Chapter 128 - The Person Behind the Scenes
Chapter 128 The Person Behind the Scenes
“Is it the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe?” Qiu Yelan thought quickly for a moment and blurted it out.
Fang Nongyan must not have the courage to fall out with Ruan Qingyan. Someone must have instructed him. Although it was the young lady of the Xue Family who clashed with Ruan Qingyan recently, it was Ruan Qingyan who suffered that time. No matter how crazy Miss Xue was, it would not be endless, was it?
She wondered for a moment whether Miss Xue would vent her anger on Ruan Qingyan again when Jiang Yashuang refused her marriage. But now Xue Chang was about to use the death of General Ruan as a cover to catch his breath. Was Miss Xue going to cheat her own father like this?
So according to normal logic, it was most likely to be the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe, “Although the Empress Dowager Gu is also hostile to cousin, they should be dealing with Xue Xiang now. However, in that case, why does Fang Nongyan who is an ungrateful person go to Governor’s office?”
Feng Rugui of the Governor’s office belongs to Empress parties, and he was very influential. Didn’t Qiu Mengmin suffer enough last time?
Ruan Qingyan raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows. Although he didn’t look good, his eyes were still calm. Obviously, this accident did not disturb him, “I hired people from Tianya to keep an eye on the Fang family. Just now I have sent someone to inquire about the people who have been dealing with Fang Nongyan in the past few days. I think we will have a result later.”
Sure enough, after a while, a servant ran back in a sweat to report, “It is said that the imperial astronomer sent someone to the Fang Family yesterday. Apart from that, no one else can have anything to do with it.”
“The imperial astronomer?” Qiu Yelan was stunned, “His last name seems to be Xue?”
“Xue Tian is the brother of Prime Minister Xue.” Ruan Qingyan’s eyes were deep, “It should not be what Prime Minister Xue meant. I guess Prime Minister Xue might not know about that. After all, I’m his student.”
At this time, the relationship between master and apprentice in officialdom was the strongest. One side was rich and the other benefited. One side was tragic and the other was not going to stand idly by. According to the default rules, even if there was no intimacy between master and apprentice like father and son. However, they could not take care of each other. If they didn’t give each other face, they would be despised by the whole officialdom.
So Xue Chang would never openly deal with Ruan Qingyan.
Even if he didn’t deal with him directly, he also needed to get rid of all the relationships. How could he let his brother show up?
“I’m afraid the Prime Minister Xue’s beloved daughter made some troubles again.” Qiu Yelan heard the words and guessed right, sneering and saying, “That day, the eldest wife of the Xue family came over with the sixth Miss Sun. I originally thought the prime minister’s daughter is so noble. It turns out that she was also a person who brought trouble to her father.”
But she felt a little confused, “Why is it so easy to find out? Is there anything else?” Was the IQ of the Premier’s brother and daughter doing bad things so low? The victim knew it before she left the house.
“Easy?” Ruan Qingyan said lightly, “This news is worth 5200 silver.”
“It’s not easy.” Qiu Yelan said sincerely, “It’s just a black shop!”
She asked, “So now?”
“I asked Ruan Yi to go to the Prime Minister Xue’s house and tell Prime Minister Xue what happened. Let him decide.” Knowing that Fang Nongyan told him that Miss Xue tampered with him behind his back, Ruan Qingyan was not worried, “Anyway, I would be criticized which would be the biggest problem to Prime Minister Xue.”
Qiu Yelan hummed, “Yeah. It is difficult for him to find a respite, but he is disturbed by his own daughter. But I hope Prime Minister Xue can clean up people more decisively. This kind of daughter had better be killed as soon as possible!”
Ruan Qingyan did not take her angry words to heart, only saying, “Prime Minister Xue knows how to discipline his family, so don’t worry about it… It’s too late for dinner. Go and have a meal. Don’t be hungry.”
“Look at your gobbling look. People, who don’t know it, will think that the Jiang Family is out of food.” At this moment, in the Zishen Palace, Empress Jiang was smiling and holding the tea bowl which had the green pattern of two carps playing in the lotus flower to make fun of her nephew who bowed his head to eat.
Jiang Yashuang ate the last chopstick of rice, took the tea handed over by the maid and rinsed his mouth, and then explained, “I want to finish all my homework for today before noon. I missed my meal before I knew it. I am afraid that another order to have lunch would make my grandmother worry, so I might as well go into the palace and have a meal with you.”
Among the nineteen nieces and nephews of Empress Jiang, the twins, Jiang Qizheng and Jiang Yashuang, were the most spoiled and indulged. The main reason was that they were raised by Madame Tao and Little Tao, and she had always been close to them. This was also the reason why Jiang Qizheng, as the youngest granddaughter of the Jiang family, was named princess earlier than many sisters.
As for Jiang Yashuang, he was almost seen as a son by the Empress who did not have a biological prince. Now hearing what he said, the Empress smiled and scolded, “Since it’s a day’s homework, why do you have to finish it before noon?”
Jiang Yashuang glanced around. As soon as the Empress looked up, the people in the palace saluted together. In an instant, there were only a few confidants such as Nijin in the palace. Then the Empress was concerned and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I heard that Prime Minister Xue handed a booklet yesterday and wanted to add a title to the deceased General Ruan senior.” Jiang Yashuang asked flatteringly, “This is just a matter of an imperial decree and some money. My aunt, why don’t you agree?”
Empress Jiang said with a faint smile, “I am wondering what you are doing in the palace after you are in a hurry to finish your homework? So do you get orders from your sweetheart?”
“No, I don’t.” Jiang Yashuang blurted it out, saying, “When Yelan received the bad news of General Ruan, she went to the General’s Mansion. There is Ruan Qingyan watching over there. I can’t even see her when I go to mourn the deceased. How can that be what she means? It’s me…”
Hearing this, Empress Jiang and her confidants laughed loudly. The Empress pointed at him, “Listen to this. It is said that when a woman has someone she likes, she will inevitably speak for him. Is this better than Shuang defending her?”
Nijin pursed his lips and said with a smile, “The nineteenth young lady is not married yet. Jiang Yashuang loves her so much… Hah!”
Jiang Yashuang ignored her. He smiled and asked the Empress “My aunt, do you agree with me?”
The Empress Jiang put down the tea bowl and stroked her hair at the temples, saying with a smile, “You guys go out, too. I’ll talk to Shuang alone.”
They waited for Nijin and others to leave. There were only two of them left in such a large side hall, but she reined in her smile and frowned, “Have you made up your mind? Is it the Commandery Princess Ningyi?”
Jiang Yashuang was asked so bluntly by his elder. His face flushed slightly, but he still said, “Yes.”
“Although she is the Commandery Princess, there is no elder to support her.” The Empress reminded.
“My aunt, what did you say? Since you love me, why should I consider the power of my wife’s family?” Jiang Yashuang disagreed it. “Besides, a man is born in the world and is supposed to be the support of his wife and children. What’s the point of thinking about relying on others?”
The Empress breathed a sigh of relief when she heard what he said was not meant for her. As the only biological daughter of Madame Tao, she certainly hoped that the Madame could get her wish, but Jiang Yashuang grew up like her own son, and the Empress really didn’t want him to be wronged in marriage.
Now Jiang Yashuang also took a fancy to Qiu Yelan. It would be best for the Empress Jiang that she did not have to choose between his mother and his nephew.
But the Empress thought for a moment and reminded him, “I know you don’t care about it. However, I heard that Commandery Princess Ningyi seems to be very close to her cousin, Ruan Qingyan.”
“After all, Duke of Xihe and his wife are very unkind to her.” Jiang Yashuang thought about this for a while before saying, “Of all her relatives, this cousin is the only one she can rely on. I think Ruan Qingyan treats her as a sister. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have run to the mansion of Prime Minister Xue frequently before.”
Empress Jiang smiled and said, “Is that true? But in the future, it will be better for them to have less contact with each other. After all, they are just cousins. Ruan Qingyan has not married up to now. If they got in touch with each other too much, they would be talked about. Even if they are innocent, you will feel ashamed.”
“I’ll remind them later… My aunt, what about the matter of conferring a posthumous title?” Jiang Yashuang got back to the point.
Empress Jiang pretended to be angry, saying, “What’s the rush?” But she still told him, “What your grandfather means is that since you have already turned down the Xue family once, you must win over Xue Chang again. However, the strength of our family is not so easy to borrow. If Xue Chang didn’t give us some benefits, it’ would be impossible to get something for nothing.”
Jiang Yashuang hurriedly asked, “How long will it take?”
“It’s up to Xue Chang.” Empress Jiang smiled and said, “General Ruan used to be the commander-in-chief of the western army in the town. Kuang Shihan was trained by him himself. You also know what happened when General Ruan and his son-in-law were defeated. Although Xue Chang is not easily biased towards either side of Jiang and Gu, I would not help him if he did not teach Kuang Shihan a lesson this time.
Seeing Jiang Yashuang looking longingly at her, Empress Jiang pointed him slightly. She thought it was funny and angry, saying, “What’s the look on your face? Can’t you wait to protect her before you get married? Even if General Ruan gets the title, first of all, Ruan Qingyan will benefit. Who is Ruan Qingyan? He is Xue Chang’s student! As for the Commandery Princess Ningyi, she is just a granddaughter and has the title of the Commandery Princess. It is dispensable to her at all.”
“Kuang Shihan’s improperly gained military power. This man is an important arm of the Empress Dowager Gu against the Jiang family. Wouldn’t it be nice to take this opportunity to clean him up?” Jiang Yashuang flatteringly said, “Why should we sit and watch the Prime Minister Xue act? Can’t our family help them, too?”
Empress Jiang laughed and scolded him, “You are really obsessed with that little girl. Can’t you see such a simple truth? As soon as our family starts, the old man of the Hall of Taishi will suspiciously put aside Xue Chang to fight with our family. In this way, Xue Chang’s embarrassment is easily solved. Do you think he will still speak for our family?”
Jiang Yashuang said bitterly, “I thought you always love me, and you’ll pretend to be confused and agree to my request.”
“Anyway, I won’t let your sweetheart suffer.” The Empress Jiang’s heart softened when she looked at her nephew’s disappointment and promised, “After all, even if I don’t think about you, Ruan Qingyan’s talent is worth cultivating. After entering Hanlin Academy, he is very close to Xue Chang. It is time for him to think about whether to follow his master or follow our Jiang family.”
When it came to this, the Empress was also a little sorry, “It is a pity that Xue Chang is not good at teaching his daughter, otherwise he is an excellent candidate for a son-in-law because he is talented and handsome with simple family background. Let me see. Zheng’er is sixteen years old….”
“It was the fifteenth sister in our family who we wanted him to marry before.” Jiang Yashuang reminded.
“Madame Dou who is an ignorant woman taught Qiyun to be narrow-minded. Marrying her to Ruan Qingyan is not flattering him, but torturing him.” Empress Jiang had made no secret of her dislike of Madame Dou, the wife of Jiang Tianao, because there was no one else in front of her now. Marquess Qin’s original wife, Madame Dou senior, was Madame Dou’s own aunt. After she died of illness, the Dou family wanted to remarry Madame Dou senior’s cousin who was Madame Dou’s little aunt to Marquess Qin in order to maintain the relationship between the two families.
As a result, Marquess Qin successfully asked for the granddaughter of Tao Yinsong, the “pillar of the state”. Of course, he would no longer consider the Dou family’s daughter. The Dou family dared not to fall out with Marquess Qin, so they vented their anger on Madame Tao. In particular, Madame Tao had been married for less than two years. Tao Yinsong passed away. The Tao family declined rapidly. Madame Dou won the favor and tolerance of the two uncles of Marquess Qin and Sir Jibei because of relying on her husband. She not only made trouble for her aunt every day, but also bullied Empress Jiang in the boudoir.
Although Madame Dou was greatly troubled by Empress Jiang after she came to power, her dislike of Madame Dou had not changed. She disliked her, so she also disliked the children of the first branch in Jiang Family. They had always been the least popular in front of the Empress.
In particular, Jiang Qiyun who almost hurt Empress’s favorite niece, Jiang Qizheng. Empress Jiang was completely disgusted with this niece, “Before, I looked down on Ruan Qingyan, so I let the first branch choose him. Now I think he’s good. If it weren’t for the unruly person of the Xue Family who first said that she didn’t like him, it would be difficult for the cheap maidservant’s daughter who didn’t like him, but our Zheng’er liked him. I think it would be nice to lower Zheng’er’s status and marry him.”
Jiang Yashang was not worried about her sister’s marriage. In any case, the 15th cousin was not married yet. It was not Jiang Qizheng’s turn to get married, not to mention that this sister had so many elders looking at her, she had nothing to lose. He was more concerned about, “The Ruan Family plans to return to Laizhou after the coffin is temporarily parked for seven days. I wonder if the matter about title could be settled before Ruan Qingyan leaves.”