Chapter 182 Snowfall
Before he could vent his anger, Yongqing Bo also witnessed his granddaughter's selfish and wicked true colors. He was so shocked that he felt a tightness in his chest and his stomach churned, and he vomited.
The grandchildren dared not cover their mouths, holding their breath and staring blankly at their undignified grandfather.
The old lady said sternly, "Help the old man back to his room!"
Two strong female servants came in and took Yongqing away. The mess on the ground was cleaned up by the maids, who endured the disgust.
The old lady couldn't eat anymore. With a dark face, she dismissed her grandchildren, leaving only Qiuheng in the inner room.
"grandmother."
The old lady looked at Qiu Heng for a while, then sighed: "Just listen to what your grandfather said and let it go. You don't need to feel burdened by it."
Qiu Heng's eyes flickered slightly.
Everyone in the household knows that the old lady favors Qiusong, and after Yongqing Earl's outburst today, they thought the old lady would blame her.
Of course, she wasn't afraid of being blamed, but she was somewhat surprised by the old lady's attitude.
"Ah Heng," the old lady said, her gaze complex as she looked at the young girl before her.
She'll only be sixteen after the New Year, how come she has so many ideas?
"Grandmother never imagined that you would ask the Emperor for this position of county princess. Aren't you afraid of angering the Emperor?"
Thunder and rain are both the emperor's grace; can the emperor choose his rewards?
"It seems that His Majesty truly intends to reward me, which is why I dare to make my request."
The old lady still found it unbelievable: "How could you have thought of yourself?"
Qiu Heng tilted her head slightly: "Shouldn't you think about yourself?"
"It's not that I shouldn't have..."
A normal woman would be overjoyed to hear that the emperor would reward her family with a noble title that would be passed down to future generations; she wouldn't think of anything else.
Oh, this girl isn't normal; she grew up in the countryside.
The old lady was filled with emotion, and waved her hand, saying, "Go back and rest."
"Granddaughter takes her leave." Qiu Heng curtsied, took a few steps, then turned back. "Is Grandmother also angry with me?"
She could have chosen not to ask, but having spent so much time with the old lady, she began to have expectations.
The old lady remained silent for a long while, then sighed, "If you were to abandon the continuation of the Earl's family for three generations and only care about yourself, your grandmother would indeed be angry. But now—"
The old lady turned her gaze to the window.
The windows were covered with gauze, making everything blurry, much like the longing some people in the Yongqing Earl's Mansion had for the inheritance of the title.
"What good is passing it down through generations? It will only end with your uncle. By then, you'll be unwilling to accept it, unwilling to give up, and struggling in vain."
The most terrifying thing is turning people into ghosts, and relatives no longer being relatives.
Her husband was like this, and her eldest son could tell he was too; she'd had enough.
“Officials in the Great Xia Dynasty receive generous salaries. Without the luxuries of inheriting titles, focusing on their studies might offer them a better future.” The old lady smiled. “Go then.”
"Granddaughter takes her leave." Qiu Heng walked away with light steps.
Qiu Xuan did not return to her room, but went to the Second Madam Lan's place.
"Has Xuan'er had dinner yet?" Looking at her daughter who will be married next year, Madam Lan couldn't get enough of looking at her.
"I ate half of what I had at my grandmother's house when my grandfather arrived..." Qiu Xuan recounted what had happened at Qian Song Tang.
Lan's lips curled up as she heard this: "No wonder your grandfather was so angry."
"Mother—" Qiu Xuan said, clinging to Lan Shi's arm, "I'm still shocked. If I were facing the Emperor and he were to say he would reward the family, I would be overjoyed and wouldn't think of anything else..."
They never even reach the point of having to choose between themselves and their family.
Madam Lan stroked her daughter's hair: "Xuan'er, you are about to get married and become a wife and mother. But you will always be your mother's daughter. I have a selfish wish: I hope that you can be like your sixth sister and think more about yourself without hurting others."
The sixth girl must have been well cared for by her adoptive parents.
Qiu Xuan nodded gently: "Mother, I understand."
On her way back, Qiu Fu reminded Qiu Yun and Qiu Ying, "Don't tell Father and Mother about what happened today."
If they find out, they'll definitely hold a grudge against Sixth Sister.
Qiu Yun hesitated and said, "Even if we don't tell, Third Brother will probably tell us anyway."
"Anyway, let's not say anything." Qiu Fu knew she couldn't control Qiu Song, so she couldn't help but feel discouraged.
After the three sisters parted ways, Qiu Yun thought it over and over again, and then secretly went to see the eldest wife, Zhao Shi.
Her father and mother would find out sooner or later, so she might as well tell her stepmother first, in order to gain some of her stepmother's favor.
The eldest sister is in the palace and has a cold relationship with her stepmother, while the fourth sister has also fallen out with her stepmother. A mother always needs a well-behaved and obedient daughter.
"I have met my mother."
Madam Zhao asked calmly, "Didn't you already pay your respects? Why are you here at this time?"
He was already in a bad mood, and seeing the illegitimate daughter only made it worse.
"We just had dinner at Grandma's, and Grandpa went over..."
After hearing Qiu Yun's words, Madam Zhao's face turned ashen. She barely managed to remain calm, rewarded Qiu Yun with a piece of jewelry, and dismissed her. She then sent someone to invite Master Qiu.
When Master Qiu arrived, he asked, "What's wrong? Did Father and Mother start fighting again?"
He never imagined that, at an age when he could be a grandfather, his parents would start fighting, the kind of fighting that involves physical violence.
"That shouldn't be the case. Today, Heng'er was bestowed the title of County Princess, so Father and Mother should be in a good mood."
Madam Zhao sneered: "Heng'er, indeed! I heard that His Majesty originally intended to reward our Earl's family with a title that would be passed down for another generation, but Qiu Heng was not happy about it and wanted His Majesty to reward her herself, so she was made a county princess."
Master Qiu's expression changed drastically: "Really?"
"The old man went to Qiansong Hall specifically for this, and Qiuheng admitted it herself..." Zhao told Qiuyun's story.
"How dare Qiu Heng!" Master Qiu paced back and forth in the room, furious.
Zhao felt like she was about to vomit blood, and her tone was harsh: "When Qiuheng was promising, Master always said that our eldest son's family would ultimately benefit, but what happened?"
"Don't make such sarcastic remarks at a time like this!" Master Qiu said angrily.
"What can the master do? Go and beat up Qiu Heng? She's a county princess now. If we really want to settle things, we should all bow to her."
Master Qiu sat down in the chair and angrily pounded his chest.
Regardless of the feelings of the people in the Yongqing Marquis's Mansion, as the news of Qiuheng being conferred the title of County Princess spread, invitations to a small gathering for her came in like snowflakes.
The first place Qiu Heng wanted to go was the Kang Prince's Mansion.
Because of her relationship with the adopted daughter of the Princess Consort of Kang, out of courtesy, the old lady immediately sent someone to the Kang Prince's residence to deliver the message.
It snowed the day I went out.
Snowflakes, like cotton wool, fluttered down from the sky, gradually piling up on the ground like an endless silver carpet.
“Grandmother, I’ll go to the Prince Kang’s residence by myself. The roads are slippery in the snow.”
“Your grandmother isn’t too old to move.” The old lady glanced at Bai Qiuheng and strode toward the carriage parked at the second gate.
Qiu Heng shook her head helplessly and hurriedly followed to help the old lady.
At the Prince Kang's residence, Feng Caiyue and her sister also came with their mother, Lady Changchun. Upon hearing that Qiu Heng had arrived, they all ran out.
Lady Changchun was both amused and exasperated: "It's one thing for Caixing to be so unruly, but Caiyue is usually quite composed. I don't know why she suddenly became so impulsive."
Princess Kang smiled.
She knew all too well that it would be abnormal for her adopted daughter, who was younger than her, to get involved with such a thing.
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