Chapter 72 That Is Your Fate!
“Tianya” was indeed worthy of being recommended by Jiang Yashuang, a member of the crown prince’s party who had experienced all kinds of situations. It was both efficient and professional. Xiaran went over that night and paid the full amount of 300 taels of silver. The next day at noon, there was news from the Prince’s Mansion of Guangyang that two tenders were injured on the way to the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe.
“How did it happen in the middle of the city?” Qiu Yelan asked with a smile, “Was it an accident or something else?”
“An accident.” Xiaran, who had been enjoined by Tianya and went out to “receive goods” this morning, chuckled. “The horse pulling the cart was suddenly frightened and fell into a ditch by the road! One tender had a leg broken and the other was injured in the head. They were so wretched when rescued out!”
Su He, holding Whitey next to him, interjected, “Hey, just like this?”
“Little Su He is getting crueller.” Qiu Yelan teased her and asked with a smile, “What do you think will happen?”
Su He blushed, “Aren’t the men from ‘Tianya’ all killers…”
“Did you forget that Governor Feng Rugui used to be a disciple of the Jiangs? Anything bad that happens in Jing City is to be dealt with by Feng Rugui in the end.” Qiu Yelan believed that Tianya belonged to the Jiangs. For the Jiang Family, both Tianya and Feng Rugui were their own. They earned the money, but wasn’t it too ridiculous?
She took a sip of tea and smiled, “The two tenders actually had done nothing against us. But Mrs. Gu sent them to make rules for me and I just didn’t like that. It would be fine to just stop them. There was need to make things worse. Besides, we could have saved some money!”
“You are right, Your Grace. In fact, the two tenders had suffered too much this time.” Xiaran listened quietly and smiled, “If it hadn’t been for a pair of pa.s.sing siblings who ordered their men to help, it could have been very hard to drag them out!”
Qiu Yelan felt that there was nothing more to ask about. After all, she herself was Commandery Princess. Even if Mrs. Gu, his nominal mother-in-law, wanted to send someone to teach her rules, not anyone was eligible.
Although the power of Prince’s Mansion of Guangyang is beyond that of Prince’s Mansion of Xihe, in terms of social status, they were similar. She didn’t believe Mrs. Gu, a widow who lived with her only son in her parents’ home, would send tenders now and again. Didn’t the princesses and ladies of the Gus need teachers?
She was about to change the topic when Xiaran said, “The siblings looked familiar. I might saw them in the examination compound last time.”
“You mean Qiu Bo and Qiu Nie?” Qiu Yelan had a good memory.
Xiaran nodded, “But they seem to have a younger sister, who is one or two years younger than Your Grace and is very cute. The maid saw her giving her veil to cover the wound of the tender who was injured in the head at the tea-house.”
“She’s a little girl. It’s not surprising that she is kind.” Qiu Yelan said so, but thinking of the anomaly Qiu Nie last time, she couldn’t help muttering, “How come where there is trouble, there are people from that Qiu Family, who are all so pa.s.sionate and helpful?”
But then she thought, “Even if Qiu Nie has learned some martial arts and might be good at… It’s not a fault to be good at both literature and martial arts and he may not be a good person…. Well, does a good person have anything to do with me? I am not Chief Minister!”
Qiu Yelan ignored these and told the maids, “Yesterday, Princess Chunfu and Miss He said Madam Shao likes pear blossoms. You will go to the Young Master’s residence and ask if there are any decorations with pear blossoms in the warehouse and bring a few over. If he refuses, just tell him I will come in person.”
Su He smiled and said, “How dare he refuse?”
She rose, handed Whitey to Xiaran and was about to set off to find Qiu Hongzhi when Chunran, with a few pear blossoms on her temples, walked in and whispered, “Cousin Mingzhu is here.”
“Why is it her?” Qiu Yelan sneered. There was no doubt that Qiu Mingzhu came over for Mistress Bian’s pregnancy. But Qiu Yelan had intended to let Kang Lizhang take a message and didn’t want to get involved directly. The reason was very simple. She was a niece and it was not good for her to keep a close relationship with her uncle’s concubine.
With Kang Lizhang pa.s.sing messages, she could get away any time she wanted to…. Now it seemed that Mistress Bian might not trust Kang Lizhang and sent her niece over.
“Show her in now that she is here.” Qiu Yelan commanded casually.
Qiu Mingzhu was her senior. Qiu Yelan should have gone to meet her to show her respect.
But, on the one hand, Qiu Mingzhu came to seek help from Qiu Yelan; on the other hand, Qiu Mingzhu left a bad impression on her the last time they met. Qiu Yelan didn’t even care for Qiu Hongzhi, none to mention Qiu Mingzhu.
A moment later, Qiu Mingzhu appeared in the doorway with her lips clenched. After crossing the threshold, she knelt down and pleaded, “I was worried about Mistress Bian last time and said something stupid to you. I beg you to forgive me!”
“Nothing the matter. I also asked Mrs. Zhou to take you to Princess Yang. I heard you were restrained by Princess Yang for a few days.” Qiu Yelan said lightly, “It was not me who had suffered. There is no reason for the forgiveness.”
A trace of anger flashed across Qiu Mingzhu’s eyes, but she immediately returned to helplessness, “Thank you for your generosity.”
“Get up and let’s have a chat, Cousin Mingzhu.” Qiu Yelan pointed to the seat a bit away from her, “Be seated!”
Qiu Mingzhu thanked before getting up and sat down. After sitting down, she saw that Qiu Yelan was only teasing the Persian cat in Xiaran’s arms and ignored her, so she cleared her throat and said, “Cousin Yelan, Mistress Bian sent me over to beg you for something.”
Qiu Yelan rubbed Whitey’s soft fur and asked indifferently, “What’s it?”
“Mistress Bian’s mother is seriously ill. She can’t rest a.s.sured that she wants to go back and have a look.” Qiu Mingzhu endured being ignored and said, “If it is possible, she wants to stay for a few days.”
“She should ask my aunt, not me.” Qiu Yelan let go of Whitey that was dissatisfied with “Meow” and looked at her, “How can a niece get involved in her uncle’s household affairs?”
Qiu Mingzhu bit her lower lip again and said, “Okay, I’m telling the truth — Mistress Bian wants to go back for a short stay and you know the reason now. She sent me here to ask you for help. If you can help, Mistress Bian’s savings over the years, though not very much, will not disappoint you.”
“For a short stay” Qiu Yelan smiled, “Do you really think Princess Yang is a corpse? Your father is pretending to be sick in bed and Princess Yang uses that as an excuse and does not allow his concubines to get close to him in case they would disturb him. Being a favorite concubine, she does not show any concerns about your father’s illness but wants to visit her mother. I ask you, since Mistress Bian came to over, have her parents ever been sick? Has Mistress Bian ever returned to visit? Will Princess Yang believe it’s so coincident? Do you think Princess Yang is actually an idiot?”
Qiu Mingzhu’s face changed a bit. She bent slightly toward her and said eagerly, “You mean?”
“If Mistress Bian stays obediently in the Mansion, she might be able to hide it for a few more days while Princess Yang’s attention is now focused on Qiu Hongzhi. Should she dare to propose to leave the mansion, huh!” Qiu Yelan sneered, “No one could guarantee that her baby is safe!”
“Then Cousin Yelan, what’s your idea?” Qiu Mingzhu asked anxiously. She couldn’t help being anxious. She was the only daughter of a concubine in the Prince’s Mansion. All the other girls were Commandery Princesses. And because of the favor of Mistress Bian, she was disliked by the official mother.
Right now, she was fifteen and would have her hair done up in the middle of the year. The most important thing in this age was about to marry. Was Princess Yang going to marry her to a satisfactory guy? Qiu Mingzhu was worried about this matter. Now Mistress Bian was pregnant and had secretly seen a doctor, who concluded that it was a male child…. This was really good news for Qiu Mingzhu. How could she let go of this opportunity?
Qiu Yelan glanced at her and said with a half smile, “How was Mistress Liu ousted from the Mansion? I was not there at that time, so please tell me the details.”
“I’m not sure about that either,” Qiu Mingzhu gasped and said, “It is said that Mistress Liu’s maid was tortured, but the confession was made by Mistress Liu.”
“Princess Yang insisted that it was Mistress Bian. But Lu should aim at Princess Yang, right?” Qiu Yelan asked leisurely, “Why should Mistress Liu get involved in?”
Qiu Mingzhu said with a bitter smile, “Mistress Bian was slandered by the Princess because she also went to the garden that night. And the one who asked her to go to the garden was Mistress Liu. Maybe only the Princess knows the truth.”
“Would either of the two favorite concubines be abandoned sooner or later?” Qiu Yelan yelled, “The Princess is really good at playing.”
“Of course.” Qiu Mingzhu pursed her lips and said, “Mistress Bian and Mistress Liu knew they were both tricked. Since the Young Master was involved in, they had no choice but to fight to the bitter end in order to protect themselves.” In the end, it was Mistress Bian who was more skillful and won.
So the defeated Mistress Liu took the charge of murdering Qiu Hongzhi and was swept out of the Mansion.
After a pause, Qiu Mingzhu said, “Cousin Yelan, you know how important this opportunity is for Mistress Bian, Mistress Tian and me. I will not lie to you. Mistress Bian and Mistress Tian are willing to repay you with all their private savings so long as you can help!”
Qiu Yelan stretched her finger and flicked on Whitey’s head, making Whitey attack her with an annoyed paw. But the kitten could not hurt her at this time. Pretending not to see Su He’s complaining eyes, Qiu Yelan turned to Qiu Mingzhu, “Send the deposit over first. I’ll give you a way out when I am satisfied with the deposit.”
“Then what’s the deposit?” Qiu Mingzhu was stunned.
“It depends on your sincerity.” Qiu Yelan said lazily. “After all, you have seen it. I am not short of anything now and there’s no need to ask for trouble. So if you are sincere enough, I might take the trouble. If you are not sincere, why should I take the trouble?”
She reminded again, “Anyhow, the deposit will never be refunded!”
Qiu Mingzhu bit her lips for a long time before she could hold her breath and said coldly, “If your way does not work well, then…”
“That’s your fate!” Qiu Yelan said firmly, “Anything unexpected may happen at any time. Don’t blame it on me!”
“… I have to go back and discuss with them!” Qiu Mingzhu got up with a darkened face, “Just wait for my reply!”
Qiu Yelan nodded, “Go ahead. But it’s better to be quick. My cousin will be a Jinshi tomorrow. I’ll be relieved when his ranking is a.s.sured in the list. I’ll take the Madam to the Mansion to start the cla.s.s…. I may have no time for the business in case the Madam arranges too much schoolwork!”
Qiu Yelan’s face suddenly turned dark as she watched Qiu Mingzhu walk away!
Su He asked in surprise, “Your Grace?”
“They are having a good plan!” Qiu Yelan sneered and explained to Su He, “Do you think they really came to beg me? It’s obvious that they are taking advantage of me. Qiu Mingzhu stayed here for half a day. Princess Yang will know it unless she is dead! And then she will know Mistress Bian is pregnant. Even if Qiu Mengmin is still ill, dare Princess Yang do it easily?”
Su He said in surprise, “Why did Cousin Mingzhu ask you again and again for a way?”
“If Princess Yang knows that she came over alone and talked with me for a long time, she will not touch Mistress Bian easily, not that she dare not touch her!” Qiu Yelan said coldly, “She is the Princess. If she wants to settle with a concubine, there are always ways! I guess Mistress Tian and others are planning like this: If I have a perfect solution, I am willing to buy peace; if I don’t have one, Qiu Mingzhu’s visit can also make Princess Yang restrain a bit!”
Su He was annoyed and said, “Cousin Mingzhu was really up to no good! I had thought she was sincere! But she just wanted to take advantage of Your Grace and didn’t wanna spend even a penny!”
“But it’s okay if they wanna take advantage of me.” Qiu Yelan took a sip of tea and squinted. “We don’t need money at all right now, and we won’t be lacking anymore in the future. It’s a good thing for these people to think that I’ve been meddling in business for money.”
If people in the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe knew what she had said in front of Princess Ruan’s tomb, they would stop fighting for the status of Young Prince! They would unite to fight with her desperately. Qiu Yelan felt that it was better to make these people believe that her revenge was blackmail!