Real Empress from a noble family

Jiang Yashuang was holding Whitey, which slid in without being noticed. He looked down at it to avoid the embarrassment of seeing Qiu Yelan's half-naked shoulder. "The doctor said you are not feeling comfortable, so I come to have a look. Are you afraid of summer?"

"Not really. I just feel a little dizzy after staying in the cool room for a long time." Qiu Yelan plucked her long hair and looked at him with a smile. "Su He made such a fuss that she invited the doctor over… It's nothing."

Jiang Yashuang sighed in relief, "Then I'm relieved." He added, "The palace is not repaired yet, so it's not ready for the summer. Unlike in the cool mountain, it's really too hot in the capital city."

Seeing Qiu Yelan laughing, he was a little surprised, "Why are you laughing?"

"I am wondering, if Miss Xue knew that her soon-to-be husband climbed over the wall to see me, what would she look like?" Qiu Yelan smiled and said, "I wondered why she did that to my cousin the other day. I knew it wasn't my cousin who took a fancy to her and wanted to marry her. It turned out that my cousin helped me out of trouble!"

Hearing the words, Jiang Yashuang frowned and said, "That's what my family mean, but I did not agree."

Qiu Yelan felt at ease in her heart but said hypocritically, "In fact, you don't have to be like this. I am not a stalker. Miss Xue is said to be the prime minister's beloved daughter. Now that she loves you, she will surely speak for your family before her father in the future. This is good for your family. I feel grateful for you this time for helping me get what my grandmother and mother left to me…."

"Are you jealous?" Jiang Yashuang caressed the smooth fur of Whitey. Probably because he had Nianxue, he knew how to get close to Persian cats. Within a short moment, Whitey became very intimate with him and was making a satisfied coquettish sound from time to time. It kept rubbing its head against his palm. Jiang Yashuang teased it and laughed, "You cannot deny it: if you don't mind this matter, how come you know miss Xue is Prime Minister Xue's favorite daughter? I remember you are not very familiar with girls!"

Qiu Yelan got up, put on her slippers, walked to the table and sat down. She poured herself a drink of dark plum, "You think too much, but when I asked Miss He why Miss Xue had embarrassed my cousin, she mentioned that and I just remembered."

Jiang Yashuang smiled, "Really? Remembered so casually?" The tone was very meaningful.

"I always have a good memory." Qiu Yelan said in a meaningful way. "However, if I needed to have a bad memory, I could forget at any time."

"You obviously mind the rumor about the marriage and want me to give you an explanation. This is understandable. Why are you beating around the bushes?" Jiang Yashuang said amusingly, "I didn't say I won't tell you."

Qiu Yelan tilted her head and thought for a while. She waved him to sit at the table and said with a sweet smile, "Then tell me now?"

"The Xues have the intention and even named me." Jiang Yashuang didn't care about her posturing just now and said cheerfully, "Now that I have already made an appointment with you, naturally I won't agree."

Qiu Yelan looked at him and smiled, "It seems that your grandfather really cares for you."

"On the one hand, my grandmother spoke to me, and on the other hand, my grandfather didn't trust Prime Minister Xue very much." Jiang Yashuang did not keep anything. "Prime Minister Xue has kept the golden mean for many years. How could he give up his neutral attitude because of the dispute between the Dings and the Yangs? Although if the Dings fell, the neutral faction would inevitably suffer losses. However, with Prime Minister Xue, the loss is not unacceptable. On the contrary, without Prime Minister Xue, the neutral faction would lose completely. So if it were really difficult for Prime Minister to get out this time, he would only give up the Dings instead of uniting my family by marriage. Grandfather thought Prime Minister Xue had other plans."

Qiu Yelan rolled her eyes, "What if that was not the case and your grandfather asked you to marry Miss Xue?"

"I am not a man who breaks his promise." Jiang Yashang smiled. "If you were uneasy, should I go to the palace tomorrow to beg my aunt?"

"Oh, I'm just kidding." Qiu Yelan kept her tears. To marry him or not? The question had not been well considered. How dare she to get engaged to Jiang Yashuang?

Jiang Yashuang scratched Whitey down the chin and said, "Neither my grandma nor I care about it, but there are so many people in the family. Grandma said it would be better to arrange our marriage when you are out of the mourning period in case of people gossip in the future… Of course, other people in the family may also talk about it. In a big family, there's nothing you can do about it."

Qiu Yelan looked at Whitey, which was so happy in his arms, and said thoughtfully, "It is really hard to be a wife in your family."

"Not really." Jiang Yashuang laughed again. "These talkers are all from other branches. We fourth branch—my father and mother are in the north. They haven't been back for many years. My grandma told me they are very kind. My sister-in-law is taking care of the fourth branch. She is recognized as a virtuous person who is easy to get along with. As for my grandma, as you have seen, she is sensible and kind.

He added, "Grandma likes you very much."

Qiu Yelan asked curiously, "Why?" She met Madame Tao only once when she went to make a complaint with Jiang Yashuang!

Jiang Yashuang looked at her and smiled for a while before saying, "Grandma said you are good-looking, and she likes to see young and pretty girls."

"Isn't that what you said?" Qiu Yelan asked suspiciously. Even if elderly people like to see young and handsome juniors, shouldn't they consider family background, temperament, morality and the like first when choosing wives for their grandsons? In particular, Madame Tao was not his father's mother. If she chose her for her beauty, didn't it mean that she has nothing to praise besides her beauty?

"That's the truth." Probably because of that incident in Yunyi Restaurant, Jiang Yashuang was not embarrassed at all this time and said calmly, "Anyway, grandma likes you. Isn't it a good thing? You saw that day, grandma is very protective of the people she likes."

Qiu Yelan half smiled, "I think your grandma favors you most."

"I was raised by my grandma and my sister-in-law. They still care about my daily life now." Jiang Yashuang did not deny, "So my grandma is really more attentive to me."

"That's really strange. Why did Jiang Qisheng dare hit you?" Qiu Yuelan asked naively and provocatively. "I heard you were taught by your grandfather. I saw your cousin was not so spoiled as you by your grandmother. When she hit you, wasn't she afraid of making your grandfather and grandmother angry?"

Jiang Yashuang said casually, "She's just like that, and I don't usually argue with others…" Speaking of this, he suddenly understood and looked at her awkwardly, "Are you still angry with my cousin?"

"Even if she bullied me, am I not allowed to hold a grudge?" Being exposed, Qiu Yelan did not blush but showed a look of grievance. "I didn't goad her and she just treated me like that! If it were you, wouldn't you be aggrieved, angry and hold a grudge?"

Before Jiang Yashuang could answer, she continued, "Even if you don't feel aggrieved or angry, I'm not you! Should I copy you? You practice martial arts every day, should I do the same? Anyway, I'm just narrow-minded, and I just like to hold a grudge!"

Seeing her in a huff, Jiang Yashuang smiled, without talking about Jiang Qisheng, but said, "I really feel a headache for Miss Xue. My cousin said a few bad words about you in private. Although she intended to hit you, I stopped her in time. Back home, she was cursed by my grandma in front of you. The elders in the family also punished her afterwards. It has been a long time and you still hold the grudge… I wonder, what would you do to Miss Xue if you had a chance in future?"

"I feel you are not having a headache but a heartache." Playing with a strand of hair hanging down from her temple, Qiu Yelan said jokingly but her face turned ugly. "Now that you care so much about her, why not marry her? You can love her dearly after you get married! You love each other and care for each other! Why did you say that to me?"

Not having expected that she would change so quickly, Jiang Yashuang was stunned for a while and explained, "I was just kidding."

"Kidding? Huh!" Qiu Yelan didn't buy it at all, "I think you are simply determined to marry the Prime Minister's daughter, but afraid I, who am cruel, will embarrass her, so you try to coax me so that your sweetheart will not be aggrieved!"

"What are you talking about? I have never seen Miss Xue!" Jiang Yashuang said awkwardly. "Moreover, can you be called cruel? It's understandable that you just use some means for survival — You are still far from being really cruel!"

Qiu Yelan said with a sneer, "What even if you have not seen her? She is the daughter of the Prime Minister! The Commandery Princess is but a nominal title! Even though my father was still alive, how could he compete with Prime Minister Xue in terms of power? When you have such a good father-in-law…."

"Am I living on my father-in-law?" Jiang Yashang sighed. "All right, stop it. If I really cared for Miss Xue, why should I come to see you?"

"Come to see me? You are obviously afraid that I will hate Miss Xue out of love…" Qiu Yelan was unreasonably arrogant, but unexpectedly, Jiang Yashuang fixed his gaze on her and asked, "You love me?"

Qiu Yelan was dumbfounded by herself, secretly scolding herself for being thoughtless. She quickly denied, "No! How could I love you? I mean you doubt that I am not reconciled to your breach…."

Her words were interrupted again, "Are you worried that I will break my promise?"

"How is it possible?! You can marry whoever you like. It has nothing to do with me! I think you are here just for Miss Xue…."

"Do you care about the rumors between Miss Xue and me?" Jiang Yashuang interrupted her for a third time. The teasing and meaningful smile at the corners of his eyes could no longer be concealed. Qiu Yelan was tongue-tied for a moment, knowing that the continuous misunderstanding caused by her blunder was hard to explain. Ordinary people would be ashamed and speechless. But she was no ordinary person!

So her reaction was to beat the table in annoyance and shout, "Anyway, I just don't love you! I'm not afraid of your breach! I don't even care about that Miss Xue! I am telling you the truth! Believe it or not!"

Jiang Yashuang grinned and was about to speak when Qiu Yelan gave him a warning glare, "What do you want to say?"

"I mean… um… don't worry. Last time I said I thought of you as Yongfu. Actually it was just before, I still…" Jiang Yashuang looked at her face on which were written "I would kill you if you dared say what you shouldn't say." He was weighing his words very carefully, hoping not to irritate her. But with her IQ, she knew what he meant: it turned out that last time you repeatedly asked me whether I proposed for responsibility or love because you loved me.

"I told you that I don't love you at all!" Seeing his expression which seemed to say, "I understand, don't worry, I won't let you down", Qiu Yelan, who was exasperated, could no longer contain herself. She got up and pounced on him ferociously, "You don't understand the human language, do you?"