Real Empress from a Noble Family

Chapter 37 Questioning Visit

“How shameless are you to come back here?” Just when Qiu Yelan stepped inside the door, a tea bowl was smashed on the threshold, and porcelain shattered.

Princess Yang with a wound on her head screamed, “You evil thing! We’ve raised you for so long! Even if I have a dog, with so many years of food and drinks, it won’t bite me!” She knew that it was impossible to buy Qiu Yelan over, so she didn’t care anymore and vented directly.

“I just wanted to greet my uncle and aunt, but it turned out only my aunt is here to see me.” However, Qiu Yelan was here to be hostile today, so she said, “Besides, my aunt refers to me as a dog and smashes a tea bowl as soon as she sees me. Sure enough, uncle and aunt are feeling guilty? One dares not to come out, and one tries to shift the subject by being hostile?”

Before Princess Yang had the chance to speak, Qiu Yelan shouted, “Su He, give me that thing!”

Su He, Chun Ran, and others heard her. They took out the tattered boxes and medicines from their sleeves and throw them in front of the hall!

Princess Yang smelled medicine and instinctively covered her nose. However, she immediately realized that Qiu Yelan would not be stupid enough to openly poison her. She was shocked and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Everyone knows that my grandfather, General Ruan needs medicine badly for the past two years. As the General’s Mansion has been in disrepair for years, the warehouse is practically useless. He could only store the medicine in the Ruan family’s Renqing Pharmacy.” Qiu Yelan sneered, “However, Qu Shan’s family was hunted down two days ago. After General Jiang saved them, the Renqing Pharmacy was just smashed. Not only was it smashed, but also the medicines that my grandfather needs were destroyed.”

Her pitch became higher, and she had already brought in some sternness. “Hence, I am here to ask my uncle and aunt. Even though the old Princess had you wronged back in years ago, had my grandfather ever offended you two? Why did you do such a vicious thing to an old man?”

Princess Yang was stunned, “You are talking nonsense! What is Renqing Pharmacy? We have never heard of it!”

“People who smashed Renqing Pharmacy have already been handed over to the Governor, and the truth will be found in days. If my aunt still wants to bet on luck and pretends to be innocent, that’s a total mistake!” Qiu Yelan said coldly, “Disrespecting the old Princess was already wrong. Now you won’t even let my last elder rest in peace?”

Suddenly she threw herself over those boxes and medicinal herbs, and let out a sorrow, “I lost my father and the old Princess since young! I lost my brother! I lost my mother last year! My uncle and my aunt don’t like me. The only elder relative I have is my grandfather! Why wouldn’t you let him go? Why? Just because you say that I am disobedient and disrespectful? If you don’t give me a statement today, and let my grandfather live, I will die in front of the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe to uphold justice for my grandfather!”

Su He, Chun Ran and Xia Ran followed her and knelt to the ground. They shouted in unison, “Your Grace, please think twice!”

Chun Ran sobbed and said, “Your Grace, don’t do this! General Jiang was there to see the whole incident when Renqing Pharmacy was smashed. Prince of Yan also said that Governor Feng recommended by Marquess Qin would be in charge of the investigation of this case. They would uphold justice for Renqing Pharmacy and Ruan family.”

Xia Ran added, while crying, “Your Grace, let’s go to the palace and ask the Empress to help us! General Jiang had said it already, General Ruan had been fighting for the country in his whole life. The insultation he had must be investigated, for him, and for the soldiers who are still on the frontline at this moment. Marquess Qin was also a military man, the Empress knows the hardship of being a general more than anyone does. She won’t just sit there and watch the old general being murdered!”

Both of them were servants of the Ruan family, and now they are arguing for their own master. There is no need for them to be inferior in front of Princess Yang.

While Su He choked and said, “I am a servant of the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe, I should not say something bad about my masters. However, I couldn’t bear it today, even if it would risk my life. Everyone in the capital knows the fact that the Prince was disrespectful to the old Princess. Why did you even bother coming back to ask the Prince and Princess Yang, Your Grace? You treated the Prince and Princess Yang as uncle and aunt, but they....”

Meanwhile, Princess Yang’s face turned pale and her limbs were cold.

“Go! Find the Prince and ask him to come!” Princess Yang gritted her teeth and told the servants. Everyone in the Prince’s Mansion knew that Qiu Yelan did not come in peace. However, the vicious niece was fancied by Empress Jiang now. They couldn’t harm her, and likely they couldn’t even win her in an argument. If they don’t see her, they were afraid that she could make use of it. Qiu Mengmin and Madame Lu have decided to send Princess Yang out as their representative.

It wasn’t all that the mother and son bullied the daughter-in-law together, but that Princess Yang was injured on the head. In case things go wrong, she could use her injury as an excuse to send off the guest.

However, how things had developed does not allow her to send off the guest as planned.

Murdering General Ruan—Even if Madame Lu had already used the poison Youmianxiang before, that was done secretly. Besides, because of the special source of the poison Youmianxiang, even if Qiu Yelan knew, there’s nothing she could do about it.

However, on the surface, the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe couldn’t afford to bear the charges of murdering General Ruan!

Even if he lost power, he was still a general after all!

General Ruan’s fiasco back then should be punished indeed, but his life’s contribution to the country could not be erased!

The worse thing is that the Jiang family’s success started with military merit. The younger brother of Marquess Qin, Sir Jibei was still leading the army in the north border. He had to personally fight the barbarians from the north every year.

Even if Marquess Qin did not have a good relationship with General Ruan before, he would never sit idly by when General Ruan was to be murdered. That’s because it represents the dignity of a veteran who dedicated his life to the battlefield! The hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Darui would not let it happen either. General Ruan had the title of the general after all, but more of them didn’t get to become a general in their whole life. If a general could be murdered easily, what about them?

When it comes to this kind of things, all the military men in the country have the same opinion. Even if Empress Dowager Gu did not dare to do anything to take the last breath away from General Ruan without solid proof, let alone the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe! This was the basic gratitude a country could present to a general.

Therefore, Prince’s Mansion of Xihe must stay out of this!

How could Princess Yang send her guest off now? Now that Qiu Yelan was about to leave, she had to stop her instead.

“What on earth is going on here?” A few moments later, Qiu Mengmin, wearing regular clothes, also with a wound on his face strode in with a grumpy face.

He glanced down at the people crying in the hall, exchanged glances with Princess Yang, and said in a deep voice, “Yelan! Did you come back to cry, or did you come back for real business? If it’s the former case, then the Princess and I won’t bother you anymore, we’ll just leave!” After he finished his words, he was about to leave.

Qiu Yelan could tell that he wanted to disturb her flow, so naturally, she won’t be fooled into keeping him. Instead, she said emotionally, “Whatever you like, uncle. I just beg you to let my grandfather go. I would listen to whatever you and aunt ask me to do.”

Qiu Mengmin’s anger was pounding in his chest. He suppressed his madness and entered the hall, sitting in the main seat Princess Yang gave up for him. Then, he said coldly, “well, since you’ve said so, I’m not going anywhere. Tell me, how did we murder your grandfather?”

“Two days ago, when General Jiang rescued the Qu Shan family who had served the old Princess from the thieves, those thieves said that they were instructed by uncle and aunt!” Qiu Yelan choked and said, “Now that Renqing Pharmacy was vilified, and people smashed its signboard....”

“You already said that they are thieves, how could they be trusted?” Qiu Mengmin said blankly, “It’s all because of you. You said that I didn’t respect the old Princess in front of the Empress. Now everyone knows, even the thieves try to blame it on me to get away with their crime.”

Qiu Yelan said angrily, “Uncle is so eloquent! But what about Renqing Pharmacy? What do you say? These, these, and these are all my grandfather’s life-saving medicine!”

Qiu Mengmin glanced at the sparse medicinal herbs in front of her, and said coldly, “Renqing Pharmacy? I have never heard of this place! What do we know? Is there another niece like you in the whole world? You doubt everything in your own family!”

“If there’s no evidence, would I be so confused?” Qiu Yelan exclaimed, “I never thought of it! It’s just because my grandfather was too ill to get out of bed, so I pleaded for your permission to serve him for a few days in the General’s Mansion. I didn’t expect that it would bring such a disaster to my grandfather. If I knew this earlier, how dare I mention it?”

“What about the evidence?” Qiu Mengmin didn’t show it on his face, but he was a little stunned on the inside. He knew that Qiu Yelan was not the kind of person who started a trouble but couldn’t close it. Now that she dared to make such a noise, she must have something to rely on!

Sure enough, Qiu Yelan said, “The servant who went smashing Renqing Pharmacy said it in person. If uncle wants evidence, I would send someone to bring a copy to you from the Governor’s office later.”

The Governor’s office!

How could Qiu Mengmin not know the relationship between Feng Rugui and the Jiang Family? The governor got to his position by pleasing the Jiang Family and gained the support from them, especially Empress Jiang! Therefore, for Feng Rugui, the Darui law was nothing at all. He would only follow the will of the Jiang Family. Whatever the Jiang Family said is true to him.

Therefore, Qiu Mengmin wouldn’t even bother asking about the case. When this case was in Feng Rugui’s hands, there’s no chance he could stay out of it. Qiu Mengmin took a deep breath to hold back his fury, and said solemnly, “Who do Feng Rugui think he is? Does he think he’s worthy to defile the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe? Since you have to put the crime of murdering General Ruan on us, well then, let’s go into the palace to talk about it!”

Qiu Yelan was supported by Empress Jiang, but the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe was also sheltered by Empress Dowager Gu! They avoided her before because they thought that it wasn’t necessary when they were the elders, but they don’t have the upper hand. However, Qiu Mengmin did not think that he needed to be afraid of his niece if they went hostile.

“Sure, let’s go into the palace!” Qiu Yelan was not afraid at all, as she sneered and said, “I also need to tell the Empress and the Empress Dowager about the Qu Shan family and ask them to uphold justice!”

She glanced at Qiu Mengmin coldly, “Uncle must remember that Qu Shan’s mother, Li, was the old woman who had served the old Princess of decades! She had personally witnessed Lu’s violation of the rule, and Lu being driven out by the old Princess! The Qu Shan family had been living peacefully ever since they were sold, but someone tried to kill them a few days back. Do you really think the officials are stupid enough to ignore the connection?”