Chapter 199 - Are You Familiar with Him?
Chapter 199 Are You Familiar with Him?
It was not until the next day that most of the families were reunited.
Empress Jiang was relieved that Princess Yongfu was arguing with Ou Bicheng in the garden when the earthquake occurred. Although Ou Bicheng was not very good at martial arts, his alertness and reaction speed were far beyond that of ordinary people since he had stayed in the north and received training from the surprise attacks by the enemy in recent years!
Immediately after the earthquake happened, he hugged Princess Yongfu and rolled into the flowerbed!
According to the description of the surviving servants and maids, almost at the same time when Princess Yongfu was screaming and trying to push Ou Bicheng away, a rockery smashed into the place where they stood before!
Jiang Yashuang returned to the palace with people before the news of Princess Yongfu’s safety was reported to the Empress. After learning about the injuries of his own family, he was immediately ordered by the Empress, who was worried about Princess Yongfu and had no time to do anything else, to take charge of part of the rescue.
The Empress and Madame Tao felt relieved after Princess Yongfu was sent back by Ou Bicheng. The only one they were worried about now was Jiang Qizheng.
But late that night, Princess Chunfu was also sent back to the residence of the Jiang Family by Qiu Yelan. “My maid happened to see her falling into the water, so I helped her out. As it was close to the Green Villa, I asked her to go to the villa and change clothes. I had asked her to stay there for one night, but she was concerned about all of you, so I sent her over.”
Since Madame Tao was staying in the palace to accompany Empress Jiang, Madame Dou was in charge of the family at the moment.
She sent Qiu Yelan away gratefully, took Jiang Qizheng in her arms, comforted her while entering the house, and called the maids to come and help. When they walked into the courtyard, she saw that Jiang Qizheng was holding a leather bag in her hand. It was roughly made, not like something from a rich family. Moreover, it was embroidered with the word “Feng”.
Madame Dou was stunned for a moment and asked subconsciously, “Zheng’er, what’s this…?
Jiang Qizheng was rescued by Qiu Feng, but he left her behind.
Until the evening, realizing that he had been searching in the wrong direction, Qiu Feng turned back and found that she had only moved a few steps. She was still squatting in the woods, crying. He stopped to ask, only to learn that the princess was afraid of insects, snakes, spiders and mosquitoes. She didn’t know the way back… Anyway, if she had been left to go back to the palace alone, it might take her a whole month!
Qiu Feng, who was dumbfounded, had to take her with him. Then they came near the palace and the Jiang Family’s residence. Jiang Qizheng looked at the mess of her clothes and didn’t have the courage to go back like this. She had fallen into the water in front of others and everyone knew that she couldn’t swim. She had to find an explanation for her return.
Seeing this, Qiu Feng simply took her to the Green Villa and found Qiu Jinglan and Qiu Yelan. The credit was offered to the brother and sister.
Jiang Qizheng didn’t even realize that the leather bag that Qiu Feng had given her was still in her hand!
She even hid it secretly while bathing and changing clothes in the Green Villa…
Now it was found by Madame Dou. Jiang Qizheng was startled and said hurriedly, “I grabbed it at the Green Villa… I didn’t realize I took it home. I’ll send it back tomorrow.”
Madame Dou was relieved. “Poor girl, you were frightened… Now you are home and there’s nothing to be afraid.” She stretched out her hand to get it. “I’ll keep it for you and send it back by the way when I send someone to say thanks tomorrow.”
“No!” Jiang Qizheng pulled back subconsciously. She was embarrassed to see Madame Dou’s hands freeze there and said hurriedly, “I think… I want to go to the Green Villa tomorrow to give thanks and return it by myself.”
Madame Dou didn’t think much about it because the girl had always been well-behaved. She narrowly escaped death this time and it was understandable that she acted a bit strange. She agreed and said, “I will prepare the gift for you. Just have a good sleep.”
“Thank you, auntie!” Jiang Qizheng breathed a sigh of relief. She held the bag tightly but felt a little hot behind her ears…
The next morning, when Jiang Qizheng got up, the maid came to tell her that she was asked to go into the palace to see the Empress and Madame Tao. So, after grooming, she went to the palace. She was pulled into the arms and almost touched from head to feet by the aunt and grandmother. Having confirmed that everything was fine, both the Empress and Madame Tao shed tears. “It’s lucky that you are okay. Or what is to become of us!”
Jiang Qizheng was so moved when she saw this. She knelt down and cried, “I am not filial to make you worry about me like this!”
“No one had expected the earthquake. How could we blame you?” Empress Jiang stretched out her hand to help her get up and sighed, “What were the people at the Royal Observatory doing? Before the banquet yesterday, Fubing and the girl from the Cheng Family had found something unusual. But the two girls didn’t know what was happening and were afraid that they would ruin the Emperor’s birthday, so they didn’t tell it to anybody. They didn’t understand. Didn’t the people at the Royal Observatory know what was to happen? They are good for nothing…”
Madame Tao wiped her eyes and said, “Let’s not talk about this. Some people are not found yet. And those who were injured… Especially the old Princess of Puyang, who was so old, had her leg broken this time. She needs to be sent down the mountain for treatment. But who knows whether the earthquake will come again or not? It would be terrible if it happens on the way.”
Jiang Qizheng asked in surprise, “The old Princess of Puyang had her leg broken? But she didn’t come to the banquet.”
“It was because she hadn’t come to the palace that she was injured! The main hall of the palace is okay! The old Princess is thrifty. For so many years, there had never been an earthquake in Mount Dizi. The main house of the Xiao Family had not been repaired for several years. It collapsed this time.” Madame Tao sighed, “Xiao Su and Princess Puyang were also buried inside, and the three of them were only rescued when Xiao Mu rushed back with others and dug them out of the rubble!”
Xiao Mu was Xiao Su’s half-brother. Unlike Xiao Su, who was delicate in health, Xiao Mu was physically strong and liked to play with weapons since he was a child. He wanted to go to the frontier when he was young. But his father, the former Duke of Puyang, died young, leaving only two sons. The new Duke of Puyang was sick and weak. The family could only count on Xiao Mu. How could old Princess Qin and old Princess Chu let him go to the army?
Who could have thought this would save the whole family? If it had not been for Xiao Mu this time, the three members of the family who had been buried under the rubble would have been killed as the servants were like headless flies. Now only the old Princess was in a critical condition. It was not the worst.
Old Princess Qin had a good reputation and was popular among the noble ladies in Jing City. Empress Jiang, who had a good impression of her, sighed, “The old Princess is senior in age. I’m afraid that even if she is sent back to Jing City now, it might be…”
She frowned and cursed lightly, “Who could have thought old Princess Qin would have such a misfortune! Why is that one okay? It was said that the whole rosewood screen was smashed down yesterday, but she only fainted for a while and then woke up. The doctor said there was nothing serious… If I had known it, I should have replaced the screen with a whole piece of marble for her!”
Old Madame Tao smiled bitterly and said, “What are you saying in front of the child?” Of course, the one whom the Empress cursed was Empress Dowager Gu.
Empress Jiang was a little awkward when she was reminded by her mother. At this time Jiang Qizheng said goodbye to them. “I was rescued by Princess Ningyi yesterday, so I should go to the Green Villa today to give thanks.”
“Take care on the road. Try to stay in an open place.” Empress Jiang warned, “Although nothing else has happened since the earthquake yesterday, no one can tell it. So be careful.”
Jiang Qizheng said yes and left.
When she came to the backyard of the Green Villa where the brother and sister temporarily lived, she found that several large and small tents had been set up there. Obviously, they had spent the night in tents.
Seeing her coming, the servant hurried in to report.
After a while, Qiu Yelan came out to greet her. “Why are you coming in person?”
“I’m fine. Thank you for your help yesterday…” Jiang Qizheng said. She looked around the tents. There was disappointment in her eyes.
Qiu Yelan understood and whispered, “Master Qiu is in the tent on the southeast corner.”
Jiang Qizheng’s cheeks flushed involuntarily. She forced herself to calm down and pulled her to one side, saying, “It’s not convenient for me to see him. Please convey my gratitude.”
“Okay.” Qiu Yelan promised gladly and laughed again, “Actually, he doesn’t care.”
“Are you familiar with him?” Jiang Qizheng couldn’t help asking.
“My brother is familiar with him. But I’ve seen him a few times.” Qiu Yelan would not admit that she was familiar with an unrelated adult man in front of her would-be sister. She said calmly, “My brother said he was a real knight-errant, and I heard from Brother Ling that he saved several people yesterday.”
Hearing this, Jiang Qizheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then laughed, “What am I nervous about? I was saved by him… Although he was trying to save me, he also took advantage of me!”
After hesitating, she took out the leather bag. “He… He gave it to me yesterday. Please return it to him for me.”
Qiu Yelan accepted it and asked about the safety of her family. Jiang Qizheng said, “Grandfather and grandmother have some minor injuries, but there’s nothing serious. Fortunately, no one else was injured… I was just called over to the palace by my aunt. I heard that not many people were injured this time, but the old Princess of Puyang had her leg broken, and it is serious.”
“This is too…” Qiu Yelan had never met the old lady. She just made some remarks of cliches when she heard the news. Jiang Qizheng said goodbye and left when they had no more topic to talk about.
She glanced at the southeast corner again as she was leaving. She couldn’t help but sigh again when she saw nobody…
Qiu Yelan didn’t take notice of her mind. Even if she did, she would pretend not to have noticed it. After all, there was a big gap between Qiu Feng and Jiang Qizheng. It was impossible for them to marry each other except for some special reason. Qiu Yelan would not ask for such trouble.
After sending away Jiang Qizheng, she returned to the tent and continued to comfort Xue Nongqing. Xue Nongying was badly injured and soaked in water for a long time. Although he was still alive, God knew whether he could recover or not. Qiu Jinglan notified his family as soon as possible.
However, because Xue Nongying was obviously assassinated before or during the earthquake, his family was shocked when they learned the news. After an urgent discussion, they decided to hide Xue Nongying for the moment so that he would not be murdered again.
After all, the whole mountain was in a panic because of the earthquake, and they did not have any particularly powerful guards, so they were not sure that they could protect Xue Nongying.
Moreover, there was no doctor in the Xue Family now, so they simply left Xue Nongying with Qiu Jinglan, who could ask Qi Shuluo to make prescriptions. Of course, he didn’t tell Qi Shuluo the truth. Who knew whether it was the Jiang Family that planned the assassination?
The Xue Family believed that they were friendly and kind to others and were neutral in politics. However, their most valued junior was assassinated and dying. The family had directly turned from “What enemies can we have” to “No one in the court is trustworthy”. Now they could only trust Qiu Jinglan.
“Sister Qiu, will my brother be okay?” Xue Nongying was temporarily placed here. The rest of the family dared not come over for fear of revealing the secret. The young girl Xue Nongqing, who was well-known for being naive in the noble circle, was put to use. She was called over to visit her brother and pass on messages.
However, Miss Nongqing fainted when she saw the injury in her brother’s chest. After being revived, she held Qiu Yelan in her arms and cried until now!
Qiu Yelan didn’t feel annoyed by her. She knew how she felt now. If it were Qiu Jinglan who had been assassinated, she wouldn’t be much better. Xue Nongying and Xue Nongqing were affectionate to each other. It was normal for one to forget him/herself when the other was met with a misfortune.
So even though Xue Nongqing had asked the same question dozens of times, she immediately said in a firm tone, “Don’t worry! He will definitely get better!”
Unexpectedly, Dongran hurried in and said with a solemn expression, “Your Grace, Miss Xue, Mr. Xue has vomited blood! The master has sent for Dr. Qi. But it is best to go down the mountain immediately, for the herbs here are not complete, and now we can’t live in the house. It’s really bad if things remain to be like this!”
Xue Nongqing was stunned and fell down toward Qiu Yelan.