After hearing her explanation, Princess Yang stood still for a while. A few minutes later, she slumped on the floor regardless of bearings as a Princess. She cried while laughing, “You… You are such an idiot! Qiu Yelan is way shrewd than you. Think about it. You must have known about how Jiang Yashuang defended Qiu Yelan before they got married. In the Hall of Taishi, they met for the first time. But Jiang Yadan beat Duke of Guangyang’s Young Prince black and blue. If you think it was not a big deal, think about the dowry. He even invited his brother Jiang Yadan to be here, putting pressure on your father for more dowries. They even said they would kill all family if we did not meet their requirements!”

“Even after people gossiped her engagement cancellation with Deng Yi, Jiang Yashuang tried to take all the blame on himself on the Feng’s month-old party. Kuang Qingwu did nothing like the things Jiang Yashuang did for Qiu Yelan before they got married. Even he did one for you, I wouldn’t have punished you like this! Think, think. You have been dating him for over one year, did Kuang Qingwu do anything caring about you?”

Looking at the crying mother, Qiu Jinzhu felt frustrated. She tried to flash in her brain what Kuang Qingwu and she did in the past year, showing a perplexed look.

“Did not understand my meaning, right? He is playing with you!” Princess Yang cried loudly. “So, he won’t care about you. You idiot. You just saw that Qiu Yelan and Jiang Yashuang were hugging each other before engagement and finally got married. But you did not realize what Jiang Yashuang did for Qiu Yelan. How much he cared about her and what blames he took for her before they got married. In the light of the status of Jiang Yashuang, he made his decision to marry Qiu Yelan which encouraged him to do so much for her. This was much more reliable than any vows. For this reason, of course, they could hug each other when no one was around. It was not a big deal! She just used this method to have him to the dead-set. That’s all!”

“If Kuang Qingwu could treat you as half as Jiang Yashuang to Qiu Yelan, I would pivot around, saying nothing even you two hug each other before me. I might criticize you lightly for what your bearings later. No more…”

Princess Yang felt depressed, seeing her daughter was still in the muddle. It was a simple question. Qiu Jinzhu was fourteen years old this year. It was the age of blind-matching and marriage. But that year, Qiu Yelan, who came back to the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe from the Mount Dizi, seeking a living space prudently by balancing Princess Yang and Aunt Qiu, was only twelve!

What was more, Qiu Yelan’s mother died when she was young. She had been ill for many years when she was alive. She could not teach Qiu Yelan in her ill health!

You were both girls and at the same time, you were Commandery Princesses. Why did you two differ so much?

“It must be because Prince and I treated the Ruans too bad. God sent Qiu Jinzhu to us as a punishment. Princess Yang felt guilty in her depression. “Lu had died years ago. Kang Lizhang’s mother has died. Kang Jinzhang died in the Mount Dizi, Kang Lizhang died because of ‘dystocia’… Those who treated them badly have died one by one over the past years. It’s our turn now?”

She was immersed in her thought while Qiu Jinzhu kneed before her, not raising her head. They kept silent for a minute, weighing on their own minds. But those who were standing outside could not wait any longer. They broke the silence.

Not long after senior concubine Bian and the first daughter-in-law Ding Qinghong dictated to kidnap Princess Yang’s housekeepers, they broke into the house with their confidants!

Seeing Princess Yang sitting on the floor haggardly and trying to stand up, Bian and Ding Qinghong took a kind of dark pleasure in their heart. There was a grudge between Princess Yang and them. It was a good chance to muddle the water!

Bian paid a salute perfunctorily to Princess Yang. She questioned her before Princess Yang stood up, “Princess, Your Grace hasn’t solved her problem yet? Now, families in Mount Dizi have known her affair already. What’s your plan for this? You must give us your plan! Although Prince went fishing in a covert place, he would know about it anyway in one day. We all know Prince pays great attention to family conducts. What Your Grace did must anger Prince. He may hurt her badly as he is furious. For your good, you’d better tell your mother everything so that she can help you out of the trouble!”

Actually, before Princes went back home, the senior concubine had sent a servant to inform him of the trouble Qiu Jinzhu made for the family. Having a daughter who made such big trouble for the family, Princess Yang will lose her face to be in charge of the house in the future even if Prince does not abandon her.

Bian felt like it was her critical time now: she was born in a small family. She was coaxed to become a concubine in the Prince’s Mansion because her sister was becoming older and fading. She had been living in the family, reading Princess Yang prudently. She used to be remorseful for her fate. But shortly, she gave birth to a boy who could enable her to be promoted as a senior concubine. Lucky her, she got another chance to take place the princess in two or three years!

Even if her chances to be a princess of the family was slim, she must have the chance to grab the power as the newcomer Qiu Mengmin would marry must be a young and simple girl and more importantly, she gave birth to a boy, a boy was a ladder for his mother to be honored. She definitely would jump at the chance presenting before her.

“Yes!” said Ding Qinghong coldly, showing no respect she used to. She added, “People in the court know tacitly that Kuang Qingwu would marry Princess Changping and she was raised by Empress Dowager. They must have married if not Her Majesty’s disapproval! However, Jinzhu has been dating Kuang Qingwu for one year… Kuang Qingwu is just a Marquess’s son. Does he wishful think that Jinzhu as his one concubine?!”

Ding Qinghong, raised and taught by her father who was a former Hanlin Academy academician, in nature, was not a woman with malicious thinking. She might not stand aside with Bian if Princess Yang was a mother-in-law who just only looked down her husband Qiu Hongzhi because he was a son of a concubine. She would not come with Bian to rub salt into the wound of Qiu Jinzhu who might be killed because of her affair.

But Princess Yang took her first son Qiu Feng by force in order to raise him in her room.

If Princess Yang had taken good care of her son, Qiu Feng, Ding Qinghong would have not been so angry although she might miss her so much.

But the news she obtained was that Princess Yang always tortured Qiu Feng when no one was around. As a mother, she could not stand it any longer.

In particular, Ding Qinghong had no second child since then. She must miss Qiu Feng very much as he was her only child. For this reason, after hearing Qiu Jinzhu dating Kung Qingwu before engagement in private, she was pleased. She jumped at the chance in attempt to grab her son back!

Bian, as a senior concubine and Ding Qinghong, as the first daughter-in-law, had the same aim despite having different starting points. That was, to topple Princess Yang. As they shared the same aim, they naturally would work together closely. Bian immediately shouted in surprise in the second when Ding Qinghong finished her words, “To be a concubine? Are you kidding me? Back then, Prince was pissed off and broke off relations with Kang Lizhang, Princess’s granddaughter, just because she became a concubine! She was the only granddaughter Princess has! And who did she marry? It was the Duke of Huainan! Although the Duke of Huainan was a little old, he was a Prince and he was in the position of being in charge of the Imperial Clan Court! Kuang Qingwu is nobody at all. I even did not hear about this man until he was entangled in the affair!”

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Princess Yang felt embarrassed when they were talking. She used to be strict with the concubines and their daughters and sons. She even took draconian measures to Qiu Baozhu, Qiu Mengmin and his wife’s daughter, to say nothing of the daughters and sons given birth by the concubines.

In the past, as Princess Yang was born in an official family and gave birth to a daughter and a son, Qiu Mengmin could do nothing about her although he knew she often went too far.

Bian’s family background determined that it was her lucky to be a senior concubine in her husband’s family. She had no chance to be a wife. Ding Qinghong’s family was superior to Princess Yang but she was much younger than Princess Yang.

For this reason, both had to yield to the pressure from Princess Yang.

But now, Princess Yang’s daughter made a big mistake. Princess Yang angered at Bian’s mockery, but she could say nothing. Although Princess Yang had nothing to talk back, her daughter, the troublemaker Qiu Jinzhu, could not help but lash out at Bian, “Don’t be so cynical here! Why did you break into while my mother and I were talking? We could have done our talk if you had not broken into!”

Bian and Ding Qinghong looked at her weirdly while she was talking. They thought: You must miscalculate the situation. You are the troublemaker. How dare you lash out at a senior concubine?!

But then she thought, “She must have known that she made a big mistake and would be punished severely. She might do anything without thinking about the consequences!” As she thought of this, she reasoned that it was not the time to combat with Qiu Jinzhu now. Her future was bleak. Her life was in danger. She was likely to do anything without thinking about the consequences. Bian planned to take the advantage of her mistake, toppled Princess Yang and had good days as a senior concubine being in charge of the family. In case that Qiu Jinzhu did something terrible because of her mean words and fought with her to death, it would be a disaster.

Ding Qinghong also believed that Qiu Jinzhu must have put her life and death out of her mind. Honestly, Ding Qinghong had sympathy for Qiu Jinzhu, “Qiu Jinzhu used to be raised in the house without going outside much. Although she was in anger often before, she, actually, is a young girl without much social experience. It is not strange she made mistakes. But Kung Qingwu is more than ten years old than Qiu Jinzhu and he is a new Jinshi. How can he not know it would bring tremendous damage to a girl? Although the affair is exposed now, Kuang Qingwu is the only son of Marquess Zhang’s. He must be exempt from severe punishment. And he may marry Princess Changpin in the end. To Qiu Jinzhu… ”

But her sympathy disappeared when she thought of her son, Qiu Feng, “Princess Yang even can’t teach her own daughter to be a righteous girl. How can I expect her to teach my boy well? Even if she would like to teach him well, no one could guarantee what man he would be in the future! I must get my boy this time!”

She continued thinking, “You are a trouble-maker in the family. You must confess it. Don’t blame me that I did not help you out of the trouble or I take the opportunity to make trouble for you. I must win back my son!”

Seeing Bian did not say a word, Ding Qinghong said dismissively, “Jinzhu, you might not notice that people gossip you. Some people even fueled it and added extra details. It was too dirty to say! We have asked the housekeepers multiple times when you would finish your talk. They replied nothing useful. You know what, many people came to our house, requiring about what’s going on about you. We do not how to reply to them without your approval. We don’t know what to do next. So, we had to break into for further instructions!”

And then she said to Princess Yang, “We just wanted Mother to be informed that our old friends have sent men here, asking for the latest news at the back door. They wanted to make sure whether the news spread from the Prince’s Mansion of Puyang was true or false.”

The news that Kuang Qingwu, Marquess Zhang’s son and Qiu Jinzhu, Commandery Princess Ningtai had been dating for over one year was exposed by the Xiao Family without intending to cover it at all.

The family’s feud had started from the time when Gu Yan attempted to insult Xiao Su.

Just like Qiu Jinglan insisted on going to the west, Xiao Su, who was always in ill health but with a strong personality, never thought to give it up or let it go although he was not really hurt in the conflict. What he wanted to do was to topple Empress Dowager and revenge on her!

If he could not topple Empress Dowager, he must be a dead man considering what he did. As Xiao Su never covered or defended what he did, the young prince was determined to burn his boats.

If he won, he would take revenge on her successfully; if he failed, he would lose all standing and reputation.

But it was understandable for what he did considering what Gu Yan attempted to do on him. It was Chu Chunxiao, the County Princess Duanrou, happened to pass by which frightened Gu Yan who then ran away… After that, old Princess Qin and Xiao Su were strictly on guard and defend to the last. For this reason, Gu Yan did not have a chance to torture him again.

But if Empress Dowager won the battle at last, and Gu Yan was reminded of what he did to Xiao Su, Xiao Su could do nothing at that time even he had the Duke of Puyang as his backer.

He’d rather try his best to settle this matter than live on!

As the Prince’s Mansion of Puyang used to be in a low profile and thanked to old Princess Qin’s good reputation obtained in the past, people who received the news spread by the Xiao Family was convinced that it was true.

As Ding Qinghong said of this, naturally, she wanted to insult Princess Yang severely. At the same time, she wanted to remind Princess Yang of their trouble. It was a big trouble!

“Ignore them!” Princess Yang said. As she had been in charge of the family for many years, she surely knew how to manage the onlookers. Although she was used to be suppressed by Lu and fought for power with Aunt Qiu over the past years, she was born in an official family and was a princess anyway.

Bian and Ding Qinghong’s pressure made her calm down instead. She raised her hand and combed his messy hair. And then she said, “I will explain to Princess myself. Jinzhu, stand up and go to pack. I send you to Jiang’s residence, living with Qiu Yelan!” It was shameless Qiu Yelan who began to date Jiang Yashuang before their engagement which taught a bad lesson to Qiu Jinzhu. If Qiu Jinzhu did not see them hugging, she would not follow her suit.

Princess Yang really wanted to shout at Qiu Yelan, “It is you setting a bad example! You must be responsible for what you did to my daughter!”

But that was what she was thinking. She could not tell her daughter what she thought. So, she said instead, “We have to rely on Qiu Yelan helping us out of the trouble now. You have to solicit her to see you after you arrive at her place. After meeting her, put your dignity aside, asking her to do you a favor consistently until she says yes!”