Chapter 202 The Duke of Puyang Returns a Favour

Two years ago, Princess Yang arranged Sheng Shishui to study in Prince’s Mansion of Xihe. She wanted Sheng Shishui to go against Qiu Yelan. But before Sheng Shishui could do anything, the Yang Family had the incident first. Then Qiu Mengmin and his wife were also caught. Under that situation, using a small school to make some trouble did not worth it anymore.

Since Princess Yang was no longer expecting Sheng Shishui to do anything, she didn’t care much for this relative who didn’t have a clean background.

This was not all because Princess Yang preferred the rich over the poor, but mostly because the incident of Yang Yishi and Yang Yifu had already implicated Princess Yang and her daughter. The background of Sheng Shishui was too embarrassing to talk about, so Princess Yang naturally avoided Sheng Shishui to show her innocence.

But Sheng Shishui did study well with Shao Yuemei for two years. Qiu Yelan remembered clearly that Princess Yang never came for her in these two years. Now she was asking Sheng Shishui over for dinner, who would believe that she had no other reason?

“Sheng Shishui came here because of Princess Yang. If she wanted to ask Sheng Shishui for dinner, she just needed to tell her privately. Why would I bump into it?” Qiu Yelan contemplated on this, “Was she intended to tell me? But how does this concern me?”

Something more confusing was that after a while, Xiuyan came out of school. Seeing Qiu Yelan was still under the pear tree, she came over and saluted embarrassedly.

Looking at her disappointed face, Qiu Yelan asked, “Will Miss Sheng go over later?”

“No. Miss Sheng said she would accompany Madame Lu to pay their condolence at the Prince’s Mansion of Puyang tomorrow. She needed to go back after the class.” Xiuyan didn’t want to answer, but she didn’t dare.

“Oh, what about Wang Qingqian?” Qiu Yelan asked again.

Xiuyan was more awkward, “Miss Wang asked whether you were going. She heard that you’re not, so she said she would have dinner with you.”

“She really makes herself at home.” Qiu Yelan smiled and suddenly asked, “Why does Princess Yang want to ask Miss Sheng over for dinner?”

Xiuyan was dazed. She hesitated for a while and said, “The Princess hasn’t seen Miss Sheng for a while…”

“Are you really not going to tell me?” Qiu Yelan smiled, “Do you believe that I will go to tell Princess Yang that I think you’re good at serving and want you to serve me?”

“Surely not!” Xiuyan was startled. Qiu Yelan was now the fiance of the Jiang Family. If Qiu Yelan had gone to Princess Yang and told her this, Princess Yang would have thought that Xiuyan wanted to climb the ladder of success. Besides that, she was Princess Yang’s trusted subordinate, so she knew well about Princess Yang’s ins and outs. If she were to leave Princess Yang, whether it was voluntary or not, Princess Yang would have made sure that she wouldn’t talk!

So, she explained immediately, “When we were in Mount Dizi, the Princess heard that the lady of Marquess Qin talked to Madame Lu. After that, Madame Lu found a reason to introduce Miss Sheng to the lady of Marquess Qin. It is said that afterward, Madame Lu was both happy and worried. She talked with Miss Sheng for a long time.”

“So, they’re planning Sheng Shishui’s marriage?” Qiu Yelan immediately understood the purpose of Princess Yang after hearing this. She was slightly surprised, “Who was it?”

She quickly thought about it: there were four men in total who hadn’t gotten married in the Jiang Family. From the oldest to the youngest: Jiang Yalan of Sir Jibei’s line, Jiang Yaheng of Marquess Qin’s line, Jiang Yazhu, and Jiang Yashuang.

Among them, Jiang Yaheng was engaged to He Shuijin. Jiang Yashuang was engaged to Qiu Yelan. There were only Jiang Yalan and Jiang Yazhu left.

Since Sir Jibei’s wife, Ou was from the north, so she was with him in Beijiang. Their only child Jiang Tiancan was working in Jing City, so he lived with Marquess Qin. The grandchildren all lived with Marquess Qin and his wife. So, if Madame Tao had found Madame Lu to marry Sheng Shishui into the Jiang Family, she would have probably asked for Jiang Yazhu of her line or Jiang Yalan for Sir Jibei.

The problem was that even though Sheng Shishui was beautiful and smart, her background was a big problem.

With the wealth and power of the Jiang Family, they didn’t need their daughter-in-law to come from a prestigious family anymore, but an illegitimate daughter…

Qiu Yelan didn’t think it would be possible. As Madame Tao had married Marquess Qin, she had some say over her father’s declined family. Maybe she was looking for a wife for her nephew?

Xiuyan glanced at the school and said quietly, “It could be Jiang Yazhu of the Jiang Family!”

“Him?” Qiu Yelan was surprised. Jiang Yazhu was from the fourth branch of the Jiang Family. He was Jiang Yashuang’s brother. The one that was kicked out by Madame Zhuang twice. He went through some great trouble getting into the Jiang Family. Only after Sir Jibei defended him was he sent back to the Jing City. But still, he was from the Jiang Family. He could easily find a beautiful and talented young woman from an eminent family.

“Is it possible that Jiang Yazhu picked Sheng Shishui himself?” Not only did Qiu Yelan think that, but Xiuyan also said, “I’ve heard that Jiang Yazhu met Sheng Shishui in Mount Dizi. Shortly after that, the lady of Marquess Qin went to find Madame Lu!”

“I see.” Qiu Yelan’s questions were answered, so she didn’t care much about this anymore. She waved her hand, “Off you go.”

When she sent away Xiuyan, the room was also cleaned.

When the school was over, Wang Qingqian indeed came over for dinner as if she had been home. When they were waiting for the food, she said something that she found interesting. Qiu Yelan listened halfheartedly. She only responded a couple of times. Wang Qingqian didn’t realize she was not interested. Wang Qingqian was having fun. In the end, she said, “Yelan, is Qiu Qian’s brother well? I saw her on the street the other day. I greeted her, but she just ignored me and left. Was it because her brother was still ill, so she was not in a good mood?”

“Um…” Qiu Yelan thought this was difficult to answer since she couldn’t expose Qiu Qian’s real identity. Qiu Qian did play the “cute and innocent” persona really well. If Qiu Yelan said she was not a good person… Judging by Wang Qingqian’s personality, if Qiu Yelan didn’t give her any fact, she would not believe it.

Maybe she would think Qiu Yelan didn’t like Qiu Qian, so she kicked her out intentionally!

She thought about it and said, “I’ve heard that her brother is recovered. She ignored you maybe because she thought the promising future of her brother was destroyed, yet you’re still well, so she didn’t feel comfortable. Otherwise, even if her brother was still ill, she wouldn’t treat you like this.”

Wang Qingqian sighed, “I can’t blame her. It’s a pity for her brother. The one who did it was vicious and…”

“Right, where did you see her?” Qiu Yelan quickly interrupted her, so she wouldn’t continue cursing. After all, Qiu Jinglan was the one who did it!

Wang Qingqian didn’t suspect it. She said honestly, “On the street over there.” She pointed at the direction, “She just came out of the market then. I think she was going to buy something.”

“Market?” Qiu Yelan suddenly thought about those rumors that looked like talking about the two Empresses, but actually referring to Prince of Yan and Prince of Qi. “Did they spread it? After all, offering timely support is better than offering it when people don’t need it. Empress Dowager Gu has chosen Prince of Yan. The three of them have no future in the government after they lost Tianya. They could only find other ways to get ahead. Even though there are many princes, the one who is the closest man to the Empress Dowager is definitely Prince of Yan and Prince of Zhou. Since they are targeting Prince of Yan, it looks like she wants to support Prince of Zhou. But they cannot reach Prince of Zhou directly, so there’s definitely someone behind them!”

Seeing Qiu Yelan fall silent, Wang Qingqian felt strange, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, I’m thinking about what to say when we go to the Prince’s Mansion of Puyang tomorrow.” Qiu Yelan was perfunctory, “Old Princess Qin was so nice…”

Even though Qiu Yelan didn’t know how nice she was when she was alive, but looking at how many people mourned her, Qiu Yelan could see how popular she was.

The Prince’s Mansion of Puyang was the same as the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe. They were the title that passed down since the establishment of this country.

But unlike the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe, the Prince’s Mansion of Puyang had declined for a long time ago. The father and grandfather of the current Duke of Puyang were just sitting around and waiting to die. Besides taking the title, they did nothing else. They were also masters on how to waste their money. As for Xiao Su and Xiao Mu, one was good at liberal arts and another was excelled at martial arts. They all had good reputations. The problem was that one was too sick that every time he went to a banquet, he needed to rest for half a month; the other was too young.

Under this circumstance, after old Princess Qin passed away, all the nobles in Jing City were surprised. Those who came were also the masters of each family. It showed how much they respected the old Princess. Even if Prince’s Mansion of Xihe had not declined, they would not have gotten this kind of treatment if they had hosted a memorial.

But no matter how well people treated them now, after old Princess Qin passed away, people would leave too. If the Xiao Family had not been able to re-prosper their family, they would have been forgotten soon.

Qiu Yelan was not the only one who thought that. A lot of people who came to pay their condolence were whispering, “What a pity! When old Princess Qin was young, her husband and son were all useless. Now when she finally got two grandchildren who were willing to study, one is sick and the other doesn’t like literature…”

“I heard Xiao Mu’s martial arts were quite good.”

“If he is good, he wouldn’t let old Princess Qin fell on the road! Besides, what if he’s a master? The Northern Army is controlled by the Jiang Family and the Ou Family. As for the Western Army, Kuang Shihan only has one son. But he’s from the Prince’s Mansion of Puyang. There’s no way Kuang Shihan will let him get anything…”

“It’s true. What will the Prince’s Mansion of Puyang be like in the future?”

Because there were too many people and Qiu Yelan really wasn’t close to the Prince’s Mansion of Puyang, so she went to console the old Princess Chu with Princess Yang for a while and then found an excuse to come outside.

There were only some servants here. No one was from the Xiao Family. Some gossipers were being very blunt. Princess Yang was still consoling old Princess Chu inside. She couldn’t leave for a moment, so Qiu Yelan started listening to these gossips with others.

When those two women were happy gossiping, a cough came from the near distance. They looked up and immediately felt embarrassed, “I’m sorry. Prince, Xiao Mu!”

Qiu Yelan turned back and saw Xiao Mu accompanying a teenager that looked fifteen or sixteen years old, walking towards her.

The teenager had black eyes. He was delicate and of fine features. He looked like a scholar. But his face was as pale as paper. His lips were also pale. Clearly, he was not well. A gust of wind blew and the white mourning dress waved in the wind. It looked as if he was going to fly with the wind. People couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.

“Commandery Princess Ningyi!” They came to Qiu Yelan. Before they saluted seriously to her, they saluted to the people around them and made some small talks. Qiu Yelan naturally avoided it and said that she couldn’t take it.

“We didn’t return the favor that you let us take the road when we came down the mountain. Later on, you even came with Dr. Qi to treat our grandmother…” The Duke of Puyang, Xiao Su expressed his gratitude genuinely. Qiu Yelan had heard that he was quite weak before. Indeed, he stopped quite a few times during this short speech. Xiao Mu had to cover for him, letting him breathe a while before he continued.

Qiu Yelan was worried about him. She interrupted before he could finish, “That’s nothing. If you two have to be this polite, I don’t even dare stay!”

“If you insist, I won’t continue.” Seeing this, Xiao Su pulled up a gaunt and exhausted smile. He said, “We received a fleece-flower root that has formed shape some days ago. We prepared it for grandmother, but now…” He choked with sobs, “This root can nourish the essences. Please give it to your cousin!”

If he had offered anything else, Qiu Yelan would have refused it. But the fleece-flower root was what Qiu Jinglan and Xue Nongying needed right now.

So after courteously rejecting, she agreed.

But Xiao Su and Xiao Mu came empty-handed. Now that she agreed, they realized it. Xiao Su said apologetically, “I came in a hurry and forgot to bring it. Can you send your servant to pick it up with my brother?”

Qiu Yelan thought that he was a Prince. It shouldn’t be because he didn’t want to give it to her, so she let Su He go. After a while, she came back with a red brocade box. Su He reported back to Qiu Yelan by her ear when no one was noticing, “Xiao Mu said that some servants in the Xiao Family saw the Young Prince of Marquess Zhang was with sixth Commandery Princess in Mount Dizi, who talked about you…”

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