Princess Yang watched Qiu Yilan and his entourage walk away arrogantly, and when she thought of the tens of thousands of taels of silver she had just paid out, she couldn't help but feel pain in her heart. She couldn't help but said to Qiu Mengmin: "She is protected by the queen. , we also have the Queen Mother to make the decision! Why should we spend this money to calm things down?"
"What do you know?!" Qiu Mengmin's eyes were heavy and gloomy, and he said coldly, "Our family has fallen into the hands of the Jiang family regarding the Qushan family's matter, and Mrs. Li was indeed responsible for her mother's expulsion that year. She knows everything that happened, and she was still there when the concubine removed her mother’s name from the family tree—if we enter the palace now, we will definitely fall behind!”
"...What about after the Lantern Festival?" Princess Yang was stunned for a moment and asked worriedly.
Qiu Mengmin said happily: "After learning that the Qushan family was not dead, my mother and I began to prepare to deal with the Li family. Anyway, there are still a few days left for the court meeting, so there is always time. There is nothing to give in today. We can wait for the court meeting. After taking care of her, are you afraid that you won’t be able to take back the money with interest?”
Hatred flashed in Princess Yang's eyes, and she nodded heavily: "This little bitch alone can't afford to pay back what he owes us these days! I want the boy named Ruan and the person who collected the dowry list for her thousands of miles away. Ruan - everyone pays the price!”
"Pay the price?" In the General's Mansion, Ruan Qingyan looked at his cousin Qiu Yilan who was fawning, sneered repeatedly, pointed at the ten thousand taels of silver notes on the table and said, "Back then, Princess Yang sent people to the General's Mansion for five thousand taels of silver. You didn't even come to check my identity, so you agreed to let me break into the house and kill my aunt! This family is extremely greedy and stingy! You actually extorted ten thousand taels of silver from them - and you dared to tell me that you were asking them to do it for you. Have you ever thought about the consequences of their stupidity?”
At the end of the sentence, Ruan Qingyan simply roared!
Qiu Yilan's face was full of shame and she said fluently: "Yes, cousin, I was wrong. I shouldn't be optimistic about the intelligence of the Xihe Palace. If they kill me in anger, then I will be like a sheep in the mouth of a wolf. ! I should come back to discuss it with you and let you come forward... No, no, I should let you make the decision and listen to you! "
"I am your only sister, your only relative besides my grandfather! I shouldn't make you worry about me and make my grandfather sad! I should always put my own safety first, and always remember that I have a cousin! Always! Remember, I don’t need to charge into battle myself every time…”
She finished all the things Ruan Qingyan thought and didn't expect in one breath, and then asked sadly, "Cousin, are you willing to forgive me now?" The little beauty who was as tall as Ruan Qingyan's shoulders stood timidly in front of him, Her knee-length hair, which was still a little damp from the bath just now, was hung loosely on the back of her head, like a gorgeous cloak, which further showed off her slender waist, which was as delicate as a water lotus swaying in the wind.
Bai Shengsheng's fingers were still hooked on Ruan Qingyan's sleeves, shaking them back and forth. His big and bright peach blossom eyes were blinking, and his watery eyes revealed such pity and cunning.
Ruan Qingyan has mixed feelings: I want to scold her, firstly I can't bear to say harsh words, and secondly she has said what she needs to say myself; I want to hit her, for such a big girl, even if she starts lightly, she will probably fall. Losing her face - the more I think about it, the more powerless I feel!
After weighing the left and right, he made the decision: "Go and copy "Women's Rules" eight hundred times!!!"
Then he was stunned by Qiu Yilan - the careless cousin turned as if he were flipping through a book. She immediately loosened his sleeves, turned around and shouted to Su He: "Go buy me a few kilograms of arsenic and bring it back to mix with rice! I can't live this life." !”
So why is it that crying, making trouble, and hanging are summarized as women’s ultimate skills? !
Because this is the essence of victory built on the corpses of countless defeated people over the years!
Seeing Ruan Qingyan defeated in disgrace again, Qiu Yilan smiled proudly and came up to comfort him: "Cousin, don't be angry! Anyway, I came back well? Qiu Mengmin can't let go of Wang Jue at all, how dare he Are you going to die with me? You see, the Lantern Festival is coming soon, and then the court meeting will be over. When the court meeting cuts off his prince, we will have a lot of peace of mind in the future. Think of the happy things!"
Ruan Qingyan said coldly: "Don't underestimate Qiu Mengmin. If he doesn't have any ability, he will force my aunt to the point where she can't even wait for me to come?!"
Qiu Yilan was startled: "Does the concubine know you are coming?"
"... I mean, considering my aunt's age, she left last year. This is very inappropriate. It shows that she is not living well." Ruan Qingyan paused and said calmly, "This shows Qiu Mengmin's skill!"
Qiu Yilan said: "There is nothing we can do about it. I am the only child of the mother-in-law, but I am not a son! After Qiu Mengmin inherited the title of king, he can be the head of the family. He is older than my father, and he has a wife and children. Call the biological mother and sister’s family back. With so many people, how can the mother and concubine win?”
Ruan Qingyan raised his hand and touched her head, and said warmly: "There is strength in numbers, but the city cannot be ignored! Doesn't it mean that if there are more people, it will definitely win? Then what things are better than numbers? In short, you can't blackmail him because of today. You are so complacent with a sum of money! This person is harder to deal with than you think!"
"I know!" Qiu Yilan said obediently.
... After sending Ruan Qingyan away, Su He, who had been bullied by the Xihe Palace with Qiu Yilan since he was a child, was still immersed in the joy of today's victory. He came over happily and asked: "Princess, are we going to the Xihe Palace tomorrow?" "Obviously, she was addicted after swiping Qiu Mengmin once.
Qiu Yilan nodded solemnly: "Of course I want to go! I also want to get sixteen thousand taels of silver!"
Su He was overjoyed: "Really?!" Then he was confused, "Why is it sixteen thousand taels and not twenty thousand taels?" Aren't they usually rounded up
Qiu Yilan stopped Chun Ran and Xia Ran who were about to come up to persuade her, picked up the two banknotes on the table, put them in Su He's hands, and said seriously: "Because you are going to the next door to the Xihe Prince's Mansion." The other courtyard of the Duke of Qin's house, give this money to General Jiang! Without General Jiang's help, how can such a good thing be enough to earn 16,000 taels a day with the status of General Jiang? I will ask for it, at least not all of it, but giving it all to him shows that we have not forgotten our roots - you can go and come back tomorrow!"
"..." Su He was speechless, while Chun Ran and Xia Ran covered their mouths and laughed.
The next day, Jiang Yashuang didn't ask for everything and only received a fraction of six thousand taels. Qiu Yilan was reassured by this: "With his status, there is absolutely no way he would take money and do nothing. He took this money, no matter how much, he will definitely stand by us when it comes to these two sums of money."
Nothing happened in the next few days, and the Lantern Festival arrived in a blink of an eye.
Probably because after the Lantern Festival, the Queen Mother's Party and the Queen's Party were about to go to court to fight head-on, so preparations for the war were delayed due to the festival.
Ruan Qingyan and Qiu Yilan guarded General Ruan and did not go out, but they heard that the servants who went out to join in the fun came back and said that this year's Lantern Festival was not very lively.
"This shows the intensity of this court meeting!" The annual holiday in Dali officialdom is from the winter solstice to the Lantern Festival. The usual rule is to go to the court on even days and have a holiday on odd days - the day after the Lantern Festival falls on the 16th day of the first lunar month, which happens to be the period of the court meeting. Early in the morning, Ruan Qingyan got up and saw heavy snow falling outside. Instead of the joy of auspicious snow heralding a good harvest, he felt that the sky was full of haze. Thinking of the Lantern Festival described by the servants last night, he felt very heavy.
Qiu Yilan comforted him: "It is a fact that Qiu Mengmin disrespects the concubine. No matter how fierce it is, it can't cover it up!"
"..." Ruan Qingyan sighed, "If I had known earlier, you should have asked me to expose this! Now that we all know that you caused the incident, I don't know if I would have a chance to answer it for you even if I'm with you?"
Qiu Yilan was stunned: "You want to go too?!"
Ruan Qingyan was even more surprised than she was: "Do you want to go alone?!"
"But cousin, your current fame is not enough to go to court, right?!" Qiu Yilan certainly thought that she would go to court alone to kick off the battle between the two queens - but she was not fighting alone, the queen's party was the default ally Well!
Ruan Qingyan reminded: "Can't you just say that I have something to do with this matter?"
"... But what does it have to do with you? This is the Qiu family's business!" Qiu Yilan said earnestly, "Spring is coming at the beginning of February. In less than a month, why don't you stop reading?"
"You are involved in the dispute between the two queens, how can I read books at home?!" Ruan Qingyan asked, "And if I can only get into the rankings by studying in this month, where will I end up?!"
"It's useless if you don't sharpen your skills in battle!" Qiu Yilan said sincerely, "Your attitude towards taking the exam is wrong!"
Ruan Qingyan was too lazy to pay attention to her and said: "I wasn't present when Qiu Mengmin 'self-harmed'?!"
"...Are you sure that the palace people are willing to let you into the palace for this?!" Qiu Yilan said melancholy, "And even if you are sure of the outcome, you should at least consider Master Xue's mood - what if he deliberately did it because you were involved in this matter? What should I do if I depose you?”
"In that case, he will offend the Queen." Ruan Qingyan said calmly, "At most, he can't be cultivated as a close disciple by him! Doesn't taking refuge in Queen Jiang also have a backer?"
So Ruan Qingyan really got into the palace by "witnessing King Xihe committing suicide and coercing his cousin Princess Ningyi"...
They were not qualified to go to court like the other ministers. When they were called into the Funing Hall, the opening remarks had already passed and the formal meat show had already begun. That's why when they stepped into the threshold, they could feel the tense and undercurrent in the splendid palace. atmosphere!
The two brothers and sisters led the Qushan family to pay homage to the Queen Mother Gu, the Emperor, and Queen Jiang, and then they noticed that Qiu Mengmin was listed among the nobles, with an expressionless face. Princess Yang, Mrs. Lu, and several prominent servants from the Xihe Palace were all summoned in first.
Except for the imperial concubine Yang, everyone else was kneeling and occupied the place on the right side of Danqi.
Naturally, Qiu Yilan and his entourage could only choose the left side - the left and right sides of the throne were exactly the opposite of what Dan Qixia looked at. In this way, what Qiu Yilan and his entourage looked up to see was Empress Jiang sitting on the right side of the emperor; while Princess Yang and the others looked up at The Queen Mother Gu on the left side of the throne is clearly divided, like two armies arrayed!
In contrast, there were many people behind Princess Yang, but Qiu Yilan's side was more imposing - because Ruan Qingyan had the reputation of being a civil servant, he was also qualified to stand with her in front of the emperor. In this way, Princess Yang was the only one standing there alone - if Qiu Mengmin didn't come out to accompany her, it would look like she was weak.
However, there are so many civil servants on both sides. It is hard to say which side has the most people and strength at this moment.
After Qiu Yilan and his party were settled on the left side of Danqi, a handsome servant walked out from Danqi. He flicked his whisk and said in a loud voice: "Princess Ningyi and Ruan Qingyan, the heir and grandson of Old General Ruan, are joining Xihe." The concubine's old servants and her family have been brought here. If you have any questions, you can start asking now."
After finishing speaking, he flicked the fly whisk again and retreated behind Empress Jiang.
Like the sound of a starting gun, the civil and military forces in the originally silent Manchu Dynasty suddenly buzzed.
After a while, an official in a dark green official uniform and a silver belt walked out from the civil service side, pointed at Qiu Yilan, and shouted: "As a niece, I don't appreciate the kindness of my uncle and aunt in raising me, and I presume to accuse my elders of slandering innocent people. The above is a crime." You are so unfaithful, unfilial, unkind and unjust, you are nothing like a beast - I think the Qiu family is not worthy of being the princess at all!"