Qin Shu frowned and insisted on following them on a horse, but his horse couldn’t catch up with the ferghana horse that Fulu brought from Chang’an.
At an intersection, he was stopped by Prince Huai. Prince Huai said to Qin Shu on his horse. “Qin Shu, I’m afraid it’s going to rain heavily tonight. You’d better guard here!”
Qin Shu cupped his hands and said, “Your Highness, my wife is being hunted down…”
“Isn’t your wife’s death a good thing for your Qin family?” Prince Huai ordered his men to leave and said to Qin Shu, “If Qiao Ruoyun dies in the South, who would care?
“She is not a child of Duke Anyuan. Although Qiao Jinniang doesn’t seem to mind, how could she not hate this fake sister who stole her life?!
“If she dies, you can justifiably marry a real noble girl instead of a slave-born woman. How can you tolerate the descendants of your family have the blood of a slave?!”
Qin Shu said with red eyes. “Prince Huai! Ruoyun is my wife.”
Prince Huai sneered and said, “Stop pretending, okay? Qin Shu, you are a man, and what you have to take care of is the Duke Qin Mansion. If you really don’t look down on Qiao Ruoyun, why did you turn a blind eye to what your grandmother did to her?”
Qin Shu said, “If anything happens to Qiao Ruoyun, Duke Anyuan will not let it go.”
Prince Huai chuckled. “But they have no evidence. The South is so far away from Chang’an. Those people are outlaws who never hesitate to kill for money. Just kill them after they finish their job.”
Qin Shu clenched the reins.
Prince Huai continued. “The most important thing for a man is their career. Your fourth sister is already pregnant. I think you don’t want to be suppressed by Duke Anyuan for the rest of your life, right? And you certainly don’t want your descendants to have a slave’s blood, right?”
Qin Shu’s eyes were blood-shot. He didn’t want to kill Qiao Ruoyun, but he knew it very well that for the sake of the future of the Duke Qin Mansion, he needed a better wife.
Qiao Ruoyun was unworthy of being his wife.
After the Crown Prince married Qiao Jinniang, he was almost deserted by his followers. He broke apart with Duke Wu, made his teacher retire and return to his hometown, and had offended countless people.
How many people in the East Palace were still loyal to the Crown Prince now?
If the Crown Prince had married a real noble lady in Chang’an instead of that vulgar and unvirtuous Qiao Jinniang, how could he be in this trouble?
Qiao Jinniang pushed all the noble girls to Prince Huai, making Prince Huai’s power soar!
Originally, his fourth sister, Zhou Sisi and Li Lingling, all fell for the Crown Prince, and marrying them would definitely make the East Palace even more powerful.
How could Prince Huai have a chance in that case?
However, as that vulgar woman, Qiao Jinniang, didn’t allow any other women to marry into the East Palace, the officials in the East Palace kept decreasing while Prince Huai had more and more supporters and powerful in-laws.
Besides, what Prince Huai said was right. He was restricted by Duke Anyuan everywhere. Would he have to be subservient to Qiao Ruoyun for the rest of his life?
How could he let Qiao Ruoyun destroy the Duke Qin Mansion like what Qiao Jinniang did to the East Palace?
Qin Shu clenched his hand hard and said in his heart, Ruoyun, I’m sorry.
If Ruoyun didn’t die, Prince Huai probably wouldn’t trust his loyalty…
Qin Shu didn’t sleep all night, and his eyes were all bloodshot.
…
When it was dawn, Qian Yin went to the courtyard where Qiao Ruoyun was sleeping. Looking at the beauty under the lamp, he found that she looked so quiet and beautiful when she was sleeping with her eyes closed.
She shouldn’t be Qin Xiangxiang. Xiangxiang was lively and extroverted and even if she was sleeping, she wouldn’t look so quiet and gentle. Besides, a person’s appearance wouldn’t change so much in ten years.
“Ah Shu, Ah Shu!”
Qiao Ruoyun seemed to be dreaming of something. In her sleep, she frowned, reached out, seemingly trying to grab something, and when she grabbed Qian Yin’s hand, she held it and rubbed her cheek against it gently. “Ah Shu.”
For some reason, Qian Yin didn’t take his hand back.
“Master, I’ve checked the pulse of this girl. She has no health problems but she should have had a miscarriage not long ago. Moreover, she has been taking a drug that will not only not help her get pregnant but make her depressed instead.
“However, many women in Chang’an drink this medicine because they believe it can help them get pregnant. It’s regarded as a magic medicine in Chang’an.
“This girl is also very frail. She really shouldn’t be drinking that drug any more. I think she’s been in a coma because she has a bad cold after getting wet in the rain.”
Qian Yin frowned, gently pulled out the hand tightly held by Qiao Ruoyun, got up and left.
When Qiao Ruoyun slowly woke up, her eyes were full of horror. What she saw was blood and raging fire.
“Girl, you’re finally awake, it just so happens that our master came to see you just now. Let me tell him you’re awake.”
Qiao Ruoyun coughed, and soon, she saw a man in purple come over.
She looked at the face of the man in purple and lowered her head shyly. The man in purple seemed to be in his thirties, looking handsome and majestic. He was obviously a man of power.
Qian Yin said, “Who are you?”
Qiao Ruoyun remembered that yesterday the guard asked her to pretend to be Fulu, but this man saved her life. How could she lie to him, so she said honestly, “I am the wife of the Young Master of Duke Qin Mansion.”
Qian Yin stared at the woman’s eyes and said, “Why do you have Xiangxiang’s jade pendant?”
“Xiangxiang?” Qiao Ruoyun was unfamiliar with this name.
Qian Yin said, “Princess Fulu.”
Qiao Ruoyun took a tumble and explained, “The princess gave me her jade pendant in order to save me. Thank you for saving me yesterday. When I return to Chang’an, I will definitely repay you.”
Qian Yin smiled. “Those bandits have confessed that someone had paid them to kill you. If they killed you, they would receive 1,000 taels of silver. Do you think you can return to Chang’an safe and sound?”
Qiao Ruoyun was a little flustered but still said, “My husband is a general who came to the South to escort the imperial envoy. He has soldiers under his command…”
Qian Yin said, “Take a rest first. By the way, my doctor examined you and said that your body is fine, but taking that poisonous medicine will only ruin your health. Don’t eat it anymore.”
Qiao Ruoyun said, “Thank you for your grace. Sorry for troubling you. I think my husband and my younger brother should have returned to Lin’an, so I should take my leave now.”
Qiao Ruoyun struggled to get up. Seeing her unable to walk steadily, Qian Yin stretched out his hand to help her. “Be careful.”
Qiao Ruoyun looked at the big hand on her arm and was somewhat embarrassed. She saluted and took the chance to take back her arm. “Thank you, Sir.”
“Master, the young master of the Duke Anyuan Mansion is asking to see you.”
Qiao Ruoyun said to Qian Yin, “It should be my younger brother who came to find me.”
Qiao Lu and Fulu came together. Fulu raised her hand when he saw Qian Yin from afar, and said with a smile, “Uncle Qian, it has been almost ten years, but you still look so young, much younger than my father.”
Qian Yin smiled and said, “I haven’t seen you for ten years, and you have become a beautiful girl, not that little naughty Xiangxiang you used to be.”
When Qiao Lu heard him call Fulu so intimately, he hurriedly clenched Fulu’s hand, declaring his sovereignty!
