Real Empress from a Noble Family

It was raining cats and dogs.

Although they were shaded by a lush Chinese tallow tree, Qiu Jinglan and Qiu Feng got wet through after they confronted each other in the yard for a short while.

If at ordinary times, they wouldn’t be in such a difficult position.

But they both knew that they were facing the vigorous opponent of their lives at that moment. A small negligence could cost their lives. Of course they didn’t have time to take shelter from the rain using their inner power.

“You have been busy running about in these two days. And you are exhausted trying to save Commandery Princess Ningyi. Challenging you to a duel at this moment brings me no honor to the victor!” Qiu Feng took out the long sword from behind slowly and said word by word, “But I’m not doing it for exchanging experience. I’m doing it for revenge… Come on!”

“Clash!”

Through the window, Qiu Yelan could hear the swords banging noises which were too loud to be covered up by the sound of the rain and wind. She could imagine how fierce the battle outside was.

However, although she had taken the cure for the poison of orchid incense, she still wasn’t able to get up. Even if she could, there was nothing she could do to this battle. There were people guarding against the door to the window to prevent any more accidents and also her from meddling.

So, all she could do was to pray for Qiu Jinglan to win!

However, Qiu Jinglan who was already too exhausted was no match for Qiu Feng.

Just after a short while, Qiu Jinglan’s shoulder, subcostal and left arm all got stabbed. And that was the result after he tried so hard to dodge.

At the very moment which Qiu Feng was about to stab the long sword into his throat, like what happened in the inner chamber, a dark light struck the sword with a cracking sound in the rain and broke the long sword into two pieces!

Then, before Qiu Feng who was furious could make another move, a lot of people in black holding crossbows suddenly emerged in the yard which was empty just a moment ago. They made their weapons ready and surrounded him!

“Qiu Jinglan, master of ‘Tianya’!” Qiu Feng knew that he couldn’t get revenge for his close friend. The look he gave Qiu Jinglan was full of distain. He spat on the ground and turned around the broken sword to his own throat, “I have been frank and forthright my whole life. Even I have fallen in your trap, you can’t kill me!”

“Stop him!” Qiu Jinglan ignored Dongran who was attending to his wound in a hurry. He gave the order calmly, “Tie him up and take him to the study!”

Then he instructed, “Go tell my sister that I won. I’m safe and sound. Tell her not to worry.”

Qiu Yelan who didn’t know what actually went down in the battle or Qiu Jinglan was hurt was relieved after hearing the news.

“Your Grace, drink the medicine please. Then get some sleep… we will be able to go back to Jing City by then.” Chunran handed the medicine carefully. Qiu Yelan took it over and drank it happily.

When she woke up again, except for a little weakness, she was able to walk around like she used to.

The sun came out at that moment. Su He who was waiting by the bed told her, “The bodyguard went to check in the morning. The water has subsided. But the ground is still wet. They are afraid of the carriage getting stuck in the mud. So, they want to wait for the ground to dry and then depart.”

She lowered her voice, “Young Prince… no, Young Master Ruan said that we should call him like before to avoid revealing his identity.”

Qiu Yelan nodded, “That’s the right thing to do. Empress Dowager Gu still has power over the regime. And Kuang Shihan has taken over the Western Army officially. Now what do we have? If we revealed my brother’s identity now, instead of clearing grandfather’s and father’s names, we would be found guilty by revealing our connections with ‘Tianya’. So, it’s safer that my brother keeps using the identity of Ruan Family’s heir!”

Thinking of which, she asked, “Since Qiu Feng has lost. What will my brother do with him?”

Su He’s look was weird. She thought, “Iron Master Qiu didn’t lose. He just got tricked by our Young Prince!”

But she didn’t dare to reveal what Qiu Jinglan forbade to say. So, she made it simple and said, “Young Master Ruan asked others to stop him from killing himself and invited him to have a chat in the study… and then let him go. When he left, he said he might come for Young Master Ruan again… But it looked like that Young Master Ruan didn’t care at all.”

Qiu Yelan believed her and sighed, “Although brother lied to Qiu Feng about the former Left Dharma Protector for all these years, now the truth came out, he even knew about my brother’s identity. My brother was still willing to let him go which proved that my brother wasn’t ruthless. Qiu Nie said that they revolted because they didn’t want to be placed under others. But it was just an excuse for failing at taking over the power… I just wish they wouldn’t regret of taking Empress Dowager Gu’s side. Especially Mei Xue and Qiu Qian, Gu Yan was ruthless enough to go after his own cousin, let alone them?”

Su He forced a smile, “You are right.”

Why did I feel that Young Prince tricked Qiu Feng again?

But Qiu Jinglan wanted to keep his positive image in front of his sister. Su He didn’t dare to undercut him. She changed the topic in a hurry, “In the last two days of your lethargy, General Jiang, Chunfu Princess, Miss Zhuang, Miss Nongqing of Xue Family all sent people to see you or came to see you personally. But Young Master Ruan stopped them all using the excuse of you catching a cold.”

“I slept for two days? Invite Zhuang Man and Xue Nongqing after we get back.” her brother got out of trouble for now. Qiu Yelan thought of her own trouble all of the sudden. She was unhappy thinking of the siblings of Jiang Family suspecting her by all means. Especially the cousin who she treated like her own brother turned out to be her real brother. She felt so innocent and was more disgusted with Jiang Yashuang and Jiang Qizheng’s suspicion.

She didn’t want to talk about these people and things. So, she asked, “Did Qiu Nie and the other two leave? What did brother promise them?”

Su He said, “They left yesterday. Young Master Ruan abrogated their kung fu. They were poisoned before… But Young Master Ruan gave them the cure when they left. I don’t know what Young Master Ruan promised them. I just know that Young Master Ruan gave them 200 thousand taels of silver. They vowed that they wouldn’t reveal Young Master Ruan’s identity. And Young Master Ruan won’t go after them from now on.”

“Can they be trusted?” the corner of Qiu Yelan’s mouth twitched, “Just like brother said it was not like they hadn’t vowed before!”

Su He said, “If they kept their promise, Young Master Ruan wouldn’t go after them. If they revealed it, Young Master Ruan would go after them immediately. Empress Dowager Gu can’t protect them forever… Speaking of which, I don’t know what to say about those three. They betrayed Young Master Ruan. But they chose to believe him!”

“Losers… Believing or not is not up to them!” Qiu Yelan thought those three were said to be gone. Who knew where they had gone to? Hell?

But it turned out that she underestimated Qiu Jinglan’s moral integrity. Because when she went back to the city the next day, not long after she went to the city, she saw Mei Xue all dressed up on the side of the road. Although Mei Xue was alone, judging by her behavior and look, Qiu Nie and Qiu Qian should be fine. Besides, Mei Xue also saw Qiu Jinglan riding a horse in front of the carriage. She saluted to him through the crowd.

“Could it be that Mue Xue had been working for my brother the whole time? She was undercover at Qiu Nie and Qiu Qian’s?” looking at intact Mei Xue, Qiu Yelan couldn’t help thinking, “Qiu Nie and Qiu Qian have gone through hell. Why does she seem okay?”

She didn’t know that when Mei Xue turned around after the salute her respectful look turned into a malicious one at once. Her nails deeply stuck into the flesh, “What a vicious man Qiu Jinglan is! He abrogated our kung fu. And he only gave us 200 thousand taels of silver note because of Commandery Princess Ningyi. He still didn’t let us off the hook! He deliberately tortured Nie and Qian’er. But he didn’t lay a finger on me. He said considering that I had worked for him and helped him a lot… He was trying to trick us into killing each other. Since you are unkind, then don’t blame me for being perfidious!”

On a second thought, Mei Xue glimpsed Qiu Jinglan and his crowd disappearing at the corner of the street. She waved at her maid Hong and whispered something to her. They went into a bookshop nearby.

This shop’s decoration was elegant which made normal people shrink back at the sight of it. So, there were few customers in the shop.

A group of bodyguards in nice clothes were guarding at the door at that moment. They all looked serious and vigilant. A few customers in fine clothes didn’t dare to go in because of their stares. However, Mei Xue wasn’t scared of this kind of scene. She went in without even looking at those bodyguards. When she went in, other than her and her maid, there was a scholar in a gorgeous robe selecting books with a few servants.

The man in a gorgeous robe had a broad forehead. His skin was a little dark. He looked charming.

After glancing at him, Mei Xue went towards the shelf of ancient books. However, just by that glance, she noticed that there was a mole on his left earlobe. She was relieved, “It’s lucky that Qiu Jinglan asked me to pay attention to Kuang Qingwu’s appearance and his arrival date… Otherwise, I just went back to the city two days earlier than them. And I have to take care of Nie and Qian’er. It’s hard for me to track this Young Prince.”

After confirming this scholar in a gorgeous robe was Marquess Zhang’s son, Kuang Qingwu, she didn’t go and say hi. She didn’t even take another look at him. Instead, she went straight to the shelf of ancient books with Hong and started to select.

“Miss, why are you selecting ancient books again? Hasn’t young master already got in the Hanlin Academy?” after she was in position, Hong began to mutter according to their plan, “These books are so expensive! It’s enough to make a few clothes for you and the third Miss!”

“These are not for my young brother. These are for Commandery Princess Ningyi.” Mei Xue whispered while checking out those expensive books “absorbedly”, “Commandery Princess Ningyi is about to start girls’ school at the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe. How can I not give her a gift? She is in a high position. And she is so beautiful. Besides, she has a cousin who adores her so much. I can’t give her low-quality cloth or jewelries. I have thought about it over and over. It will cost me less buying her a few books.”

Hong glanced at the shelf and said, “But Ruan Qingyan just escorted Commandery Princess Ningyi back to the city. We saw them before getting in here. They seemed to head back to Prince’s Mansion of Xihe… If we go give her the gift now, won’t it be too hasty?”

“Who said to give her today?” Mei Xue said, “I just want to get the gift ready while I’m out… I’ll ask Qian’er to give it to her himself. She is old enough to learn the concept of courtesy demands reciprocity… I’ll take these two.” the last two sentences were said to the staff of the bookshop.

After they paid for the books and left, as if deep in thought, Kuang Qingwu asked the shop owner who was entertaining him passionately, “Do you know who those two womenfolk are?”

“That is Qiu Nie’s elder sister.” Kuang Qingwu only brought the books he often read with him because it was a long journey. He was in the bookshop to buy the rest. The shop owner was willing to play up to a big customer like him even if he weren’t a Young Prince, “It’s said that she put behind her marriage in order to let Qiu Nie focus on studying. She is used to bustle about. It’s normal that she goes out…”

The shop owner thought this Young Prince might wonder why the womenfolk of an officer’s family didn’t cover her face when she went out? However, Kuang Qingwu squinted and thought, “Qiu Nie? I heard that he was close to Ruan Qingyan… Haha. Ruan Qingyan, I wonder when he will admit that he is Qiu Jinglan?”

After thinking for a while, he put down the book in his hand and said to the shop owner, “Send all these to Marquess Zhang’s Mansion. You will be paid then… I’ll come again if I need other books.”

The shop owner thanked him again and again. And he complimented him that he would be talented enough to be the number one scholar because he was so eager to learn. Kuang Qingwu ignored him and went out with his servants directly. He instructed, “To somewhere near the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe!”