Chapter 610 Madam Zheng's Choice
“Madam Qian, I haven’t even opened my mouth yet, and you’ve already cut me off.”
Madam Zheng said with a displeased expression, "Those who know this house will think you're the hostess!"
"It's always good to have some sense of propriety in what you say and do. Don't you agree?"
As she spoke, she glanced at the other elderly women present.
These people were all summoned by Old Madam Qian.
Seeing that Madam Zheng was angry, Old Madam Qian said embarrassedly, "Oh dear, it's all my fault. I knew you had guests today, but I still invited so many of my old friends over."
"But I have no choice! The Qiao family has too high a threshold, and it's really too difficult to see Old Madam Qiao."
"So, when I found out from you yesterday that Madam Qiao was coming today, I eagerly sent someone over, hoping to resolve the conflict with Madam Qiao."
Madam Zheng looked at Qiao Qinghe and asked her when she had a conflict with Old Madam Qian.
Qiao Qinghe shook her head, indicating that she didn't know either.
She doesn't even know who this old lady Qian is, so where would she make enemies?
Just then, Madam Qian smiled and reminded him, "My husband is a senior official in the Ministry of Revenue, and he lives on Changxing Street."
"The house that Madam Qiao's family recently bought is near my house."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Qinghe knew who this person was.
When the eldest branch of the Qiao family was renovating their house, they encountered many neighbors who caused trouble. Although most of them prepared gifts and went to apologize after they learned that the Qiao family was her kinsman.
There was one family whose official rank was the highest in the area, holding the fifth rank. They made the most outrageous demands when they were causing trouble, but afterwards they never came to apologize.
If I remember correctly, this is the Qian family.
Qiao Qinghe said with a forced smile, "Who do we have here? It's Doctor Qian's house!"
"Old Madam Qian made things difficult for my family when they were repairing the house, and now she's provoking me again. Does she think the Qiao family is easy to bully?"
"Oh dear, what are you saying?" Old Madam Qian gave Qiao Qinghe a reproachful look, then said with a smile, "Didn't I say that I came here today to resolve our conflict?"
"My family was also deceived by a charlatan before."
"That swindler said that the location of the Qiao family's gate was inauspicious for our family. That's why our family asked the Qiao family to change the location of their gate."
Qiao Qinghe looked at Old Madam Qiao with a half-smile, not delving into the truth of her words, and simply said, "It seems that after learning about the relationship between the Qiao family and my family, the Qian family consulted a master again?"
Madam Qian nodded with a smile: "That's right. The new master was specially invited from Fahua Temple. The master said there was no clash, it's all a misunderstanding."
"Since it's all a misunderstanding, why doesn't the Qian family apologize to the Qiao family?" Qiao Qinghe looked at Old Madam Qian with amusement.
Madam Qian choked for a moment, then laughed and said, "Madam Qiao is right. I just heard that Madam Qiao was coming to Madam Zheng's place, so I rushed over to apologize."
Qiao Qinghe scoffed, "The people Madam Qian should apologize to are your neighbors, not my family. If you wanted to apologize, you could have just walked a few steps away. Why wait until now to apologize to me?"
"Even if we take a step back and assume that the Qiao family is of too low a social standing to deserve your family's apology."
"If you want to apologize to me, it's only a quarter of an hour's walk."
"Instead of going to the Qiao residence in Nancheng to apologize to me, you insisted on coming all the way to the Duke of Jin's residence to apologize in front of Madam Zheng. You even specially invited so many people to watch the show."
"What, you think I'll give you face just because there are more of you?"
"Or perhaps you've figured out my temperament, that I definitely won't accept your apology. So, you're doing this on purpose to make Madam Zheng dislike me and ruin our relationship. And also to let these old ladies who are watching the show spread the word so that the family will know I'm unforgiving? Or perhaps you actually want people to think that my relationship with Madam Zheng has broken down?"
Qiao Qinghe sneered disdainfully, "You think you can ruin my relationship with Madam Zheng with such paltry tricks?"
"I really don't know whether to praise you for being smart or scold you for being stupid."
"You..." Old Madam Qian was so angry that Qiao Qinghe exposed her scheming in public that she turned red with rage and said, "I sincerely wanted to resolve the conflict with you, but you misinterpreted my meaning and are so aggressive! Do you really think everyone is afraid of you?"
"She's just an old woman who sells her child for personal gain and clings to life, does she really think she's someone important?"
"Bah! Without the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion and the Min family, I'd like to see how long the Qiao family can be so arrogant with their meager power!"
Qiao Qinghe's face darkened completely, but her mind remained exceptionally clear.
"How long I can be arrogant is none of your concern."
"But, Madam Qian, what brings you here today?"
Qiao Qinghe's voice was unusually calm, showing no trace of her previous anger.
Old Madam Qian was stunned by Qiao Qinghe's sudden extreme calmness and didn't come back to her senses for a long time.
Shouldn't we be arguing back and saying hurtful things to her?
How did you suddenly regain your composure?
"You came here today just to provoke me, didn't you?"
Qiao Qinghe looked at Old Madam Qian with a half-smile, "Who sent you?"
Madam Qian's expression changed, and she looked away to cover her face. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I came here to apologize to you, but you were unreasonable and wouldn't let it go, so I got angry and said some harsh things."
As he spoke, he looked at Madam Zheng and said, "Madam, please be my judge. Was my apology wrong?"
“Yes, Madam, you must speak the truth! Madam Qian said yesterday that she would come to apologize to Madam Qiao today, and that's why she called us over to make it seem more serious.”
"That's right! Since they met, Madam Qian has been extremely polite to Madam Qiao, and her smile has never faded. Madam Qiao, on the other hand, has always maintained a superior attitude, and her words are full of barbs. What does that mean!"
"Madam, you must stand up for Old Madam Qian!"
"That's right, otherwise we won't stand for it!"
The elderly ladies who followed Qiao Qinghe in chattered amongst themselves, pleading for Madam Qian's injustice while subtly pressuring Madam Zheng to make a choice.
Madam Zheng naturally realized that these people were trying to force her to take sides.
On one side is Qiao Qinghe, whom he has known for several years, and on the other side are these newly acquainted people.
Qiao Qinghe also looked at Madam Zheng, but she did not speak, only quietly watching her.
Madam Zheng gave a wry smile and immediately called out towards the door, "Someone, see the guest out!"
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