Chapter 174 Is Your Brother Married?
“What are you doing here, Ou Bicheng?” Before Qiu Yelan thought of a reason to turn around and leave, Princess Yongfu got angry, pointed at Ou Bicheng with one hand on her hip and shouted, “Will you be smart and go with me at once? Or I’ll tell your sister Xing and you definitely will be beaten up and look for your teeth all over the floor!”
Ou Bicheng, who was quietly looking at Qiu Yelan, was embarra.s.sed. He dropped the wine cup furiously, saying, “Do you really think I’m afraid of Xing? I tell you! I am going to get even with her now!”
Then he got up and ran away at once. Princess Yongfu nodded with satisfaction. “That’s right!”
Qiu Yelan suddenly realized that Ou Bicheng was not going to get even with Xing. He did run away.
At this time, Princess Yongfu was also withdrawing with the maids. She said with a smile, “You can rest a.s.sured that the yard is guarded by my people and no one dares to come in!”
d.a.m.n you!
Qiu Yelan chased her up and pulled her by the sleeve, “Well, Your Highness, I suddenly remember that I have something very important…”
“It’s okay now!” Princess Yongfu shook off her hand brutally and said gently, “Just leave it to my cousin!”
Princess Yongfu did not shake it off for some time and she got annoyed, “This is what my mother means! How dare you disobey her decree!”
Empress Jiang really meant it. The reason was that she didn’t agree with Empress Dowager Gu about the terms in the negotiation. In a rage, she decided to take the would-be daughter-in-law of the Deng Family! So she made up her mind to take advantage of the Qianqiu Festival to humiliate the Gu Family and told her daughter to give Jiang Yashuang and Qiu Yelan more opportunities to get along alone.
But of course, Qiu Yelan sensed that Empress Jiang had already known the story of Qiu Jinglan and wanted to bring him into the Empress’ Party, so the Empress, who had never directly interfered in the marriage of the younger generation before, wanted to take advantage of this Qianqiu Festival to announce her relationship with Jiang Yashuang!
“Did you send people to my cousin’s house?” She immediately changed her face. This was tantamount to baking Qiu Jinglan over the fire!
For the Empress Dowager’s party, those in the Western Army who did not really pay allegiance to the party would be sad and resentful afterwards, but the consequences would not be so bad as having a living heir of their former master for them to miss. If the Empress’ Party was only making use of Qiu Jinglan, he was safe at least. The most terrible thing was that what if the Empress’ Party intended to use Qiu Jinglan’s life to provoke the Western Army?
This was not impossible!
Thirteen years ago, when Empress Dowager Gu made Kuang Shihan frame the Qiu Family and Ruan Family and controlled the Western Army, Qiu Yelan did not believe that the Jiang Family would just sit by and watch! Although they failed to stop the Western Army from falling into the hands of the Empress Dowager’s Party, it was certain that they had arrangements in the Western Army.
Qiu Yelan was not so naive as to think that because of her relationship with Jiang Yashuang, the Empress’ Party would not hurt Qiu Jinglan. As Jiang Yashuang had said before, if she could bring down the Jiang Family or let the Jiang Family suffer, Empress Dowager Gu would not mind at all that the Gu Family would lose several of their children! It was the same with the Jiang Family! As long as there were enough benefits, even Jiang Yashuang could be abandoned, let alone Qiu Jinglan!
Princess Yongfu was stunned and said, “Your cousin? Isn’t he still in the mourning? Why should I send people to him?”
“I’ve got to have a look!” Seeing she was confused, Qiu Yelan thought that the Empress might not have told her daughter about such a big matter at all. How could she stay now? She immediately released Princess Yongfu and began to rush out.
Princess Yongfu was surprised and said, “Where are you going? The Ruans’ residence? My mother’s banquet hasn’t started yet!”
“I’ll go with you.” Jiang Yashuang had come over without being noticed. He looked at Qiu Yelan with a complicated look and said to Princess Yongfu, “Will you go to the banquet and apologize to aunt for us?”
“Are you leaving?” Princess Yongfu was confused and asked. “Are you going to the Ruans’ residence? Why must you go now?”
Qiu Yelan was so anxious. She was about to say something when she heard the sound of footsteps outside the yard. A flamboyant girl in red surrounded by several maids came in. She took a glance and exclaimed, “What a beauty! You’ve got good taste!”
Jiang Yashuang and Princess Yongfu both recognized that it was Ou Qinglan. Maybe Ou Bicheng happened to run into her. Knowing that Qiu Yelan was here, Ou Qinglan hurriedly ran over for fun.
It was no big deal at other times. Now neither of them was in the mood to talk to her, so they just nodded slightly and said to Princess Yongfu, “Anyway, we’ll go first!”
“Where are you going?” Ou Qinglan also asked doubtfully.
No one had the mood to explain to her now. Jiang Yashuang dropped a sentence impatiently, “Xing, please don’t bother. Go back to my aunt!”
“I don’t need to go back to my hometown in July to sit for the local exam. I will stay for long this time.” Ou Qinglan was brisk and neat and was not angry at his words. She rolled her eyes and closely followed the two out of the palace. “There will be opportunities to please Her Majesty in the future… Where exactly are you going? Can I go with you?”
Seeing this, Princess Yongfu also shouted, “I’m going, too!”
“No!” Qiu Yelan was concerned about the safety of Qiu Jinglan. She had no time to be wordy and just hurried toward the gate. It was not allowed to run in the palace, otherwise she would have been running! And Jiang Yashuang, who was upset, said angrily, “Can’t you leave us alone?”
Princess Yongfu said, “Then tell me, why do you want to go to the Ruans’ residence?”
Ou Qinglan said, “Are you going to the Ruans’ residence? Why can’t we go?”
“If you don’t leave, I’ll beat you!” Jiang Yashuang said angrily! He was already in a mess, but these two cousins were still pestering him. He was really annoyed!
“Come on!” Ou Qinglan hummed. “You refused to play last time!”
Princess Yongfu shouted crossly, “Did you forget who tirelessly pa.s.sed the letters for you in those years and spared no effort to help you! Now that you’re reconciled, am I useless? If you dare hit me, I’ll tell my mother, my grandmother, my grandfather, my uncles, my aunts…”
Jiang Yashuang was fed up, so he just followed Qiu Yelan and walked without saying a word. It was just good. Ou Qinglan was able to keep up with him and Qiu Yelan. But the spoiled Princess Yongfu was miserable and was soon left behind.
“Wait for me!” The Princess was mad.
But no one paid any attention to her. The three raced out of the palace, went straight to the wagons and mounts and rushed to the gate of the Ruans’ residence house all the way. Seeing the yard as quiet as usual, Qiu Yelan sighed with relief.
The gatekeeper was very surprised to see her driver shouting at the door. “Hasn’t Your Grace been to the palace to congratulate Her Majesty on the Qianqiu Festival?”
The driver did not know why his mistress ran out again soon after he entered the palace and said vaguely, “Anyway, Your Grace is here.”
The gatekeeper opened the gate. When he saw Jiang Yashuang get off the horse indifferently and throw the rein into his hand, he was shocked. “General Jiang?”
As Qiu Jinglan’s confidant, after the incident of Mei Xue, all the servants had been changed by Qiu Jinglan, so the gatekeeper knew the relationship between Jiang Yashuang and Qiu Yelan, he was naturally shocked when he saw them. He hurriedly looked around, “Why are you here with Your Grace?”
Before Jiang Yashuang answered, Ou Qinglan’s wagon had arrived. Miss Ou jumped down neatly before the wagon stopped. She went up and asked, “Is this the Ruans’ residence? It’s so quiet… Oh, it’s the mourning period? No wonder.”
Although the servant did not know her, he knew that she was a n.o.ble girl from her costume and manner, so he turned to Qiu Yelan for help. “Who’s she, Your Grace?” Was she General Jiang’s secret lover, or the fiancee that his family had arranged for him, who took advantage of the Qianqiu Festival to make trouble for the Commandery Princess? The Commandery Princess could not resist it and came to our master for help, and the two followed her here?
Qiu Yelan frowned, “I don’t know her either. Did anyone come here today?”
The servant responded instantly, “No!”
“Is my brother… cousin okay today? Have you seen him?” Qiu Yelan asked as she entered the gate.
The servant followed her and said, “Everything is fine with him. But he didn’t go out today, so I didn’t see him.”
Then it was not necessarily good!
At present, the most likely method adopted by the Empress Dowager’s party was a.s.sa.s.sination. In such a large place like the Ruans’ residence, even if there was a stream of blood inside, the gatekeeper might not find it.
Qiu Yelan quickened her pace. In a moon gate, she almost b.u.mped into Qiu Jinglan, who hurriedly came to meet them.
Qiu Jinglan hurriedly held her by the shoulder and scolded, “What are you doing in such haste? There’s none of a girl’s manner…” Seeing Jiang Yashuang was looking at him impa.s.sively not far away, he frowned, “Why are you here, General Jiang?”
Jiang Yashuang did not answer but stared at his hands on Qiu Yelan’s shoulders until he took them away. “Lanlan had barely entered the palace when she suddenly wanted to come out to find you. I do not know what is going on. I was afraid she wouldn’t get out of the palace alone, so I sent her over.”
Qiu Jinglan looked doubtfully at Qiu Yelan. “What’s the matter?”
“Are you all right?” Seeing that he seemed to know nothing, Qiu Yelan felt nervous and asked embarra.s.sedly.
Qiu Jinglan was baffled. “What’s the matter with me?”
Although he was shrewd, he was confused at the moment. Seeing a strange girl in red looking straight at him not far behind Jiang Yashuang, he frowned and stretched out his hand to greet the guests. “All are my guests. Please come in and talk inside.”
Although Jiang Yashuang was in a bad mood now, he did not lose his etiquette. “Let’s go to the General’s memorial tablet to pay homage first.”
“This way, please!” Of course, Qiu Jinglan would not stop them, but he looked at the girl in red with peculiar eyes. It was too incongruous to go to the memorial hall in red….
Ou Qinglan stared at him without blinking. She didn’t regain her consciousness until pushed by a maid. She smiled and echoed Jiang Yashuang, “Yes, we should!”
Qiu Jinglan, who didn’t know her, winked at his sister for her to introduce the girl, but Qiu Yelan was wearing a frowning face and didn’t see his wink at all. Jiang Yashuang noticed the wink and introduced, “This is Miss Ou of my grand aunt’s family. Her grandmother and my grandmother are cousins.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Ou.” Qiu Jinglan searched his mind and knew that it was the family of Marquess Jibei’s father-in-law. They had a relationship with Marquess Qin, that was, the two old ladies were cousins. “Miss Ou came here unexpectedly. I wonder what advice I can get.”
“I came with your sister.” Ou Qinglan’s face blushed when she was asked and she didn’t know where to put her hands and feet. She came forward in a hurry and held on to Qiu Yelan, who didn’t even know her name. “It was urgent and I just had no time to change clothes. I hope you won’t mind.”
Hearing her gentle tone, Jiang Yashuang, who was full of worries, looked back and glanced at her seriously, confirming that she was Ou Qinglan. She had been so violent since childhood that Ou Bicheng was often mocked that the sons of the Ou Family were like sheep and the daughters like wolves. Who would have thought that Miss Ou had such tenderness?
Not only he but also Qiu Yelan was stunned. She did not expose her on the spot in case she was embarra.s.sed. Only when Qiu Jinglan and Jiang Yashuang were walking in front of them was she able to have a chance to whisper, “Miss Ou, what do you mean?”
“Princess Ningyi… Oh, no… Princess Qiu… Oh, no… Sister Qiu. Oh, no… Sister Lan. Yes, I’ll call you that from now on!” Ou Qinglan tugged at her arm enthusiastically and evolved the addressing directly from that of the first meeting to that of a best friend for many years. Then she nervously asked the question she was most concerned about at present, “Sister Lan, is your brother… married or not?”