Chapter 7 Cousin of the Ruan Family
“Ah, where’s the cat from?” In the next morning, Mrs. Zhou braced herself up and came in to serve Qiu Yelan’s grooming. But she found that there was a snow-white cat on Qiu Yelan’s quilt.
The cat had long hairs and short ears, looking like a lion. The most attractive part was its eyes, which were round and big, bright and dazzling. One was blue, and the other was yellow. The cat was so beautiful when it looked around.
As a person who didn’t like cats so much, Mrs. Zhou was also attracted while seeing it. She reached out and petted its soft and luxuriant hairs, and then she held it to the ground, “Don’t scratch my Commandery Princess!”
“I don’t know where it came from. It ran to my bed last night. I saw that it didn’t hurt me, so I just let it go.” Qiu Yelan tried to suppress her good mood. In fact, the cat was left by the boy yesterday.
Being worried that Mrs. Zhou and Su He would block him again, the boy had no time to say other words. But he told Qiu Yelan that the cat was his beloved pet, and he would send someone to ask for it. And at that time, he would repay her publicly as compensation.
“Even if he is not a member of the Jiang Family, he certainly doesn’t live far away. Otherwise, how would his cat come over?” Qiu Yelan thought to herself, “Being able to live next to the Prince’s Mansion and daring to come here just for a cat, his family should have some power. In this way, Princess Yang and Aunt Qiu will be more afraid to deal with me.”
Thinking of this, Qiu Yelan told Mrs. Zhou, “Feed it in a moment.”
Mrs. Zhou nodded, but then she said, “But I’d better take it out later. All in all, we didn’t raise it before. Just in case it may bite someone.”
Su He came in, carrying a food box full of her effort. She said excitedly, “Your Grace, your cousin is here! He is visiting Princess Yang at this moment.”
After feeling excited, Su He pouted, “The people in the kitchen said that the young master comes with a big gift today! It will benefit Princess Yang again!”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Mrs. Zhou stopped her hurriedly and looked at Qiu Yelan who smiled silently, and then she sighed, “If the young master did not bring a great gift, how could he be able to meet our Commandery Princess?”
Qiu Yelan thought about it and asked, “I can’t get up now. While this… cousin is here, how should I meet him?”
“You are only twelve years old, and your cousin is not an outsider.” Mrs. Zhou said, “Of course, you should let him come in and meet him. If you feel it improper, you can just put down the thin curtain by the bed.”
Qiu Yelan breathed a sigh of relief, “It seems that the limitation of communications between boys and girls here is relatively weak…” In her memory, the only cousin that the original owner of this body saw before was Kang Jinzhang, a disgusting pedophile. She had few impressions of the limitation between men and women in this world. To avoid making mistakes, Qiu Yelan had to ask about it by herself.
After a while, Princess Yang surely let Xiuyan send Ruan Qingyan over.
Ruan Qingyan was handsome. He had nice eyebrows and light eyes, and his complexion was as pale as a woman. He was tall and stood straight, with a beautiful appearance.
He was in a mourning dress and looked very quiet. But it seemed the slight sorrow between his eyebrows was hard to remove. Undoubtedly, this sorrow could easily arouse the attention and curiosity of others, especially young women.
Even Xiuyan, the trusted maid of Princess Yang, couldn’t help looking at him before she left.
Since it was the first time they met, as usual, they greeted each other politely.
After that, Ruan Qingyan made a straightforward proposal to talk to Qiu Yelan alone.
Probably because he had attended the funeral of Princess Ruan before, Mrs. Zhou and Su He did not take a wary eye on him. After asking Qiu Yelan formally, they went out together.
“Cou…cousin, are you okay now?” Ruan Qingyan couldn’t see Qiu Yelan clearly outside the thin curtain. But Qiu Yelan could see him clearly. Ruan Qingyan, her cousin that showed up suddenly, was looking at her straightly, with a complex expression beyond description.
Qiu Yelan pondered for a moment before she cautiously said, “I’m fine.”
“I heard Princess Yang say that you were beaten by Qiu Yuqing yesterday?” Ruan Qingyan was obviously worried, “How is your injury?”
“My cousin Kang Jinzhang was unfortunately dead in the avalanche.” Qiu Yelan considered her words carefully, “Aunt Qiu was overly sad and she let off steam on me yesterday… But no one can help it. Fortunately… I was let off in time. I think I will recover after resting for a few days.”
Ruan Qingyan listened silently. The look in his eyes was gloomy and showed infinite compassion, “Did they send for a doctor for you?”
“Yes, otherwise, how would I have taken medicine?” Qiu Yelan saw that he did care about her. After thinking, she sobbed in a low voice suddenly, “But…”
Sure enough, when Ruan Qingyan heard her cry, his face changed slightly, and his body leaned forward. He asked hurriedly, “What?”
“But last night, both Aunt Yang and Aunt Qiu sent someone over to ask me for the dowry of my grandma and my mother. But I even don’t know about the dowry list, and how can I give them?” Seemly sad and scared, Qiu Yelan bent her head, “I don’t know what to do now. Cousin, have… have you heard the whereabouts of the list of two dowries in grandfather’s house?”
Anger flashed in Ruan Qingyan’s eyes. He pressed it for a moment before he said, “I don’t know. But don’t worry! A few days ago, the Empress Dowager killed four trusted maids. Then, to upset the Empress Dowager, the Empress gathered the peeresses and asked them not to abuse the children and subordinates, which insinuated the Empress Dowager’s behavior! It just happened a few days ago, and Qiu Family will not dare to make you have an accident these days!”
He got a breathing space and lowered his voice, “It’s almost New Year’s Day. After that, I will take the imperial exam held in spring, and I am almost sure of it that I will pass the exam! As far as I know, the chief examiner will be Xue Chang, the elder statesman of this country. He has a high status and is impartial in the fight for power between the Empress Dowager and the Empress. No one dares to neglect him! At that time, no matter where my position is on the list, I will have the name of being a student of him. And then it will be easier for me to make an excuse and take you to live with the Ruan Family and accompany grandfather!”
Hearing the two pieces of news, Qiu Yelan felt a bit relieved, “It seems that he is really concerned about me. He didn’t say the perfunctory words and pay lip service to me. He has a plan… It’s strange. We are so-called cousins that have no biological relations, and we haven’t met each other before. Isn’t he too attentive to me?”
While she was suspicious, suddenly a noise came from outside. Su He yelled angrily, “Obviously, the cat was first picked up by my Commandery Princess. How could it be that it was picked up by Lady Lizhang?!”
Both Ruan Qingyan and Qiu Yelan were stunned. Ruan Qingyan subconsciously asked, “What did you pick up?”
In the bed-curtain, Qiu Yelan’s face turned dark!
After a long while, she said lightly, “Just a Persian cat.”
There was no need to go out and ask. She knew that the boy did fulfill his promise last night and send someone to ask for the cat. Prince’s Mansion didn’t neglect him and did hand over the cat.
But it had nothing to do with Qiu Yelan. It was Aunt Qiu’s daughter, Kang Lizhang, who accepted the thanks.
“If it does not belong to you, it will never be yours!” Qiu Yelan bit her lip and sneered in her heart, “Do you think I can only swallow the bitter pill in silence?!”