At this point, Qiu Yelan couldn’t bear to keep it from her. She sighed, “The youngest daughter of Director of temple etiquette from the An Family. But that woman sounds like a shameless one. How could the elders of our family let her marry into our family? So, don’t worry too much. Yashuang is looking for Yadan for something else today.”

“The elders won’t allow. Yadan is willing to… I don’t have a child…” Madame Tao Junior said with a smile. But tears kept falling down, “I met An Zhenshang once. She is way more beautiful than me. Besides, she is almost ten years younger than me. If she really doesn’t have a chance to marry into our family, how could you guys be so worried about me?”

“…” Qiu Yelan bit her lips, “We are afraid that Yadan may have a thoughtless moment and put the elders in an embarrassing position. So, we are here to find out. But just think about it…”

Madame Tao Junior waved her hand and choked with sobs, “Thanks for your concern! But changing Yadan’s mind is not easy. I’ve married him for years. Don’t I know if he loves me? I can only blame myself for not being able to win my husband’s heart. And my body is weak. I don’t have any child until now. One of the seven rules of repudiating one’s wife is infertility. Now he wants to change his wife. I don’t have a good reason to stop him. I’m just afraid that grandmother will be sad. I hope you could comfort her more in the future!”

Qiu Yelan walked out of the door with a livid face. Madame Tao Junior’s sound of weeping had died down, but her despairing look still seemed to haunt Qiu Yelan.

Jiang Yashuang had walked out of the study and was waiting for her outside the Chuihua door at that moment. Judging by each other’s look, they knew that neither of their conversations went well.

“What did Yadan say?”

“What did the eighth sister-in-law say?”

After getting back to their yard, they asked at the same time.

“What could she say? The eighth sister-in-law is nice. But she isn’t stupid! She figured it out before I said anything!” Qiu Yelan rubbed her forehead and said with a cold face, “She asked all the key questions. There was no way for me to slight over or lie! In the end, she asked me to spend more time with grandmother in the future and don’t let her be too sad…”

At this point, she couldn’t hold back her anger. Her voice went higher, “She is clearly preparing for the worst! She isn’t that kind of person who will go back to one’s maiden family after getting repudiated!”

Let alone that her maiden family was like a wolf’s den!

Qiu Yelan took the cup of tea which Jiang Yashuang handed to her and took a sip. She asked with a dark face, “Right. How about your side?”

“I’ll keep talking to Yadan.” Jiang Yashuang said flatly which meant that Jiang Yadan really wanted to replace Madame Tao Junior with An Zhenshang. And he was very determined. Even Jiang Yashuang’s repeated attempts at persuasion were in vain.

“I really hope father and mother were here!” Qiu Yelan was so frustrated that she couldn’t help missing her father and mother-in-law whom she never met.

Hearing that, Jiang Yashuang looked disappointed. He said after a long time, “They won’t be back for a while… Let me talk to grandfather tomorrow.”

“How sure are you?” Qiu Yelan was enlightened and asked in a hurry. Madame Tao couldn’t handle Jiang Yadan. But Marquess Qin could, couldn’t he?

Jiang Yashuang sighed, “If grandfather wants to take care of it, he can. I’m just afraid that he doesn’t have the time. You know that the fight for the Crown Prince nowadays…” With his knowledge of Marquess Qin, if he bothered Marquess Qin with this matter, instead of settling the matter, he would be scolded. Jiang Qizheng was Marquess Qin’s granddaughter. But Marquess Qin handled her matter carelessly without hesitation to avoid influencing the fight for the Crown Prince back then.

Madame Tao Junior… Marquess Qin probably didn’t even want to hear about it!

He was just hoping against hope.

“…” Qiu Yelan’s eyes grew dim, “I got it.”

The one who could take care of it didn’t want to. The one who wanted to take care of it couldn’t. She suddenly sneered out loud, “I wonder what the Tao Family will think after hearing this news?”

Detested Madame Tao Junior for being incapable? Wanted to replace her with a younger and more beautiful daughter?

But how did it go? Not only did they fail to replace their eldest daughter with the youngest one, but the eldest daughter’s position was threatened! Instead, they did An Zhenshang a favor. When Madame Tao was gone one day, what would be left between the Tao Family and the Jiang Family?

The Empress was connected to the Tao Family. But her family name was Jiang after all!

What the Tao Family did this time absolutely was a textbook example of hoisting with their own petards!

“Reveal He Shuijin’s idea to them later. Let them think it over!” Qiu Yelan thought ruthlessly, “Judging by the current situation, if they don’t secure the eighth sister-in-law’s position by fair means or foul, then after Madame Tao dies, the Tao Family and the Jiang Family will become strangers!”

They both felt blue over Jiang Yadan and Madame Tao Junior’s matter. They talked about some family business and then went to bed sullenly.

As expected, Jiang Yadan dealt with Madame Feng the next day. But he didn’t clear Madame Tao Junior’s name. Instead, he demanded to investigate Jiang Jinghu’s death himself. It was obvious that he was going after Madame Tao Junior.

He followed Madame Tao’s inclination in dealing with Madame Feng which showed respect to Madame Tao. However, Madame Tao deliberately implied that his harem was lack of discipline and he should let his wife teach his concubines and their children some manners. He left such a benefit to his future wife.

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He was such a terrible man. Let alone others, even the first branch which they just quarreled with felt sorry for Madame Tao Junior.

When they met outside Madame Tao’s yard, Madame Dou Junior greeted Qiu Yelan rarely and asked her to take good care of Madame Tao Junior. “Although Yadan is going to investigate it himself, he is rarely at home. How could he know more about his harem than Madame Tao? I’m afraid that he may be misled by others and let the eighth sister-in-law be wronged! It’s a pity that we are not in the same branch. It’s inconvenient to take care of her. Shishui just got pregnant. She is busy enough with her own affairs… You have to step up!”

Qiu Yelan didn’t give her a dirty look this time. She thanked her on behalf of Madame Tao Junior and promised that she would take good care of the sisters-in-law of her own branch.

But the only thing she could do is taking care of them. As the new sister-in-law, she couldn’t interfere with Jiang Yadan’s investigating his son’s death. Only Madame Tao tried her best to defend Madame Tao Junior. She vetoed every evidence and accusation Jiang Yadan had against Madame Tao Junior.

Qiu Yelan visited Madame Tao and pried into information every day which allowed her to learn Madame Tao’s tricks. In order to marry An Zhenshang, Jiang Yadan was ruthless to his wife. He accused her of almost everything except having an affair that would make him look bad and Madame Tao would never accept. And he even had witnesses and evidence every time!

But he couldn’t pin a definite charge on Madame Tao Junior until summer holiday!

However, Madame Tao could bear it and gave no reason to Jiang Yadan to repudiate his wife. Madame Tao Junior… She was about to break down.

If it weren’t for Madame Tao’s prescience, she should take Madame Tao Junior to her yard to attend to her illness using her poor health as an excuse. Jiang Yadan might not need to try every means to pin charges on her. He could have pressured her into killing herself directly!

Madame Tao Junior couldn’t know what Jiang Yadan did under Madame Tao’s protection. But as a smart woman, she could have guessed. So, she got ill the next day when she got taken to Madame Tao’s place.

When the summer holiday came, she was too ill to get up. So, she demanded, “I’d better stay.”

“Mount Dizi is not far. Ask the servants to put more cushions in the carriage. You just sleep for two days and we’ll get there.” Madame Tao disagreed. She couldn’t stay because her granddaughter-in-law was ill. Even if she could, it would be bad for Madame Tao Junior if the words got out. However, if she left and left Madame Tao Junior behind, how could she be at ease?

Madame Tao Junior begged for many times and still didn’t get permission. Although she tried really hard, she still cried, “My husband has already got the idea of repudiating me. I can’t hide in your place forever, can I?”

“He is bewildered by An. Don’t worry. An can’t gloat for long!” A murderous look flashed through Madame Tao’s eyes. She said with a cold face, “Our family is illustrious now and your father-in-law is in an important position. Yadan is the eldest son of your branch. Surely there are many people trying every means to impress him. When he changes his mind in a few days, he’ll come and apologize to you!”

Madame Tao Junior caught the implication of her words. She was stunned. She wasn’t happy. Instead, she was truly sad, “My husband has a lot of mistresses outside. Who knows if there will be Yang, Zhao, Wang…? After killing An, can we kill all of them? Even if we can, my husband isn’t stupid, how could he not know? Then… He will hate me even more!”

But she wouldn’t say it out loud. Because she didn’t want to hurt Madame Tao’s feelings who considered her with undivided attention.

But she was sadder, “I got married when I was 16. Since I married my husband, I have behaved myself night and day. I never broke the rules! Even when I was so sad that I wetted so many handkerchiefs with tears, I never spoke ill of him! If he has to blame me for being less beautiful than others, I was born this way. Don’t I wish to have Yelan’s stunning look? Other than not having a child, what’s my fault? Even that, my husband barely slept with me for all these years, I couldn’t take all the blame. We have been married for so many years! Now he is determined to drive to me to have my back to the wall for a mistress!”

Thinking of which, Madame Tao Junior felt more and more disheartened.

So, after departure, Qiu Yelan went to visit her. She saw a maid was holding Madame Tao Junior in the carriage whose look was super dim. She was startled, “It has only been a few days. How did you get so ill?”

“Maybe I just have bad luck?” Madame Tao Junior lost the will of living. But her tone was gentle like before. She still didn’t speak ill of anyone. She just said, “Yelan, just go. In case I infect you.”

She was afraid that Qiu Yelan refused to go. She made an excuse on purpose, “You need to take care of grandmother and Shishui after all. It’s inappropriate to visit them after spending a long time with me.”

A few of her maids were arranged by Madame Tao. Qiu Yelan had to agree.

Leaving her carriage with a heavy heart, Qiu Yelan wasn’t in the mood to go back to her carriage or visit Madame Tao or Sheng Shishui. She went to He Shuijin’s carriage, “Shuijin? I’m here to talk to you.”

“To come early is not as good as to come in time. Grab some to eat!” He Shuijin was cracking walnuts with two maids. There was a heap of walnuts in the little silver dish. Seeing her, He Shuijin pushed it towards her and lowered her voice, “The eighth sister-in-law is not well?”

“Why do I come to bother you if she is?” Qiu Yelan puckered her lips. She wasn’t in the mood to eat the walnuts. She whispered, “She looks as white as a sheet to me. What do you think we should do?”

He Shuijin stopped cracking the walnuts and handed her maid the little golden hammer. She thought for a while and said, “Unless Yadan changes his mind, what else can we do?”

“But it’s not easy for Yadan to change his mind,” Jiang Yashuang found time to talk to him every day during that period. But he failed every time. And he was the brother who said to have the most influence on him among their generations! Besides, even his only sister Jiang Qizheng got asked to come back to advise him. But both of them failed!

Qiu Yelan lost her bearings.

“Alas!” He Shuijin didn’t know what to do either. She knew how terrible Jiang Yadan was more than Qiu Yelan. So, she had little hope of making Jiang Yadan change his mind. There were a lot of women who were abandoned by Jiang Yadan hoped that he could change his mind. Who had been successful?

Even An Zhenshang who was able to keep Jiang Yadan around her, but once Jiang Yadan forgot about her and she wanted him to remember her again… She might not dare to make the bet!

Qiu Yelan couldn’t find a solution from He Shuijin. After staying for a while, she grabbed some walnuts and went back to her carriage.

Just when she came back, Chunran who stayed in the carriage whispered in her ear, “Young Master sent people to deliver a message just now. He asked you to meet him when you arrive at Mount Dizi!”

“My brother?” Qiu Yelan was a little surprised, “Do you know what it is about?” Because Qiu Jinglan was still in mourning. To avoid jinx, he asked not to see her until he was no longer in mourning one month before her wedding unless it was something important!

Was there something wrong with Qiu Jinglan?