Chapter 11 The Threat of Qiu Mingzhu

After a while, Qiu Mingzhu walked in looking pale-white and with coldness. She was wearing the silk shoes that she put on when she went to bed. The shoes were soaked by the snow, and it left a string of stamps on the thick blue blanket in the inner chamber.

She was two years older than Qiu Yelan, and her biological mother was Mistress Tian. She could only be named as the Fourth Lady instead of Commandery Princess.

Mistress Tian had almost fallen into disfavor, but she recommended her cousin who was Mistress Bian to the mansion. Mistress Bian was eighteen years old this year. She was a beauty and good at dancing and singing. So that Mistress Tian and her daughter had a pretty good life in the Prince’s Mansion.

It’s said that Qiu Mengmin once promised Mistress Bian to proclaim her immediately as the Concubine if she could give birth to a boy.

“… It seems that either Lu did not misjudge Princess Yang, or Princess Yang reacted very quickly to know that something happened to Qiu Hongzhi and brought Mistress Bian out?” Qiu Yelan was having several thoughts while looking at Qiu Mingzhu who was so cold that her face turned greenish and she was shaking while walking into the chamber. Qiu Yelan thought, “I can barely protect myself. Why would Qiu Mingzhu come to me?”

Thinking of that, she said softly, “Sister, why do you come to me?”

Qiu Mingzhu said in a hurry, “Sister! Can I hide at your place? Just till the sun rises?”

“What?” Qiu Yelan frowned, “What do you mean, sister?”

“The Princess wronged Mistress Bian for pushing Brother Hongzhi into the lake!” Qiu Mingzhu started crying even before she finished her words, “Our grandmother said that the Princess asked Mistress Bian to push him. My mother, Mistress Tian, was taken by them for questioning. Ruyi who serves Mistress Bian came secretly to inform me so that I can get away from it!”

Qiu Yelan frowned, “Sister, now you are dragging me down. You know my position in this place! You ran over in such disheveled clothes, and I opened the door because I was afraid that you would get cold. But, what should I say if someone finds you in my chamber? In that case, I will be suspected of Brother Hongzhi’s accident as well!”

“I’ll only stay until the sunrise! Your chamber is remote, and people from the Princess’ sent you back. Probably no one will come and look for you!” Qiu Mingzhu begged, “Mistress Bian was wronged! Please believe me! I will find father after the sunrise… Father will definitely come back and stand for Mistress Bian!” She promised, “Mistress Bian will never forget your great grace by that time!”

“No!” Qiu Mingzhu was crying her heart out, and even Su He couldn’t bear it anymore. But Qiu Yelan still refused hardly, “I can’t even keep my life alive now! Please go away!”

Then she told Mrs. Zhou, “Bring the fur coat I made last year and put it on for my fourth sister. Then send her out!”

Mrs. Zhou was nothing like Su He. She also agreed not to get involved in this mess. She answered immediately and wanted to send Qiu Mingzhu out right after she got the fur coat.

Seeing this, Qiu Mingzhu started to look resented, “Do you still have a conscience? You are a poor person yourself. Why don’t you help me?”

“Because I’m so poor!” Qiu Yelan said lightly, “How can I have pity on others?”

Qiu Mingzhu broke herself free from Mrs. Zhou and said while gritting her teeth, “Ok! Since you won’t help me, I will… I…”

Su He hurried towards Qiu Yelan and blocked her. Su He was looking at her vigilantly, and Su He was afraid that she would say, “I will fight you!” Mrs. Zhou also tried her best to hold Qiu Mingzhu.

But as a result, Qiu Mingzhu said, “… I… I will die in front of you!”

Both Qiu Yelan and Su He burst out laughing. Qiu Yelan seemed to hear someone chuckling at the same time outside the back window, but it was covered by the sound of Su He and herself. Her mind changed slightly. She was glad that she didn’t agree to let Qiu Mingzhu stay.

At this moment, she let Su He hold Qiu Mingzhu together, “Then I don’t even dare to let you stay. I don’t want to move as I’m already living comfortably here. Please let me go, sister. After all, we’ve been staying at our own yards, and we rarely see each other. The mansion is so big. There must be a good place for you to hide. Why do you have to come and put me through? Don’t you think you are unreasonable?”

“None of those houses has a fire…”

“I will give you my fur coat, okay?” Qiu Yelan cut her off, “My boots are too small for you. If you are not satisfied yet, you can take a quilt with you. But you can’t stay here.”

Qiu Mingzhu looked resentful, and she turned back when she was walking towards the door. She said ferociously, “I will tell everyone that you convinced me to stay here and asked me to escape from the mansion to find my father if I get caught. You can’t stay away from it if you don’t help me! That’s in your dream!”

Both Su He and Mrs. Zhou changed their look at the same time.

Even Mrs. Zhou who was not good at verbal disputes was angry, “Fourth Lady, Commandery Princess has limited power, and she is already very nice to you. How… How could you do this?”

“Hmm! That’s what I do. You let me stay here and help me hide till the sunrise for me to find my father after escaping from the Maison.” Qiu Mingzhu sneered, “Otherwise, I will find the Princess and tell her that you persuaded me to do so.”

“There’s a saying that the poor person must be utterly detestable.” Qiu Yelan smiled and stopped Su He. She said kindly to Su He, “Now you know why I don’t have pity for her just now?”

Su He said angrily, “We should never let her in!”

“Your Grace, what should we do now?” Mrs. Zhou looked at Qiu Mingzhu resentfully and asked.

Qiu Yelan looked at Qiu Mingzhu who was fearless and said with interest, “What else can we do? The eldest brother was an example, right? Take off her fur coat and throw her into the lake! If she dies…she will be committing suicide for fear of punishment!”

Qiu Mingzhu was startled, “You…”

Su He asked, “What if she doesn’t freeze to death?”

“Then press her into the lake first and drown her!” Qiu Yelan smiled, “She will die anyway. And my fourth sister won’t care that much, right? Right now, it is quiet, and it’s nighttime. Everyone is attracted by the accident of the eldest brother. You and Mrs. Zhou should go and get things done… Remember that no one came in tonight!”

“Wait!” Qiu Mingzhu was finally frightened when she saw that Mrs. Zhou and Su He was going to agree with the plan. She shouted, “Aren’t you afraid that my father will find out and compensate your life for mine?”

“I’m the Commandery Princess, and you are a Mistress’ daughter. Your life is nothing comparing to mine!” Qiu Yelan said lightly, “Plus, we are not sure how the eldest brother is doing now, and Mistress Bian is affected by the accident. Do you think uncle will have time to care about you?”

Qiu Mingzhu looked desperate, and she was anxious when she saw Su He reaching out to pick up a heavy copper lamp stand nearby and intended to knock her out. She said immediately, “I was kidding. Why would I smear you? I need to thank you for your help. Wait! I know a secret!”