Real Empress from a noble family

Chapter 271 The Truth About the Death of Princess Ruan

Qiu Baozhu, the Commandery Princess Ningxin, was the only biological child of Li who was the first wife of Qiu Mengmin.

Qiu Mengmin and his biological mother Lu were expelled from home by Old Princess Lian and tramped the streets before. At the age of getting married, he couldn't expect to marry a rich young lady, so he married Li then, an ordinary woman.

At that time, although Qiu Mengmin and his mother hadn't expected that one day they would return to the Prince's Mansion and become the masters there, they felt very disappointed that the son of the old Duke of Xihe would be reduced to marrying a poor girl as his official wife! In this case, Li even hadn't given birth to a baby for a few years after they got married. It was conceivable that how her husband and mother-in-law disliked her!

Then Qiu Mengmin took a concubine under Lu's command, and his eldest son was just Qiu Hongzhi. Later, Li finally got pregnant and gave birth to Qiu Baozhu, who was a girl. Therefore, after Qiu Mengmin got his luck and inherited the title of Prince, he quickly let Li "die of an illness". After asking the official matchmaker for help, he finally got his wish and married Princess Yang, who was from an official family.

Qiu Yelan was not clear how many people knew about this because time had passed and no one mentioned it specifically.

But in the Prince's Mansion of Xihe, everyone knew something about it. After all, Qiu Mengmin and his mother did it only when they returned to the Prince's Mansion that year. Their foundation was still shallow, and they couldn't conceal it completely.

Qiu Baozhu knew it as well certainly.

Her cousin was really ill-fated. Her mother died so unjustly, and she herself suffered so much from her stepmother. As the legitimate Commandery Princess, her marriage was even inferior to Qiu Mingzhu's, who was the daughter of a concubine.

"Second sister!" Qiu Yelan recalled about Qiu Baozhu, stepping out the threshold to greet her.

Qiu Baozhu had a beautiful appearance and a gentle temperament. But maybe she was used to standing in a decent way in front of her stepmother, she looked expressionless. There was an air of melancholy about her. Facing the cousin who came out in person to greet her, she didn't greet her with formality but just said straightforwardly, "I have something to talk with you!"

Hearing her tone, Qiu Yelan didn't think that she came here for help, so then she thought about Prince's Mansion of Xihe…Did she also notice the current undercurrents in Prince's Mansion of Xihe and want to seize this great opportunity to avenge her mother? But her husband's family was really not prominent. Even if Prince's Mansion of Xihe declined, her husband's family couldn't meddle in their affairs. What if she placed her hope on her? But they two had never associated with each other before. So Qiu Yelan wondered how she would mention it.

She invited Qiu Baozhu into the room to sit down, and asked the servants to leave except Su He. Then she smiled and said, "Second sister, you can speak as you like now!"

"At the time, Aunt Ruan died not because of the disease, but because of the poison Youmianxiang!" Qiu Baozhu showed her intention directly, "Or have you ever heard of it?"

Qiu Yelan's face suddenly stiffened. Before she spoke, Su He accidentally overturned the crystal plate containing the fruit with a noise.

"Madame…" This crystal plate was more than a foot in diameter, which was crystal clear and carved with extremely fine patterns. It was an ornament Jiang Family gave to their grandsons born of their legal daughters-in-law, and the grandsons born of the concubines couldn't possess that. It was very valuable. Even if Su He has always been favored by Qiu Yelan, she knelt down in fright at this moment, "I'm sorry for that. It's all my fault!"

"Get up and don't knock on the fragments!" No matter how precious the crystal plate was, Qiu Yelan didn't care at this moment. She waved her hand, "Let's talk about it later. Second sister, please be more detailed!"

The poison Youmianxiang which poisoned Princess Ruan and General Ruan had always been a mystery for Qiu Yelan.

The person who did that must be Lu.

The problem was that Lu was cheated to death by her own son, and she didn't even have time to leave a last word, let alone mention the person who gave her the poison Youmianxiang behind the scenes. Although Qiu Yelan herself had various guesses, there was no evidence. Guesses were not facts after all.

Now that Qiu Baozhu seemed to know the truth, Qiu Yelan's expression suddenly became serious.

Qiu Baozhu glanced at Su He who stood up tremblingly, and said lightly, "The one who did that died three years ago with a sad end. However, to be honest, she was not the real murderer! The one who put Aunt Ruan to death is thousands of miles away!"

After hearing this, Qiu Yelan thought for a while, "It should be Lu who had a sad end three years ago. This is also in line with Princess Ruan's warnings to her before her death… But who is thousands of miles away?"

She pondered and asked, "Second sister, are you talking about Kuang Shihan?"

She deemed that the one who was far away and had an antagonism with Princess Ruan should be him after thinking carefully. Since he could kill Qiu Zhongyan, it was not surprising that he didn't let Qiu Zhongyan's wife and daughter go.

However, Qiu Baozhu looked at her, shook her head slowly, and said calmly, "If it weren't for him, Aunt Ruan would have died earlier, and even you might not be able to live to this day!"

"…" Qiu Yelan was really shocked this time, "Second sister?"

"In this world, how many women can tolerate their husbands loving another woman even if that woman has already got married and been a mother?" Qiu Baozhu didn't want to chat, but said straightforwardly and directly.

Qiu Yelan was stunned for a long time before asking uncertainly, "Xing… Xingkang Grand Princess?"

So, Princess Ruan was the one Kuang Shihan really loved? He loved her so much that his wife got jealous and intended to kill her rival in love even if she was thousands of miles away? Judging from the relationship between the poison Youmianxiang and Empress Dowager Gu, it was not impossible.

But the problem was, "How did you know about it, second sister?"

This thing was a great shock to Qiu Yelan, while Qiu Baozhu's answer made her more stunned, "Except Aunt Ruan, who else could tell me such a secret thing?"

She didn't intend to whet her appetite but explained directly, "Although Aunt Ruan never had a thing for Kuang Shihan, and she even wanted to kill him in person to avenge uncle if she could, she felt embarrassed to tell you that."

She glanced at Su He again, "She told me that instead of the people around her not because she didn't trust them, but because they were not free. She was afraid that if they knew about this, they would do something inappropriate when in danger!"

Qiu Yelan's face changed, and then she said in a deep voice, "Second sister, please tell me more carefully!"

She didn't remember that Princess Ruan had associated with Qiu Baozhu before, so why did she tell her such a secret thing which even her closest maid didn't know?

No matter how she thought about it, it seemed weird.

However, Qiu Baozhu's explanation made sense, "Not long after Aunt Ruan discovered she was poisoned, she guessed the murderer. But you also know that… Even now, it's not that easy for you to avenge your mother! And Aunt Ruan was very worried that you would also be murdered. At that time, I just got married."

Although Qiu Baozhu was Qiu Mengmin's biological daughter and the only legitimate daughter, Qiu Mengmin and Lu always preferred boys to girls. So obviously it was difficult for her to be close to her biological father and grandmother. Her mother, Li, died under the persecution of Qiu Mengmin and Lu, and she herself was bullied by Princess Yang all the time.

It could be said that although she was the Commandery Princess in Prince's Mansion of Xihe, she was also a potential enemy of the Prince's Mansion.

However, because she was suppressed by Princess Yang, she had no chance to marry into a noble family, and her husband's family was so mediocre. She would be relieved if she was not troubled by Princess Yang, so how could she intend to take revenge?

While Princess Ruan noticed her experience, "Before I got married, Aunt Ruan found an opportunity to meet me and told me about it. She gave me a bracelet as a token."

"The token is used for what?" Qiu Yelan squinted.

Qiu Baozhu said calmly, "Once you encounter something you can't handle, I will ask someone to send it to the west to find Kuang Shihan."

She continued after pausing for a while, "That bracelet was not Aunt Ruan's. After uncle died, Kuang Shihan gave it to Aunt Ruan secretly. He promised that if she had trouble, she could send someone to find him with the bracelet. Aunt Ruan didn't want it at first, but she kept it finally for you. Four years ago, during the avalanche of Mount Dizi, I sold a few pieces of jewellery for money. If you had been back two days later, it would have been sent away."

Hearing this, Su He finally understood Qiu Baozhu's words that Princess Ruan told her, a niece she didn't know very well, about this instead of her close maids not because she didn't trust them.

She was just worried that the servants would rush to contact Kuang Shihan after they knew it… Even if after Princess Ruan died, Xingkang Grand Princess did not care about the Prince's Mansion of Xihe anymore, it could still be found out by the informers of Lu, Aunt Qiu, and Princess Yang.

What would be Qiu Yelan's end then? Kuang Shihan was paramount and powerful, but Xingkang Grand Princess, the biological daughter of Empress Dowager Gu, deserved the ingratiation more.

While Qiu Baozhu.

If she hadn't come here to lay the cards on the table, who could have imagined that Princess Ruan had left a way out? After all, no matter how she was suppressed by Princess Yang, she was the Commandery Princess. What was more, she had been married and become the master in her own house, so it was easy for her to get a loyal follower or send a letter.

She could not only do that but also do that safely.

"Princess Ruan…" Qiu Yelan suddenly thought of Madame Tao Junior. These two women were both smart and ill-fated, and they were both victimized by the third woman. Was it that too smart people always had bad endings?

Seeing her in a daze, Su He, who had already burst into tears, thought she was too sad. Su He sniffed and pulled her sleeves cautiously, "Madame? Madame?"

"I'm fine!" Qiu Yelan just felt so upset suddenly. After being pulled by Su He twice, she recovered. She settled and continued to talk with Qiu Baozhu, "Second sister, you've never come to me in so many years. Since you suddenly come to me today, is there any other reason?"

Qiu Baozhu nodded, "Because when Aunt Ruan gave this bracelet to me…" she took out a purple jade bracelet from her sleeve and said lightly, "She also promised that when my people find Kuang Shihan, I can do a thing I want to do in the name of her!"

"A dutiful daughter is obliged to pay her mother's debts, right?" Qiu Yelan nodded, "I understand. I'm not Kuang Shihan, but since you told me who killed my mother, I will do anything you want me to do as long as I can."

"My husband is honest and I've already had a boy and a girl. This is just my life. I don't have anything to do for myself." Qiu Baozhu's indifferent expression finally changed. She smiled sadly and put the purple jade bracelet on the table beside the hand of Qiu Yelan, saying lightly, "But I can't forget the love and care from my mother!"