That night, Su He held Qiu Yelan on to the sedan chair sent by Princess Yang and went to the yard of Madame Lu.
Princess Yang didn’t set anyone to keep a watch on and even sent her people away to avoid any suspicion.
Qiu Yelan thought that it would take a while for her to meet Madame Lu. Madame Lu might not want to suffer again and refuse to meet her. To her surprise, Madame Lu was sitting on the couch and drinking a bowl of spun gold bird nest porridge, looking calm.
People could still believe that she would live for eighty more years with her rosy cheeks and the youthful look.
“What? You are disappointed to see that I’m not lying on my couch and dying?” Madame Lu handed the bird’s nest porridge, which she had only two or three tastes, to the maid and said, “It tastes bad. You can use it to feed the dog!”
“Yes, Madame!” The maid looked at the almost untouched porridge enviously and took it away carefully.
“This was the style of your grandmother when she was alive.” Madame Lu said lightly. “I once took her porridge and took a sip under the table… How should I describe it? For now, I can have it every day, and it feels just so so. But at that time, it was so delicious that I couldn’t help but finish the whole bowl. In the end, someone found out and told your grandmother about it. The next day, I got kicked out!”
Qiu Yelan looked calm and smiled lightly. She said, “The rule is that the concubine needs to be subservient to the official wife. Not to mention that the Qiu Family is a Prince’s Mansion with extraordinary status. Honestly, you deserved to be kicked out as you violated the rules.”
“But she’s dead now, same as her son and her grandson!” Madame Lu looked at her sarcastically and resentfully. “But I am alive! I’m alive and well! It is possible that I can live for decades. I have many children and even grandchildren! But you are her only child and fallen into my control. I can treat you any way I want…”
“But my grandmother is an old Princess.” Qiu Yelan was smiling as usual, “She is still the old Princess even if she passed away. But you are just Madame Lu. The New Year’s Eve is coming, and when the Prince comes back to hold the memorial ceremony for the ancestor. He will be kowtowing to my grandmother’s memorial. If you pass away in the future, he can only hold the memorial ceremony for you secretly, and he won’t let anyone know. Now…”
She looked at the more and more furious look of Madame Lu and smiled, “Do you… still feel proud?”
“I don’t have the title for nobility, but do you think I can’t fight with Yang?” Madame Lu could finally catch her breath after a long time and she stared at Qiu Yelan, “You came at night and planned to piss me off. And the Prince’s Mansion can be controlled by Yang. Do you think your life will be good this way? Will Yang be soft-hearted to you? She had had her eyes on your two dowries for a long time.”
Qiu Yelan smiled lightly, “So what? First Aunt doesn’t have a life-and-death feud with me. She wants my money, not my life…”
“Do you think that she will keep you alive after taking two dowries? Keeping you alive for future revenge?” Madame Lu sneered, “I’ll that tell you that the scar on Lizhang’s face is permanent. Her whole life is over! You can give her one of your dowries for a living…”
Madame Lu said coldly when she saw Qiu Yelan looking at her like a psycho, “You will be staying at General’s Mansion for a long time!”
“Are you in charge of this family now?” Qiu Yelan shook her head after hearing that, “Plus, I’m only twelve years old. I can’t stay in Ruan Family until I get married. The marriage that you guys arranged for me. He-he… I don’t even want to talk about it. You guys make up a reason to make me come back right after I enter the Ruan Family and I lose a dowry for no reason? Do you think I am that stupid?”
Madame Lu took a deep breath to calm down and yelled, “What do you want? Don’t think that you can do anything you want with your cousin’s background and the relationship with the Empress! Let me tell you that Quan Qingyan is so young, and he is not even related to you. He probably just wants your dowries, and that’s why he came so many times!”
“You know that he gave money to Yang. How do you know that he didn’t collude with Yang? Plus, Empress Jiang’s word was towards Empress Dowager! There’s no chance that someone as respectful as the Empress can remember a little Grace like you are! Do you think you can stay alive after the thing blows over? Yang is using you as a weapon, and you think that you are manipulating her? You are too young for mind games… You are just silly. You are working for the one who sold you out!”
Qiu Yelan was listening lazily, and a young maid ran into the room covered with snow when she was just about to talk. The young maid was crying while yelling, “Madame! It is very bad! The young master… The young master was pushed into the lake!”
“What?” Madame Lu had her eyes wide open. Then her body turned and fainted with a kick!
“Madame! Madame!!!”
Suddenly the room was all messed up. Su He suddenly asked in that mess, “Your Grace, what should we do?”.
Young Master Qiu Hongzhi was the most favorable and appreciated son of Duke of Xihe even if he was the son of a concubine and his mother died a long time ago! Even the only trueborn, the seventh Master Qiu Yinzhi, couldn’t compete with him because of the naughtiness.
“It’s none of our business,” Qiu Yelan said calmly. “First of all, we didn’t push him. Secondly, we don’t know Qiu Hongzhi that well! Is it important for us whether he has fallen into the water or not?”
Su He just came to her sense and said, “Then… Should we go out and have a look?”
“Of course, we need to go back!” Qiu Yelan looked at the old maidservants who were moving Madame Lu to the couch in the inner chamber and curled her lip, “For sure, there’s no substitute for experience!”
Su He asked curiously, “what experience?”
“I’ll explain when we get back. Whoo. I hope the sedan is not too far. I don’t want to walk back looking like this.” Qiu Yelan murmured.
Fortunately, the sedan was waiting outside. Both of them went back to their place and let Mrs. Zhou send away the people who were lifting the sedan.
After entering the inner chamber, Su He couldn’t wait to ask, “what did you just say?”
“I thought that Princess Yang would be in charge of the Prince’s Mansion if I didn’t go and talk to Lu!” Qiu Yelan patted her head and said with a smile, “I realized that I had underestimated Madame Lu after hearing that Qiu Hongzhi fell into the lake. No wonder she could have Princess Yang suffering in silence under her control with a vixenish and graceless Aunt Qiu.”
Su He opened her eyes widely and said, “Did Madame Lu arrange the whole thing about the oldest Master falling into the lake?”
“Did you not hear the news? He was pushed into the lake!” Qiu Yelan smiled lightly and said, “The oldest Master was not born by Princess Yang, and she has her own son… There are only two boys in the Mansion, and the Young Prince still hasn’t been announced. There’s no way that the Prince won’t distrust Princess Yang!”
She also said, “The point is that the Prince is hiding from Lu and let Princess Yang take care of the Prince’s Mansion. Lu couldn’t find her son to have her back, and she couldn’t deal with her daughter-in-law! But after Qiu Hongzhi fell into the lake, the Prince has to come back for his favorite son considering that he has only two sons!”
Su He finally understood, “Your Grace, you are so smart. You can identify all the tricks that Madame is using!”
“It’s nothing. I know what they are up to, and I also need to know how to…” Mrs. Zhou suddenly walked in with a strange look. She said quietly, “Your Grace, the Fourth Young Lady is here. She is only wearing a jacket… She wants to see you. What should we do?”
Su He turned her head and ask, “What is she doing here?”
Qiu Yelan was clear and said, “It seems like the one who pushed Qiu Hongzhi into the lake is my fourth sister or someone who’s related to her!” She said, and she told Mrs. Zhou, “Let her in as she is already here!”