Chapter 98 Things That Shouldn’t Be Asked About
Qiu Yelan returned to Prince’s Mansion unhappily. Just as she entered the yard, Chunran came up and reported her a message, “Mistress Bian bled!”
“Oh?” Qiu Yelan was startled. She agreed to protect Mistress Bian before Qiu Mengmin recovered. Now that Qiu Mengmin had recovered, it had nothing to do with her, so she just asked, “Who did it? Princess Yang or Qiu Hongzhi?”
Chunran said, “It was noisy over there. We have not made it clear. Anyway, she had eaten the wrong thing. Now the doctor is busy working.”
There was definite news in the evening that the baby survived, but Mistress Bian had lost much of the vitality and had to stay in bed and rest. She couldn’t even walk out of the room. Another message was that Qiu Mingzhu had asked for leave from Shao Yuemei, saying that she was worried about Mistress Bian and wanted to be with her for a few days.
“Neither Princess Yang nor Qiu Hongzhi was punished?” Qiu Yelan was a little surprised. “Do they want to blame me for it?!”
Xiaran said, “Is it because of the inconvenience?”
“Miss Ding will be married in May. It’s not the right time to have unwanted trouble.” Qiu Yelan also thought so. “But I guess it was because of this that they did it. However, they failed. I’m afraid there will be more to see in the mansion in the future.”
Since she was not involved in it, Qiu Yelan did not want to care more about it. She just treated it as gossip
.
The next day was the last day of the Courtesan Compet.i.tion. Both Hua Shenshen and Penglai Yue had their strengths and weaknesses over the past few days.
So the result on the last day touched the hearts of many people. Qiu Yelan began to sigh early in the morning, “I really don’t know how much cousin was fleeced this time. How can they survive in the General’s Mansion? Those rich men went too far. Don’t they know that they should keep their wealth secret? They gave away wealth in large quant.i.ties and deserved to be remembered by thieves!”
Chunran and Xiaran bit their lips while listening to her speaking. Finally, when they saw that she was really upset, they smiled and said: “You can rest a.s.sured that the young master saw such scenes a lot in the past. The giants in the south really spend money like water when they want to support somebody. In fact, the scene here in the capital city is just like that.”
Seeing that they were not surprised at all, Qiu Yelan wondered, “Is it so crazy even in the south?!”
“Everything is behind the scene.” said Chunran, “Those prost.i.tutes are not worth that much. On the one hand, they are competing to show off their wealth; on the other hand, they do it for the proprietor behind the ladies. For example, why is Young Earl Ling supporting ‘Pavilion Jinpa’? Just because the Earl of Jingchuan has a share in it. And it’s said that the proprietor of ‘Spring House’ is from a certain royal clan.”
Hearing that this was a political investment rather than a pure waste on Ling Zui, Qiu Yelan felt a lot better, “No wonder those people at Yunyi Restaurant that day looked so rich.”
She freshened up, had breakfast and was about to go to the school when Chen Shui came in and told her, “Princess Duanrou is here.”
“Princess Duanrou?” Qiu Yelan wondered, “Why is she coming? Show her in!”
Naturally, she couldn’t go to school now and sent Su He to ask for leave. She went to meet Chu Chunxiao and welcomed her into the room. She was wondering why this County Princess came to visit when Chu Chunxiao broke the ice. She took out a letter folded into the shape of a double-diamond, “Aunt Yongfu asked me to send it to you. I heard it was from… Uncle Jiang.”
She added, “Aunt is grounded in the palace by Her Majesty.”
Qiu Yelan wanted to bang her head against the wall. She had thought that Princess Yongfu was just occasionally crazy. It turned out that she had taken it seriously! “If you must do it, will you do it in a healthy and natural way? Aren’t you tired of being disgusting for a few times a day? I just can’t stand it!”
Chu Chunxiao also showed obvious sympathy for her. She laid the letter on the table and whispered, “You can burn it off when I leave. Anyway, I only promised her to pa.s.s on the letter and words.”
Seeing that the fourteen-year-old County Princess was so generous and kind, Qiu Yelan asked in a low voice, “Can you tell me why Princess Yongfu is so active…?”
“Don’t you know?” Chu Chunxiao opened her eyes widely, “Wasn’t it because of Aunt that you got to know Uncle Jiang?”
Qiu Yelan pressed her hand against her chest to avoid vomiting blood, “Did she say so?” Was Princess Yongfu’s moral integrity also taken by Jiang Yashuang? She was unruly and barging about, and almost damaged her cousin’s reputation. But she thought she was doing something good!
Chu Chunxiao understood what she meant and sighed, “I knew you couldn’t believe Aunt. But that’s how she thinks. I heard that she told Madame Tao the other day that there was no point if you were not her cousin-in-law.”
“So she urged Jiang Yashuang to suddenly come over to propose the marriage that night?”
Qiu Yelan once again knelt for Princess Yongfu and kept back her tears while thinking, “Jiang Yashaung is Madame Tao’s only grandson with blood kinship. Did she suggest that Jiang Yashuang marry me because of her entanglement?”
“The Taos is declining while the Jiangs is so prominent. And Empress Jiang is also a family member of the Jiangs. It’s said that, of her nephews, she favored Jiang Yashuang most. She couldn’t have treated Jiang Yashuang’s marriage as a children’s game for the sake of Princess Yongfu. Anyhow, he was taught by Marquess Qin himself and is a beloved grandson. How could he make a random marriage just to please his granddaughter?”
However, the internal affairs of the Jiangs that she learned about were hearsay and she did not care about it anymore. “Anyway, my suggestion on the marriage is also a delaying tactic. I might not get married into the Jiang’s Family in the future. So there’s no need to worry about anything.”
Seeing Qiu Yelan speechless for a while, Chu Chunxiao said sympathetically, “You have not yet dismissed the engagement, so it’s really not good for Aunt to do so. I will advise her no to interfere any more when I am back.”
“Thank you very much.” Qiu Yelan said at once.
“You are welcome.” Chu Chunxiao comforted her for a while before leaving.
As soon as she left, Qiu Yelan burned the letter over a candle without even opening it. She freshened up and went to school with Su He.
She went into the cla.s.sroom during the recess of Shao Yuemei’s lecture and sat down at her seat. She immediately felt something wrong in the school today.
Both Sheng Shishui and Shao Yuemei were shrewd. No matter what they had in their minds, they always greeted others with smiles and courtesy. Qiu Qian was also a sensible and clever girl. Most of the disputes on the usual days were caused by Qiu Yelan and Qiu Mingzhu.
Qiu Mingzhu had taken leave to take care of Mistress Bian. There were only two students, Sheng Shishui and Qiu Qian, in the school. There should be no conflicts even if they didn’t get along well.
However, the atmosphere was extremely stiff. Even Shao Yuemei, who had never been involved in the battles between her disciples, looked peaky.
“What’s going on?” Qiu Yelan looked at Qiu Qian in doubt.
However, Qiu Qian, hanging her head, looked upset, as if she had made trouble.
She was just about to ask when Shao Yuemei started the lesson. So she had to keep quiet.
At noon break, Qiu Yelan exchanged greetings with Shao Yuemei and ignored Sheng Shishui. She took Qiu Qian back to her room and asked in a low voice, “Did you fight with her when I talked to Princess Duanrou?”
Qiu Qian said embarra.s.sedly, “No.” She gnawed at her lower lip before whispering, “I… I asked something I should not have asked.”
“What did you ask?” Qiu Yelan wondered. With Qiu Qian’s temperament and her purpose of coming to the school, she shouldn’t have been too outspoken. Neither Shao Yuemei nor Sheng Shishui was the kind of people who display their emotions. Qiu Qian’s question must be weird.
Sure enough Qiu Yelan was shocked by Qiu Qian’s words, “Madam Shao talked of incense today. I asked how Youmianxiang was made… And Madam Shao began to look unpleasant. Miss Sheng wanted to smooth things over but was scolded by Madam Shao…”
Qiu Yelan tried her best to suppress the shock in her heart and asked in a deep voice, “Did Madam Shao tell you the origin of Youmianxiang?”
“Madam Shao said she didn’t know anything about it.” Qiu Qian asked cautiously, “Sister Lan, did I ask something that I shouldn’t have asked?”
“No.” Qiu Yelan answered curtly and asked, “Where did you hear about… Youmianxiang?”
Qiu Qian looked at her and got more and more uneasy. She whispered, “It was the retired maid who told me about it.”
“What did she tell you?” When Qiu Bo told her that she had invited an old maid to teach Qiu Qian manners, Qiu Yelan didn’t take it to heart. Now when she knew that the old maid actually knew about the Youmianxiang, she suddenly turned cautious!
Qiu Qian said timidly, “The maid also taught me to identify incense. I liked incense Fumi very much at that time. It’s soft and sweet and lasts long. But the maid said the best incense she had ever seen was Youmianxiang. The fragrance is mysterious and endless beyond description. It is a pity that this fragrance was not known to common people and has been lost.”
“What’s the maid’s name? Is she still there? Does she have any descendants?” Qiu Yelan asked successively!
“She was surnamed Guan. I do not know her given name. She died two years ago and had no families. My sister arranged the burial because she had taught me…” Qiu Qian asked in surprise, “What’s Youmianxiang, Your Grace?”
Qiu Yelan rubbed her forehead. She looked pale in the face, “If someone asked you about Youmianxiang in the future, you’d better tell her all you know. As for what the maid left behind, if someone wants it, just give it. You really don’t know more about Youmianxiang?”
At this point, if Qiu Qian still couldn’t make out anything, she wouldn’t have to stay in the school anymore. She hesitated before saying, “Madam Guan didn’t say more. I really don’t know anything else. In fact, I really wanted to see Youmianxiang after Madam Guan mentioned it, but it has never appeared on the market.”
Qiu Yelan thought, “This was the thing that killed the former emperor and his son. How can you get it!”
She frowned slightly, “You don’t want to tell me you have inquired about Youmianxiang?”
Qiu Qian said embarra.s.sedly, “I asked my sister to keep an eye on it. But we had to support our brother to study at that time and our family was not very rich. When my sister heard it was a fragrance from the palace, she persuaded me to wait until our brother pa.s.sed the exam. Sister Lan, this incense…?”
“Probably you lived too far away from the capital city before, so you couldn’t get sufficient information. This incense was given to the former emperor by the abolished crown prince.” Qiu Yelan frowned, “Don’t mention it in future!”
Qiu Qian exclaimed, “But Madam Guan said it was poisonous….”
“Hence an abolished crown prince.” Qiu Yelan hummed, “This is too big for you to bear. Don’t mention it in the future!”
Just then, Chen Shui came in, “Miss Sheng is here!”
“Show her in.” Qiu Yelan usually had no interest in Sheng Shishui, but knowing that Qiu Qian had just asked about Youmianxiang, she had to allow her to come in.
Sure enough, Sheng Shishui left her maid outside, entered the door alone and saluted. Seeing there was only Su He besides Qiu Yelan and Qiu Qian, she said directly, “Miss Qiu has been here for a short time and is unfamiliar with many things. It’s clear that she occasionally says something that shouldn’t be said. I’m just here to say this: what Miss Qiu asked about today. Although Miss Qiu is innocent about it, it may cause trouble if known to others. We might as well treat it as if nothing has happened. What do you think?”
Qiu Yelan thought, no wonder Princess Yang specially arranged for Sheng Shishui to enter the school. It was indeed wise of her. This was the kind of matter involving the fight for the status of crown prince of the former emperor’s reign. Even if it had been clearly and publicly announced, who knew what sins there were behind the scene? If you wanted to make an issue of it, you could get into trouble.
Sheng Shishui was obviously unwilling to be involved in such things for no reason, so she came over to make the promise that she would not tell anyone what Qiu Qian had asked.
“Though she wouldn’t gossip, what about Shao Yuemei?” Qiu Yelan thought to herself, “She is a confidant of the Jiangs… Qiu Qian might be in serious trouble now! Am I involved in it?”