Chapter 316 Help Him!
Marquess Qin only took one look at him and then waved his hand to let the servants withdraw. After that, Marquess Qin stroked his beard, smiled, and asked, “Has your daughter-in-law been wronged in the palace?”
Jiang Yashuang was not surprised that his grandfather was right. After saluting him, Jiang Yashuang replied faintly, “I know that both my grandmother and my aunt love me, but the things in the backyard are like drinking water that one knows hot and cold. If too many people care about it, it will be easy to get into trouble. Grandfather, please help me.”
“Love you?” Marquess Qin said lazily, “Just a little… They care more about themselves, don’t they?”
Jiang Yashuang didn’t say anything.
Marquess Qin said with a smile, “I won’t take care of this. Cultivate your mind, take family responsibilities, learn how to govern the country, and preserve peace and order. You know how much I hope for you. If I have to deal with such a small matter for you, then what you have learned from me for these years?”
Seeing that Jiang Yashuang was still silent, he continued, “Why? You don’t want to make your grandmother and your aunt sad, and you also don’t want your wife to be sad, do you? You’ll meet dilemmas more difficult than this in the future. You can’t make up your mind about such a family affair… Do you really want to let me down?”
“Please allow me to leave!” Jiang Yashuang failed to ask for help. With a long sigh, he had to leave.
After he left, Sir Jibei came out of the compartment and said, “Why do you embarra.s.s him with this? The child was brought up by Madame Miao. The Empress loves him the most among her nephews. He has a generous character. So, it’s hard for him to say something bad about these two. Madame Qiu is the first wife he married even if he polluted his reputation. The young couple has always loved each other, and he can’t bear to let her be wronged… You can tell Madame Miao and Empress that they’d better not find another wife for Jiang Yashuang so that Jiang Yashuang can concentrate on his work, right? ”
“Concentrate on the job?” However, Marquess Qin shook his head. “How could we concentrate on doing good things bad in those years? How much can women understand no matter they are in our backyard or the palace? They can help, but in the final a.n.a.lysis, it’s still the head of a family who makes decisions. The head of a family means that, regardless of the inside and outside, you have to take charge of everything, and you must have time. If I indulge him that he can only deal with official business, I will hurt him.”
“I don’t mean to solve all the problems for him, but the conflict between filial piety and love between husband and wife…”
Marquess Qin disagreed, “Brother, you see things too shallow. Don’t you understand what I have said to Jiang Yashuang?”
Sir Jibei was stunned. Looking back, he was surprised and said, “Do you mean that Madame Miao and Empress do this not just out of concern about Jiang Yashuang?”
“In your eyes, the dilemma is just the conflict between filial piety and the love between husband and wife.” Marquess Qin said calmly, “What I care about is whether Jiang Yashuang will be manipulated by either of them.”
Sir Jibei was stunned again, “How could this be possible?”
“Why not?” Marquess Qin said calmly, “The daughter-in-law of our fourth brother is not virtuous. In order to prevent her husband from marrying a mistress, she even can leave her own child. After the eldest brother abandoned the eighth child, Jiang Yashuang and his sister were sent back. I can only give them to Madame Miao. However, is Madame Miao devoted to raising him?”
“Jiang Yashuang is much better than the eighth child.” Sir Jibei couldn’t help saying, “The way the granddaughter of Sir Tao raises children is much better than that of Madame Dou. In the past years, the seventh child…” He sighed,” It was such a pity.”
When it came to the outstanding but unlucky young son who died early, Marquess Qin’s eyes also showed a touch of sadness, but it was just like that. In a flash, he recovered his equilibrium, “Children raised by Madame Miao wholeheartedly are good, but remember that she also raised Jiang Yazhu.”
He sneered, “How long has she raised Jiang Yazhu? As soon as Jiang Yashuang and his sister were sent back, she immediately left to raise them. Why is that?”
Sir Jibei always had great respect for Madame Tao. This respect came from his respect for Tao Yinsong and Madame Tao’s performance since she was married. At this moment, he couldn’t help saying for his sister-in-law, “The direct grandson is really more important than the common grandson.”
“But there was no problem with her energy to raise two grandchildren at the same time if it was just the way that an ordinary grandmother taught her grandchildren.” Marquess Qin sighed, “The reason why she abandoned Jiang Yazhu and raised Jiang Yashuang was that she was not satisfied with teaching Jiang Yashuang, and she wanted to make Jiang Yashuang only listen to her. She has to take care of what she does to avoid that I can’t bear it and won’t let her raise the nineteenth grandson. Therefore, she needs to devote herself to Jiang Yashuang and thus she can’t take care of Jiang Yazhu. You see the hostility of Jiang Yashuang to the first branch. Do you think it’s just that the first branch has gone too far? Your second sister-in-law, Madame Miao, has been imperceptibly influenced all these years.”
Sir Jibei was shocked, “Brother, since you know, why do you let her do it?” No matter how much he respected his sister-in-law, he couldn’t just sit by and watch her stir up trouble among children of the Jiang Family, which was the bottom line of men of the Jiang Family.
“Don’t you think it’s a challenge for Jiang Yashuang?” Marquess Qin said faintly, “He’s grown up. He should know what’s right and what’s wrong and how to choose under the dilemma… He should have his own idea.”
“But over the years, if Madame Miao has been driving a wedge between him and the first branch, would it be easy to reverse it?” Sir Jibei disagreed with Marquess Qin’s method of teaching his grandson, “And if he always thinks that Madame Miao’s words are reasonable, what will he do?”
Marquess Qin said lightly, “So I’ll let him handle this matter by himself! I don’t care whether he’s on Madame Miao’s side, Empress’s side, or his wife’s side. The important thing is that when he deals with this, he can think about his future road carefully.”
His eyes flashed sternly and said, “Madame Miao and Empress are of one mind. The seventh child pa.s.sed away at a young age. They hope that the Jiang Family will have someone who can stand on their side so that they will not be weak and controlled by the Jiang Family after I die. I can understand their feelings. It’s just that they can’t choose Jiang Yashuang. I’ve cultivated him by myself for more than ten years. Is it to cultivate a p.a.w.n for them? The grandson I want is the pillar of the family in the future, not the slave who will only listen to one or several people.”
In the mind of Marquess Qin, he didn’t pay much attention to the filial piety and conscience of his descendants. What he cared about was the family, the family made up of descendants. Therefore, it didn’t matter whether Jiang Yashuang chose to care for the love of Madame Tao and Empress Jiang for many years, or his wife.
The key point was that his disposal should be based on his own plan, starting from Jiang Yashuang himself, rather than on the encouragement and instigation of the standpoint of others.
Whether it was family or love, Jiang Yashuang must occupy a dominant position in it, not a subordinate. No matter how outstanding and capable Jiang Yashuang was, it was not what Marquess Qin wanted if he didn’t take the dominant position.
Because in the eyes of Marquess Qin, although people like the old wife, daughters, and granddaughters-in-law could also be called members of the Jiang Family, and their daughters even had the blood of the Jiang Family, they couldn’t completely stand in the position of the Jiang Family.
Only the Jiang Family’s male heirs took considerations from the perspective of the Jiang Family.
Therefore, in the eyes of Marquess Qin, although Madame Tao and Empress Jiang had been caring for Jiang Yashuang since childhood, they were trying to shackle this grandson with family affection, trying to capture, control, and use him with this affection. Finally, when Jiang Yashuang became a chess piece, they could use him as they pleased. How could Marquess Qin agree to it?
“I stand by now because Madame Miao and Empress coerced him by family affection, and Qiu Yelan coerced him by the love between them. It’s a kind of training for Jiang Yashuang, and it helps him to think clearly about some things.” Marquess Qin sneered, “If he can see it clearly and step over, it’s best.”
Sir Jibei frowned and said, “What if he can’t make it?” Was it easy for young people to break away from family and love? After breaking free, what else could Jiang Yashuang value? Did people who didn’t value anything have the intention to live? Sir Jibei felt that what his second brother did actually didn’t make sense.
It was easy to harm the most outstanding heirs of the Jiang Family.
“Then let’s help him get there!” Marquess Qin glanced indifferently at the direction of the imperial palace. Although Empress Jiang was his own daughter, in the eyes of Marquess Qin, the growth and development of the male heirs of the Jiang Family were far more important than that of the daughter. There were two reasons. One was that the married daughter was like the water thrown out of the door; the second was that although Empress Jiang was fierce and unruly, she was not smart in the eyes of Marquess Qin. She had no son and most of the time she thought about things from the perspective of her mother’s family. However, Marquess Qin always thought that even if she were a son, it would not be enough to lead the Jiang Family to go far. Therefore, Jiang Yashuang deserved more focus.
Marquess Qin thought that although he had no unmarried daughter or niece if Empress Jiang went wrong, it might be more convenient to support his subordinates’ daughter or niece to be the step empress and control her. At least that kind of Empress would not dare to do some tricks without telling him because she was his own blood, and would not want to control her grandson that she had high hopes for.
Qiu Yelan would be very happy if she knew Marquess Qin’s ideas. Empress Jiang and Madame Tao were afraid that Jiang Yashuang would be attracted by her wife and listen to her. But they didn’t know that in the eyes of the real master of the Jiang Family, they were the ones who had bad intentions and should be prevented. Even Marquess Qin had made a decision to sacrifice them to “help” his grandchildren.
But at this time, Qiu Yelan did not know her grandfather’s plan. She was surprised to receive the suddenly returned Chunfu Princess Jiang Qizheng. She said, “Jiang Qizheng, why do you come back?”
“I came back to see grandma. I heard you were ill. So I come and have a look.” Jiang Qizheng was much thinner than when she got married, and her clothes were much simpler, but the powder on her face was a little thicker compared with the simple clothes. For senior ladies like her, she would never make such a mistake in dressing. Qiu Yelan thought that she should use this method to cover up her bad looks.
Thinking of this, Qiu Yelan felt hard to talk with her. She was frightened in the next greetings and tried to avoid mentioning Qiu Feng, but she still accidentally mentioned, “Your bracelet color is beautiful!”
“Is it?” Jiang Qizheng made a complex smile, “My husband gave it to me.”
“…” Qiu Yelan was stunned. She thought, “Did brother really persuade them to make up? Then why doesn’t the look on the princess’s face mean that?”
But now she had to say, “Your husband is very nice to you.” With these words, looking at Jiang Qizheng’s tears in her eyes, Qiu Yelan had the impulse to take the words back immediately.
“He…” Jiang Qizheng had tears in her eyes but did not cry out. She just lowered her head, stiffed for a while, and said, “He is really good to me.”
Qiu Yelan completely didn’t know how to answer. When she just wanted to change the topic abruptly, she heard a sign from Jiang Qizheng. Jiang Qizheng said disappointedly, “It’s just I don’t want that kind of good treatment.”
“…”
“He respects me very much and talks to me very kindly… He doesn’t object to anything I do. He will do whatever I want him to do as long as he can do it.” Tears finally appeared in Jiang Qizheng’s eyes. Fortunately, Qiu Yelan had been prepared and had already made an excuse to talk to her alone. Now she quickly handed her handkerchief and secretly prayed that she would not cry and disturb her servants.
Jiang Qizheng took the handkerchief, but she didn’t wipe her face. She let her tears flow down her face. “He never looks at the beautiful maidservants in the mansion, and he doesn’t go out to make affairs. He really did well as a husband, and I have nothing to complain about, but I’m really sad in my heart.”
Of course she was.
What she wanted was a husband who could flirt with, instead of friends who treated her politely.
Qiu Yelan persuaded, “I heard from my elder brother that Master Qiu… No, your husband is decent, and he is not interested in women. Before you get married, you never met each other. Maybe, em…”
Fine. It had been a year after Jiang Qizheng got married. It was improper to say Qiu Feng was unfamiliar with her.
“I know why.” Jiang Qizheng sniffed and choked, “I misunderstood him at the beginning. I thought he couldn’t dislike me, and I liked him. And so I insisted on marrying him. But it turned out that he really didn’t mean anything to me. It was because he couldn’t make it to my family and had to marry me. How could he be happy? It’s just that he doesn’t want to quarrel because he is kind. Even if he gets married reluctantly, he can’t raise his interest. After all, it is my fault. I think too much of myself.”
Qiu Yelan had always thought so. But now listening to Jiang Qizheng’s words, she sympathized with her a lot and said, “I think your idea may be wrong. It is more likely that your husband was born reckless, and so he can’t get used to today’s life.”
“It’s of no use to say that now.” Jiang Qizheng said with a sad smile, “It’s just that since I’ve been sorry for him once, how can I let him stay in danger in order to avoid me?”
Qiu Yelan was surprised and was about to ask, but Jiang Qizheng continued, “You know more about the situation in Shazhou than I do. Your brother’s people sent a letter to my husband, saying that your brother used his body as bait to lead Empress Dowager Gu and Kuang Shihan’s men to go around in the desert. As a result, he has been seriously injured, and his life is in danger. I hope my husband can come to help. It’s reasonable that since my husband has an old friendship with your brother, he really should do it. But Shazhou is too far. Not to mention whether there’s enough time for my husband to get there. Your brother and the Jiang Family have arranged things in Shazhou. If it cannot be done by that many people, how can my husband do it alone?”
Before Jiang Qizheng finished speaking, Qiu Yelan had already jumped up and ran out. She ran and said loudly, “Hurry up! Go and get Jiang Yashuang back.”