Real Empress from a Noble Family

Chapter 280 - Shiftless Jiang Yadan

Chapter 280 Shiftless Jiang Yadan

Empress Jiang hadn’t figured out how to deal with Princess Lexin while Princess Lexin had come to make amends.

Jiang Yashuang then asked for leaving, “I didn’t go back all night. I’m afraid my family is worried about me.”

“Okay.” Empress Jiang was guilty and she nodded, “Bring some fresh steamed rose dew to your wife. Tell her the ins and outs of the matter. Don’t hurt your feelings because of this!”

“Aunt, don’t worry. Yelan is not narrow-minded.” Jiang Yashuang smiled, pretending not to hear her fomenting dissension.

When he left, he happened to see Princess Lexin who was waiting outside the Hall. This princess had a beautiful appearance. After all, Qu Baolin had no background. She could become a concubine from a maid just because she had a beautiful appearance. As her daughter, Princess Lexin looked pretty as well naturally.

But at this moment the princess looked haggard, and she looked a bit worried. Seeing Jiang Yashuang, she quickly bowed, “Hanlin Jiang, I...”

“Your Highness!” Jiang Yashuang dodged her salute and said lightly, “Your Highness, how can I deserve your bowing!”

“I was confused by my maid before. Please forgive me for involving your brother!” Princess Lexin sighed in her heart. The title of princess was nothing at this time. All girls in Jiang Family lived a better life than this princess. If the former emperor were still alive, how should she be so humble before Jiang Yashuang?

Moreover, he might not appreciate her humbleness at all. After saying polite formulas in a hurry, Jiang Yashuang cupped one hand in the other before his chest and left without waiting for her to speak on the pretext that he had something important to do outside the Palace.

“Although he was cold, at least he didn’t get a sulky look... It is said that Jiang Yashuang has a good temper. It seems that is true.” Princess Lexin glanced at his back, thinking about how to calm Empress Jiang after she went in. “Fortunately, Jiang Yadan has been sent out of the Palace. Otherwise, in order to avoid him, I don’t know when to come over. The Empress may be angrier if I come so late!”

Jiang Yashuang didn’t care about Princess Lexin’s thoughts at all. After he left Summer Palace, his calm expression became a little gloomy.

Returning back home, he went to greet Madame Tao at first as usual.

Madame Tao comforted him as expected after seeing him, and then said, “Your wife is so worried about you. I was afraid that she would blame Jiang Yadan when she knew the truth, so I didn’t tell her the truth. I heard that she tried to draw something out of the servants of Jiang Yadan just now on the pretext of sending mung bean cakes. I don’t know whether she has got anything. I’m afraid she is still in a sulk in the room. Go back to comfort her. Don’t make her sad!”

Jiang Yashuang smiled and said, “Grandma, you don’t have to worry. This matter has nothing to do with brother. It is the Empress Dowager who is to blame. How will Yelan get angry with brother? She always respects brother. Last time when brother met her, he even let her get some lychees.”

Madame Tao’s face became slightly stiff when she heard this, and then she smiled kindly, “Anyway, I can be relieved as long as you are fine.”

Jiang Yashuang talked with her for another moment. Knowing that Madame Tao Junior was in good spirits recently and recovered quickly, he then left.

After leaving the old Madame’s yard, he thought for a while before returning to his yard.

While he went back, he found that Qiu Yelan was out.

“Did she go to visit the sixteenth sister-in-law?” Jiang Yashuang asked. He came back from Madame Tao just now. If Qiu Yelan had gone to visit Madame Tao Junior, Madame Tao would have mentioned it. And Qiu Yelan had been hanging around these two sisters-in-law recently.

However, the maid shook her head, “The Fourteenth Madame has no appetite recently, and she likes the cold dishes which madame makes. Just now she sent Wan over and invited madame to go over.”

She was pregnant, so it was reasonable for her to ask the sister-in-law to make some food for her. Jiang Yashuang had nothing to say. He sighed inwardly and said, “Then I’ll go to brother. Tell Yelan that after she comes back!”

After the maid replied, Jiang Yashuang went to Jiang Yadan’s yard. Since Jiang Yadan didn’t come back long, Jiang Yashuang thought he could meet him immediately. While the maid poured a cup of tea for him and let him wait for a moment embarrassingly.

Jiang Yashuang was clear about the reason why he had to wait for a moment. He must be with some mistress at this time.

He was both sad and angry, but he couldn’t rush over to drag Jiang Yadan out. So, he had to suppress his temper and wait.

After waiting for a long time, Jiang Yadan, whose long hair was half-wet, walked in while fastening his clothes and asked, “Why are you here? Did aunt have any orders?”

“No. I just wanna talk to you.” Jiang Yashuang glanced at the dark circles under his eyes and frowned, “Brother, you should be more abstinent. You should look in the mirror and look at your face. If it weren’t for that you were still in the prime of life, your health would have broken down already!”

Jiang Yadan said indifferently, “I’ve really been on the loose these two days. Aunt let me stay in this yard until the end of the summer vacation. Even if I don’t want to be abstinent, I have to be because the same girls will make me cloy.” Then he frowned, “Why you acted like that when aunt hit me today? I haven’t cheated you recently, nor have I borrowed money from you, right? You didn’t speak for me at all and you even let aunt hit me harder!”

“Why not think about how angry aunt was this time because of you?” Jiang Yashuang snorted coldly, “If I had spoken for you, aunt would have been even more annoyed. She wouldn’t hit you anymore, but she wouldn’t care about you anymore as well. Do you think that is a good thing?”

“How would aunt not care about me?” Jiang Yadan smiled, “Even if she doesn’t want to care about me anymore, she has to consider for you. I am your brother. So if anything was wrong with me, you would be dragged down in the future. Aunt always likes you the most, so how will she let that happen?”

Jiang Yashuang was speechless about this brother. He sighed and was about to say something, but Jiang Yadan continued, “But even you also said that I made aunt so angry this time. Not to mention the past, but the matter this time has nothing to do with me! I was too wronged! I was beaten by aunt in Summer Palace without reason, and even you said that to me just now!”

“If it weren’t for the things you did before, how could aunt have been fooled?” Jiang Yashuang glanced at him. How could he say that he was wronged! Aunt was always on their side, but this time she lacked in self-confidence just because of his behaviour before!

Jiang Yadan was still unconvinced, “This time is different from the past! I didn’t do anything this time!”

“When the thing happened yesterday, aunt immediately sent someone to look for you. You should be working at that time.” Jiang Yashuang sneered, “But we just can’t find you anyway!”

“...” Jiang Yadan thought about what he was doing at the time, turning embarrassed, “I didn’t expect it to be so coincidental.”

Jiang Yashuang sneered, “How can there be so many coincidences? But it’s just so easy to lead you off. Even a pretty maid can make it!”

Jiang Yadan just laughed and didn’t answer. Jiang Yashuang sighed, “Brother, I don’t mind your making merry in the past. But now even your children have started to receive education. You have been so old, but the elders still have to worry about you.” Weren’t you afraid that your sons and daughters would learn from you and become wastrels in the future?”

Since he was his elder brother, Jiang Yashuang could only say that to himself, hoping that Jiang Yadan could get the implication by himself.

However, Jiang Yadan said indifferently, “Yashuang, don’t you know me? I have no ambitions in my life, and I just wanna make merry. You will take charge of the fourth branch in the future certainly. If you want a helper, I heard that Jiang Yazhu has become sensible recently, so you can find him for help. If you want more helpers, just find your nephews! Be strict with them, and you don’t have to be so kind. If their mothers are unhappy about that, I will talk to them... Why you require me with your standards?”

Jiang Yashuang turned blue in the face with anger and said coldly, “But brother, you are the eldest son in our branch!”

“Not every eldest son in a family is competent!” Jiang Yadan was at ease, “In our family, great uncle is not as competent as our grandfather! Look at our third uncle. He is not as good as the eldest uncle in the court, and he even didn’t choose good wives as our father did. So why must I be better than you?”

If he were not his younger brother but his elder brother, Jiang Yashuang would have kicked him on the spot!

He suppressed his anger and asked, “So, brother, the thing this time didn’t influence you at all, right?”

Jiang Yadan said in surprise, “Why I should be influenced? You all know that I was wronged this time. Isn’t it good that I don’t care about it?”

“Aunt doesn’t want you to serve in the Imperial Army again. So, where you plan to go then, brother?” Jiang Yashuang looked at him with complicated eyes and asked.

Jiang Yadan said, “If I could choose, I would choose an easy and lucrative job. But aunt sent me back because she was afraid that I would cause trouble for her again. So I am afraid that the elders will give me a casual job which will not affect the overall situation, lest they worry about me again.”

It was great that he was clear about that! Jiang Yashuang then said indifferently, “Brother, since you want a satisfactory job, why not clean up your act during this time?”

“Let’s talk about it later.” Jiang Yadan didn’t want to play games with him anymore, so he directly showed him the door, “Do you have something else to do? If not, just leave. I’ll go back.”

“...” Jiang Yashuang stood up and left with anger. He gritted his teeth at the door, “Brother, I’m leaving.”

He still looked sulky even when he had been out of the yard. Seeing nobody around, Jiang Tan comforted him cautiously, “The eighth young master is just like this, and he just can’t change after so many years. You don’t have to be angry. Her Majesty, old master and old madame will worry about you, and young madame will be more worried.”

“Go to my grandfather and ask if I can go to visit him tonight.” Jiang Yashuang ignored his comfort and walked for a while before giving the order.

Jiang Tan left with his order.

Jiang Yashuang returned to his yard alone. Seeing that Chen Shui was feeding Whitey and Nianxue in the courtyard, he asked, “Is young madame back?”

Chen Shui hurriedly put the basket with cat food in it on the chair, and said after bowing, “Yes. The young madame seems to be a little tired. She is talking to Su He inside.”

Jiang Yashuang frowned when he heard the words, thinking that although He Shuijin was pregnant, it would be too much to regard her sister-in-law as a servant. Even Sheng Shishui had never acted like this before.

He felt a little unhappy and walked gently into the room, seeing that Qiu Yelan had put on her regular clothes under the western window. The green blouse with narrow sleeves, the white skirt with pink flowers on it, and her hanging hair made her look refreshed and pretty.

While she was sitting on the couch and discussing something with Su He, she frowned at this moment.

Realizing that Jiang Yashuang came in, their faces changed. Without asking anything, Qiu Yelan raised her voice and yelled at Chen Shui, “Why not tell me that the young master is back? What are you doing outside?”

“She said that you were tired, so I thought you might be taking a nap.” Jiang Yashuang said hurriedly, “So I let her keep quiet... What are you talking about?”

“Nothing.” Qiu Yelan said in a weird tone. She stood up and walked towards him, “You’re back! I didn’t sleep well last night... How did things go?”

From her tone, he could feel that she didn’t doubt he had anything to do with Princess Lexin at all. Jiang Yashuang felt a bit relieved. But when he was about to answer her question with a smile... He was a head taller than Qiu Yelan. Even though Qiu Yelan deliberately came up to him, he inadvertently saw Su He hiding a small piece of oil paper which was placed on the edge of the couch into her sleeve secretly.

Then she stood up and asked for leaving as if nothing had happened, “I’ll go to the kitchen to have a look.”

“Lanlan, are you hiding something from me?” Jiang Yashuang was suspicious in his heart, “What exactly is in the oiled paper?”