Chapter 515 Not Giving an Inch
The old woman was so frightened that she withdrew her hand instantly.
Asi rushed over to support Weijia, looking her up and down, silently asking if she was alright.
Wei Jia shook her head at her.
Both of them knew that this was not the time for them to speak, so they both looked at Qiao Qinghe.
Upon seeing Qiao Qinghe arrive, the old woman glanced at Qiao Qinghe awkwardly, then quickly returned to Old Madam Qiao's side.
"What are you doing, Mother?"
Qiao Qinghe preemptively asked with displeasure, "Wei Jia is carrying Jing Yuan's child. Even if she has done something wrong, she should be more forgiving for the sake of the child."
"Even if she's not the best, she's still my daughter-in-law, the first wife of this household. Even if Mother doesn't care about her, she shouldn't have forced her to kneel in front of so many people!"
“If she has done anything wrong, Mother, you can tell me, and I will teach her.”
"Why would Mother insist on punishing her in public, disregarding all consequences?"
Qiao Qinghe's face darkened as she posed the crucial question: "Is Mother trying to slap Wei Jia in the face, or is she trying to slap me in the face?"
Seeing that Qiao Qinghe was angry, A Shuang quickly tried to pat her back, but Qiao Qinghe stopped her with a look, "Go do what I just told you to do now."
Ah Shuang looked at the scene before her and hesitated.
However, she only hesitated for a moment before obeying the order and leaving.
No one cared about A Shuang's departure; everyone's attention was focused on Qiao Qinghe and Old Mrs. Qiao.
Especially the servants in the Qiao family, all of them were waiting for Qiao Qinghe to stand up for Weijia.
Seeing Qiao Qinghe's harsh words, Old Madam Qiao immediately became angry and pointed at Qiao Qinghe, angrily scolding, "Fine, fine, you've grown wings now and dare to lecture your old mother!"
"Ha, I'd like to ask you, which elder gets scolded by their daughter after reprimanding their granddaughter-in-law!"
Qiao Qinghe frowned. "Is Mother going to make a scene?"
Grandma Qiao remained unfazed. "So what if it is?"
"If you don't apologize to me today, and don't make this lowly servant kneel before me for a full hour, no, two hours, I'll show the whole capital how you behave in such a disobedient and unfilial manner!"
"I refuse to believe that if this gets out, you, a second-rank imperial consort, won't be the subject of gossip and slander."
Qiao Qinghe's face darkened completely. "So, Mother is determined to force Weijia to kneel as punishment?"
Grandma Qiao raised her chin, her eyes haughty, her attitude quite clear.
Seeing that the two were about to turn on each other, Wei Jia, supported by Asi, quickly walked to Qiao Qinghe's side and whispered, "Mother, I'm much better now, so perhaps..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was silenced by Qiao Qinghe's cold glare.
Wei Jia hesitated for a moment, then moved closer and whispered in a voice just loud enough for the two of them to hear, "Mother, let me kneel as punishment. Perhaps I can use this to test the old lady's true intentions."
She's not stupid; she can kneel, but she won't actually kneel for two hours.
She could easily kneel for a quarter of an hour or two, then pretend to faint by saying she has an upset stomach.
This would both temporarily quell Mrs. Qiao's anger and allow us to test her true intentions.
Qiao Qinghe frowned and glared at her unhappily. "Stop talking. I won't make you kneel as punishment. Not even for a moment!"
She could guess Wei Jia's plans, but she would never allow Wei Jia to gamble with her own body and the child in her womb.
Qiao Qinghe did not lower her voice. Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Qiao's eyes immediately blazed with anger, and she looked as if she wanted to burn Qiao Qinghe to ashes.
"Qiao Qinghe, are you so disobedient and unfilial? Aren't you afraid of being gossiped about behind your back?" Old Mrs. Qiao suppressed her anger and questioned in a deep voice.
"Mother, my spine has long been pierced by people. Are you afraid of me now?"
Qiao Qinghe scoffed and continued, "Have you forgotten that in order to escape death, I divorced the dead and changed my surname with the Min family's children and grandchildren?"
“In the eyes of the world, I have long been a shameless old woman who is afraid of death and forgets her ancestors.”
"Adding another charge of disobedience and filial impiety to my name would be of no consequence to me."
Do you think I would care?
"You...you..." Old Mrs. Qiao was completely speechless after being confronted by Qiao Qinghe's shameless words.
“Mother, if you still want to live in this mansion, I advise you to behave yourself and stop trying to take advantage of Weijia and the child in her womb. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to kick you out!”
"You, how dare you! You are unfilial! I am your own mother! How dare you treat me like this?" Old Mrs. Qiao looked at Qiao Qinghe in disbelief, so angry that she was completely out of control.
Qiao Qinghe said coldly, not backing down an inch, "Mother already targeted Weijia once yesterday, and today is the second time."
"I don't want to see this happen a third time."
“If I see my mother deliberately targeting Weijia again, I will not only dare to kick her out of the Qiao family, but I will also dare to have her sent back to Jiangnan.”
"If you don't believe me, Mother, just try it."
"You...you..." Old Mrs. Qiao was so angry that she couldn't speak at all.
Just then, Qiao Jingyi and Qiao Wangshi arrived with several children.
"What's going on? Why are Grandma and Aunt arguing all of a sudden?"
The couple came over with smiles to try and mediate the fight.
Qiao Jingyi came up to help the old lady Qiao and coaxed her gently, "Grandma, why are you becoming more and more like a child as you get older?"
“We’re all family, let’s sit down and talk things over.”
"You lose your temper so easily when things go your way, it makes everyone feel uncomfortable."
With Qiao Jingyi's reassurance, Old Madam Qiao's complexion visibly improved.
Seeing this, Qiao Wangshi quickly came over to comfort Qiao Qinghe: "Aunt, Grandma is getting old and becoming more and more willful. Please bear with her."
As she spoke, she looked at Wei Jia beside Qiao Qinghe, smiled and curtsied to her, "Grandma, have you been wronged by your sister-in-law?"
"I'd like to apologize to my sister-in-law on behalf of my grandmother."
"Grandma left her hometown and came to the capital. She was not used to it for a while, and she was sometimes irritable."
"Sister-in-law, please don't hold it against Grandma, considering she's an elder."
Qiao Wangshi spoke eloquently and was kind and approachable, so Wei Jia naturally wouldn't put on airs. She quickly replied with a smile, "Sister-in-law, you're joking. Grandmother is an elder, and her scolding of me was just to teach me how to conduct myself. It's one thing to be ungrateful, but why would I argue with an elder?"
"Sister-in-law, you truly deserve the respect of both my aunt and second aunt. You are indeed sensible." Qiao Wangshi flattered, and she also gained a new understanding of Weijia.
Wow, everyone says that this couple is eloquent and persuasive. Look at this one, he's the real talker!
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