Real Empress from a Noble Family

Tang Zimo’s solution resembled Empress Dowager Gu’s. They both attempted to make Kuang Qingwu innocent and blame Commandery Princess Ningtai for all. However, Commandery Princess Ningtai’s life was not a big deal to Tang Zimo. What he really desired to do was to target Qiu Jinglan with Commandery Princess Ningtai as the bail.

“In this sense, Kuang Qingwu became the victim as he was cheated in the case. Instead, Qiu Jinglan becomes the ruthless one that he asked his younger female cousin aged thirteen to sleep with others!” said Empress Dowager Gu with a smile. “Surely, we know that Qiu Jinglan was a Young Prince. Today’s Duke of Xihe is Ningtai’s father, Qiu Mengmin. We can say that in order to save his title, Qiu Mengmin sacrificed his daughter because Qiu Jinglan coerced him… What a mean family it is!”

Hearing Empress Dowager said her plan briefly, Qiu Dian doubted, “But the news Kuang Qingwu dated Commandery Princess Ningtai was exposed by the Xiao Family. It must be because over the past days, Marquess Qin has been in ill health and becomes more serious as time passes. The Jiang Family must be afraid that they could not handle it perfectly, so, they are trying to muddle the waters… If it were true, what we would do might be the exact thing Jiang Family wishes.”

Ultimately, the biggest threat Empress Dowager faced was from the Empress instead of Duke of Xihe’s princess who played fake death games before the people.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Empress Dowager Gu with a frown. Tang Zimo stroked his long beard, saying lightly, “As Marquess Qin is not in serious condition, he must be well in days… Today’s trouble is serious. It is impossible to handle it perfectly in days. At least, the Qiu Family has been having the hereditary title since the foundation of the country. Plus, the evidence that Qiu Jinglan coerced Qiu Mengmin to sacrifice his daughter as a bail, we need time to get it prepared. The Jiang Family won’t collapse even if we continue to keep tabs on it. I suggest that we strike first, and God may stand with us before Marquess Qin gets well. We take care of Qiu Jinglan and remove the unstable factors in the Western Army first!”

Qiu Dian was surprised, “Premier Tang, are you sure Marquess Qin will be getting better in days?”

In fact, although Empress Dowager had hired men to spread the news that Marquess Qin was close to dying, the core members in her party such as Empress Dowager Gu, Tang Zimo, Qiu Dian and others knew well that Marquess Qin was not in a critical period.

The reason was simple. Empress Jiang, Jiang Tianao and others cooperated closely, not competing for manpower after they heard Marquess Qin was ill.

If they were not certain that Marquess Qin would be better and he, surely, would be in charge of the family after his recovery, they must have competed and fought with each other severely considering their long-term feud. They might not follow the Marquess Qin’s will even if he had one at last.

Although they knew that Marquess Qin would not die in days, it was uncertain for Empress Dowager and others how long he would be in ill condition.

After all, considering the close relationship between Marquess Qin and the Empress’s party, it was impossible for Empress Dowager and her men to spot the concrete news during the critical period, or the Empress’s party couldn’t protect the news from being spread, it revealed that the party had no capability to compete and fight with Empress Dowager in the court.

Concerning about the news that the Empress’s party claimed Marquess Qin would be well in days, the men hired by the Empress Dowager sneered at it again and again about its vague wording. Neither Empress Dowager’s party was certain about his health, nor was the Empress’s party!

Back to the conversation, Tang Zimo seemed certain Marquess Qin would be well in two or three days, which shocked Empress Dowager, let alone Qiu Dian. “Sidao, why are you so certain about it?” Sidao was the courtesy name of Tang Zimo.

“As no Marquess Qin’s support, Qiu Jinglan even can’t prove who he is!” Tang Zimo said dismissively. He added, “Back then, the news about Qiu Zhongyan’s only child early death was big news at that time in the city. And he held a solemn funeral for him. What’s more, years ago, when Commandery Princess Ningyi, his sister, disclosed the fact that today’s Duke of Xihe disrespected his official mother, Qiu Mengmin killed almost all maids and servants serving Old Princess Lian in an attempt to not let people tell right from wrong. The ones who were survived were bribed by him or serving Commandery Princess Ningyi now. Given the relationship between Commandery Princess Ningyi and Qiu Mengmin, the maids or servants might not dare testify about the plot. That is to say, Qiu Jinglan did not have a reliable witness helping him revert to his real identity. At least, he did not have a witness we know, to say nothing that he resembled the people of the Ruan Family instead of his real family, the Qiu Family! About the physical evidence he may show, we can say he steals or grabs it from somewhere.”

“Or maybe someone from the ‘Tianya’ may testify that he played fake death in the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe back then. I believe that the Jiang Family doesn’t hope that the real identity of the son of the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe and the top killer organization leader, is exposed, let alone Qiu Jinglan himself. Over the past years, the ‘Tianya’ has killed many people and has feuded with many too. As a government official, and at the same time, the head of the organization like ‘Tianya’ from the very first day of the foundation of the country, he is deemed as a traitor.”

Tang Zimo resumed, “If he wants to disassociate himself from the ‘Tianya’ and testify his identity at the same time, he must rely on Marquess Qin instead of Empress or Jiang Tianao as the latter can’t hold others down. Currently, they let the Xiao Family expose Qiu Jinzhu’s affair to muddle the waters. And they also want to give Qiu Jinglan an opportunity to prove himself as the very day when Marquess Qin is well.”

He grinned and continued to reason, “We know that Qiu Jinglan has been back to the capital for many years. Why did not they reveal his identity before? There must be a reason. I guess Qiu Jinglan was loath to have a battle for the title with his Uncle Mengmin, meanwhile, he regretted that the Ruan Family did not have a son. For the reasons, he took the heavy responsibility to carry on the Ruan Family as an heir. On the other hand, he could take care of Ruan Ciyi and Qiu Yelan under the guise of the family name Ruan. But now, he can’t stand that Kuang Qingwu cheated on his younger sister, Qiu Jinzhu. He then decided to reveal his real identity to the people. This is a good and reasonable excuse, and it proves that he is a righteous and filial man as well… And, why I am sure that Marquess Qin would be well in days because it was the Prince’s Mansion of Puyang who exposed the news about the love affair between Kuang Qingwu and Commandery Princess Ningtai to the public!”

To the Empress’s party, Kuang Qingwu and Commandery Princess Ningtai were outsiders. They did not care about their future, even their lives were not their concerns! However, they could not say they did not care about the Prince’s Mansion of Puyang as the family held the title still while the Xiao Family had been declining. What’s more, Xiao Su, the Duke of Puyang was the calligraphy teacher of Yongfu and Chunfu princesses. He had a close relationship with Princess Yongfu and was respected by some of the young princes of the Jiang Family.

For the reason mentioned above, the Xiao Family’s position in the Empress’s party couldn’t be considered pivotal, but it wasn’t an outcast to be thrown out either.

With the Xiao Family taking the lead this time, it was clear that the Empress’s party was about to play the game seriously.

As they were going to play the game seriously, they must have confidence in controlling the situation. Against the current backdrop, the Empress’s party might be split into pieces if Marquess Qin could not be well and be in charge of the overall situation, let alone start a fight with the enemy!

In Tang Zimo’s opinion, even Kuang Qingwu really loved Commandery Princess Ningtai and would like to marry her only in his life, it would not turn the tables on Ningtai. He was not the head of the Western Army! Even though he was the only child of Kuang Shihan’s, Kuang Shihan would not be silly to sacrifice himself for his son’s marriage! It would be so naive if the Empress’s party wanted to use the slander to smack the Empress Dowager’s party!

Hence, “An affair between a man and a woman would have been the most controversial. Although the fact that Empress Dowager wants Princess Changping to marry Kuang Qingwu was not disclosed to the public, the public has known it already. Within two or three days, at most, three days, the news would be spread to every corner, even be spread back to the capital immediately! And then, the recovered Marquess Qin would be out of his room, being in charge of everything. Subsequently, Marquess Qin will reveal Qiu Jinglan’s real identity. Compared with the inferior Commandery Princess Ningtai, Qiu Jinglan would be the pain in the Western Army’s ass!”

“Jiang Qianchuan, you bastard… “Empress Dowager Gu mulled over Tang Zimo’s conjecture, sighed, “If he dies because of his illness, I may let Qiu Jinglan be alive longer!”

This was not because Empress Dowager loved the talented young man with a warm heart, “Back then, in order to balance the Jiang Family’s influence in the Northern Army, we supported Kuang Shihan in a hurry. However, Kuang Shihan is not a lucky man. His only child was not given birth by XingKang! Despite the fact that he did nothing seriously violating the rules, he, ultimately, serving the country in the west far away from the capital, might do something bad without the strict rules constraining him… Qiu Jinglan is a perfect option to balance Kuang Shihan. Ah, Kuang Shihan might be another pain in my back after we get rid of the Jiang Family in the future.”

At present, as Marquess Qin would be well in days, and more importantly, Empress Dowager’s party was uncertain if they could win without Kuang Shihan as an ally. For this reason, they had to support Kuang Shihan to avoid that the Empress’s party won him over from the Western Army.

“We do as what Sidao suggested!” said Empress Dowager Gu regretfully. Although she felt regretful, the threat posed by the Empress’s party was imminent and Kuang Shihan was tied with her in a group. What was more, Kuang Shihan’s only son was serving Empress Dowager now… So, she decided without much thinking to get rid of Qiu Jinglan for Kuang Shihan to stabilize Kuang Shihan’s power in the army.

Qiu Dian seized the opportunity, saying, “Marquess Qin will be well in days, but I guess he will be indoor for his good during these days. If not, why were the Empress and her men at a loss in the past days? The Empress and her men must have taken days to figure out a plan, which Premier Tang guessed out easily. I wonder if Marquess Qin can hold the situation after he is well as the situation has been changed thoroughly.”

“Thanks for your compliment, Censor Qiu,” said Tang Zimo dismissively. He added, “Although I have known what they will do next, there is still one thing I am concerned about.”

“I know what you are talking about,” said Empress Dowager Gu promptly. Working together for many years enabled Empress Dowager Gu to know him well, “You mean… Xue Chang?”

“He has disassociated his relationship with Qiu Jinglan after Empress Dowager talked with him about Qiu Jinglan’s birth,” said Tang Zimo, squinting. “Over the past one year, he truly did not contact Qiu Jinglan except for the matter of Commandery Princess Ningyi’s disengagement. He did it just because he is Qiu Jinglan’s teacher. But I think, as for the earthquake last year, his grandson Xue Nongying he has high hopes was hurt badly. The Xue Family may have no appropriate heirs due to his injury. So, for the future of Xue Nongying, Xue Chang must re-think how to instruct young Qiu Jinglan! If Xue Chang chooses to stand with Qiu Jinglan and work with Marquess Qin, the thing will go against us… ”

Empress Dowager Gu thought for a while and said, “I don’t think this would happen. I know that Xue Chang used to choose no side. And, he even tried by every means to transfer Cheng Jin back to work in the capital, replacing Ding Lingyi as the Hanlin academician. The past year witnessed that he rack his brains to instruct Cheng Jin… I even heard Xue Chang wanted to arrange the youngest daughter of the Cheng Family as Xue Nongying’s wife!”

“It will be awesome if this is true!” said Tang Zimo. Realizing that Xue Chang would not be involved in the battle, Tang Zimo, as a shrewd man, was feeling relieved. His relief proved that a no-side Xue Chang was a big figure that both parties wanted to have!

This, on the sharp contrast, meant that Xue Chang had known what Tang Zimo was planning!

While they drafted their plan, Xue Chang was sitting in a quiet place in the Xue Family, talking with a smile to Qiu Jinglan who came here by disguising himself. “… Jiang Yashuang’s suggestion, although it can solve the pending crisis, it will give rise to big trouble in the future. Tang Zimo may take advantage of the holes in his suggestion against us! Do you have better ideas?”

His words convinced Qiu Jinglan that Xue Chang thought highly of Jiang Yashuang. If not so, in the light of Xue Chang’s position and status, he would not mention an incapable man even if he was Marquess Qin’s grandson and was raised by Marquess Qin. His inquiry also hinted Qiu Jinglan, “I think Jiang Yashuang is a talented man. You should contact him often and invest in him.”

Qiu Jinglan felt pleased as his younger sister’s husband was appreciated by a prestigious senior. Hearing Xue Chang’s question, Qiu Jinglan turned weird. He even could not hold back his broad smile.

Xue Chang noticed his emotion, asking curiously, “Why are you holding your smile? I am part of your plan? You tell me. I won’t be angry even I have to sacrifice some. Don’t you think I will argue with you, young generation?”

“Yuxiang dare not say so,” said Jiang Yashuang. Yuxiang was Jiang Yashuang’s courtesy name. Qiu Jinglan had multiple dry coughs, feeling awkward and trying to hold back his smile, “He said this might sacrifice my reputation, even my life. He believes that you won’t stand by… So, he feels relieved!” Qiu Jinglan said to Xue Chang.

Qiu Jinglan’s words suggested that Jiang Yashuang himself had known that there were holes in his plan. Considering Qiu Jinglan had Xue Chang as his backer, he felt relieved and would not take time to consider his safety in his plan. He knew Xue Chang would protect him!

Ultimately, we all knew that Xue Chang would not stand by and watched Qiu Jinglan being in danger!

His words stunned Xue Chang although he had been through many. He paused for a while and said with a smile, “Jiang Yashuang, you know your grandfather is in ill health. You are trying to put your burden on me, right?”

And then he stared at Qiu Jinglan with a broad smile, “You knew he is trying to use me, but you did nothing, huh?”

Definitely, Qiu Jinglan would not say that Jiang Yashuang original intention was more of a test. He said as the prepared answer, “I thought that Yuxiang is a young man, but the thing is too big. We need your advice and protection anyway!”

Xue Chang, actually, knew well what the young men were planning to do. He, as an official in the government, racked his brain to balance himself amid the battle of two Queens. He must have learnt a lot from it! But Qiu Jinglan and Jiang Yashuang were newcomers. Although they were smarter than most of their peers and worked hard, they, ultimately, were young men without much experience.

To Xue Chang who had been through much in his life, he knew well how to treat the youth. He joked with Qiu Jinglan and then promised, “As you two have a good plan, I will help you… But no idea what’s going on about your sister in the Summer Palace now. I remember that she has a sharp tongue!”