Chapter 99 Have A Foot In Both Camps

But during the class in the afternoon, Shao Yuemei’s complexion had returned to normal, showing no attempt to investigate this matter.

Qiu Yelan was surprised at first, but then she thought Shao Yuemei was only a female teacher. Even if she was a loyal follower of the Jiang Family, she was not its family member after all. If she was really involved in the whirlpool of whether the present throne was legal or not, she might not come to a good end. That is to say, it conforms to the interests of all parties to deal with it like there is no such thing, as Sheng Shishui suggested.

“Fortunately, cousin Qiu Mingzhu wasn’t here. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so sensible since she was more insidious and less intelligent.” Qiu Yelan let out a long sigh of relief secretly,” Qiu Qian was a little bit lucky, otherwise, Qiu Nie couldn’t protect her if this matter really caused some troubles.”

Now that this matter had already passed, Qiu Yelan would not mention it again.

But she didn’t listen to the teachers attentively in class this afternoon, with her mind focused on guessing who was the murderer of Princess Ruan and her father. If judged from Youmianxiang, Empress Dowager Gu was most likely to be the murderer.

But the question is, Qiu Yelan couldn’t figure out why Empress Dowager Gu did this. Although General Ruan was denounced by her after his crushing defeat that year, all of these could just be classified as state affairs. Moreover, General Ruan had already been punished for that matter.

If Empress Dowager Gu wanted to kill General Ruan, didn’t she just need to sentence him to death earlier? After all, General Ruan did not have a good relationship with Jiang Family. During the discussion about his crime, Empress Jiang didn’t actually try her best to protect him even though she said a few words for him to sing a different tune.

Even if Empress Dowager Gu later regretted her initial decision and decided to kill General Ruan and Princess Ruan, why did she use Youmianxiang with her status of Empress Dowager? What’s more, this poison will cause speculation about the death of former emperor and the deposed prince in the previous dynasty.

“It seems that somebody was deliberately arousing people’s suspicion of Empress Dowager Gu…” Qiu Yelan thought, “But if somebody wants to fabricate a charge against Empress Dowager, who dares to confront the Empress Dowager with this matter, my cousin or me? What’s the difference between doing this way and not doing it at all? It’s so strange….”

What had been even more strange was, “This poison was through Lu’s hands… but how could she afford to be involved in such a thing with her family background? Wait! ”

Suddenly, an idea flashed into her mind and Qiu Yelan’s face turned ghastly pale in a short while. “Qiu Zhongyan, the two uncles of Ruan Family, and those cousins, even if General Ruan suffered a crushing defeat at that time, isn’t it too coincidental that all his offsprings and son-in-law died?”

Under normal circumstances, it’s rare for generals to be killed in battles, especially high-ranking generals.

In addition, General Ruan was not a fool, even if he was such a cruel man that he had forced his children and grandchildren to take the lead, isn’t it impossible for him to make all his offsprings to do so? In particular, how could General Ruan not arrange a safe position for his son-in-law Qiu Zhongyan who had a higher peerage as the only son of Old Princess Lian?

In the end, he was the only old man to come back alive!

“Hiss… So my brother Qiu Jinglan might also be murdered?! Is it true what Empress Jiang said in court that day?! “Qiu Yelan’s face became ghastly livid, “But who on earth wants to destroy Prince’s Mansion of Xihe? And why are Qiu Mengmin and all his families safe and sound at present, while Mistress Bian is going to give birth to Qiu Mengmin’s third son, is it true that they did it? ”

Since she knew the origin of Youmianxiang, Qiu Yelan had always believed that there was a real murderer behind, colluding with Madame Lu, or Qiu Mengmin’s family.

But now when thinking about it carefully, she felt a chill. “It’s because of the fact that Princess Ruan and General Ruan was poisoned by Youmianxiang that I still dare not to talk about it with my cousin! If the murderer is really an aristocrat, does he need to do this? It seems that they are the real culprits! ”

“In that case, I must take actions quickly!” Qiu Yelan bit her lips, “Especially after I asked for the dowry, I’m afraid the most urgent thing for the whole family of Qiu Mengmin is to work together to eradicate me!”

The sound of a mild cough interrupted Qiu Yelan’s thoughts. She got a shock and looked up, happening to meet Shao Yuemei’s puzzled eyes, “Commandery Princess Ningyi? You seem a little distracted.”

“I’ve been dreaming of my concubine mother these two days, so I was thinking about arranging time to visit her again.” Qiu Yelan settled down and said casually.

Hearing that she was just missing her mother, Shao Yuemei just consoled her with a few words and went on with the lecture, saying nothing else.

Shortly after class was over that day, the result of Courtesan Competition was reported, Penglai Yue won the title of courtesan this year as she had wished, with much dignity.

However, Hua Shenshen narrowly missed such an opportunity. And it was said that after the defeat, this prostitute who was famous for her shrewdness was so angry that she burst into tears in public, and she pointed to the chic room of the “Jinpa Pavilion”, shouting “Sworn enemy” loudly.

Although she didn’t mention the name of the “sworn enemy”, many people guessed that it was Ruan Qingyan. Qiu Yelan frowned when she heard this, “This woman isn’t a kind-hearted guy. Doesn’t she deliberately make my cousin a target of public accusation?”

According to the rules over the past years, among the new candidates in Metropolitan Exam, only the top ones had a chance to enter Hanlin Academy. However, Ruan Qingyan was also listed as a new member of Hanlin Academy because of his younger age and his relationship with Empress Jiang, even if his ranking was not high enough.

It was known to all that the person couldn’t be assigned as prime minister by default if he hadn’t been a member of Hanlin Academy in Darui, which proved the dignity and importance of Hanlin Academy.

In such situation, Ruan Qingyan had already become the envious target for others. And what Hua Shenshen did was just pouring oil on the fire. Thinking about this, Qiu Yelan felt very annoyed, “Why didn’t Penglai Yue and Young Earl Ling stand out to say something at that time?” Ruan Qingyan got into trouble just because of them!

Chunran said, “It was said that a prostitute ranking under Penglai Yue in Jinpa Pavilion came out and talked back. But it turned out that the reason was she had been unable to argue with Hua Shenshen so that she was ashamed to return to the room finally.”

Qiu Yelan hummed, “Young Earl Ling is really unreliable!” And she commented Penglai Yue, “Even if she wants to be a cool beauty, it’s necessary for her to be conscientious! But she just hides behind to wait for an escort, does she really regard herself as a snow lotus?! What a bitch!”

Seeing that she was angry, Xiaran hurriedly pacified her, “Anyway, Hua Shenshen did not indicate who it was. Young Earl Ling had also been the guest in her room before, so your cousin is not necessary to be the guilty person!”

Thinking of that she couldn’t help with this matter now, Qiu Yelan sighed. Rubbing her forehead for a while, she said, “Send someone to take a leave from Madam Shao later. I’ve promised my cousin to visit concubine mother tomorrow.”

“As a matter of fact, it turns out to be having a foot in both camps!” Early the next morning, Qiu Yelan, boarded the carriage while holding her skirt. Listening to the sound of the carriage wheels drove out of the city, she felt somewhat guilty, “Although I only hinted to Jiang Yashuang last time and did not agree with him, it’s not nice for me to meet Xun Yuxi as my cousin told me….”

“Yeah? I would think I’m not kind now, what an unexpected thing it is! Sure enough, my moral integrity can be saved.” Qiu Yelan was excited for a while but then sighed, “And I have nothing to do but imply Jiang Yashuang to agree with the marriage. If my cousin knew what I’ve done, he would kill me. Well, I’m sure he won’t kill me, but it would be scarier if he didn’t put me to death!”

Qiu Yelan couldn’t help shivering when thinking of her cousin who became increasingly strict with her, seeming to impose the worries for Qiu Zhongyan, Princess Ruan and even Old Princess Lian on her, “It is so unreasonable. Why should I be afraid of him? It’s him who should be afraid of me… Is it because I’ve gotten used to being scolded recently?”

“The reason must lie in the fact that I’m too weak now!” Qiu Yelan comforted herself, “When I regain my strength, hum!”

No matter how she imagined that she would keep Ruan Qingyan under her control in the future, Qiu Yelan did not dare to annoy this cousin too much at present, so she obediently appeared at the city gate at the appointed time. As expected, there were several cavalries lingering not far from the city gate, seeming to be waiting for someone. Among the cavalries, a man in blue was the most eye-catching one.

This man had a fair complexion, his long eyebrows thrusting into the temples, and his eyes looking like bright stars. Although he dressed as a scholar, his posture of riding the horse was as straight as a soldier. Apart from the straight back, his vigorous and strenuous profile also stood out with the thin summer clothes. And there was a bow of eagle feather hanging from the saddle. All of these made this person look valorous and elegant.

Qiu Yelan observed these cavalries from the curtain of the carriage. She was not worried about being discovered because there were a lot of carriages passing by at that time and the one she was taking wasn’t conspicuous. And now she whispered to Chunran, “Who is Xun Yuxi?”

“It must be the most handsome one.” Su He observed together next to her and answered her question without hesitation, “That man in blue-Your Grace, of course young master would choose the best one for you!”

Qiu Yelan said with a smile, “When we go back, go to ask my cousin for an accurate answer in order to avoid mistaking the irrelevant person.”

However, Su He really guessed right. After a while, Ruan Yi caught up with the carriage and said to them, “Xun Yuxi was the one in blue. Young master asked whether you saw him clearly? If you didn’t see him clearly, he will make a second arrangement.”

In the carriage, Qiu Yelan kept rubbing her forehead and sighed, “It’s okay to wait for a few days. I’ll tell my cousin in person when I go back.” He doesn’t need to think about finding a husband for a cousin like me right now, okay?!

Although she had already seen Xun Yuxi, it was unlikely for her to go back as soon as she saw the guy since she had promised to sweep Princess Ruan’s tomb. Therefore, it was necessary for her to go to sweep the tomb. But Ruan Yi reminded her not to be too much hurried, “Young master said since there was nothing urgent, it would be bad if something went wrong on the way in a hurry. There were several heavy rains in the capital area two days ago, so now there are several sections of official road that’s not easy to move on.”

“I see. Extend my thanks to my cousin.” After Qiu Yelan agreed with the suggestion, Ruan Yi left with permission from her.

Thus it took Qiu Yelan nearly four days to get to the royal mausoleum at a moderate pace. Then she finished sweeping the tomb in one day. After that, she did feel that it was not worth staying any longer in the cemetery, so she set out on her journey back to the capital the next day.

By the time she returned to the capital, it had been the tenth day since she left there.

However, as soon as she stepped into Prince’s Mansion of Xihe, she felt as if something bad had happened.

After returning to her own yard, she hurriedly summoned the servants who had stayed behind to take care of things to ask what had happened.

“Your Grace, something did happen, but it couldn’t be treated as a matter of Prince’s Mansion, though it has something to do with Prince’s Mansion.” The little maid Shi Ye, who was called up, said in a ringing voice, “Word came that a young lady of Yang Family has died.”

Qiu Yelan asked in surprise, “Yang Family?”

“She was one of the three young ladies from Yang Family who had paid a visit here last time.” Shi Ye replied, “Her name is Yang Yifu. It is said that she committed adultery in the rouge shop and was caught by others. As soon as she went back home, she hanged herself from a beam.”

Qiu Yelan was astounded by this news, “Unbelievable, such a thing would happen in Yang Family?”

“Yang Family insisted that this young lady’s maid was the real one who committed adultery in the rouge shop, but she deceived the innocent young lady to go to the rouge shop to select rouge. As a result, her shame was discovered and the young lady was implicated…” Knowing that Qiu Yelan was at odds with the three young ladies of the Yang Family who came here last time, Shi Ye curled the corners of her mouth and said, “Then she committed suicide because she thought she hadn’t kept the servants under control. But who knows the truth? Anyway, the maid is dead, too.”

“How about Princess Yang these two days?” Qiu Yelan didn’t care about Yang Yifu’s early death too much. Anyway, she had nothing to do with the affairs of the Yang family. But she was more concerned about the activities within Prince’s Mansion of Xihe.

Shi Ye pursed her lips, “The princess left things in the mansion behind and went back home on purpose, and she didn’t look good when she came back. For the past two days, she has been too busy to have a rest during the day, making arrangements for her eldest son’s marriage. But she has been taking sixth Commandery Princess with her all the time since she came back from Yang Family, and she doesn’t permit her to take a step away.”

“Then it seems that the maid has been wronged.” Qiu Yelan snorted, “Otherwise, why would Princess Yang suddenly requires her daughter to obey the rules?”

Unexpectedly, when she went to class the next day, Sheng Shishui asked her out again at lunch. And he asked to talk with Qiu Yelan alone without Qiu Qian’s presence.

After consideration, Qiu Yelan agreed with his proposal and asked her companion to leave for a while. But Sheng Shishui’s first words were, “Yang Yifu has been wronged! The one who actually has an affair with others is Yang Yishi!”