Chapter 182 Snowfall

Chapter 182: Snowfall

Earl Yongqing, having failed to vent his anger and witnessed his granddaughter’s selfish and vile true nature, was struck hard. His chest tightened, his stomach churned, and he threw up.

The grandkids didn’t dare cover their mouths, holding their breath and staring blankly at their granddad, who’d lost all dignity.

The Old Madam snapped, “Get the Elder Earl back to his room!”

Two sturdy maids came in and hauled Earl Yongqing out, while the maids, fighting back their disgust, cleaned up the mess.

The meal was over. The Old Madam, face dark, sent the grandkids off, keeping only Qiu Heng to go into the inner room.

“Grandmother.”

The Old Madam looked at Qiu Heng for a moment, then sighed. “As for what your grandfather said, just let it go. You don’t need to feel burdened.”

Qiu Heng’s eyes flickered.

Everyone in the house knew the Old Madam favored Qiu Song. After today’s outburst from Earl Yongqing, she figured the Old Madam would blame her.

Of course, she wasn’t afraid of being blamed, but she was a bit surprised by the Old Madam’s attitude.

“A Heng,” the Old Madam said, her gaze complicated as she looked at the young girl before her.

She was barely turning sixteen after New Year’s—how could she be so sharp?

“Grandma never expected you were the one who asked the Emperor for this County Lady title. Weren’t you scared the Emperor would be mad?”

Both favor and punishment come from the emperor’s grace—how could you pick and choose what the emperor gives?

“The Emperor seemed genuinely willing to reward me, so I dared to make the request.”

The Old Madam still couldn’t believe it. “How did you think to ask for yourself?”

Qiu Heng tilted her head a little. “Shouldn’t I have thought of myself?”

“It’s not that you shouldn’t…”

A normal woman, hearing the emperor wanted to extend the family’s hereditary title, would’ve been over the moon and not thought of anything else.

Oh, this girl wasn’t normal—she grew up in the countryside.

The Old Madam felt a flood of emotions. She waved a hand. “Go rest.”

“I’ll take my leave, Grandmother.” Qiu Heng curtsied, took a few steps, and turned back. “Grandma, are you mad at me too?”

She didn’t have to ask, but after all this time with the Old Madam, she’d started hoping for her approval.

The Old Madam was quiet for a long time, then sighed. “If you’d given up the chance for the estate’s title to pass down three more generations just for yourself, Grandma would’ve been mad. But now—”

The old lady’s gaze drifted to the window.

The window was covered in gauze, blurring the view, much like the fading hopes of some in the Yongqing Estate to inherit the title.

“What’s the point of passing it down one more generation? It’d only go as far as your eldest uncle, and then there’d be more discontent, more resentment, and pointless struggles.”

The worst part is it turns people into ghosts, making family not feel like family.

Her husband was like that, and her eldest son seemed the same—she’d had enough.

“Officials in Great Xia are paid well. Without the crazy hope of inheriting the title, focusing on studies might lead to a better path.” The Old Madam smiled. “Go on, then.”

“I’ll take my leave, Grandmother.” Qiu Heng walked away with a light step.

Qiu Xuan didn’t go back to her room but went to Second Madam Lan Shi’s.

“Xuan Er, have you eaten dinner?” Looking at her daughter, who’d marry next year, Lan Shi couldn’t get enough of her.

“I ate half at Grandma’s, but then Granddad showed up…” Qiu Xuan recounted what had happened in Thousand Pine Hall.

Lan Shi’s lips curled up as she listened. “No wonder your granddad was so mad.”

“Mother—” Qiu Xuan took Lan Shi’s arm. “I’m still shocked. If I had faced the Emperor and heard him say he wanted to reward the family, I would’ve been overjoyed and not thought of anything else…”

She wouldn’t have even reached the point of choosing between herself and the family.

Lan Shi stroked her daughter’s hair. “Xuan Er, you’re about to marry soon, and you’ll become a wife and a mother. But you will always be Mother’s daughter. I have a selfish wish—I hope you can be like your sixth sister in the future, thinking more of yourself without harming others.”

Sixth Miss must have been raised well 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 today’s events.”

If they found out, they would surely resent Sixth Sister.

Qiu Yun hesitated. “Even if we don’t say anything, Third Brother will probably tell them.”

“Let’s just not say anything ourselves.” Qiu Fu knew she couldn’t control Qiu Song and felt deflated.

After the three sisters parted ways, Qiu Yun thought it over and quietly went to First Madam Zhao’s place.

Father and Mother would find out sooner or later, so it was better for her to tell her legal mother first, to win some favor.

Her eldest sister was in the palace and had a cold relationship with her legal mother, while her fourth sister had fallen out with her. A mother always needed an obedient and clever daughter.

“Greetings, Mother.”

Zhao asked indifferently, “Didn’t you already pay your respects? Why come now?”

Her mood was already bad, and seeing a concubine-born daughter only made it worse.

“Just now at Grandmother’s meal, Grandfather came…”

After hearing Qiu Yun out, Zhao’s face turned ashen. She barely managed to stay calm, rewarded Qiu Yun with a piece of jewelry, and dismissed her, then sent someone to summon First Master Qiu.

When First Master Qiu arrived, he asked, “What’s the matter? Could it be that Father and Mother are fighting again?”

He really hadn’t expected that, at his age of being a grandfather, his parents would start brawling—physically, at that.

“That shouldn’t be. Today, Heng’er was granted the title of County Lady. Father and Mother should be in good spirits.”

Zhao sneered. “Heng’er, you say! I’ve heard that the Emperor originally intended to reward our estate by extending the hereditary title for another generation, but Qiu Heng wasn’t willing and asked the Emperor to reward her instead, which is why she was made County Lady.”

First Master Qiu’s face changed drastically. “Is that true?”

“The Elder Earl went to Thousand Pine Hall specifically for this, and Qiu Heng admitted it herself…” Zhao relayed what Qiu Yun had said.

“This Qiu Heng, how dare she!” First Master Qiu paced the room in fury.

Zhao Shi was fuming inside, her tone turned nasty: "I said before, if Qiu Heng ever amounted to anything, you’d claim the benefits would ultimately fall to our eldest branch. And look what happened?"

"Don’t say that kind of crap now!" First Master Qiu snapped angrily.

"So what can you do, huh? Go beat Qiu Heng? She’s a county princess now—if she wanted to make a big deal, we’d have to bow to her."

First Master Qiu slumped into a chair, pounding his chest in anger.

No matter how the Yongqing Earl Manor felt, as news of Qiu Heng’s investiture as county princess spread, invitations to hang out poured in like snowflakes.

The first place Qiu Heng needed to go was the Kang Commandery Prince’s Mansion.

Since she was Princess Kang’s adopted daughter, as a courtesy, the old lady had immediately sent word to the mansion.

On the day she set out, it began to snow.

Snowflakes drifted like cotton fluff, scattering across the sky, piling up on the ground like an endless silver carpet.

"Grandmother, I can go to the Kang Commandery Prince’s Mansion alone—the roads are slippery in the snow."

"Your grandmother isn’t that old yet." The old lady shot Qiu Heng a look and strode toward the carriage waiting at the second gate.

Qiu Heng shook her head helplessly, quickly catching up to support the elderly lady.

At the Kang Commandery Prince’s Mansion, Feng Caiyue and her sister had come with their mother, the Marchioness of Changchun. Hearing that Qiu Heng had arrived, they all rushed out.

The Marchioness of Changchun smiled wryly: "Cai Xing is excusable, but Caiyue is usually so steady—I don’t know what’s gotten into her to be so flighty."

Princess Kang just smiled.

She knew all too well—her adopted daughter had a way of making even the younger ones lose their composure.