Chapter 1 Qiu Xuan is unhappy
"Xuan Niang, my marriage to the princess was arranged by the Fourth Prince. He has obtained an imperial decree and it cannot be changed."
Jing Beian walked up to Qiuxuan, squatted down and held her hand wrapped with rosary beads.
Having been a widow for many years, eating vegetarian food and chanting scriptures every day, Qiuxuan's hands are even colder than the Bodhi beads.
Jing Beian was stunned for a moment, and Qiu Xuan took the opportunity to pull his hand away. "Princess Feifei has made remarkable achievements in the Northland. She refused the title of king and prime minister, just to marry into the Marquis's family?"
She turned her head to look at the eternal lamp she offered to Bei'an, thinking that the lamp was really magical.
The general who had been dead for three years returned, bringing back not only a wife of noble status, but also an unborn child. Good days had come for the Marquis's Mansion.
But what does this have to do with her, Qiu Xuan?
"Since the Fourth Prince is facilitating the marriage between the Marquis and the Princess, and His Majesty grants the marriage, I, the concubine, am willing to divorce the Marquis."
Qiu Xuan thought that she should not have gotten on the Marquis's car. It would be better to go to the north with her mother and sisters than to live a life like being imprisoned in the Marquis's mansion.
"Don't be so petty." Jing Beian once again grasped Qiu Xuan's hand wrapped around the rosary. "Don't worry, from now on, whatever the princess has, you will definitely have; whatever the princess doesn't have, you will definitely have too. My heart is with you."
Jing Beian's sweet words made Qiu Xuan shudder. She had entered the mansion holding the tablet, and they had never even met before today.
"It's time to cut the lamp flowers." Qiu Xuan found an excuse to break free and walked towards the shrine.
"Can I go see the princess?"
The princess would certainly be willing to help her divorce from the Marquis's Mansion. After the divorce, she could follow the caravan to the north to look for her relatives. She knew some foreign languages, so she wouldn't have to worry about finding someone to take her.
But when he heard this, Jing Beian's face darkened.
"Why do you care so much about her!" He rushed forward and grabbed Qiu Xuan's arm. "She's not a well-educated woman from the capital. There's no point in reasoning with her. Besides, she's pregnant now. If something goes wrong, she can pin the blame on you. But she's the eldest princess's adopted daughter, and she has the imperial decree to protect her. You can't fight her!"
Qiu Xuan was startled at first, then felt a sharp pain as if her arm was broken. She frowned and struggled, "Let go!"
Instead of letting go, the respectable Bei An approached and threatened, "I'm doing this for you. You've never been with her, and I've never seen a woman with such a strange temper. If you make an enemy of her, you'll be the one who gets hurt."
But I haven't even seen her, how can I become an enemy of a stranger?
Qiu Xuan was filled with anger.
The Jing family has done her and the Qiu family a favor, so she accepted the offer of marriage.
Now he is back full of energy with his wife and children, yet he treats her so rudely.
"My Lord, this is not what a gentleman does."
"Gentleman?" Upon hearing this, Jing Beian showed a smile on his face that Qiu Xuan couldn't understand.
Fortunately, he relaxed his strength. Qiu Xuan took the opportunity to push Jing Beian away. "My Lord, you are busy with official duties. Please go and rest."
"As my lady wishes, we have time to take it slow anyway."
Jing Beian walked to the door and looked back at Qiu Xuan before leaving. His smug smile made Qiu Xuan very uncomfortable.
"Madam, why didn't you keep the Marquis here?" The maid Zhemei came in from outside, holding the account book. "The Marquis really loves you and brought back a lot of beautiful cloth and jewelry. The old lady said it was all for you."
Qiu Xuan forced a smile, took the account book and flipped through it. "The Third Lady is about to get engaged, and the family is also arranging for Silang to enter the Imperial College." Qiu Xuan handed the account book to Zhe Mei. "Mother was so kind and left these things to me, and I have to share the burden of the Marquis' Mansion."
"Madam is still the best." Zhemei smiled, holding the account book. "How can the new one compare to Madam? I heard from the kitchen that she is making a fuss and refusing to eat again, insisting that the Marquis come over. Madam, do you think she is trying to win your favor?"
"Among the ornaments, are there a pair of large ruyi inlaid with red agate? It's the engagement gift for Miss Sanniang. How about putting them on the altar?" Qiu Xuan pretended not to hear Zhemei's provocation.
"You'll have to ask the old lady."
"That's as it should be." Qiu Xuan said with a smile, "Go ask tomorrow. You've been tired today, so you don't have to stand guard. Let Gan Tang come in."
Gan Tang was young and prone to sleepiness. Qiu Xuan chatted with her for a few moments before she fell into a deep sleep on the couch.
Zhemei must have gone to the old lady's courtyard, as she had come from there in the first place. She was the one who reported every little thing happening around Qiuxuan, no matter how big or small.
In the past, this was considered a good thing, at least it could deter some servants from bullying Qiu Xuan. As for whether it was a good thing now, Qiu Xuan couldn't say. The resurrected Jing Bei'an had turned the Marquisate into a mess. What had been clear to her before, she couldn't understand now.
When there was no more movement outside, Qiu Xuan got out of bed quietly, hid a small dagger in his sleeve, put on an inconspicuous coat, and climbed out through the back window.
As soon as she mentioned going to see the princess, Jing Beian became furious. He thought there must be something fishy going on and that Qiu Xuan had to see this princess.
Thanks to Gan Tang, Qiu Xuan knew every path in the mansion. She walked into a rockery, walked out from it, and arrived at the princess's door.
The courtyard door was half-open, and from inside came the noisy sounds of the old women playing with money and drinking.
Qiuxuan pushed open the door and caught the falling wooden stick, then quietly entered the yard and pushed the stick back to its original place.
It was windy tonight and several lights in the courtyard had gone out.
The old women who were in the middle of gambling had no time to stare at the lights, nor did they notice the figure passing by the door.
Everything went so smoothly that Qiu Xuan was puzzled. She thought that this princess was quite good-natured. The servants were making trouble right under her nose, but she was sitting there peacefully.
"I'm visiting you late at night, please forgive me, Princess. I'm Qiu, and I'd like to have a few words with you."
No one answered from inside, but the door was open.
Qiu Xuan pushed the door open and walked into the bedroom, only to find that the princess was not in a good mood, she just couldn't move.
If the woman in front of Qiu Xuan, sitting on the bed with her hands and feet chained, was the princess.
Qiu Xuan clenched the dagger in his hand and walked into the bedroom with his head held high.
When the woman saw her, she began to struggle, making a whimpering sound through her blocked mouth.
Qiu Xuan quickly glanced outside. It was still pitch black. The old women were fighting over gambling money, and the sound drowned out the woman's sobs.
She stepped forward and removed the cloth from the woman's mouth, while pointing the dagger at her.
"He's an imposter, he's fake! Save me, save me!"
The woman's voice was hoarse, and Qiu Xuan almost couldn't hear what she was saying.
"Why are you locked in here?"
The chains that trapped the woman were so delicately fastened into the carvings on the bedposts that they almost merged into one.
"Go tell the princess that she's been cheated..." The woman was in a panic and didn't listen to Qiu Xuan's words at all. She just kept asking for help.
"Don't move." Qiu Xuan forced himself to remain calm and held the dagger against the woman's throat.
"Who are you calling an imposter?"
"I am the real princess! The Marquis of Yunyang is fake! Your husband is the fake!"
The woman's voice was so shrill that Qiu Xuan was so panicked that he hurried to check what was happening outside.
At this moment, a gust of wind carrying a chill blew towards Qiuxuan.
It was too quiet, and Qiuxuan's heart was alarmed.
She quickly blocked the woman's mouth again. The latter struggled violently. She threw down a sentence: "I will save you."
After saying that, he immediately climbed out of the bedroom window.
Almost at the same time, the door creaked open.
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