Chapter 29 Losing Face

Qiao was holding her hand when she suddenly felt a pain and glared at her with displeasure. Yu Qingci realized what was happening and quickly took the opportunity to pull her hand back.

This woman was none other than Liao Shi, Qiao Yuantao's mother, whom she knew all too well from her past life. She was the mother-in-law who had been harsh and cruel to her for ten years.

At this moment, there was not a trace of harshness on Liao's face. She stood in front of Qiao with a fawning expression, almost kneeling down to kowtow.

With a polite smile, Madam Qiao said, "So it's Fourth Sister-in-law. What a coincidence! Fourth Sister-in-law, you've also come to offer incense to the Bodhisattva today?"

Liao was the wife of Qiao's half-brother from her maternal family. According to seniority, Qiao should have called her Fourth Sister-in-law. However, Qiao never took her half-brothers from her maternal family seriously, and she was even more disdainful of Liao, who took the initiative to flatter and fawn over her. This can be seen from the fact that Liao only dared to call her "Madam" at the beginning.

Seeing that Qiao was willing to talk to her, Liao quickly changed her tune, saying, "Yes, Aunt, what a coincidence! My son Yuantao has been bedridden ever since he was sent back from the mansion that day. I came to burn incense and pray to the Bodhisattva to bless my son so that he can get better soon. I also hope that he will pass the imperial examination next year. I didn't expect to run into Aunt, so I came up to pay my respects."

Upon hearing this, Qiao's face darkened. Qiao Yuantao had been badly beaten that day, and it would take some time for him to fully recover.

Madam Liao continued to ramble on: "My son told me everything that happened that day. It was truly an undeserved disaster. My son is a scholar with a delicate constitution. Even if the Earl was angry, he was too ruthless. If it weren't for you, my dear aunt, personally sending someone back that day and giving me some money and medicine to help me recover, I would have definitely gone to the Earl's mansion to find out what happened."

When Qiao saw that this woman had actually said these things in public, her face darkened even more. Wu, the old woman behind her, quickly stepped forward, grabbed Liao's hand, and whispered a warning in her eyes:

“Madam, please say less. Have you forgotten what I told you when I escorted your son home that day? That money wasn’t given to your family for nothing.”

Reminded by her words, Liao immediately recalled the bag of silver coins left behind by Granny Wu that day, and her warning not to spread rumors outside. She looked at Qiao sheepishly and chuckled:

“I didn’t say anything. I’ve wanted to go to your residence to pay my respects to you for a long time, but I was afraid of disturbing you. Our Yuan Tao was doing very well studying at the academy with his teacher. Once he recovers from his injury, he will go back to the academy to continue his studies. His teacher said that with my son’s talent, he will definitely pass the imperial examination next year and become a Juren. When that happens, I will definitely ask Yuan Tao to go to your residence to kowtow to you. It is because you love your nephew that he has such good fortune.”

After saying that, his eyes shone even brighter as he looked at Yu Qingyan and Yu Qingci standing beside Qiao Shi:

"Tsk tsk tsk, it's been years since I last saw you two, and you've both grown more and more beautiful. I almost didn't recognize you from afar. You're no less beautiful than the noble ladies of the royal family."

Look at this Miss Qingying! At such a young age, she's already grown up like a fairy from a painting, so beautiful you can't bear to blink! Hehehe.

Seeing that Liao's eyes were glued to Yu Qingci, scrutinizing her up and down, clearly mistaking this brat for Yu Qingci, Yu Qingying was immediately furious.

Seeing this, Yu Qingyan smiled and stepped forward, saying softly, "Aunt, you've mistaken me. This is my father's third sister, whom he just brought back from outside. The one next to me is Qingying."

Upon hearing this, Liao was taken aback and quickly looked at Yu Qingying. Yu Qingying rolled her eyes at her and snorted.

Liao had always paid attention to the affairs of the Nanping Earl's Mansion, so she naturally knew that the Nanping Earl had brought back a pair of siblings from outside some time ago. The key point was that the biological mother of the siblings was actually the Nanping Earl's first wife, Su.

Feeling a little embarrassed by his blunder, he quickly put on a smile again and raised his hand as if to slap himself a few times: "Look at my eyesight, I actually mistook a fish eye for a pearl."

After saying that, he stepped forward and praised Yu Qingying lavishly.

Liao dared to make such a comparison because she had a reason to do so. It was easy to imagine how disgusted her proud and arrogant aunt was with the sudden appearance of the two children from the original wife. She must have hated them to death, otherwise she wouldn't have instructed her son to slander the daughter's reputation.

The old lady would surely be pleased to hear her use of fish eyes to belittle her daughter.

Qiao really didn't want to waste time chatting with Liao, so she said indifferently, "Fourth Sister-in-law must have something to attend to, so please hurry up and go. We should also head back to the mansion."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Madam Liao hurriedly stepped forward to stop her and said, "Grandma, I know about my son and the second young lady of the manor. I guess that the purse and handkerchief were really given to my son by the second young lady. This shows that the second young lady has feelings for my son. If you ask me, why don't you be lenient and let them be together? We can't break up a couple in love!"

As Liao spoke, her voice grew louder and louder, and people around her began to prick up their ears and whisper among themselves.

Liao was so angry that she trembled and wished someone would shut her up. She was afraid to say whatever she wanted, as if she wanted everyone to know.

Liao continued to shout, "Grandma, listen to me, let's discuss this matter again; Second Miss, if you want to marry my son, you should talk to your mother right away."

Seeing that her mistress was about to faint from anger, Granny Wu stepped forward and slapped Liao Shi without hesitation, cursing, "Where did this crazy old woman come from, daring to spout nonsense here? If you say another word of nonsense, I'll tie you up and send you to the authorities."

Liao's face stung from the beating, but when she met Wu Mama's fierce gaze, she finally came to her senses and dared not shout anymore, though her expression still clearly showed resentment.

Several people around were looking in their direction. Qiao gave Wu Mama a wink and then hurriedly led her two daughters into the carriage.

Wu Mama understood and took out a silver ingot from her body, stuffed it into Liao's hand, and warned, "Take this silver to help your son recover from his injuries. Shut your mouth right now. A fool like you dares to dream of marrying our Earl's daughter. You're really courting death. Be careful not to anger the Madam and make you spit out everything you've ever taken!"

After saying that, he pushed Liao Shi and led the old women into the carriage and left. Liao Shi stood there dumbfounded for a long time, holding the silver.

Having watched the commotion to her heart's content, Yu Qingci boarded her carriage. This unexpected farce was truly amusing. With Liao Shi's outburst, Yu Qingyan's image as a noble lady was no longer so secure in public.

As for Qiao Yuantao, he can forget about ever having a chance to pursue a career in politics again!

Inside Qiao's carriage, Yu Qingyan covered her face with a handkerchief and cried all the way. Qiao comforted her for a long time with heartache, while inwardly cursing Qiao Yuantao and Liao Shi, the mother and son, all the way. Some people had seen what had just happened, so just in case, she sent someone to the Qiao family to give Liao Shi and her son a good warning. She also needed to pay attention to the public opinion in the capital in the next few days, and her daughter's reputation must not be damaged in the slightest.

There's also the matter of the substitute marriage. We need to persuade the Earl and the Old Madam to agree to it as soon as possible. Once they agree, Yu Qingci, a mere maid, won't be able to escape again.