Chapter 532 Yan Jin Returns to Beijing
Qiao Qinghe glared at him and scolded, "Someone is threatening you to leave Uncle Wu with his life. Such a serious matter, instead of informing him immediately, you're worried about whether he'll be punished by the Emperor?"
"Do you not care about Uncle Wu's life? Or do you want to take this opportunity to divorce Uncle Enping?"
Su Rongrong shook her head repeatedly, "I want Uncle Wu to live! I don't want to be separated from Brother Yan either!"
"That settles it then." Qiao Qinghe sighed. "In the end, this is still a romantic entanglement that Enping Bo himself caused, and he has to resolve it himself."
"I will do whatever my grandmother says."
With Qiao Qinghe in charge, Su Rongrong was still worried, but at least she had someone to rely on, which made her feel a little more at ease.
Qiao Qinghe told Su Rongrong to stay at the Qiao residence and not to return to the Enping Earl's residence until they found Uncle Wu and resolved the whole matter.
Firstly, with Yan Jin absent, Su Rongrong was the only mistress in the Enping Earl's Mansion, making her life lonely.
Secondly, the Shun'an Prince's Mansion is right next to the Enping Earl's Mansion, and Qiao Qinghe was afraid that Feng Yudie would take advantage of Su Rongrong's unstable state of mind to cause her trouble.
Most importantly, they need to keep Su Rongrong under their watchful eyes to prevent any unexpected mishaps.
Su Rongrong naturally wouldn't object; she agreed as soon as Qiao Qinghe mentioned it.
Fortunately, Qiao Qinghe had reserved a private courtyard for her at the Qiao residence.
Qiao Qinghe and Wei Jia comforted Su Rongrong again, and then let her go back to her courtyard to rest.
After seeing Su Rongrong off, Qiao Qinghe discussed with Wei Jia again to see if there was anything that had been overlooked.
"Have Aqi keep a close eye on Rongrong these next few days. Apart from a few loyal and trustworthy maids, no one is allowed to get close to her. Also, no one is allowed to communicate with Rongrong privately without permission."
"Every two hours, we send someone to inform Rongrong of the progress in the search, so that she is kept informed."
"Also, keep a close eye on the gatekeepers. If any suspicious persons are seen, tie them up and interrogate them carefully."
...
Qiao Qinghe gave a long list of instructions until she noticed Wei Jia's tired expression. Then she called He Shi over and gave her the instructions.
"That's all for now, you should go back and rest too."
Qiao Qinghe looked at Wei Jia's belly with some concern, "Rongrong's matter is important, but you can't be careless about your health either."
"Don't worry, I will take good care of myself." Wei Jia stroked her already protruding belly and said with a smile in her eyes, "This is a precious gift from God, and I will definitely give birth to it properly."
Seeing her like this, Qiao Qinghe smiled and said, "It's good that you think this way."
The two talked for a while longer before parting ways.
Before they knew it, it was evening, and Qiao Ning, who had gone to the banquet, was brought back by the princess's carriage.
Upon learning that Qiao Ning had been brought back by the princess's carriage, Old Madam Qiao was so happy that she ate half a bowl more at dinner.
The other members of the Qiao family also pulled Qiao Ning aside to ask about her experience and feelings about attending the banquet at the Princess's residence. They all seemed quite naive and unsophisticated.
All of these matters were reported to Qiao Qinghe in detail by the servants.
Since the maid who had been spying on Qiao Qinghe's whereabouts was dealt with a couple of days ago, the new servants that were bought into the mansion have become much more sensible.
After dinner, Qiao Ning came over to pay her respects and told him what had happened after Qiao Qinghe left.
Because she didn't know what was important and what wasn't, Qiao Ning recounted everything she had seen and heard.
Qiao Qinghe listened patiently and gleaned two key points from the conversation.
Firstly, Li Sanqi seemed to have a plan to have Qiao Yuanyao become a female official by her side.
Although Li Sanqi mentioned this casually, Qiao Qinghe knew that it was just Li Sanqi testing Qiao Yuanyao's reaction in advance.
If nothing unexpected happens, Qiao Yuanyao will probably come to ask for her opinion.
The second thing is that Madam Wen of the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion seems to like Qiao Ning very much.
After she made it clear that Qiao Ning would not become someone's concubine, she actually took the initiative to talk to Qiao Ning again.
He also asked her to come back and tell him that when the weather gets warmer in a while, he would like to invite her to go to Fahua Temple outside the city to offer incense.
He also mentioned that he would let her and Qiao Yuanyao go together.
Qiao Qinghe silently kept this matter in mind.
If she remembered correctly, the only eligible unmarried son in the Yongchang Marquis's household was the eldest son of the Yongchang Marquis.
She didn't believe that a mere liking would be enough for Lady Wen to bypass the Yongchang Marquis and his wife and marry the lowly Qiao Ning as the principal wife of her eldest grandson.
The most likely scenario is that they want to try bringing her into the household as a concubine.
Therefore, she had to be on guard.
After seeing Qiao Ning off, Qiao Qinghe felt another weight lifted from her heart.
Seeing that Qiao Qinghe was in a bad mood, A Shuang couldn't help but advise her, "Madam, don't think about so many people. They say that children and grandchildren have their own blessings. You've worried too much these past two years."
"Back when the First Madam and I first entered the manor, you lived such a carefree life. You didn't care about anything and did whatever you wanted."
"But it's only been a few years! You've gone back to living."
At this point, A Shuang couldn't help but sigh, "When I first came here, I heard from Granny Fang that in your early years you managed the Marquis's mansion all by yourself. You would get up before dawn to work and wouldn't rest until it was completely dark. You were so busy every day that you didn't even have time to catch your breath."
"You finally figured it out, let it go, and stopped getting involved. But in the end, the Marquis's mansion is gone, the Marquis is dead, and now you're busy again."
Qiao Qinghe also sighed, "Perhaps I'm just destined to be a hard worker."
She genuinely wanted to ignore everything and just drift through life until she died.
But one thing after another kept pushing her forward. Now, she can't stop even if she wants to.
They only hoped that Min Ji would be brought to justice soon, thus resolving this major concern. They also hoped that Wei Jia would give birth to a child soon and take over the responsibilities of the Qiao family. They hoped that she could then enjoy her grandchildren and live out her remaining years in peace.
As the mistress and servant talked, Qiao Qinghe gradually became sleepy. Ashuang then lowered the bed curtains, blew out the lamp, and quietly left the inner room.
Qiao Qinghe fell asleep quickly, but soon after falling asleep she began to dream.
One moment it's all about her past life, the next it's events in this life. One moment it's Min Yuexi's accident, the next it's Su Rongrong's, and then she even dreams that Wei Jia and her unborn child are also in trouble…
Then Qiao Qinghe was startled awake by the dream.
Just then, Ah Shuang, who had heard the commotion, hurried in, lit the lamp, drew back the bed curtains, and asked cautiously, "Madam, did we wake you up?"
Qiao Qinghe was still a little confused. "What time is it?"
"It will be the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) in a quarter of an hour."
Qiao Qinghe pinched the bridge of her nose. "Who did you say you were talking to just now?"
"It was the gatekeeper's servant who came in to deliver the message."
Ah Shuang truthfully replied, "The Earl of Enping returned to the capital overnight and came directly to our residence."
"Steward He was afraid that she would disturb the old lady and the wife of the Earl of Enping, so he had someone arrange for her to rest in a wing room in the outer courtyard."
"But Earl Keping still sent someone in to say that he wanted to see the old lady now and asked if it would be convenient for her to see him."
Ah Shuang said remorsefully, "I think I was talking too loudly to others just now, which is why I disturbed the old lady."
Qiao Qinghe shook her head. "It has nothing to do with you. I had a nightmare, which woke me up."
Upon hearing this, A Shuang quickly came over to massage Qiao Qinghe's temples, saying, "It must be because there have been too many things going on lately, and the old lady has been thinking about them all day, which is why she had a nightmare."
Qiao Qinghe silently enjoyed Ah Shuang's massage for a while before instructing, "Help me change my clothes. And send someone to invite Earl Enping in."
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