It would be fine if Madame Dou Junior did not come to Qiu Yelan to talk. However, she did come and talk with her, which reminded Qiu Yelan of the pill – Empress Jiang swore that the first branch would definitely compensate her for the pill. She also promised that if the compensation were not good enough, Marquess Qin and the Empress herself would not let go of the first branch – But nothing had happened so far.

Afterward, the first branch just sent a pile of gold and silver jewelry to her. But in Qiu Yelan’s dowry, there were many valuable objects, which filled several boxes. Qiu Yelan was not interested in the gift they sent. She brushed away the gift list and told the maids to put it in the warehouse without seeing them.

However, the first branch acted as if nothing had happened since then. They did not even mention it when they met Qiu Yelan.

If it weren’t for the fact that Jiang Yashuang was so busy that he had lost weight, Qiu Yelan would have argued with them in the first place!

At last, she gave up the idea to argue with them, which didn’t mean she wouldn’t argue with them in the future. She had already remembered this firmly – and now Madame Dou Junior was talking about going with her. Who knew if she wanted something from her again?!

Qiu Yelan thought, if there were not so many people around, she would have rolled up her sleeves and slapped her. You people from the first branch were shameless.

Although she didn’t slap her, her face that instantly grimaced up still made Madame Dou Junior understand that she was furious at the moment. Madame Dou Junior immediately explained, “I have something important to tell you!”

Qiu Yelan definitely would not believe her words anymore. The sudden trap given to her by Madame Tao and Empress Jiang had made her feel that there were no kind people in her husband’s entire family!

So she sneered. Ignoring Madame Dou Junior, she walked straight and faster to Mi Yinyin.

Nevertheless, when everyone left, Madame Dou Junior insisted on walking with her – among the three sisters-in-law of the fourth branch, Madame Tao Junior was sick, and she could not come to visit He Shuijin. Now Sheng Shishui was past the third month of pregnancy. Although she was allowed to walk around and she wanted to visit He Shuijin, she was stopped by the elders, including Madame He. Because they believed that to meet a woman who had a miscarriage was not a good thing for another pregnant woman.

In this manner, the only one who could come to see He Shuijin from the fourth branch was Qiu Yelan. She now had no one to accompany her back and could not walk beside the others like before to avoid Madame Dou Junior.

However, being followed by Madame Dou Junior, Qiu Yelan was not happy either. After walking to a secluded corner, she stopped suddenly, turning around and barking, “What the hell do you want to do? Do you really think I’m a little sheep, don’t you?!”

Madame Dou Junior was also unhappy: I knew you were unhappy, but I was also unhappy, okay? It was my sister-in-law’s fault, which had nothing to do with me from the beginning!

Madame Dou, who was afraid that Qiu Yelan would not save her face, sent Madame Dou Junior to talk with Qiu Yelan. Madame Dou Junior, as a daughter-in-law, had to take the blame. She forced a smile, “Yelan, you really wronged me this time. My intentions are good – Your brother, he will go west next year, right?”

Seeing her mention Qiu Jinglan, Qiu Yelan became even warier. Her eyes were full of defensiveness. Madame Dou Junior felt helpless. She hurried to make a long story short, “I apologize to you for what happened before. The gift list we gave you at Mount Dizi was not worth much. It was just a token of appreciation. Our real gift is the silk armor!”

Filled with anger, Qiu Yelan calmed down at once after hearing her words, “Silk armor?”

“The silk armor can resist swords and arrows. It is soft and light, looking like an article of regular clothes. You can wear it like underwear, being close to your body to prevent hidden weapons from a base person!” Madame Dou Junior thought Qiu Yelan didn’t know what the silk armor was. She explained further, “Yashuang should also have one. It looks similar to ordinary underwear. I guess you did not notice it at all.”

After hearing her words, Qiu Yelan felt a little better. She knew what the silk armor was. Back then, Qiu Jinglan would have killed Jiang Yadan if Jiang Yadan hadn’t been wearing a suit of silk armor. As Madame Dou Junior said, even in the Jiang Family, it was also very precious. The silk armor was not enough for each family member in the Jiang Family. The Jiang Family, of course, would not give it to outsiders. Jiang Yashuang once said he could not get one for Qiu Jinglan even with his position in the Jiang Family and the love he enjoyed in the seniors.

Now, the first branch gave it to Qiu Yelan in compensation. Qiu Yelan finally smiled. However, they should give it to her earlier. The first branch did not take it out earlier because they did not want to do it in the first place. They were forced to add it to the list under the pressure of Marquess Qin.

Thinking of this, Qiu Yelan again felt hatred. She asked, “Then how many suits do you give to my brother?”

“How many suits?” Madame Dou Junior froze, “It… Even Yazhu doesn’t have one suit.”

“I don’t care how the Jiang family distributes the silk armor. And it is not something I should ask about,” said Qiu Yelan calmly. She continued, “But you also know very well how dangerous my brother’s trip west is! The silk armor can protect against the base people. Since it is a suit of armor, it can only protect the body’s vital part. But how about the other parts? Also, Kuang Shihan is ruthless, and he has many strong men. As my brother won’t fight with him alone, how about the safety of my brother’s confidants?”

Madame Dou Junior indignantly relayed what Qiu Yelan said to Jiang Tianao and Madame Dou. Madame Dou’s face was blue with anger after hearing it. She slapped the table and shouted, “Qiu Yelan is obviously delusional! Although her pill is precious, the silk armor is also a rare thing. Moreover, she just gave us one pill. After we ate it, it was gone. But the armor can always be used for body protection in life! If Marquess Qin did not press us to give it to her, we wouldn’t offer it to her at all. Even our family’s children do not have one for each of them.”

“Don’t overreact. Even though we did not have the trouble made by unfilial Jiang Qiyun to deal with, Marquess Qin would ask us to give it to her as he had decided to find a reason to do it to protect Qiu Jinglan.” Jiang Tianao lightly said. He added, “After all, we have to count on him to deal with the Western Army. Qiu Yelan must be safe before Kuang Shihan steps down. He must succeed! Now, we are just returning the favor with what Marquess Qin decided to give him a long time ago. You don’t need to be angry.”

Madame Dou said angrily, “Tianao! You have heard our daughter-in-law’s words. Qiu Yelan is greedy and wants to extort us! If we satisfy her this time, who knows if she will ask more from us? We can’t let her go on like this.”

“We don’t have a choice anyway. Add it. It’s not a big deal,” Jiang Tianao gave a cold laugh. He continued, “Don’t forget that even if Qiu Jinglan can take back the Western Army from Kuang Shihan, he has no ability to manage it as he has no supporters and he is too young.”

Madame Dou was startled. Jiang Tianao continued, “Tianchi manages the Northern Army very well. The Northern Army is like an airtight bag now. Our family members who work in the Western Army are in high positions but they can do nothing important! On the contrary, the members of the Ou Family are put in important positions! I am thinking of getting in touch with Qiu Jinglan to control the Western Army in the future. Don’t lose the main goal because of small gains. As Qiu Yelan thought that one suit was not enough, and our first son was always escorted by a crowd when he was out, we give his armor to her. Give her two suits. And, don’t forget the one Father gave us in private before. Take that one, too. I think three suits are enough for her! Oh, by the way, you go and get the poison bead I asked you to get in the warehouse days ago. Give it to her, too!”

The Jiang Family had limited suits of silk armor. Therefore, the Jiang Family could only consider giving it to the children of wives. However, Marquess Qin and Sir Jibei were friendly to their eldest brother. Therefore, even if Kui Xiannan stayed in his hometown, doing nothing, they insisted on giving him two suits of silk armor, just in case. The children of the second and fifth branches were not included.

Kui Xiannan loved his grandson very much. After hearing that his eleventh grandson Jiang Yahong, a concubine son, did not have the silk armor, he decided to give one to Jiang Yahong without the others’ knowledge. However, the person who was sent over gave the silk armor to Madame Dou – Jiang Yahong’s official mother – along with the letter. She was a woman who had caused trouble for the concubines’ children for thirty years. Surely enough, she would not give the silk armor to Jiang Yahong. Therefore, she found herself an excuse and withheld the silk armor.

About what Madame Dou did, although Jiang Tianao did not say it publicly, he was aware of it.

After hearing his words, Madame Dou’s face changed instantly. Out of selfishness, she withheld the silk armor to suppress Jiang Yahong and intended to leave it for her maternal brothers or nephews. However, she did not do so because there were many children in her maternal family. She did not know whom she should give. And the second reason was Marquess Qin repeatedly affirmed that no outsiders were allowed to have it unless the Jiang Family children had one for each. In case her action was revealed… And others knew that she withheld the silk armor her father-in-law gave to his grandson, she would provoke Kui Xiannan for sure. At that time, even her husband, Jiang Tianao, could not protect her!

It was for fear of provoking Marquess Qin that she kept it in her private warehouse.

But unexpectedly, Qiu Yelan required more suits. It turned out that she kept it for Qiu Jinglan!

Madame Dou was reluctant, “For a long time, Qiu Yelan has had a bad relationship with us. She had quarreled with Qijun and beat up our daughter-in-law. Qiu Jinglan has always been very concerned about Qiu Yelan. Even if we deliberately want to be friendly to him now, I’m afraid it’s impossible. We may suffer a double loss in the end!”

Jiang Tianao glared at her and scolded, “You woman know nothing! If Qiu Jinglan is so petty, how does Marquess Qin expect him to fight with Kuang Shihan? Besides, the conflicts between Qiu Yelan and our children are just small conflicts. It’s not a feud at all! How can’t it be resolved?”

He warned her again, “This time is a good opportunity for us to intervene in military affairs. We missed the opportunity last time, and the fourth branch took advantage of it! If we miss it again this time, Darui won’t have a third elite division for us! If you dare to ruin my plan because of your own anger, don’t blame me for being unkind to you!”

He didn’t care if his reprimand would put Madame Dou on the spot. He continued in a stern voice to Madame Dou Junior, “You, too! Got it!?”

Madame Dou Junior didn’t dare to raise her head. She carefully said, “Yes, Father!”

Madame Dou took orders and went to pack the things. However, she just hid the pigeon egg-sized poison bead in her sleeve. Then she went to find Qiu Yelan and said, “The reason why I didn’t tell you about the silk armor until I returned to the capital is that I was afraid others would know about it. If that happens, the armor will not have much meaning for self-defense. So for the sake of the silk armor, you need to go to the Ruan Family to find your brother, explain to him about it and ask him to send a reliable man to fetch it somewhere.”

She told her the name of the place. Then she took out a brocade box from her sleeve, “This bead doesn’t take up much space. So I take it with me.”

She explained that anyone, who held it in the mouth, could be invulnerable to all poisons.

Qiu Yelan curiously looked at the poison bead. It was gray and hazy, nothing unusual. She thought to herself, “I don’t believe in the integrity of the first branch. I’d better let Jinglan try this bead before using it.”

After receiving three suits of silk armor, a poison bead and an explanation of why this compensation came so late, Qiu Yelan finally felt comforted. Instantly she felt thrilled. She then kept saying sweet words. She changed from arrogance to humility so quickly that Madame Dou Junior felt embarrassed. Seeing that she had said everything she needed to say, she hurriedly excused herself!

After she left, Qiu Yelan held the poison bead in her hand and immediately became stern. She coldly snorted, “You think I don’t know your game? To be nice to me all of a sudden, you must covet the Western Army. Do you want to sit idle and enjoy the fruits that my brother risks his life to attain on a trip west with only those gifts? What a pipe-dream!”

Su He was about to answer when Chen Shui, who had previously been sent by Qiu Yelan to deliver pears to Sheng Shishui, returned. She said that everything was fine with Sheng Shishui. And then she said, “I saw Miss Qizhuan on my way back. She didn’t look well. Her nursemaid helped her to walk and she kept crying… Mom Hu followed her. Her face looked bad, too. She kept saying to Miss Qizhuan, asking her not to cry. No more words. I have no idea what happened.”

“…” Qiu Yelan’s face was expressionless for a long time before she said, “Okay! I will talk with Yashuang later about it!”

Madame Tao showed her hand to Jiang Qizhuan ultimately!