Shocking Mountain Moon

Chapter 86 Moving forward
Qiu Heng breathed a sigh of relief: Fortunately I didn’t touch her shoulder.

"Second sister, what happened?"

"My marriage is settled!" Qiu Xuan's voice choked with sobs.

She knew that if others saw her like this, they would laugh at her and go crazy.

No matter how good the marriage is, no girl would cry for joy.

But in front of her sixth sister, she didn't want to hide it.

Her mood at this moment was not so much that she was crying with joy because of this marriage, but rather that she was surprised that she had avoided a bad fate with the help of herself and her relatives.

"Sixth sister, you are right. You must consider your own affairs instead of leaving everything to others!"

When she first heard that the Marquis of Xiping's Mansion came to propose marriage, faced with this good marriage in the eyes of the world, if she had not listened to her sixth sister's advice and had not checked Zhao Si, the result would be self-evident.

"Second sister, please sit down first." Qiu Heng pulled Qiu Xuan to sit down and asked with a smile, "Which family are you talking about?"

Qiu Xuan's emotions gradually stabilized, and she said softly, "He is the son of my aunt's in-laws' eldest uncle. I have known him since childhood."

"Childhood sweethearts, congratulations, second sister." Qiu Heng was sincerely happy for Qiu Xuan.

Although the book did not record who Qiu Xuan married, judging from the various actions of Xiping Marquis's Mansion, it was most likely his family. Qiu Xuan avoided this marriage, which was at least a good start.

Qiu Xuan blushed slightly: "I am here today thanks to my sixth sister."

"Second sister, please be polite. We are sisters. If I get into trouble, I believe you will help me."

Qiu Xuan nodded heavily.

The engagement between the Qiu and Song families was very low-key and smooth.

When the three sisters from the first house were together, they talked about Qiu Xuan's marriage.

"I heard that Mr. Song likes my second sister very much. They have known each other since childhood. That's great." Qiu Ying's tone was full of admiration.

Qiu Fu rolled her eyes at her and said, "You are sixteen years old, can you be more reserved?"

Qiu Fu was in a bad mood these days.

It was obvious that my second aunt had taken great care of my second sister's marriage. They were childhood sweethearts and loved each other. When she moved to her husband's family, her aunt also took care of her.

The more this happened, the more unfair I felt for my elder sister, the more worried I was about myself, and the more disappointed I was with my parents.

Qiu Ying didn't care about Qiu Fu's ridicule at all, and laughed: "It's just that you'll think about it when you get older, it's impossible for you not to get married."

"I think it's a bit of a pity." Qiu Yun thought differently from the two sisters.

"What's a pity?" Qiu Ying asked.

"After all, our family is a baron's mansion, and the Song family...is of a lower status." Qiu Yun would never say this in public, but she couldn't help but reveal some of her thoughts in the atmosphere of sisterly chat.

Qiu Fu was furious: "Even if you are from a low-class family, you won't starve to death. This is a hundred times better than meeting a lunatic like Zhao Si from Xiping Marquis's mansion!"

Qiu Yun smiled awkwardly and said nothing.

The topic ended there and the three sisters went their separate ways.

In the blink of an eye, it was Mid-Autumn Festival, and the three families gathered in Qiansong Hall for a reunion dinner.

The old lady told Lan: "Hurry up and prepare the second girl's dowry." She also said to Zhao: "Please help her a little more."

Both daughters-in-law agreed.

The old lady glanced at her five pretty granddaughters one by one and sighed in her heart: It's not easy for the second girl to get married.

It is of course good to have both substance and appearance, but if you can only choose one, then go for the substance and value.

"My second sister is getting married. Does that mean my third sister will also get married soon?" Qiu Song said whatever he thought of.

Zhao glanced at her son and said, "Don't talk too much, little boy."

Qiu Song curled his lips and glanced at Qiu Heng secretly.

He didn't care whether his third sister got married or not. He just wanted to marry his sixth sister after his second, third, fourth and fifth sisters got married.

How long does this have to last? With Sixth Sister around, it would be difficult for him to cause trouble for Qiu Feng.

It would be great if Sixth Sister was his real sister - Qiu Song thought regretfully, with the simple thought of asking for help if he couldn't beat her.

Qiu Yun was called by her younger brother and glanced at Zhao secretly, but found that Zhao had a calm expression and looked as if it had nothing to do with her.

In fact, Zhao was not the type of person who would just sit back and do nothing, but she knew very well that her father-in-law would interfere in the marriages of her granddaughters, so she was too lazy to bother with the two concubines, Qiu Yun and Qiu Ying.

Compared to the newly-arranged marriage of his second granddaughter, Earl Yongqing was more concerned about Qiu Heng: "Have you prepared the incense pendant that the imperial concubine wanted?"

"It will take some time."

"Does it take so long?"

"This is considered very short. Some incense needs to be stored in a cellar for several years to reach its best effect." Qiu Heng explained lightly, looking at Yong Qingbo, "You don't understand."

Yongqing Bo was stunned for a moment. As the head of the Bo family, not to mention his children and grandchildren, even the old lady had never spoken to him like this.

The old lady was also stunned while holding her chopsticks.

She was blinded by greed and did not send Nanny Zhu over again!

The scene was eerily quiet for a moment. Yongqing Bo laughed out loud: "Everyone has their own expertise. Grandfather really doesn't know how to make incense. Heng'er, you should pay more attention to making incense for the imperial concubine."

Old lady:?

The others looked at Yongqing Bo who was smiling kindly, and then looked at Qiu Heng who seemed to be nonchalant, and felt mixed emotions.

Only Master Qiu San didn't think too much about it and happily praised: "Our Heng'er is so amazing."

Master Qiu and Zhao looked at each other.

A Mid-Autumn Festival reunion dinner made everyone in the Earl's Mansion truly realize that Earl Yongqing treats the Sixth Miss differently.

The long street was lit up, the moon was as round as a disk, and when families were reuniting, Xue Han went to Qinglian Lake.

The legend of Qinglian Lake being haunted has become more and more popular, and has become the favorite story of storytellers in taverns and teahouses. It is fine during the day, but Qinglian Lake is so deserted at night that no one can be seen.

Xue Han walked slowly along the lakeside, his eyes fixed on the lake.

The moon is full today, but I didn’t see Miss Qiu Liu.

Her strange illness always made him feel that something was wrong, but it seemed as if there was a veil or fog in front of his eyes and he couldn't see clearly.

But he had a hunch that once the fog was cleared, he would get surprising answers.

Is he ready to reveal the answer?

The young man, feeling the autumn wind, asked himself, but found that he couldn't explain it clearly.

In late August, Yuan Chenghai's family was escorted to the capital, and several government offices jointly tried the case.

By this time, the news of Yuan Chenghai's sudden death and serious crime had spread thoroughly among the people of the capital.

The thief Yuan's family is in jail and can't be seen anymore, but Yuan's family can't escape.

Every day, the gate of Yuan’s house was hit with countless rotten eggs and vegetable leaves, and the area in front of the gate was a mess.

Li Niang didn't dare cry or make a fuss anymore, for she was afraid that the government would remember her as the one who escaped and put her in jail as well.

Hui Niang would open her dressing box filled with valuables again and again in the middle of the night, count them, and then hide them carefully.

She didn’t know what the future would be like, but even ants tried to survive, so she didn’t dare to die and could only wait for the judgment of fate.

At the end of August, Yuan Chenghai's crime was finalized. Since he was already dead, the male members of his family were sentenced to exile, and the female members of his family were imprisoned in the Jiaofangsi.

As for how Yuan Chenghai was poisoned, a lot of manpower was spent at the beginning but no one could find out. Now no one is willing to investigate it carefully. The death of Yuan Chenghai has become an unsolved mystery along with his crime.

The people all said that it was God's will that the thief Yuan should be punished.

After Hui Niang worked in the Jiaofangsi for a few days, she was suddenly taken out by an official.

Hui Niang was apprehensive, but she heard the official whisper, "Someone has redeemed you and your household registration is in Sipingfang... You can go quietly."

Hui Niang looked incredulous: "Excuse me, sir, who redeemed this slave?"

The official shook his head and said, "Don't ask me about this. It's no good knowing too much. It's better to live your own life."

"Yes, yes, yes..." Hui Niang covered her mouth, tears flowing uncontrollably.

The Daxia people were open-minded, and many women made their livings on their own. After she was no longer a courtesan, she still had her hidden valuables, so as long as she was careful, she would not have to worry about having a stable life.

"I don't know who my benefactor is. Sir, you have brought me out, so you are my benefactor." Hui Niang knelt down and kowtowed to the official firmly. She couldn't wait to run to Sipingfang and to her new life.

The official smiled and thought that this lady was very lucky to have persuaded the Prince of Kang to help her get rid of her nationality.

In the teahouse, Qiu Heng drank tea instead of wine: "Thank you, Brother Ling, for your help."

"I am so happy that Ah Heng is willing to ask me for help." Ling Yun had a smile on his lips, which was a joy that came from the bottom of his heart.

"Then I may have to trouble Brother Ling a lot in the future."

"Just say it." Ling Yun curved his eyes, "Ah Heng and Jia Yi can just call me big brother."

Qiu Heng shook her head: "It's better to call him Brother Ling."

Ling Yun did not force her anymore and asked her, "Are you really not going to let that lady know that it was you who redeemed her?"

"No need for that. I've already attracted a lot of gossip because of my dealings with the women in Yuan's house. It's better to have less trouble than more." Qiu Heng said.

She didn't care about the gossip, she just didn't want Hui Niang's gratitude.

The thief Yuan is dead, and both she and Hui Niang should move on and not have any more interactions.

(End of this chapter)