Chapter 157 The Death of Young Master Fang
Under the strict orders of the Yongqing Earl, the news of Qiu Fu's disappearance was suppressed, and it was only said that she was ill and needed to rest.
When the eldest son, Qiu Yang, returned from his holiday at the Imperial Academy, he heard that his fourth sister was ill and wanted to visit her, but he didn't see her.
When the sisters gathered together, Qiu Ying couldn't help but say, "Even our eldest brother kept it from us. If we hadn't been at Qiansong Hall that day, we probably would have been kept in the dark too."
Qiu Yun glanced at Qiu Ying but didn't say anything.
Fifth Sister's words were disrespectful to her elders. In the past, she would have tried to persuade her, but since that day's unpleasant conversation, she had given up trying.
Everyone has their own destiny; there's no need to meddle in other people's business.
"Where did Fourth Sister go?" Qiu Ying asked, both curious and worried.
Qiu Xuan glanced at Qiu Heng secretly.
She felt that her fourth sister's disappearance was likely related to her sixth sister, but she wouldn't say it aloud, much less ask her sixth sister.
But she hoped she wasn't wrong. Although the sixth sister was young, she was reliable. If the sixth sister really helped the fourth sister, the fourth sister would definitely be safe outside.
While the Qiu sisters were worried about Qiu Fu, Uncle Yongqing went to Qiansong Hall.
Faced with the old lady's cold face, the Earl of Yongqing was not as domineering as usual. He sat down in a chair, looking dejected, and poured himself a cup of tea.
The old lady had lost a lot of weight in the past few days, her face was haggard, but her eyes were much sharper. She glanced at the dazed Yongqing Earl and ignored him.
Suddenly, with a loud bang, Uncle Yongqing slammed the cup down, splashing tea out.
He stared intently at the old lady, his voice hoarse: "Do you know? Young Master Fang has passed away!"
The old lady's eyes narrowed, then she sneered: "Didn't Heng'er remind you long ago that Young Master Fang is seriously ill?"
"What good is it to remind them? The consequence of refusing is offending the Prime Minister's family. Now that the Third Young Master Fang is dead, the Prime Minister's family will definitely think that if the Fourth Young Master had gone to marry him to bring good luck, the Third Young Master Fang wouldn't have died."
"If Fourth Miss goes to marry a woman to bring good luck, and Third Young Master Fang dies, will the Prime Minister's mansion not blame them?"
Yongqingbo blurted out, "That's different."
"What's different?" The old lady quickly realized, "You mean that if we send Fourth Miss to the Prime Minister's residence, the Prime Minister's anger will only be directed at Fourth Miss, and it will have nothing to do with the Earl's residence."
The Earl of Yongqing was furious and embarrassed: "What's wrong with what I think? If the Third Young Master Fang recovers from the marriage of Fourth Sister, the Prime Minister's Mansion will definitely not treat our Earl's Mansion unfairly. Even if it doesn't work out, they won't make an example of the entire Earl's Mansion. You only know how to act on your emotions. Just wait and see!"
Not long after Yongqing Earl said those words, Master Qiu was found to have made a mistake by his superiors and lost his job.
"How was it? How was it?" Yongqingbo rushed into Qiansong Hall, almost poking his finger into the old lady's nose.
The old lady remained silent.
Two days later, another incident occurred: Yan Shan, a senior official in the Ministry of Works, was found to have problems with the construction work and was suspected of embezzling public funds and was questioned.
This time, Yongqing Bo summoned his eldest son and his wife, his second son and his wife, and his granddaughters who knew the truth to Qiansong Hall.
"The fact that Doctor Yan was punished for fabricating problems was just a pretext. In reality, the Prime Minister's family wanted his daughter to be a concubine for Young Master Fang, but Doctor Yan refused on the grounds that his daughter was already betrothed." Lord Yongqing slowly swept his gaze over the people present. "Now that Doctor Yan has been punished, his daughter will not have to go to the Prime Minister's family to be a concubine. She will probably have to go to a shady place to make a living."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Xuan and the others all lowered their heads.
The Earl of Yongqing saw this and felt a twisted sense of pleasure: "I have put in a lot of effort and considered the well-being of the Earl's family in every way, so that my family can live a peaceful life. And you, you still complain that your grandfather is not kind!"
"Father, don't be angry. The children are still young and don't understand." Old Master Qiu looked dejected, but he rallied his spirits to comfort his father.
He lost his good job and has no chance of inheriting the title. He hasn't slept well these past few days.
"If you've finished speaking, Lord, you may leave now. I'm tired," the old lady said calmly.
"Think things through more in the future. Acting impulsively is the worst thing you can do." Yongqingbo glanced at the old lady and left Qiansong Hall first.
"You can all leave now."
Stepping out of Qiansongtang, a gust of wind dissipated the warmth that had lingered inside.
It's already November.
The bare branches and leaves of the trees and shrubs came into view, creating a desolate and lonely scene.
Qiu Ying looked bewildered: "At first I thought Grandfather was cruel to Fourth Sister, but after hearing about the Yan family's fate, it seems that what Grandfather did makes some sense, but I can't quite put my finger on what's strange about it."
"What if I asked you to become a concubine for Young Master Fang?" Qiu Heng asked directly.
Qiu Ying's face turned pale.
Qiu Heng said in a calm tone: "When one person suffers misfortune, others benefit, and they will easily find that what Grandfather said makes sense."
Qiu Ying remained silent when asked the question.
Qiu Yun pursed her lips: "Well... it's better than everyone being unlucky, right..."
"Being unlucky together or being unlucky one by one makes no difference," Qiu Heng said, her tone growing even colder.
If the head of all officials is a person like Fang Xiang, and the ruler of the country is a person like Emperor Jingping, then in a few years, when the country is shattered, then we will truly be reduced to pigs and dogs.
"Sixth Sister, you're right. No matter what, it's wrong to use family members to gain benefits. We can't just look at the outcome." Qiu Ying understood.
Qiu Yun disagreed, but wisely kept quiet.
After the four sisters parted ways, Qiuheng went out alone.
The Prime Minister's residence was not far from the Yongqing Earl's residence. Qiu Heng walked all the way to the street where the Prime Minister's residence was located, and saw white banners everywhere, with mourners coming and going in an endless stream.
She stood some distance from the Prime Minister's residence, watching silently.
What a lively scene! Such a bustling place in front of the gate shows the power and influence of Fang Xiang.
"Aheng, what are you doing here?"
Qiu Heng turned her head to look at the approaching boy and softly called out his name: "Xue Han, long time no see."
It hasn't actually been that long, but these days the Earl's mansion is so lifeless that the rendezvous by Qinglian Lake feels like it happened ages ago.
"Yes, it's been a long time." Xue Han gazed at the girl in front of him.
She said that Young Master Fang was frail and sickly, and might not make it any day. Now, Young Master Fang is really dead.
"I just came out to pay my respects. Is Ah Heng here to pay her respects too?"
"I just came to see if it's lively here."
"It's too crowded and chaotic, let's go back."
Qiu Heng nodded and walked alongside Xue Han, when she heard him whisper, "The Prime Minister's residence took a woman surnamed Liu as a concubine for the Third Young Master Fang. On the seventh day after the Third Young Master Fang's death, the woman surnamed Liu committed suicide out of love..."
Qiu Heng paused in her steps.
Besides Qiu Fu and the Yan family woman, there were others as well.
"Aheng".
"Hmm?" Qiu Heng looked up at the boy who had suddenly called her name.
"It's not easy to live a quiet life behind closed doors in a place like the Prime Minister's residence."
Qiu Heng slightly twitched the corner of her mouth.
Xue Han still remembered the reason she made up to get into the Prime Minister's residence that day.
"Understood, thank you for the reminder, Lord Xue."
The boy paused in his act of reaching into his robes, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What did you call me?"
After not seeing each other for a while, does she want to return to the original distance?
"Xue Han." Qiu Heng smiled. "I'll call you Xue Han."
Perhaps, she held no less weight in Xue Han's heart than Xue Quan. Perhaps, she could have tried harder to make Xue Han lean more towards her.
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