’t be wrong! And Kang Qingwu knows that your cousin is protected by the Prime Minister Xue, and he is in a period of mourning. He is afraid that your cousin will avoid it, but he is going to hide his name and enter the Jing City. He will reveal his ident.i.ty after finding your cousin.”
Qiu Yelan sneered, “Is there something wrong with him? Did my cousin ever offend him?”
Kuang Shihan was personally trained by General Ruan. Even if he didn’t formally offer tea to be a student, he was cultivated by General Ruan. Not to mention that he betrayed General Ruan and his son-in-law because the General Ruan let the eldest princess as bait. Now his son still wanted to make further efforts to trouble the heirs of the Ruan family. Did he really regard the Ruan family as a soft family?
The Princess Yang, hearing the anger in her tone, was relieved and said with a smile, “In fact, this is a misunderstanding.”
Seeing that Qiu Yelan did not answer, she said slowly, “If you are willing to carry Jinzhu, I am willing to write to Jinzhu’s First Uncle to be a middleman to solve this misunderstanding.”
Qiu Yelan glanced at her, saying in her mind, “I think this misunderstanding is made by your Yang Family.” But she thought about it and said quietly, “Then I’ll take her this time. In the future, I don’t know where I will go. It is impossible to take people with me every time, otherwise people will say that I will not go out alone.”