Real Empress from a noble family

"That's what I just said. We pulled him out of the stream." Of course, Qiu Yelan knew why he wanted everyone to keep it a secret, "I actually was confused too. It looked like that the bamboo in his chest wasn't accidentally pierced during the earthquake. It was like that someone did it on purpose… When I found him, I looked upstream, but I saw nothing! What's more, he was tied to the driftwood by his own belt."

Qiu Jinglan became very serious, "With my teacher Xue's personality, how could his grandson be subjected to such a vicious act?" From the point of Xue Chang's treatment to him, a disciple who concealed his real identity, it could be seen that although this famous prime minister of the dynasty was in a high position of power, he was not impersonal, but amiable.

In principle, with the help of such an elder, it was safer for Xue Nongying to go out than Gu Yan and Jiang Yashuang! But as far as they knew, nothing had happened to Gu Yan and Jiang Yashuang. Instead, Xue Nongying was on the edge of death!

"It might be Xue Nongying himself who offended someone." As Qiu Yelan did not know the Xue Family very well, she was giving her guess. "I heard that Xue Fangmi had done something very bad before."

"Xue Nongying is not that kind of man!" Qiu Jinglan said, shaking his head. "My teacher paid more attention to him than Marquess Qin to Jiang Yashuang! After all, Marquess Qin has more children and grandchildren than my teacher does. As far as I am concerned, my teacher expected that the Xue Family will follow the Tao family's example to have three Dukes… But it's a pity that my teacher's children can't be counted on to be Dukes. As my teacher himself is a Duke, the hope for having the second Duke in the Xue Family lies on Xue Nongying."

Qiu Yelan was stunned and said, "Is it someone from the Xue Family who did it?" Jealousy was one of the seven deadly sins!

"It's hard to say," Qiu Jinglan shook his head, "Anyway, Xue Nongying is alive now. He is so lucky. You happened to take the pill and saved his life. If not, even the administrative assistant from the Imperial Academy of Medicine could do nothing about him!"

He paused for a while and continued, "As for the pill… I'll see if I have any left-over later. If yes, I'll give you a new one then."

Qiu Yelan was surprised, "You have more?"

"Kuang Qingwu definitely has more," Qiu Jinglan said with a frown. "By the way, did you see Qiu Feng and Ling Zui? Both of them are out searching for you."

"No, I didn't. I left the Summer Palace in the middle of the feast," said Qiu Yelan, shaking her head.

Hearing her words, Qiu Jinglan felt anxious. He thought, "Hope that Qiu Feng did not give the pill to someone not important… Alas, it turns out there is no such thing as having it both ways! This man is righteous in his promises and trustworthy. It's even lucky to have him as an enemy. But his compassionate heart is also prone to missteps…"

He didn't know that righteous and upright Qiu Feng had just been slapped in the face!

In addition, Jiang Qizheng was yelling at him hysterically, "You b*st*rd! What have you done to me?!"

But there was no reason to blame the ever-so-quiet and noble Chunfu Princess for freaking out…

When the earthquake struck, before the tragic Jiang Qizheng could react at all, she plunged headlong off the cliff! When the bodyguards reported to Empress Jiang, they said that she fell into the imperial moat. In fact, she didn't fall directly into the imperial moat, but fell on the flowers next to the moat and passed out before rolling down into the imperial moat!

But that was lucky for her because she couldn't swim at all! She had fallen into the water unconsciously, and God could have saved her life as she sank and floated in the water with the current. If she had been conscious, she could have struggled in the water… If so, even God could not know what would happen to her!

Anyway, it was not the time to think about it.

In short, What Jiang Qizheng remembered was that the earthquake happened, which made her fall off the cliff, and she got passed out and woke up.

When she woke up, the first thing she saw was a vaguely impressionable man kissing her!!!!

Chunfu Princess, who was still a little confused in the first place, was completely awake immediately!

And then she became aware that her outer robe was unbuttoned to her waist. Her upper body was currently only covered by her underwear, and her body was wet… Even worse, she was held by a man!

For any decent girl, if she had a knife in her hand in such a situation, she would certainly not hesitate to stab the man, or herself, to death!

The problem was that Jiang Qizheng didn't have a knife in her hand… So she could only raise her hand and slap Qiu Feng, attempting to get him off her!

"You're drowning and out of breath," said Qiu Feng with a frown. He was not angry despite being slapped. Instead, he took his robe that he put aside to cover her body. And then he stepped back a little and continued, "I was trying to save you. I did not mean to molest you."

Jiang Qizheng didn't want his clothes in the first place, but she realized that she was wearing underwear only. With no choice but to accept the fact, she gritted her teeth and said, "Then why are you taking off… Taking off my clothes!"

"Your dress is too tight, which is not conducive to the rescuing work," Qiu Feng calmly said. "If you don't believe me, you can ask the Imperial Doctor later."

"…" Qiu Feng had a clear conscience. Jiang Qizheng twisted her head, looking at the virginity mark (a way to tell if a girl was a virgin) on her arm. It was intact. She felt relieved. Her previous shock turned into a skeptical feeling, "You really did it to save me? By the way, where am I now? You… Why didn't you go and ask my maids or female doctor to help me?"

Qiu Feng said indifferently, "We are not in the Summer Palace. I am a man hanging around in the woods. Now as there is chaos in the palace… I don't know who I can find to save you. Moreover, even if I had gone there to find someone as fast as I can and come back here, I think you must have been dead already."

"Outside the Summer Palace?!" Jiang Qizheng was shocked, "How?! But I… I fell down in the Palace!"

"You were probably washed out along the imperial moat," Qiu Feng lowered his head to untie a leather pouch from his waist and tossed it to Jiang Qizheng.

Jiang Qizheng was stunned, asking, "What is this?"

"Some solid food I take with me when I am outside. You take it and walk back to the Summer Palace yourself. You walk along with the upstream and you will be there," said Qiu Feng.

Jiang Qizheng was shocked. She shouted at him, trying to stop him, "Where are you going then?"

"I was asked to come here, looking for Commandery Princess Ningyi. But I haven't found her yet. So, I will continue my work," said Qiu Feng dismissively, looking at her.

"Commandery Princess Ningyi?" Said Jiang Qizheng. A man flashed in her mind. "Are you He Feng? Why do you call yourself Qiu?"

Qiu Feng ignored her, walking away. Seeing him walking further and further, she raised her voice, "She is not in the Summer Palace. She is staying with my cousin, Yashuang!"

Realizing she knew where Qiu Yelan was, Qiu Feng returned. "Where are they then?!" He asked. He had been to the Summer Palace, looking for Qiu Yelan. But she was not there. He even stayed there for a moment, rescuing several maids and bodyguards. From the people he rescued, he knew Qiu Yelan was not in the Summer Palace. He then left the Summer Palace and continued looking for her. When he was hanging around and looking for her, he happened to rescue Jiang Qizheng.

Now he realized Jiang Qizheng might know where Qiu Yelan was. He, of course, would not let it go.

"I don't know where Yashuang took her!" Said Jiang Qizheng. Her words disappointed him. "Anyway, she is not in the Summer Palace!"

"I am wondering if Ling Zui has found her yet… " Hearing her words, Qiu Feng was more anxious. In his view, Commandery Princess Ningyi knew a little Kung Fu, but her inner strength was weak. He needed to find her as soon as possible. Plus, a girl in her teenage experienced the earthquake in her first time, even if she was not injured, she must be frightened to death.

He had searched the Summer Palace completely, but he found nothing. He also had searched a wide range away from the Summer Palace and found nothing either. He felt more and more anxious. "I might have walked into the wrong direction. Hope she met a man who can help her!"

Yet, hope could not save her life. On Ling Zui's side, he also searched the Summer Palace completely, but found nothing either. What was worse for him was that he met a girl who stopped him!

"It's you?" A girl in red walked toward him. She recognized it was Ling Zui at her first glance. She sneered, "I'm getting angry. Hey, luckily, here comes my vent."

Hearing that a girl was talking to him, Ling Zui raised his head. His face became pale, "Miss Ou, I know that I offended you last time. I have been taught a lesson. I am quite busy now. I don't have free time for you. Please let me go!"

Ou Qinglan ignored him. She untied a long whip which she always took with her from her waist. She shook out the long whip and said in a high voice, "Stop your nonsense! I should have hung you up and whipped you last time. But you escaped… This time, I will whip you to your last breath!"

"I am searching for Commandery Princess Ningyi. If you delay my work, and she, unfortunately, is in trouble, I think your brother's best friend, Jiang Yashuang, would kill you!" The bruises on Ling Zui's body did not recover. However, he could not get rid of the woman right now. So, he intimidated her, "Think about it. Do you want to be the one who creates a misunderstanding between your brother and Jiang Yashuang? You know, Jiang Yashuang has been your brother's friend since his boyhood! It is well known in the capital that Jiang Yashuang lavishes most of his attention on his fiancee."

Ou Qinglan paused for a while, showing a complicated expression on her face. She continued to say weirdly, "Save your time. She has been back to the Green Villa… She is safe!"

Her words surprised Ling Zui, "Really?!"

"Don't you dare doubt me!" Said Ou Qinglan. She was angry and furious when he doubted her. She raised her hand to whip him on the shoulder!

Ling Zui couldn't care less about crying out in pain. He asked promptly, "How did you know?!"

"I just got back from the Green Villa!" Ou Qinglan was furious, "She's fine! Ruan Qingyan… When he kicked me out of the Green Villa, she even spoke up for him! Why are you still searching for her? Go and stay with your parents and brothers!"

"You know Yelan? You went to see her in the first place?" Ling Zui asked doubtfully. "I've never even heard of it… Something is wrong! Why did Chunjun kick you out? He loves his sister more than anyone. If you were her friend, why would he kick you out? Could it be… You're going to see Chunjun?!"

Ou Qinglan's nose turned sour, and her eyes turned red. She stomped her foot, "I did go there and see him, so what?! I was just worried about him, okay! I know what you're thinking, it's nothing more than that I'm not reserved enough… But it's none of your business whether I'm reserved or not!"

Ling Zui knew girls very well. He could see that this sassy young lady was already deeply in love with Qiu Jinglan. It had been a short time since the earthquake stopped. Although Ou Qinglan's parents were in the north, her brother, grandparents, many of her cousins were in Mount Dizi for the summer vacation. She ignored her relatives and went directly to see Qiu Jinglan…

"I just visited my mom. Although she knew I was helping Chunjun search for his sister, she scolded me for being unfilial. Haha. This young girl is much more unfilial than me! At least, when I entered the Summer Palace to search for Qiu Yelan, I was also searching for my family members too!" Thought Ling Zui. He dared not say it to Ou Qinglan. He got an idea, saying with a sincere tone, "Don't think too much. I think it was Chunjun's fault. Although he is in the mourning period and not appropriate to meet girls, he must know that what you did is from your heart… "

Ou Qinglan interrupted him, "He kicked me out because he is in the mourning period?" She asked with anxiety and happiness.

Ling Zui became speechless. He assumed that what he said to the girl would make her think Chunjun was not a good guy. "It was me, Ling Zui who knew girls…" But, what on earth was the meaning of your question, huh!

Being fearful of Ou Qinglan's personality and strength, he said in a low voice, "Maybe your guess is right… In fact, Chunjun was not a sociable person… "

"So, Hua Shenshen, Penglai Yue and other girls like them are man-chasers?" Unexpectedly, in the first place, Ling Zui wanted to slander Qiu Jinglan. But his slander ended up being a support.

Ling Zui's explanation gave Ou Qinglan hope again. Her eyes turned bright. She became spirited shortly. She clenched a fist and waved her fist in the air, saying joyfully, "I know it. Those girls don't deserve him! Now I see that Commandery Princess Ningyi doesn't care about him. Or how could she misunderstand those girls being fond of him too?!"

Before Ling Zui understood what Ou Qinglan said, she had run away quickly. She said while she was running, "Since you told me the truth, I decided to let you go without being punished. If I see you flirt with girls next time, I will hang you up and whip you for three days!"

"I… !!!" Seeing her running away joyfully, Ling Zui was both angry and frustrated…