Qin Ruo knew that without Qin Luan, Su Rong would not have thought to find him, and he might still be in bitter cold lands right now.
He took Qin Luan to the courtyard he had arranged for her and said with shame, "This is the courtyard I had people clean up for you to live in. It’s a bit simple. Nowadays, I’m busy at court all day and don’t have time to personally oversee the repair and decoration. The new staff have not been fully trained, and they may not serve well. Now that you’re here, how about you manage the arrangement and decoration?"
Qin Luan nodded, "Brother, you just focus on your business. I can handle the affairs in our residence temporarily."
Qin Ruo breathed a sigh of relief and immediately had the account books and keys sent to Qin Luan, "Thank you, sister."
Qin Luan smiled, "Brother, it’s time for you to get married."
Qin Ruo lightly coughed, "No rush, let’s wait until we’ve brought mother here."
Qin Luan nodded in agreement.
Once they entered the room, Qin Ruo advised Qin Luan to rest, but she shook her head, "I’m not tired. It’s hard for you to take a day off. We haven’t seen each other for a long time. Let’s talk a bit! Otherwise, you will be busy with court affairs tomorrow, and I’m afraid we won’t have time to talk."
Qin Ruo sighed and said, "Yeah, there are too many affairs at court. Everything fell apart due to the rebellion and war, and we had to start all over again after the Princess’s return. We’ve been busy for three or four months now and we’ve made some progress, but it’s still far from enough. I’m not the busiest one; the Princess got sick from overwork a few days ago. Even though she rested for four or five days, she’s not fully recovered and has already returned to court."
Qin Luan was surprised, "Is the situation so urgent in Nanchu?"
"Yes, there are many pressing matters at court, all piled up together. All of them require the Princess’s decisions and policies. Every issue is tricky," said Qin Ruo, "During those first two months, everyone at court was scrambling about constantly. It’s slightly better now. After all, you’re here and I could manage to take a day off. Two months ago, it would have been impossible for me to leave. I would have only been able to send someone from our residence to meet you at the city gate."
Qin Luan sighed, "It must have been exhausting."
Qin Ruo smiled, "Although it’s hard, it’s fulfilling every day. I must thank you, sister, for giving me the chance to be chosen by the Princess. Otherwise, I might have lost hope for this life."
"No, the Qin family is bound to be vindicated. The Crown Prince has said that if the Princess hadn’t demanded you, you would just need to patiently wait a few years," Qin Luan shook her head.
Qin Ruo gave a bitter smile, "Who knows if after several years of hard labor there, I would have already lost my ambition."
Qin Luan fell silent for a moment, then said, "After all, it’s your own good fortune."
She also gave a bitter smile, "Initially, I didn’t think to ask the Princess to bring you along. I just wanted to come to Nanchu with her. But she declined, and instead asked the Crown Prince for you. Although I’m partly the reason, the key is that you are talented and recognized by the Princess as a worthy assist."
Having heard this, Qin Ruo looked at Qin Luan, hesitated, and finally asked softly, "Did the Princess discover your affection for Zhou Gu?"
Qin Luan went silent.
Qin Ruo sighed, "You had already entered the Eastern Palace. Do you still have feelings for Zhou Gu? The Princess is incredibly sharp. Even if you are still in love with him, you won’t be able to hide it from her, no matter how well you conceal it."
Qin Luan bowed her head, "Perhaps so!"
Hearing this, Qin Ruo asked, "And now? I remember in your last letter, you told me that you didn’t want to come to Nanchu. Why did you change your mind in such a short time?"
Qin Luan pursed her lips, raised her head and looked at Qin Ruo, "Because back then, I wanted to stay in the Eastern Palace, to be the Crown Prince’s woman."
Qin Ruo was startled.
Qin Luan twisted a smile, "I never thought that the Crown Prince would marry Duanhua Princess, and he even said that he’d only have a Queen, and there would be no concubines, valid spouses or handmaidens by his side, nor would there be a harem with consorts in the future. He would only have a Queen."
Qin Ruo looked at Qin Luan in shock.
Qin Luan spoke calmly, "The Crown Prince gave me three options, and I chose to come to Nanchu."
"Which three options?"
Qin Luan listed them one by one.
Qin Ruo was both shocked and found his feelings difficult to describe as he looked at Qin Luan, "I remember, Xie Lin isn’t bad."
"He’s not bad, but big brother, I don’t like him. Moreover, the Wang Residence of Rui’an King isn’t what I desire. To me, if I can’t marry the one I love, I would rather stand by the side of the most powerful person. If I can’t stand by the most powerful person, I wish to hold power in my own hands. If I can’t have power in my own hands....." Qin Luan emphasized every word, "I’d rather die."
Qin Ruo was speechless for a moment.
After a long while, he finally said, "I’ve never seen you have such a mindset when our mother trained you before our family fell to ruin. When did you start thinking this way?"
"Back then, I liked Zhou Gu. I thought it was possible since I was the best among the maidens in the capital. Moreover, you were close to Zhou Gu. Every time he came to our house looking for you, he would occasionally bump into me. Unlike how he treated Duanhua, he didn’t avoid me and would even talk to me sometimes. So I thought, as long as he doesn’t fear me, I could marry him. Also, with my reputation and family background, even being the Crown Prince’s consort was possible, especially when the Eastern Palace was suppressed and our father was held in esteem. But then our family fell from grace."
Qin Luan said, "The day when Zhou Gu and Xie Lin fought over me, brother, you have no idea how happy I was. But who would’ve thought that the old duke would be standing at the gate of the Duke’s Residence with his military baton, telling Zhou Gu that I was his fiancée in Jiangning County. At that moment, it felt like my world had collapsed. Later, Zhou Gu didn’t resist strongly and allowed the old duke to ask His Majesty to assign me to the Eastern Palace. I thought that although it was a misfortune, perhaps the Eastern Palace was also a path for me. Who could have foreseen that the Crown Prince would not lay a finger on any woman in the palace? On the day I entered the Eastern Palace, he had the housekeeper warn me. For the next year, he kept his word, only focusing on his court duties without being interested in women..."
Qin Luan took a deep breath, looked at Qin Ruo and said, "Now, he is going to marry Duanhua, and the edict for the marriage has already been issued. Brother, I had no other choice but to come to Nanchu, it’s not that I truly wanted to."
Qin Ruo was at a loss for words.
Qin Luan clarified to him, "So, brother, can you talk to the Princess, or beg her, since there’s a shortage of manpower at court, and the Princess isn’t stingy about employing women, can I enter the court?"
Qin Ruo was feeling extremely complicated. It felt as if he no longer recognized his sister, who he had grown up with. She had been raised by their mother to be a well-cultured maiden, yet now she had her own ambitions and openly expressed her thoughts to him, from their family’s fall, to her request for him to ask Zhou Gu to take care of her, to her serving as a female official in the Eastern Palace, and now, after turning down Xie Lin’s marriage proposal, she had actually come to Nanchu.
He rubbed between his eyebrows, "Although the Princess employs women, it’s only those close to her. There are currently no women in court. Although Nanchu has schools for women, what they learn is different from men. Even though the women in Nanchu are relatively more open and have fewer restrictions compared to those in Daliang, it’s still limited to some not very important positions..."
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