Real Empress from a Noble Family

Chapter 367 A Desperate Situation

“How did your brother lose control of Kuang Qingwu?” Jiang Yashuang worried about his pregnant wife. So, with a strong effort to conceal his anxiety, Jiang Yashuang comforted his wife first and then sent someone to the third branch to ask He Shuijin to accompany Qiu Yelan. After that, he hurried to Marquess Qin’s study to discuss what should be done. By that time Jiang Tan had sent more detailed information that the one who attacked the group of Jiang Yadan was exactly Kuang Qingwu!

On his way to the study, Jiang Yashuang was astonished and furious. “Those men for Kuang Qingwu are given by Qiu Yelan’s brother and directed by someone else. What Kuang Qingwu is arranged to do is just to show up and take the blame. How could he attack the eighteenth sister and others?”

His heart jolted when he thought of this. He was shocked to himself, “Is Qiu Yelan’s brother set up by someone? Are those he sent to Kuang Qingwu not reliable?”

From thinking of it that way, the suspects were most likely to be from two sides, Kuang Shihan’s old subordinates and secret guardsmen from the first branch or the third branch.

Whichever side Jiang Qizheng and the other two fell into, they would be in grave danger!

“The eighteenth sister was persuaded by Xing to travel west. And because of that, Ling Zui was involved! That was also why Jiang Yadan changed his mind to catch up with and escort them!” Jiang Yashuang took a deep breath and said, “So, if anything happens to the eighteenth sister and Ling Zui, Xing will bear the brunt. But the reason why Xing persuaded the eighteenth sister to head west was that she wanted to run after Qiu Yelan’s brother! This matter has nothing to do with Qiu Yelan’s brother. But Xing is the only girl of this generation of the Ou Family. If something happens to her, how couldn’t her family hate Qiu Yelan’s brother?”

“Furthermore, the eighteenth sister was intrigued to set out in that she thought her husband was in Shazhou. Her husband has got along with Qiu Yelan’s brother. And when he left secretly, he used the Qiu Yelan’s brother as a cover.”

In short, if all three of them died, the Jiang family’s in-laws, including the Jiang family, would definitely become enemies of each other!

Anyone could imagine that what a big blow the fourth branch, at the heart of the hatred, would suffer!

“The first teacher of Qiu Yelan’s brother, Ren Ziyong, sacrificed his martial art and pretended as a counselor to be with Kuang Shihan and his son for years. At last, he finished all the tasks at a stroke! How could he not keep an eye on the Kuang?” After stopping for a few seconds, Jiang Yashuang passed on again and his face became dark, “The first branch and third branch are the most suspicious. Particularly, three of the four people were taken as captives while Jiang Yadan had a narrow escape…”

Jiang Yadan was the first son of the fourth branch. And for his birth, no matter how a failure he was, he could not be hurt by the first branch and the third branch. Otherwise, once the thing was leaked out, Marquess Qin and Sir Jibei would no longer cover up for them!

But among the rest three, Ou Qinglan and Ling Zui were not part of the Jiang Family. And though Jiang Qizheng used to be a member of the Jiang family, she had got married. She was not as important as Jiang Yadan!

The more Jiang Yashuang thought, the more he became suspicious of the first branch and the third branch. And at the same time, in a most private site in Shazhou, a thousand miles away from Jing City, Kuang Qingwu was flippantly surveying Jiang Qizheng and Ou Qinglan, who looked a complete mess, especially the latter. “You are so pretty in scarlet. I have never expected to see such a beauty! Jiang Yashuang is said to love his wife a lot and it seems he extends his love to her wife’s brother. Though it is a match between two families, he does make an effort to pick a wife for his brother-in-law.”

Ou Qinglan was tied up tightly, though, she kept her head high with strong disapproval, “I like Ruan for who he is, not for Jiang Yashuang!”

“Really?” Kuang Qingwu savored the words and smiled, “Ruan? You are an alert one. But I have known that his real name is Qiu Jinglan. Why are you doing the faux thing?”

“Qiu Jinglan?” Ou Qinglan didn’t know the whole story. She didn’t trust the enemy so she unconsciously turned to look at Ling Zui who was a short distance away, “Is he telling the truth?”

Compared with the two women, Ling Zui was treated more badly. He was shackled and the chains were so heavy that he could hardly stand. As such, he could only sit on the ground and said in a weak voice, “The one that you care about is truly Qiu Jinglan, Ningyi’s biological brother. It’s a complicated story… I will tell you when I regain my strength!”

He shook himself and said, “Kuang, you’ve seen me in Jing City. Don’t you know who I am? Do you have to keep me shackled? Miss Ou is better than me, okay? Even if I am tied up with a rope, I cannot get away!”

Kuang Qingwu glanced at him with a sour smile, “You’re too modest, Young Earl! I was the one who was defeated in the street fight! So, how can I not be careful about you?”

“I say, you don’t seem like a petty man, do you?” Ling Zui said with displeasure, “Are you still on such a little thing?”

But soon he remembered that moment when Kuang Qingwu’s followers were all killed and he himself was plagued to death by Jiang Yashuang. And at that time, he just stood watching and trampled Kuang Qingwu to please Qiu Yelan… Instantly Ling Zui felt embarrassed.

But Kuang Qingwu looked at him for a while and said with a significant smile, “Remove those shackles for him!”

“Is the guy so nice?” Ling Zui rubbed his arching wrist and muttered in his heart, “He seems not to kill us at once. What is he all about?”

So, he ventured, “You have just praised Miss Ou’s beauty. How can you treat a beauty like that? Why don’t you let them loose?”

“Don’t you worry about that!” Kuang Qingwu refused him this time and said indifferently, “I will have someone look after them… As for you, come with me. I have something to tell you!”

Ling Zui looked around and found there were almost men. He frowned, “It’s better to talk about it right here. Princess and Miss Ou were both womenfolk. It has been bad for them to be taken by you. If they are separated from me, I’m afraid that in the future their reputation will be influenced!”

“Future?” Kuang Qingwu looked at him for a moment and burst into a laugh, “It’s like you do have a future!”

After hearing that, Ling Zui’s face changed, “What do you mean?”

“Chunfu Princess and Miss Ou are rigorously chaste. So, after being captured, they wait for the opportunity and commit suicide to defend their reputation!” Kuang Qingwu said casually, “You are the only lucky one as you have been helpful to Qiu Jinglan in the early years. And these two years, he cannot leave Shazhou and expects you to look after his beloved sister in Jing City… So, he is sure to save you ‘in time’!”

“You’re talking absolute nonsense!” Kuang Qingwu said that to Ling Zui, but how could Jiang Qizheng and Ou Qinglan not know what he meant?

He was saying that the kidnapping was planned by Qiu Jinglan! Otherwise, how could he save Ling Zui in time?

As Ou Qinglan adored Qiu Jinglan, how could she tolerate others’ slandering him? She retorted immediately, “Sister Chunfu was the sister-in-law of Ruan’s… Qiu’s sister. How can Qiu hurt her? Besides, Qiu is in Shazhou and he is helped by the Jiang Family. There’s no reason for him to do that! If he does so, doesn’t he cut the ties with Jiang Family by himself? You are the evil man…”

“The second young master and the sixth young master of the Jiang Family has arrived at the Western Army a while ago. Your Qiu has been struggling these days!” Kuang Qingwu gave a thin smile while said without expression, “Fortunately, you have come here, which gives him a golden opportunity!”

Ling Zui said as his face darkened, “What do you mean about the golden opportunity?”

“The first and third branch of the Jiang Family wants to carve up the Western Army. And they do not like Qiu Jinglan who stands for the fourth branch,” Kuang Qingwu said leisurely. “So, to get rid of Qiu Jinglan as soon as possible, they will cross the line. For instance, they provide me with the opportunity to take Chunfu Princess, Miss Ou, and You here so that I can insult and kill you…”

He was satisfied to see that the color went from Jiang Qizheng and Ou Qinglan’s faces!

After a pause, he said, “And then they will pin it on Qiu Jinglan. Of course, there is a flaw in the setup. Whichever of them, Qiu Jinglan or Jiang Yashuang, will figure it out at a key moment and turn it all around! So, the first branch and third branch of the Jiang Family cannot make a reasonable explanation to the fourth branch. How can they get their hands on the Western Army? As long as he gets himself to be wronged for a moment, he can take over the Western Army. That is all what Jiang Yashuang will be in the future… Isn’t that opportunity good enough?”

He looked at Ling Zui with a smile, “To ensure the fourth branch of the Jiang Family will have good reason to hector them and to help Qiu Jinglan to be cleared of suspicion, Chunfu Princess and Miss Ou, the two who have a past relationship with him, must die! The more horrible their death, the better! As for you, you are his friend. You need to corroborate his innocence！”

“Bah!” Ling Zui, who was listening thoughtfully and seemed to be half-convinced, was walking up and down with his hands behind his back. But when he went near Kuang Qingwu, he abruptly turned his head and spat on Kuang Qingwu’s face, cursing, “Does such dirty tricks on Chunjun work?”

But before the words left his lips, he was kicked by Kuang Qingwu. The back of his head hit against the wall so hard that he fainted from the pain!

“Young master!” Zheng said with a very ugly look on his face. He walked forward and helped Kuang Qingwu to wipe his face with a handkerchief.

Kuang Qingwu looked at Ling Zui, who was unconscious, without expression. And then he looked at Jiang Qizheng and Ou Qinglan, who were tied up, with a flicker of evil in his eyes, “Pump them full of drugs to make them dumb. And then take them to the barracks! Tell those men… they are… rewards for these days!”

Kuang Qingwu dislocated Jiang Qizheng’s jaw at an incredible speed and kept her from biting off her tongue and committing suicide just in time. And he looked with interest at Ou Qinglan, who showed no intentions to commit suicide. He said, “Chunfu Princess is really a princess… Miss Ou is not so rigorously chaste as I think, right?”

“You beast!” Ou Qinglan glared at him with hatred and swore fearlessly, “You have been like a homeless dog with nowhere to turn while now you dare to offend us. You’re heading for your doom! Why should I commit suicide? I’m waiting for your death!”

Kuang Qingwu smiled warmly while looked daggers at her, “Seriously? I originally didn’t want to touch you personally. But since you’re waiting to see my demise… I’d like to try the taste of Qiu Jinglan’s wife!”

He caught Ou Qinglan by the shoulder roughly and carried her up, laughing evilly, “I hope you will not let me down… I have not been in a good mood recently. Many of those maids who slept with me were killed often. But I will try to restrain myself from killing you. After all, I plan to use you to reward the subordinates arranged by Qiu Jinglan. I can’t wait to see their faces when they find out that it is their master’s betrothed who is raped by them! Hahaha!”

“Xing!” Jiang Qizheng had been powerless. With her jaw dislocated and being tied tightly, she could do nothing but watch Kuang Qingwu carry off Ou Qinglan. She felt regretful beyond words. “We’re wrong! We shouldn’t have come to Shazhou rashly. If only I had chosen to stop you rather than come with you when you asked me if I wanted to take a message to my husband!”

Unfortunately, it was too late…