Chapter 173 - Are You Sure You're Worth so Much?
Chapter 173 Are You Sure You’re Worth so Much?
Ou Bicheng took Jiang Yashuang to his own room and let his servants go out. Then he wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and lamented, “How can I live such a life? In the north, my mother quarreled with my father all day long for several girls and often asked me to help her. Could I beat my father and his women? It was not easy for me to find an excuse to come back and stay for a few months, but Xing insisted on coming with me. I agreed. But it’s only a few days and she felt bored. She has been trying her martial skills on me all day and never saves face for me. Does she think it’s an honor for her that I am beaten in public?”
Xing is the pet name of Ou Qinglan.
Though Jiang Yashuang was full of worries, he couldn’t help laughing. “It’s all your own fault. You were the least diligent when we were learning martial arts under the same master. Now if you don’t suffer, who will?”
“You can’t say that.” Ou Bicheng said angrily. “I would take it if it were you, but Xing is a girl. She is so fierce. Who dares marry her in the future? But if she couldn’t get married all her life, who would raise her except me? It’s okay to raise her, but if she beat me every now and then, how would I face others in the future?”
“As a matter of fact, I also want to have a practice with you today. If Xing hadn’t mentioned it first, you would have been beaten by me after you had lost to her.” Jiang Yashuang coughed and said.
Ou Bicheng almost vomited blood on the spot. “Even if I am the weakest of your playmates, you are recognized as a master! Do you have to bully me! You are so shameless!”
Jiang Yashuang sighed, “I just thought about it when I came. Now I’ve changed my mind.”
Ou Bicheng was scared and said, “You won’t beat me twice, will you? Xing always does it!”
Jiang Yashuang was a little speechless about the young lady of the Ou Family. He paused and said, “Are you used to being bullied? I just want to ask you to have a drink with me.”
Ou Bicheng was pleased, “Good brother! So you knew Xing had gone too far and came over to deliberately lose to me so as to make me feel better?”
Then he asked, “In this case, you don’t need to use your internal force to change alcohol.”
Jiang Yashuang rubbed his forehead, “Don’t talk nonsense! Bring me the wine!”
So, the wine was served. Within an hour, before Ou Bicheng counted to ten, Jiang Yashuang, who didn’t drink much, fell down!
“Hey, you just come here to get some sleep, don’t you?” Ou Bicheng shook his head helplessly, kicked him aside and shouted to his servants, “Drag him to my study and then send someone to his home and inform his grandma in case she worries!”
His grandmother, who was also surnamed Tao, was Madame Tao’s cousin.
In the next few days, Jiang Yashuang simply stayed in the Ous’ residence and sent his homework to Marquess Qin for checking every day.
The Qianqiu Festival was coming and he was not sure whether to go to the palace or not. Ou Bicheng got to know why he had suddenly come to stay, so he sneered and said, “If you don’t care about your sweetheart, you should at least care about your aunt. There is only one Qianqiu Festival a year, and you, who are loved by her as her own son, are not there!”
Jiang Yashuang sighed, “You are right. Whether I want to see her or not, I will definitely go to the palace.”
He washed up with a complex and perturbed mood. Qiu Yelan, too, had no mood to dress up.
However, she had been out of the mourning. Being a princess, it was impossible for her not to go to the palace to congratulate the Empress on the Qianqiu Festival.
Of course, she had to wear a full dress on this formal occasion. She was only fifteen years old, but when she was neatly dressed in her official costume, she looked more like a lady.
Before she went out, Qiu Yelan touched the hairpins behind the temples and said, “They are so heavy!”
“Today, all ladies with titles have to dress up like this. Your Grace, please bear with it.” Chunran said.
Qiu Yelan forced a smile and said nothing.
She went out with Princess Yang and Qiu Jinzhu. Ding Qinghong also had a title, but now that she was about to give birth, and Princess Yang, at Qiu Mengmin’s intention, had to ask for permission in advance that she did not have to go to the palace.
The party went to the Beijue Hall of the Zishen Palace. Soon they were called in by Empress Jiang. After they saluted to Empress Jiang, the Empress smiled, greeted them and asked them to sit down.
Not long after Qiu Yelan sat down, she felt a maid tugging at her sleeve. She saw that Empress Jiang was talking to the nearest ladies and not paying attention to her, so she asked softly, “What’s the matter?”
“Princess Yongfu is outside and wants to talk to you.” the maid whispered.
“But I am…” Qiu Yelan looked at the Empress and felt embarrassed.
The maid understood her and said, “Don’t worry. The Empress won’t mind since it is Princess Yongfu who asked you out.”
Qiu Yelan thought about it and felt that it was in the Beijue Hall, under the nose of Empress Jiang, and the Empress Dowager’s party would not see her. So he got up and left the hall with the maid quietly, followed by Chunran and Su He.
Princess Yongfu, dressed in light yellow spring clothes, was standing under the porch teasing the parrot with her hands behind her back.
When she was reminded that Qiu Yelan had come out, she abandoned the parrot to meet her and complained, “Why didn’t you call me the last time you went to Jinxiu Slope? Aren’t I your friend?”
Knowing her childish temper, Qiu Yelan smiled and coaxed, “I hadn’t been there either and didn’t know how it was. So I decided to go first and tell you later if it was fun. Otherwise, if we invited you but found that it was not worthwhile, wouldn’t it spoil your interest?”
Princess Yongfu thought it was reasonable, “I have actually been to that place. The best time is a few days later. You didn’t see many flowers when you went.”
“You are right.” said Qiu Yelan. “We were caught in a heavy rain and met with an accident.”
Princess Yongfu certainly knew about the death of the Duchess of Huainan, but because the Duke of Huainan had always been neutral and Princess Yongfu was not familiar with the family, she did not care to talk about the kindness of the Duchess of Huainan and just said, “Come with me!”
Qiu Yelan asked curiously, “Where are we going?”
“To sell you!” Princess Yongfu pulled her sleeve and waved her fist to frighten her. “Then I’ll buy candies with the money for me!”
“Then you can only eat candies for the rest of your life!” Qiu Yelan’s another hand immediately pressed down on her chest and made a frightened look, “Won’t you be tired of eating candies?”
Princess Yongfu laughed and said merrily, “Are you sure you are worth so much?” The followers and servants also laughed. It was not the first time Princess Yongfu had used the word “sell” to frighten someone. Those who heard it for the first time reacted differently, but Qiu Yelan was the first one to be so playful.
For a moment, everyone felt Princess Ningyi was very interesting.
“It’s not necessarily that I’m worth a lot, but the candies are cheap!” Qiu Yelan smiled.
“It can take a lifetime for me to eat. That must be a large sum!” Princess Yongfu said with a smile. “So I’ll have to think carefully that who I should sell you to.”
Qiu Yelan offered, “To Her Majesty, of course!”
Princess Yongfu was surprised and said, “Why should my mother buy you with so much money?”
“But Her Majesty loves you!” Qiu Yelan said reasonably. “You are selling a living person to her. Even if you sold her a straw, she would be willing to trade for it with a gold mountain!”
Princess Yongfu tilted her head for a moment and laughed, “You’re really a brilliant conversationalist! No wonder my cousin loves you.”
Qiu Yelan’s face darkened when she heard that. It was not because she remembered the cold war between them these days, but because “According to what you said, it seemed that I hooked your cousin with my eloquence.” It was your cousin who had been pursuing me!
At this time, a group of people suddenly came through the porch of the hall. The leader was wearing a magnificent purple robe, a golden crown and a jade belt. Looking cautious, he bowed his head slightly for fear of bumping into something as he walked.
“Brother, are you going to see mom?” Princess Yongfu also saw them and asked curiously.
Qiu Yelan could not help looking at the man in the purple robe and guessed that he was Prince Qi.
Prince Qi was only in his early twenties, with a handsome appearance and fair skin, but there was twilight between his eyebrows, showing that though he was the eldest son of the royal family, life had not been easy for him over the years.
Seeing Princess Yongfu, he also stopped. He smiled awkwardly, “The Duke of Puyang is with me. He suddenly began to cough. I come to ask maid Ming to call a doctor.”
Being the eldest son with the title of Prince Qi, he had to go to the Empress’s Palace to ask a maid to call a doctor. It showed how strictly Empress Jiang controlled over the people in the harem.
However, Princess Yongfu would not care about this. What she cared about was, “Why is Xiao Su coughing again? Can he attend this year’s banquet?”
“Well, I think he can.” Prince Qi was also uncertain.
When the brother and sister said goodbye and Prince Qi was out of sight, Qiu Yelan asked Princess Yongfu, “Is the Duke of Puyang in such a bad condition?”
“He’s never been good!” Princess Yongfu sighed with a headache. “But I hope it won’t be the same as that year. He came to the palace to offer congratulations but got serious sick when he went back.”
Qiu Yelan listened silently, thinking that this was really a glass-like person. Ever since she heard of him, he had been linked to a sick body.
Princess Yongfu told the maid, “Go and send some of the purple ginseng given to me by my mother during the Lantern Festival to my eldest brother’s yard to Xiao Su. He promised to write me a piece of calligraphy the other day. Who knows how long I have to wait if he is ill again.”
Then she explained to Qiu Yelan, “Xiao Su’s calligraphy is excellent. People say that he will be able to catch up with the two ancient Wangs in a few years!”
Qiu Yelan was not very interested in calligraphy, so she casually echoed a few words and changed the topic for fear of making Princess Yongfu disappointed. “Has Chunfu Princess come yet?”
“I knew you would ask!” Barely had she spoken when Princess Yongfu smiled proudly and dragged her for a few steps. They entered a secluded yard and turned around the rockery and plants and Princess Yongfu shouted into the half-screened window, “Cousin, look, who’s here!”
Qiu Yelan was so shocked that she went up and covered her mouth without thinking. “Are you kidding me?” It would be a matter of shyness in the past. But now Qiu Jinglan’s life was hanging there!
However, it was already late. The screen was raised, and Jiang Yashuang and Ou Bicheng, who were drinking by the window, looked out!