Real Empress from a Noble Family

Chapter 432 Was This Option Worth Thinking About?

Qiu Qian chose the first one, Yishu, from the list Qiu Yelan showed her, which was given by Madame Tao.

“Commandery Princess Yishu?” Qiu Yelan read it twice. She smiled, “You are really a business woman. You are so considerate!”

“It is the first one. It is obvious that Madame Tao and Marquess Qin wanted me to choose it.” Qiu Qian waved her hands, “I guess they want me, and even my brother and sister Mei, to be nice and meek, to make it easier for them. It’s just a title. If I can win them over, why not?”

Qiu Yelan thought so, too. When she got these alternate titles, she was prepared to persuade her even if Qiu Qian didn’t choose this one. But she didn’t expect Qiu Qian was smart.

“Since you refuse to regain the identity of the daughter of Prince’s Mansion of Xihe, the reason for giving you the title is that you have saved my son. But you cannot tell the truth about the origin of the antidote!” Qiu Yelan began to explain the details to her, “You can say it is your ancestral medicine. After you go back, remember to think of a dignified name for it to tell me. So, Empress Dowager could write a decree. Or you can say that you accidentally discovered the Gus’ conspiracy… You can’t say you were in Marquess Qin!”

Qiu Qian said, “I will choose the second one. The secret prescription handed down from ancestors… If some fools believe it and keep eyes on us, we will get in trouble.”

“It could have been easy to give Qiu Nie a knighthood. Nevertheless, since he wants to manage ‘Tianya’, a title will draw too much attention. And it is not good for you to lead a wandering life. Anyway, you’re the Commandery Princess. With this title, you can go to both the noble house and the palace. It will be convenient for you to handle issues on your own.” Qiu Yelan nodded, “Several days later the decree will arrive. Stay here for a few days. I will accompany you when it comes so that you will not be disrespectful.”

And then she said, “You shall go to the palace to give thanks. It is inconvenient for me to go there with you now as I am observing the duty of filial piety for my youngest grand uncle. But it doesn’t matter. Mom Hu will accompany you. She is the mom who helped Madame Tao to bring up Empress Dowager. With her around, I think everything will be fine! I don’t think Empress Dowager will embarrass you. Moreover, the Empress and I have always been good friends. And two months ago, she mentioned making Lang’er as her godson. So, she must be there to help you.”

Qiu Yelan was teaching Qiu Qian how to give thanks, while Jiang Tan and others were waiting to see He Shuijin.

… After arriving at Madame Tao Junior’s most remote farm, she declared herself “injured” and “pregnant” and inconvenient to move. So, she “had to” live on that farm to keep the baby. Thus, she was unable to return to Beijing!

As Qiu Yelan expected, she privately ordered people to send a gift to her father-in-law’s concubine, Madame Chi. With Madame Chi’s good words, Jiang Tianqi not only told his daughter-in-law to rest in the farm securely but also asked her husband to accompany her, so as to avoid any misadventure with He Shuijin in case that no one in the farm who dared to make decisions for her, which would result to a mistake.

When news of Sir Jibei’s sudden death reached the farm, even though He Shuijin was pregnant, they had to return to Jing City to condolence. The matter was pressing. So, Jiang Yaheng would ride a horse to go back as soon as he could, while He Shuijin could travel slowly in carriages.

Fortunately, Sir Jibei was very kind to Jiang Tianchi. Now that Sir Jibei was dead, it was polite of Jiang Tianchi and his wife if one of them was able to come back. So, the mourning hall would remain open and there would be no burial before they arrived. Even if He Shuijin went slowly for the sake of pregnancy, it was still faster than Madame Zhuang who came back from Beijiang.

So, she just walked slowly in case of getting hurt.

On that day, He Shuijin had a rest in a village near an official road. The richest family in the village were very obliging when they heard that the granddaughter-in-law of the Jiang family was passing by. He Shuijin was lazy to personally deal with people in their hierarchy. So, she let a maid go out to slight over, which already let the whole family all be greatly flattered.

He Shuijin just drank warm rose dew in the main house which was given by the host. A maid hurried to tell her that Jiang Tan brought some guys here with something urgent. She was taken aback and hurried to call them in, “What happened in Jing City? Why do you come to see me?”

Logically, if anything had happened, it would have been the guys in the third branch to look for her, right?

Even if some personal staff of the fourth branch had happened, the guy who went to find her should have been the servants of Qiu Yelan!

Jiang Tan saluted casually, which made He Shuijin think that it was because of the urgent issue. She didn’t expect that Jiang Tan said without any expression, “Madame, my young master and madame have some urgent questions to ask you.”

He Shuijin was smart. She found out that his attitude was not honorific as before. She was surprised. But she stayed calm and raised her head, “Tell me.”

“My junior young master several days ago was poisoned.” The first sentence Jiang Tan said made He Shuijin shocked. After hearing what he said, she didn’t need to know the doubt of Qiu Yelan and her husband anymore. She stopped Jiang Tan, “Ok. So, are they suspicious of me?”

Jiang Tan agreed, “There are no burglars in the Jiang Family. And those remaining members of Qingfeng Ji don’t know any habits of my junior young master’s wet nurses at all. Besides, Miss Qiu could not enter the Marquess’s Mansion whenever she wanted. Especially the time when Qiu heard about the poisoning and the delivery of the antidote was too coincidental. It only lasted an hour or two before my junior young master… My young master and madame don’t think that even the first branch and the third branch worked together, they could not be so accurate, but…”

“But I, who have been in charge of the house for so many years, have a reputation for manipulating! So must I have done it?” He Shuijin’s anger extremely turned into a smile, “Your madame knows the reason why I am outside is that I want to keep the baby well! I also have to thank her and my fourth aunt for their assistance to achieve so! Why should I bite the hand that feeds me and hurt her child?”

Saying that, her tears fell, “I know better than her that what it feels like to have one’s own kid murdered! At least her baby’s still alive!”

Jiang Tan grew up with Jiang Yashuang. Whenever He Shuijin gave presents to Jiang Yashuang, she usually would give him some. Although the one given to him was not as good as Jiang Yashuang’s, with the identity of He Shuijin, if she was willing to send him, she was already respectful to him. So, although He Shuijin had not earned his admiration, he still respected her. At the moment when he saw He Shuijin’s tears streaming, he felt guilty. After a pause, he softened his tone and said, “My young master and madame regard child as their life. My junior young master was almost murdered at a young age. So, my young master and madame are naturally heartbroken! But that’s why they sent me here to question you. All they want is to find out who did it! ‘

And then he hesitated for a while and said, “Even if Miss Qiu, who sent the antidote was investigated again and again, not to mention you. Miss Qiu is still in the Marquess’s Mansion and can’t leave!”

He Shuijin heard what he said and then she said bitterly, “If they even doubted the one who rescued their son, then I have nothing to say.”

Listen to her tone of sarcasm, Jiang Tan lowed his head. But when he thought of the order of this trip, he looked up, “Please explain it, madame!”

“There’s nothing to explain. I didn’t do it.” He Shuijin said lightly, “I have suffered the pain of losing my son so I would never do anything to a child! I don’t care whether your young master and madame trust me or not!”

The maids were anxious to see her being angry. If something like this happened in another branch, He Shuijin, the legitimate granddaughter-in-law who was in charge of the family, didn’t need to be afraid of it when there was no hard proof. But the fourth branch had dealt with so many similar cases before. Because of the death of Sir Jibei, that horrible Madame Zhuang was still at full speed to return to Jing City now! If they convinced their suspicions, without any evidence at all, they might murder her!

At that time, Ting’er persuaded her, “Madame, why do you say so? You never buy over any bodyguards. I think the nineteenth madame will understand you. Now that Jiang Tan is the trusted subordinate of young master Yashuang, will he refuse to hear you?”

He Shuijin had not answered, Ting’er urgently told Jiang Tan, “I should not tell you. But when it comes to the safety of the seventh junior young master, and since there are no outsiders here, let me tell you. Madame He, though she is our madame’s aunt, she has always been very strict with her! When my young master flirted with others, my madame just asked him to stop several times. However, she was scolded by Madame He. Fortunately, Old Master Tianqi is a fair man. With Madame He keeping an eye on us like that, how could our madame buy over bodyguards? Once when the head of the guard gave his monthly report according to the rule, my madame was busy with some accounts. So, she casually called him to the living room to talk. At that time my young master was still there, but my madame was still be rebuked by Madame He!”

Jiang Tan frowned. After all, Ting’er was He Shuijin’s maid. Her words hit the nail on the head. Everyone thought there was something wrong with the bodyguards as Qiu Qian could slip into the Marquess’s Mansion at will. So according to this logic, He Shuijin, the lady of the house, was the most suspicious one. But Ting’er pointed out that Madame He was quite harsh on He Shuijin. Even if her son was at home, when He Shuijin asked the leader of the bodyguards to go to the living room to report, she would scold her. So, He Shuijin wouldn’t buy over bodyguards at all. She might even think about ideas to avoid meeting them.

If she hadn’t bought over any bodyguards, her suspicion would be greatly cleared!

“You cannot only ask the leader of those guards, but also my young master.” Ting’er knew his hesitation. So, she listed the witnesses instantly, “At that time, madame never met the leader of the guards again. Even if there was something official, they asked aged maids to handle it. She even didn’t send us to deal with it. We would have helped those guards if we had known they were in trouble before, but now we dare not ask.”

“If so, Madame He is more suspicious, right?” Jiang Tan muttered to himself, “She deliberately scolded madame for being unladylike with the bodyguards so madame would try her best to avoid suspicion. She didn’t want to help the guards who were in trouble. If so, wasn’t it just a good opportunity for Madame He to buy up the guards?”

Jiang Yaqing, who died at the beginning of the year, was the biological son of Madame He. With this vendetta, Madame He had a sufficient motive to poison Jiang Jinglang. In contrast, He Shuijin was just Jiang Yaqing’s sister-in-law. So, she might not be willing to take such a risk for the sake of a brother-in-law whom she had just met several times.

Except that, she was pregnant. What she wanted to do was to keep her baby safe!

“Although Madame He has always been thought to be unintelligent, she still suppresses He Shuijin, who is known as a smart woman. After all, it is a matter of status. Even He Shuijin is shrewd, she can do nothing under her suppression. What a noble lady she is!” The more Jiang Tan thought, the more he thought it was possible, “Besides, under the drive of hatred, even if she were a fool, she would also become clever!”

He thought about how to report…

“Wait!” All of a sudden, He Shuijin, who had been sitting there with a straight face, said, “You said that Miss Qiu entered the Marquess’s Mansion three months ago and a few days ago, respectively, and was never discovered, right?”

Jiang Tan was surprised. He said, “Yes. It is because so….”

He Shuijin interrupted him, “So the way that she slipped into the Marquess’s mansion was by robbing a maid’s waist card and being dressed up as a maid?”

“Not robbing. Otherwise, she would be found in the three months. “Jiang Tan told the truth, “She asked someone to trick the servants out to drink and let someone else get them drunk. And then she stole the waist card. When she had done her thing with it and returned it, she woke them up. It was said that the two servants said they knew nothing. So, they just claimed their capacity of liquor was not so good.”

“And then not many guards were bought over!” He Shuijin sneered, “Your young master and madame are not in charge of the family affairs. So, they thought the guards in the Marquess’s Mansion were unreliable after that! If so, we would be in trouble! Grandfather is still alive. These old men were brought back from the Northern Army by him. How could they be so dishonorable?”

Seeing Jiang Tan startled, He Shuijin sneered, “Three months ago, when Lang’er was one month old, our family held seven days of celebration. In those days there were many guests and servants. We didn’t have enough servants to cater for our usual guests. So, they had to ask a bunch of guys from shops and farms to help. And then we would send them back to where they came from when it was all over. So, if a guy was brave enough and prepared, there were lots of chances for him to sneak into the mansion. After all, these servants did not come to the mansion frequently. So, it was hard for them to meet the same gatekeeper. And nobody could recognize everyone.”

“It was my youngest grand uncle who was dead this time! So, there would be a lot of condolences. But this time they went to the Mansion of Sir Jibei! As you said, even the grandparents themselves went to the Mansion of Sir Jibei to help. What about others? My youngest grand uncle died suddenly, all guys in the Marquess’s Mansion went there after they received the news. And then, after arriving at the Mansion of Sir Jibei, would they find that there was something they hadn’t brought, which needed someone to fetch?”

He Shuijin said slowly, “I’m away and my youngest grand uncle’s funeral is a big event. I’m afraid the rest people of our family have been used to having leisure time. So, the arrangements for his funeral must have been chaotic at first. If there was someone of the Marquess’s Mansion left things, they would send people to take. Their maids and themselves are occupied so they had to ask others to help them… No matter in the Marquess’s Mansion or the Mansion of Sir Jibei, there are all lots of maids. No matter how capable the gatekeeper of our mansion is, he cannot keep all the servants and maids of the palace in mind. Even if someone could remember all guys in our mansion, it would be difficult for them to see them clearly all the time because different maids have entered so many times. So, if someone is careful and bold and able to seize this opportunity, with the name of maids from the Mansion of Sir Jibei to go to our mansion, she can enter easily.”

Jiang Tan was startled. A few moments later, he said, ” Miss Qiu was unwilling to tell us. But why didn’t the guards say anything?”

“You dumb!” He Shuijin scolded him without patience, “Miss Qiu who just saved Lang’er was unwilling to tell the truth, not to mention those guards!”

She sneaked into the Marquess’s Mansionunder someone’s name. Qiu Qian therefore saved Jiang Jinglang. Even if this so-and-so was casually made up by Qiu Qian, as long as the details were said, the one who told the truth would be charged for buying over guards and doing things maliciously.

Qiu Qian and Mei Xue, these rough guys, could understand the truth, let alone the guards who were in the Jiang Family for so many years and were used to seeing the internal struggle? If they didn’t say Qiu Qian used someone’s name to slip into the mansion, although they had to be punished, somehow the relationships between the master and the servant for so many years could save them. If they told the truth, they would offend the whole branch. And they might even do not know how they would be killed, which would also get their families involved!

Did they need to consider?

Jiang Tan was shocked for a while. And then he said, “Madame, what you said makes sense. But if you could come up with such ideas, would it be your maids who did so?”

Though he respected He Shuijin, he was loyal to Jiang Yashuang. According to the analysis of He Shuijin, Qiu Qian didn’t need to bribe the guards at all. All she needed was to seize the chance that the Jiang Family had accidents. According to Ting’er, He Shuijin had no trusted guards so she could not be cleared of suspicion…

“Go back. Bring my hair clasp to find the owner of Linlang Ji. Let her tell you all my arrangements. Will that be fine?” He Shuijin was almost crazy as she thought, “When I kindly pointed out the errors in the analysis of you idiot on managing a family, you should begin to suspect me even more. Even burning Bridges was not so fast as you did!

She saw Jiang Tan’s vision calmly sweep over her belly, she was heartbroken, “Yashuang and his wife seem to be really angry. So, they would rather kill the wrong guy than let the murderer go? If I don’t clear me of suspicion, I might…”

She dared not get in a rage anymore, “I promise that owner can clear me of the suspicion!”