Chapter 18 Catching the Thief

Yu Qingci smiled slightly: "They say that a beauty is best seen under the lamp, and upon closer inspection, Sister Siqin is indeed quite outstanding."

Siqin breathed a slight sigh of relief and said with a perfectly timed smile, "You flatter me, Miss. You are truly a beauty, so enviable."

Tong'er watched the two of them flattering each other and couldn't help but laugh. She stood up and interjected, "Our young lady is naturally beautiful, and Sister Siqin is also pretty. It's just that I'm not so good-looking."

The three chatted and laughed for a few moments, then Yu Qingci got up and left the bed: "Alright, I'm a little tired too, let's go to sleep early."

As night fell, the Wisteria Courtyard was completely silent. A dark figure appeared silently at the door, pushed it open, and found it to be ajar. Overjoyed, the figure quickly slipped inside.

Soon, Siqin's panicked voice rang out in the courtyard: "Help! A thief has broken in! Catch the thief!"

At this moment, many servants had just fallen asleep, but Siqin's voice was extremely loud. Soon, all the servants in the courtyard rushed out. The dark figure seemed flustered and didn't know where to hide. When the crowd gathered, it quickly darted towards the gate.

Just then, a group of patrolling old women came over from outside the door. The one in the lead was Granny Wu. Hearing the commotion, she rushed over and quickly subdued the dark figure.

As Granny Wu approached, the dark figure strained to look up and cried out, "Granny Wu, it's me!"

When Granny Wu approached, she exclaimed in surprise, "Young Master Qiao, it's you! How did you end up in the Third Miss's courtyard in the dark?"

Qiao Yuantao lowered his head and remained silent, looking as if he had something on his mind.

The Wisteria Courtyard was in complete chaos. Someone had already reported the situation to the Begonia Courtyard, and Madam Qiao rushed over with a group of people.

Seeing the scene before her, Madam Qiao angrily rebuked, "What's going on? How could a thief have broken into the Wisteria Courtyard? Someone, quickly go to the front yard and inform the Earl."

Yu Jingsheng had been resting in the study in the front courtyard for the past few days. As soon as Qiao Shi gave the order, servants immediately went to the front courtyard.

Qiao Yuantao had regained his composure by this time. Upon seeing Qiao Shi, he quickly broke free from the several old women holding him down, stood up, and bowed respectfully: "Aunt, it's me. This is all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."

When Qiao saw it clearly, her expression was one of utter astonishment: "Yuan Tao, how could it be you? How did you end up here? What's going on?"

Qiao Yuantao hurriedly waved his hand and explained, "Aunt, it has nothing to do with the Third Miss. I took it upon myself to want to see my Third Cousin, but I was afraid that being seen would damage her reputation, so I sneaked in under the cover of darkness. I never expected..."

At this point, Qiao Yuantao looked ashamed.

Upon hearing this, Granny Wu exclaimed in surprise, "Judging from what you're saying, young master, how come the Third Miss is involved in this? Could it be that you have something to do with our Third Miss?"

As Wu Mama finished speaking, she covered her mouth, and the servants watching immediately looked at the Wisteria Garden with gossipy eyes.

Thieves had broken into the inner quarters of the Earl's mansion. Upon learning this, Yu Jingsheng rushed over without even properly dressing.

Seeing a large crowd gathered at the entrance of the Wisteria Courtyard, Yu Jingsheng was startled again. He strode forward and asked, "What's going on? Where is the thief? Have they been caught? Is Qingci alright?"

Madam Qiao hurriedly stepped forward, her expression somewhat puzzled: "Lord, don't be anxious. The person has been caught, but there seems to be some misunderstanding. As for Third Sister, I haven't seen her either; she should still be in her room right now."

"That's really strange. With all that noise outside, it didn't even disturb Third Sister."

Upon hearing this, Yu Jingsheng immediately set off to enter the Wisteria Courtyard to take a look.

But Qiao stopped him, saying, "Lord, you should check on the people we've captured first."

After she finished speaking, she stepped aside so that Yu Jingsheng could see Qiao Yuantao standing to the side.

Yu Jingsheng frowned and looked him up and down, feeling a sense of familiarity but unable to recall where he had seen him before: "Who is this? Is this the thief?"

Qiao Yuantao stepped forward with a look of shame and bowed: "Uncle, it is I, Qiao Yuantao, who has frightened you and Aunt. It is all my fault. I just told Aunt that it was all a misunderstanding. Please listen to my explanation, Uncle."

Yu Jingsheng rarely returned to the capital due to his long-term official duties. He only knew a few of Qiao's direct descendants, so he had little impression of Qiao Yuantao, a nephew from a collateral branch of the family.

However, upon hearing the other party call him "uncle" and claim that his surname was Qiao, he could guess a thing or two about this person's identity.

But he still asked Qiao with an unfriendly expression, "Is he your nephew?"

Madam Qiao explained, "This child is from my half-brother's family. My half-brother moved out and lived separately many years ago, so he rarely keeps in touch with us. But this child always remembers his aunt and often comes to visit. The uncle is away all year round, so he doesn't have much of an impression of him."

Upon hearing this, Yu Jingsheng nodded to indicate that he understood, then belatedly added, "Wait, why is your nephew in the inner quarters at this time, and being mistaken for a thief and arrested?"

Madam Qiao sighed and said, "I just asked, and Yuan Tao said, he said..."

Mrs. Qiao looked as if she was reluctant to speak.

Just then, a woman's voice came: "Father, have you caught the thief?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Yu Qingci, dressed neatly, walking out of the Wisteria Courtyard accompanied by Tong'er.

When Yu Jingsheng saw his daughter come out, he stepped forward and asked, "Qingci, are you alright?"

Yu Qingci shook her head slightly and said, "I'm fine. I just fell asleep when I was woken up by someone shouting 'Catch the thief!' I was startled and didn't dare to come out to see what was going on. I only came out to see if there really was a thief when I heard my father's voice.

After saying that, he sighed and said, "I never thought that the Marquis's mansion, which is so heavily guarded, could still be sneaked in by thieves. Father, you must investigate this matter thoroughly."

Upon hearing this, Madam Qiao sneered, "I should be asking you that. Nothing like this has ever happened in our Earl's Mansion before. How come a thief broke into this courtyard the moment you returned?"

Yu Qingci looked at Madam Qiao in surprise: "What do you mean, Madam? Are you saying that I let this thief in?"

At this moment, Qiao Yuantao stepped forward and said excitedly, "Third cousin, it's all my fault. I was just trying to sneak in to see you, but I disturbed everyone as soon as I entered the courtyard. As a result, this happened, and I even disturbed my uncle and aunt. I am really ashamed."

Turning to Yu Jingsheng and Qiao Shi, she said, "Uncle and Aunt, please don't blame my third cousin. It's all my fault. I was really missing her when I saw this, so I sneaked in. I'll leave now."

Qiao said incredulously, "What did you say? Yuan Tao, you mean you sneaked in under the cover of darkness just to see Qingci? But she's only been back for a few days, you two shouldn't know each other. What's going on?"