Chapter 66 An Unexpected Visitor
Qiu Yelan had a sharp tongue but a tender heart. She weighed that Qiu Jinzhu and her brother were kids and Mrs. Zhou had pleaded for them. Thus, she asked them to stand up soon.
However, their servants were not so lucky to escape from punishment. “Su He, you go there and find out who among them bullied you before. Go and get all of them. They must be punished!”
Qiu Yelan remembered them clearly, saying, “Mrs. Sun, Mrs. Fan, Xiuyan and the cart driver, and those servants who sent me to the General’s Mansion. Get all of them here — Anyone who is not here or reluctant to be here, you tell me the name, I will go and punish them myself.”
She tried hard to persuade Ruan Qingyan letting her go in an attempt to cash in on this. She, of course, would not stand by and watch it slip away.
So, Qiu Yelan ordered Chunran, “You go there too. If Su He is too softhearted, you should be there and take charge! We should see to it that they know our att.i.tude and what they should do! Not only to me but also to all of you!”
… When Xiaran came back from the General’s Mansion, she heard a bitter cry from far away. She was surprised what’s going on there. She rushed into the yard, seeing that Su He was supervising two old maidservants she took from the General’s Mansion caning the servants. After seeing it clearly, she was relieved.
“What’s going on here?” surprised Xiaran.
“Commandery Princess asked us to teach them a lesson!” said Su He. She was a little anxious because she was too young to see the b.l.o.o.d.y scene and hear the one after another cry. “You must go in. Commandery Princess is waiting for you to report what’s going on,” said Su He, hastily.
Xiaran looked around surprisedly, walking into the room.
“You also knew ‘Tianya’?” asked Qiu Yelan, surprisedly. “Their business is flourishing, I heard.”
Xiaran said in a low voice, “Do you remember that Dongran went out at one night? She was looking for them.”
That meant this group was a well-organized one — As we all know, the killer who murdered somebody in front of the examination compound had yet to be judged. Qiu Dian did a lot of work to acquit Li Gui.
“So, you must know how they handle things, right?” asked Qiu Yelan.
“Young master said you need to ask Lian Family to task it, and he will pay it later,” said Xiaran in a low voice. “Young master has tasked them many times. And the head of them was a new one transferred from the south… He is a friend of young master.”
Qiu Yelan was stunned, “A friend? It sounded like he was a regular customer who doesn’t need a member card to enjoy a discount. Ruan Qingyan must have done many businesses with them.”
A frightening idea spinning in his head: The cousin might have dealt with official mother and brother as a business with “Tianya” … That might be the reason why the followers of Empress Dowager seeking for official mother and brother were not feeling guilty at all…
Xiaran said awkwardly, “Anyway, it is good to pay it later. Commandery Princess and Lian Family both need not pay for it.”
Looking at her awkward expression, Qiu Yelan murmured, “If so, I realize suddenly… Oh, tomorrow is not Okay, as I have to express my grat.i.tude to the Emperor. The day after tomorrow will be fine. And then I will go to Lian Family and explain it.”
Saying of this, she reminded of something, “The thank-you letter… How to write it then?”
The rest was shocked at her words, looking at each other surprisedly.
Seeing what the rest did, Qiu Yelan put down her tea bowl and said, “Then, go and see whether Xiuyan has been carried back? Ask her to give me a module to copy… Oh, not copy, to learn how to write from it!”
Xiaran bit her lip, trying to hold her laugh. She saluted and walked out of the room, searching for help.
All of a sudden, she ran back to the room and said, “The daughters of Qiao Chengbo Family have been here. They are in the hall waiting for the reception!”
“Daughter of He Family?” thought Qiu Yelan. She remembered that last night when she sneaked into the next door, a lady was talking about Miss He. “Is it Miss He? Why did she come here for me? Did she realize that I was hiding in the room yesterday?” thought Qiu Yelan, shockingly.
She thought ofor a while and did not respond immediately — The maid Mrs. Zhou advised her in a low voice, “Your Grace, I think you must go there and meet her. Miss He’s father, though not an official, is a trusted follower of Great General of North. Her grandfather was a military adviser of Mr. Jiang!”
“I did not say I don’t want to meet her. I am wondering why a lady I never heard before suddenly came here for me,” said Qiu Yelan, frowning.
Mrs. Zhou did not overthink. She said, “Miss He is shrewd… And she is a material girl. I think that this girl might have visited many people who she did not know much. She may find out something profitable. I also heard that she is a businesswoman who keeps her promise. Take it easy.”
It would be fine if her intention were for business. She might be here making trouble!
Qiu Yelan smiled bitterly and said, “Well. I will go and meet her. It may be not polite to make our guest wait too long!”
Entering the front hall, they saw a girl of seventeen or eighteen surrounded by a dozen maids sitting on the chair and drinking a cup of tea.
Realizing that Qiu Yelan was entering the room, the girl stood up. She smiled at her, saying, “Pleased to meet you, Your Grace!” And then she saluted to her.
“Glad to meet you. Welcome to my home,” replied Qiu Yelan. She realized that this girl was not an ordinary person. To her, it would not be polite to be condescending. She immediately went forward and shook hands with her and took a glimpse at her at the same time. She was pretty with an always smiling face, arching eyebrows and bright eyes. She was wearing a skirt with different patterns on it and her hair in a bun. There were not many decorations on her head except two or three pearl head-ornaments and hairpins.
Not wearing any fancy clothes, she still had a temperament born in a top-cla.s.s family. Qiu Yelan was wondering she might wear like this because she was still in the mourning period. Qiu Yelan raised her hand and invited her to sit.
After sitting back, Miss He began to introduce herself. Her nickname was “Shuijin”. For the reason of politeness, Qiu Yelan also told her her nickname — And then, they talked about the weather, seasons, food, etc. Miss He knew that Qiu Yelan had a cat around. So, they shared cat-raising experience …
Qiu Yelan was attempting to get the points in the first place, and then she found out that this girl… had no points at all. Was she coming here for an empty talk? No points at all?
Realizing that it was getting dark, He Shuijin drank the tea and said with a smile, “Oh, I almost forgot my intention coming here. I have an important thing discussing with you.”
Hearing that she was getting to the focus, Qiu Yelan smiled. She replied excitedly, “So, what’s it, sister!”
“I want to know whether you have a female teacher?” asked He Shuijin, smiling.
“Not yet…” replied Qiu Yelan, guessing that Miss He might intend to introduce a female teacher to her — Qiu Yelan was reluctant to accept a strange teacher. Lian Family once recommended her aunt to live with her, which she refused. Was she a nice person or not? She did not know? Nor was the female teacher recommended by He Shuijin.
In particular, He Shuijin was a girl of privilege and greedy — and yet how much she could get to recommend a female teacher? There must be an inside story!
“Okay,” said He Shuijin, smiling. “I want to recommend Miss Shao to you. She is also born in a famous family and well-known in girl’s circle — She is working now in the Jiang’s residence next door teaching Chunfu princess. Over the past years, Chunfu princess had learned as much as she could teach. Thus, Miss Shao, despite being convinced to stay in the Jiang’s residence, insisted on ‘not receiving any salary upon no work’. On the other side, Chunfu princess also wants to proceed to visit her frequently. So, she requested me to ask you if you will permit Miss Shao to stay with you.”
She proceeded, “Chunfu princess is the eighteenth child of the Jiang Family. Her true name is Jiang Qizheng.”
What she said sounded justifiable. However, thinking of the suggestion provided by Jiang Yashuang last night, Qiu Yelan guessed that He Shuijin must be commissioned by Jiang Yashuang.
“Are you concerning about whether Miss Shao is stern? No need at all,” said He Shuijin, realizing Qiu Yelan did not respond and look at the ground. She was guessing what Qiu Yelan was concerned. “Actually, Miss Shao is a gentle lady. She treats her students as sisters and never force or constrain you to do anything.”
Qiu Yelan was relieved after hearing of this — She did not care what Miss Shao could teach her. What she cared most was that she could behave herself and leave her alone. After all, He Shuijin was a girl of privilege and coming here in the name of Chunfu princess. It would be rude to refuse her.
Allowing for it, Qiu Yelan said with a smile, “There must have a misunderstanding between us. I think that I have been taught by my mother before. I never have a female teacher. I have no idea how to employ a teacher… So, I am meditating the rites and lost in my thought!”
He Shuijin knew that what she said was empty talk. She ignored it, and said with a smile “No need at all. Miss Shao is an open-mind lady. And you are in the mourning period. In my view, it will be good to hold a simple ceremony. If you don’t want to spend much time on these demanding rites, I will send one for your help.”
And then they talked the details how to invite Miss Shao to come to the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe — As the date Ruan Qingyan attending the imperial exam was nearing, and Chunfu princess also wanted Miss Shao to stay with her longer, Qiu Yelan determined to hold the ceremony after the date of declaring the results of the imperial exam. And then, Qiu Yelan could focus on her learning.
After things got done, He Shuijin said goodbye to Qiu Yelan and thanked Qiu Yelan’s reception.
Qiu Yelan, of course, had to see her off — They held each other’s arm walking along. He Shuijin said with a fake smile, “Sister, we had a pleasant talk today. We are friends now. If you have any trouble in the future, I can do you a favor, if possible. Even if it is beyond my capability, I also can ask somebody else to help.”
“… I appreciate your help, sister,” said Qiu Yelan with thanks. She thought to herself, “You are really sent by Jiang Yashuang!”
Seeing this girl off, Qiu Yelan was walking back to her room with Su He. On her way home, she encountered Kang Lizhang. She was out of breath and said, “Qiu Hongzhi hurt Qiu Yinzhi!”
“Don’t tell me this. It’s not my business,” said Qiu Yelan, impatiently.
“Qiu Yinzhi intended to kill Qiu Hongzhi. Qiu Hongzhi wounded Qiu Yinzhi when they were fighting,” said Kang Lizhang, quickly. “Qiu Yinzhi said that he heard from you that Qiu Hongzhi would kill him and Qiu Jinzhu. So, he grabbed a knife and wanted to kill Qiu Hongzhi — Now, Qiu Hongzhi wants you to… well, invites you to the wing hall explaining the whole thing!”
Qiu Yelan smiled coldly and said, “You just asked Qiu Hongzhi to investigate all my servants who were punished. I never mentioned him?!” She shook her sleeve impatiently. “It’s their business. I don’t want to get involved. Leave me alone!”
She pushed away Kang Lizhang while she was catching a paper ball slipping out of Kang Lizhang’s sleeve.