Real Empress from a Noble Family

Chapter 157 Cousin’s Crisis

Qiu Yelan returned to the room, but Zhuang Man and Xue Nongqing were not there.

Chunran explained, “Miss Zhuang and Miss Xue got up and found you were not there. They said the room was not bright enough and they felt uneasy to stay there, so they went to find Princess Chunfu.”

“Are they so timid? There are so many people here.” Qiu Yelan couldn’t help laughing.

Su He came forward with Whitey in her arms and asked, “Your Grace, why did Her Highness call you?”

“Qiu Feng came over and told me something.” Qiu Yelan sent Chen Shui out to keep watch and told them what had happened. “Be cautious not to be dragged down by Kang Lizhang!”

The three maids were shocked, “Kang Lizhang hired someone from Tianya?”

“Are you going to tell it to Princess Chunfu?” Chunran glanced at Xiaran and asked anxiously.

Qiu Yelan said, “Yes... But I’m not going. Jiang Yashuang will do it. Qiu Feng seemed unwilling to let people know his identity. Didn’t he call himself He Feng on Jinxiu Slope?”

“Oh, no!” Chunran and Xiaran cried out in one voice, “Your Grace, can you stop General Jiang and tell him not to say that?”

“Why?” Qiu Yelan froze.

Chunran got up so anxiously that she pushed her out regardless of her dignity. “It’s too late to explain! Could you go back to General Jiang first? This is very important!”

Fearing that she would continue to ask, Xiaran said, “It has a lot to do with Young master!”

Qiu Yelan was immediately shocked. “Yes, Duke of Huainan might investigate Tianya. In case they find out that my cousin has hired them several times...”

She hurried out without the umbrella and rushed to catch up with Jiang Yashuang!

Fortunately, Jiang Yashuang left only after she was out of sight and the trail in the farm village was tortuous. Qiu Yelan managed to stop him just outside Jiang Qizheng’s yard. “Hey! You halt!”

Jiang Yashuang was very surprised to see her catching up in the rain. Hurriedly leaning the umbrella over, he took a handkerchief out of his sleeve and wiped the raindrops off her face for her, saying with concern, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you take an umbrella? You may catch a cold!”

Seeing there was no one around, Qiu Yelan pulled him behind the rockery. “Don’t tell Princess Chunfu about Tianya! And don’t tell the people of the Mansion of Duke of Huainan!”

“Why?” Jiang Yashuang asked in surprise. “Did someone catch somebody around you and threaten...”

“No.” Qiu Yelan was so eager to go back and question Chunran that she did not want to explain in detail, so she put her arms around his neck, tiptoed and kissed him on his cheek, “Just don’t say it!”

Indeed, Jiang Yashuang no longer asked the reason. He smiled, “Okay, I won’t say it!” But he held her and said, “Keep kissing! I’ll make up a reason to put her off!”

“Make it reasonable so that she won’t find out!” Qiu Yelan didn’t bother to bargain with him. She kissed him on the lips and broke away from his arms. “Remember! Don’t talk nonsense! Don’t tell anyone about it!”

“Wait!” Jiang Yashuang said, “Take the umbrella! It’s my sister’s. Zhuang Man and others won’t think much about you when they see it.”

When Qiu Yelan returned to the room, she found Xiaran was not there, so she asked in surprise, “Where is Xiaran?”

“She has gone to tell the guards about something.” Chunran was a little restless, asking, “Did you catch up with General Jiang?”

“Yes. He promised to find a reason to fob off Princess Chunfu.” This time, Qiu Yelan sent both Su He and Chen Shui out. She frowned, “My cousin and Tianya?”

“Did you forget the matter about Deng Yi?” Chunran lowered her voice, “Young master bought the blood card of Tianya and they promised to bring back the heads of Dengyi and his mother! If Tianya were tracked down at this time, Deng Yi and his mother would escape and what would you do with your marriage?”

Qiu Yelan wiped the cold sweat off her face. “That’s not important. What I’m most afraid of is that my cousin’s deal will be found out. Then he’s finished!”

Chunran said, “So you should not let anyone focus on Tianya!”

“You’re right.” Qiu Yelan nodded. “Is Xiaran sending the message to my cousin so that he is prepared and won’t be caught?”

Chunran said, “Yes. It was lucky you blocked General Jiang. Otherwise, there will be trouble!”

Qiu Yelan suddenly remembered something. “I am so curious. Qiu Feng knew my cousin had found someone from Tianya to meet Deng Yi and his mother. Why did he want me to tell Princess Chunfu about it?” Wasn’t it to frame up Ruan Qingyan?”

Chunran said in a low voice, “Maybe Master Qiu was not thoughtful?”

“Maybe...” Qiu Yelan would believe this if she hadn’t seen Qiu Feng. After all, anyone might make mistakes. She herself had not found the tracking down of Tianya had anything to do with her before.

But after years of contact, Qiu Yelan felt that people who had been steeled in the jungle were different. Qiu Feng was straightforward, but he was also extremely meticulous. That made sense. There were all kinds of tricks in the jungle. Being a loner, if he had not been smart enough, he would have been murdered even if he was a master warrior!

In particular, he fought the bad and evil and helped the poor, which would offend his enemies, who would use every means to get rid of him. Now that he was able to live to the present and enjoy a great reputation, he must be very alert and resourceful！

How could he make such a mistake?

“Did he do it on purpose?” Somehow, Qiu Yelan felt that Qiu Feng wanted to take advantage of her trust... If it were not he who came to tell her the message, Qiu Yelan would definitely think it over. But since he was Qiu Feng, when he said he wanted to pass the message to the Duke of Huainan, Qiu Yelan agreed habitually....

The question was, “Why does he want to frame cousin? Aren’t they good friends? He has given lots of help to Cousin over the years.”

If he had broken with Ruan Qingyan and wanted to get him into trouble, “Wouldn’t it be better to hold me? What is he trying to do?”

A thought suddenly flashed through Qiu Yelan’s mind. “Maybe he didn’t want cousin to get into trouble but wanted me to remind him? Jiang Qizheng would not let me see him alone but asked Jiang Yashuang to be with me. Although Qiu Feng had seen Jiang Yashuang, he might not trust him. So, on the surface, he wanted us to tell the Duke of Huainan that there was an inside story behind the death of Concubine Mo; in fact, he was telling me to remind cousin as soon as possible in case he was dragged down by Tianya!”

“Fortunately, Chunran and Xiaran were alert! Otherwise, I would be the murderer of my Cousin!” She couldn’t help sweating at the thought!

At this moment, Su He and Chen Shui’s loud greetings were heard from outside. Zhuang Man and Xue Nongqing returned.

Qiu Yelan rushed to get up and greet them. Zhuang Man and Xue Nongqing were each holding some peach blossoms. Entering the room, they began to find suitable porcelain vases for the flowers. They said to her while arranging the flowers, “The Young Prince of Huainan has come. He is crying to death in the mourning hall... How poor he is!”

“What a pity for Duchess of Huainan!” Qiu Yelan sighed. She met her only once on Jinxiu Slope yesterday and had no affection for her. But after knowing that she saved her daughter at the cost of her own life, she couldn’t help thinking of her own past. She was partial to her now. “What are they going to do? The floods have not yet subsided?”

The rain had been going on, though not as heavy as yesterday. It was unlikely that the water would retreat!

Zhuang Man shook her head, “The Young Prince came down a trail after receiving the message. He brought a group of strong servants. After crying just now, he discussed with Cousin Jiang the eighth and wanted to buy part of the farm property for the mourning. But cousin refused, saying that it was family property, and that he had no right to sell it without the permission of the elders. But he told him to stay at ease. Now that the body is here, it makes no difference to keep it a bit longer.”

Xue Nongqing sighed, “Alas! The rain came in such a sudden that it has caused so much trouble!”

Qiu Yelan said nothing, thinking it was wrong to blame the rain. If Qiu Feng did not lie about the matter, there might also be a problem with the death of Duchess of Huainan. Although it might be impossible for the Duke of Huainan to find out Kang Lizhang’s role in the incident, the two would not have come to Jinxiu Slope if Kang Lizhang had not made the proposal and would not have met with the disaster and lost their lives. Just because of this, she couldn’t get away with the deaths of the two!”

“Commandery Princess Lihui is so hysteric that when she is a little better she will... But there is no need now since there are people coming from home. The Jiang Family does not have to bear all the responsibilities and Commandery Princess Lihui will not be restricted anymore. I wonder how she is going to retaliate.”

Seeing that she was silent, Zhuang Man and Xue Nongqing looked at each other and comforted, “It was Mistress Kang who wanted to see you, but you didn’t ask her. The Duke of Xihe had disowned her... It doesn’t make sense to force this on you. Don’t worry about it.”

“Huh.” Qiu Yelan, after a few moments of silence, asked, “Did the Young Prince went to Mistress Kang?”

“Not yet. The Young Prince is still grieving. My cousin and others are comforting him... He will definitely visit Commandery Princess Lihui first before thinking of Mistress Kang.” said Zhuang Man. “But Mistress Kang doesn’t seem to have a decent family background? How could she do such a big deal? It was mostly an accident.”

Qiu Yelan suddenly asked, “Wasn’t Mistress Kang’s cart swept away?” A total of four womenfolk came out, but only she was safe. It was impossible no to be suspected. Was Kang Lizhang so stupid?

“Yes. But she was lucky. She caught something in the water and got out and was found by the guards at once.” said Zhuang Man. “But the Duchess, Concubine Mo and Lihui were washed away. The guards searched until dark but were not able to find them, so they sent people for help from nearby and came to the farm village.”

Xue Nongqing sighed, “Concubine Mo hasn’t been found yet. I hope she’s okay. I remember Concubine Mo’s daughter Princess Lixian is about to deliver. What if she got the bad news at the moment?”

Xiaran came in before she finished. “Your Grace, young master is here. He is now waiting outside the farm!”

“Cousin?” Qiu Yelan was startled and stood up, “So fast? Didn’t you go and send someone to report to him? The person might not have left yet.”

Xiaran explained, “You didn’t go back yesterday and your cousin was informed of that. The gate was closed at that time, so your cousin set off this morning. He is waiting for you outside.”

Zhuang Man said enviously, “Sister Qiu, your cousin is so kind to you! It’s not easy to come over from the city at this time!”

Xue Nongqing understood how Ruan Qingyan felt. “My brother might have been stopped by my grandfather. Otherwise, he would have come over to pick me up even if he had known I was good.”

“My cousin is in the mourning so it’s not convenient for him to come into the village. I have to go out to see him now.” Qiu Yelan did not want to keep Ruan Qingyan waiting for long, so she hurried away.