Chapter 256 I was once a junior marquis
Upon arriving at Shouyin Hall, Granny Qin, who came out to greet us, said politely and respectfully:
"Madam went to bed late last night because she was thinking too much, and she hasn't gotten up yet this morning. It's not appropriate to disturb her right now, please forgive her."
Madam Qiao opened her eyes wide in disbelief: "Mother is still sleeping? The mansion is almost turned upside down by the Third Son-in-law and that wretched girl, and you're telling me Mother hasn't gotten up yet?"
What she really wanted to ask was, "Can the old lady sleep?"
Qin Mama's voice remained calm: "Yes, if Madam has anything to say, we should wait until the Old Madam wakes up."
Mr. Qiao: ...
What else could she not understand? The old lady always knew how to avoid trouble and seek advantage. Last night, that brat brought so many people in, and this morning, her third son-in-law came to help. The old lady probably didn't dare to or wanted to confront her grandson-in-law who was a general. So she simply pretended not to know anything and hid away to keep quiet!
It's infuriating that the two people she sent out to inform her family last night haven't returned yet. Qiao feels completely isolated and helpless. The old lady clearly doesn't want to get involved, so Qiao has no choice but to take it one step at a time and see what those two heartless bastards are up to.
Thinking of this, Qiao hurriedly went to Mingyue Residence.
Yu Qingci and Lu Yunqi were waiting for the two doctors to finish preparing the medicine when they heard Qiao Shi's voice. Yu Qingci's eyes showed obvious impatience. Afraid of disturbing her mother, she went out.
Qiao shrieked, "Third girl, what do you mean by this? Why are you arresting those servants? And the entire household has been surrounded by people from the General's Mansion, and no one is allowed to leave. What exactly do you want to do?"
Before Yu Qingci could speak, Lu Yunqi looked over with a cold, meaningful gaze, his voice not loud but full of pressure:
“Madam Qiao, there’s no need to ask Qingci about this. I was the one who ordered the arrests and the siege of the mansion, not her. Madam Qiao, you can ask me whatever you want.”
Qiao swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice calm:
"Very well, I wonder what explanation Third Son-in-Law has for this?"
For some reason, Qiao felt a sense of apprehension towards this young man who had been to the battlefield, and his tone of voice softened considerably.
Lu Yunqi stood up and slowly moved forward, while Qiao Shi involuntarily stepped back.
Lu Yunqi: "My mother-in-law's illness is quite strange. The two doctors just found that she has symptoms of poisoning, which is no small matter. We are just taking precautions and asking a few servants questions as a routine matter."
Upon hearing the words "poisoning," Madam Qiao swayed slightly. "Interrogation? If it's just an interrogation, why send so many people to surround my mansion? This morning, they haven't even let anyone out of the gate, not even the servants can go out to buy things. What will people think if this gets out?"
"With the Lord of the Marquis not in the mansion, is this how the Third Son-in-Law treats his wife's family? It's utterly outrageous!"
Then he turned to Yu Qingci and said, "Third girl, how can you tolerate your son-in-law making such a big fuss at your wife's family? Are you trying to disrupt the peace of our entire household?"
Don't forget this is your maternal home. What you've done is truly disheartening. Do you suspect that someone is harming your mother's illness?
Lu Yunqi: "I already said it was my order, why are you blaming my wife?"
Madam Qiao had no choice but to say, "Then, could the third son-in-law lift the curfew first? We can't even prevent the servants from going out to buy groceries; the whole family is waiting to be fed."
As soon as he finished speaking, Butler Lu walked in from outside, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:
"General, the supplies for the Earl's residence for the past two days have been delivered. I purchased them according to the list provided by the Earl's residence, and nothing is missing. They have already been handed over to the Earl's steward."
Mr. Qiao: ...
Lu Yunqi's lips curled into a smile: "Now Madam Qiao should be relieved, right? By the way, last night, due to the urgency of the situation, we had to send people to surround the mansion first. Unexpectedly, it actually had some effect. Just last night, my men caught two servants trying to sneak out. One tried to leave through the back door at dawn, and the other was even stranger. He was in such a hurry to leave before daybreak that he tried to crawl through the dog hole to get out of the mansion. I wonder what these two are up to?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Qiao was greatly surprised. She had been feeling uneasy ever since returning home last night, so she sent two trusted confidants out of the mansion to secretly inform her family. She never expected that they would be caught by this evil spirit.
That explains why my mother hasn't sent anyone yet.
Qiao gritted her teeth and said, "Is this really true? This is outrageous! Where are those two people? I want to see who gave them the audacity to run around in the middle of the night."
"You don't need to worry about this, Third Son-in-Law. Just have your people hand them over to me. You and Third Sister just need to focus on taking good care of your older sister."
Yu Qingci was also stunned and couldn't help but look at Lu Yunqi, her eyes darting back and forth. Last night, she only instructed Steward Lu to protect Mingyue Residence, but she didn't give any other instructions. They actually caught two people?
Steward Lu spoke up from the side: "When I followed the General in his campaigns, I served as a junior officer."
After saying that, he glanced disdainfully at Yu Qingci, Qiao Shi and the others. Women are just short-sighted. Do you think we came all this way just to protect a aunt's courtyard?
Catching a few rats in the big sieve of the Earl's mansion is just a piece of cake.
Lu Yunqi found his wife's bewildered expression amusing, and the corners of his mouth curved into an even wider smile.
Yu Qingci suddenly realized, and looked at Butler Lu with admiration. It seemed that she had been wasting her talents; after all, everyone has their own expertise.
Lu Yunqi: "No need to trouble Madam Qiao. Those two people have already confessed, they were easily frightened. They said they were sent by Madam Qiao to deliver a message to Vice Minister Qiao's residence. I want to ask Madam Qiao what message she was delivering in such a hurry to go back in the middle of the night?"
Qiao became anxious: "They're talking nonsense! It's completely untrue. They must have done something shady and got caught, so they're framing me! Hand over those two reckless fools to me. I want to question them myself."
Just then, several shrill screams came from the neighboring courtyard, sending chills down one's spine.
The faint smile at the corner of Lu Yunqi's lips deepened slightly, and he said, seemingly unintentionally:
"Using the methods used by the military to interrogate spies on a few maids in the inner quarters is a waste of talent. My men are always efficient, and I estimate they will be able to extract some information soon."
Qiao's face instantly lost all color, and her legs went weak, almost unable to stand. She was only able to stay upright because Wu Mama was supporting her tightly.
Lu Yunqi said gently to Yu Qingci, "I'll go next door and take a look. Xuanbing and Xuanying are both experienced in handling cases, so they should have some leads soon. You just stay here and take care of your mother-in-law. I'll handle the rest."
After Lu Yunqi finished speaking, he strode out. Yu Qingci glanced at Qiao Shi:
"Mother can't leave anyone here, so we won't keep Madam Qiao any longer. If Madam Qiao has nothing else to do, please go back."
After saying that, he turned and went into the main house, leaving Qiao and the others standing in the courtyard at a loss.
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