Chapter 619 The Qian Family's Scheme
Zhou was truly speechless.
When Qiao Qinghe was chosen by Marquis Min Ji of Xuanping to be his concubine, apart from the old man who had no choice and the ambitious elder brother Qiao Qingping, almost everyone else felt sorry for Qiao Qinghe.
Even her father-in-law, who usually didn't interfere in things, had privately asked the old man if he could stop Qiao Qinghe from becoming someone's concubine.
As a result, the mother-in-law was overjoyed, saying that her daughter was going to marry into a noble family in the capital and enjoy a life of luxury. From now on, she would be the nobleman's mother-in-law.
Heaven knows, what kind of mother-in-law is a concubine's mother?
Now that Qinghe has finally made it through, her short-sighted mother-in-law wants to marry Qiao Ning off to a wealthy family as a concubine...
I really don't know what to say about her.
Qiao Qinghe took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and said in a deep voice, "Let's put aside these vested interests and the overall situation of the court, and talk about something simple."
"Last year, the Dowager Lady of the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion personally inspected the property and proposed that Wenjue marry Qiao Ning. The kind of marriage where he'd be married off with all the proper formalities, including a grand wedding procession!"
"But now they've changed their tune and want Qiao Ning to marry into their family as a concubine!"
Why do you think that is?
"I didn't even agree to let Qiao Ning marry him as his legal wife back then!"
"Do you think I can agree to let Qiao Ning marry into the family as a concubine right now?"
Grandma Qiao stared in shock, her mouth agape. After a long while, she glared angrily at Qiao Qinghe and demanded loudly, "When did this happen? Why didn't I know?"
"Why would you refuse such a good marriage offer?"
"Are you really that averse to seeing Qiao Ning?"
"Or are you saying you can't stand to see the Qiao family doing well?"
"Mother, please don't be angry. Let's talk this out." Zhou quickly tried to smooth things over.
Old Mrs. Qiao, however, wouldn't listen and pointed at Zhou's nose, demanding, "Do you also know about this?"
Zhou remained silent, embarrassed.
Upon seeing this, Old Mrs. Qiao immediately flew into a rage, "Fine, you all kept it from me, you all kept it from me! You think I'm too old and a nuisance... Waaah... I'm going back to Jiangnan right now! I'm going back to Jiangnan right now!"
“Alright, when does Mother plan to leave? I’ll have someone hire a caravan and bodyguards for you, and I’ll make sure you get back to Jiangnan safely.”
Qiao Qinghe looked at Old Madam Qiao with a half-smile, appearing completely relaxed and at ease.
Just as Grandma Qiao was about to make a point, she was stunned by Qiao Qinghe's words.
"you……"
Qiao Qinghe seemed oblivious to her feigned tears, and said in a cool tone, "Do you know why I asked everyone to keep this from you?"
"Because once you find out, you'll definitely force Qiao Ning to agree to this marriage."
"But Qiao Ning is unwilling. This marriage is indeed not suitable for Qiao Ning."
"In retrospect, the decision we made back then was indeed wise."
Because His Majesty would not want to see the Marquis of Enping's mansion and the Marquis of Yongchang's mansion become a loving family through the Qiao family as a bridge and link.
Therefore, Qiao Ning, this insignificant little woman, is bound to become a sacrifice.
Although Qiao Ning has now become a pawn in stirring up trouble between the two governments, at least her life won't be harmed. It's a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
Grandma Qiao, seething with anger, couldn't help but shout, "Qiao Qinghe! I'm your mother!"
Qiao Qinghe looked at her calmly and said in a light tone, "If you weren't my mother, I would have sent you back to Jiangnan as early as last year when you first arrived in the capital, when you were making things difficult for the Qiao family and plotting against them."
"You..." Old Mrs. Qiao was so angry that she couldn't speak. She immediately clutched her chest, her eyes about to roll back.
Zhou hurriedly went to help her up, patting Old Mrs. Qiao's chest while giving Qiao Qinghe a reproachful glare, "You should say less. She is your own mother after all. She's getting old, so you should be more accommodating. If you really upset her, you won't get any credit either."
Qiao Qinghe noticed the old lady's rolling eyes and knew that the old lady was in good health. At over seventy years old, she could still travel a long distance from Jiangnan to the capital. Her health was even better than hers.
"Alright, Mother, stop pretending."
Qiao Qinghe's tone softened a bit, "I know you don't understand these implications, and your wish for Qiao Ning to marry into the Yongchang Marquis's family is out of good intentions."
Grandma Qiao pursed her lips, pushed away Zhou's hand, sat up straight, and patted her chest. She looked a little better.
But she still said angrily, "Did you know you were going to humiliate me like that?"
Qiao Qinghe ignored her and continued, "However, the capital is different from other places. The officials and powerful families here are deeply entrenched. A slight misstep can bring disaster to one's entire family."
"Take your moving to your new house as an example."
“Those who make things difficult for you think that you are just newcomers to the capital and of low rank, so they look down on you and want to bully you and drive you away.”
"But what they don't know is that you have two families of relatives, like me and Jingyao, behind you."
"And one of the families who made things difficult for you back then has yet to come and apologize. If you rely on my and Jingyao's influence to force them to apologize, you will realize that the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion is standing behind them!"
"Therefore, no one should be underestimated in the capital."
"Before making any decision, you should consider whether there are other people's ulterior motives involved."
"etc!"
Grandma Qiao suddenly interrupted Qiao Qinghe's lecture, asking with a shocked expression, "You just said that among the people who made things difficult for our family when we were renovating our new house, there were relatives of the Marquis of Yongchang's family?"
Qiao Qinghe nodded expressionlessly: "Yes, it's the one with the highest official rank in your area."
"You're not talking about the Qian family, the fifth-rank physicians, are you?" Old Mrs. Qiao looked at Qiao Qinghe in disbelief.
"Yes! It's their house!" Qiao Qinghe said with a smile, "Hasn't their house been quite lively these past few days?"
Grandma Qiao swallowed hard, and asked in a weak voice, "You did all the things that happened in their family?"
Qiao Qinghe's expression remained unchanged, but her tone carried a hint of warning as she said, "Mother, you can't just say things like that. What do their family affairs have to do with me? I was just watching the show. Why are you blaming me for no reason?"
Grandma Qiao said awkwardly, "Grandma Qian has been scolding you every day these past few days. Twice when she saw me leaving the house, she deliberately came up to us and said sarcastic things. From the way she said it, it was as if all the bad luck that had happened to her family these past few days was your doing."
Qiao Qinghe scoffed, "Old Mrs. Qian has done too many bad things, and now she's suffering the consequences, but she's blaming it all on me?"
"When your mother heard her cursing at you, did she rush up and slap her twice?"
Grandma Qiao awkwardly moved her lips, but in the end, she didn't say a word.
Qiao Qinghe suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and gave Old Madam Qiao a cold laugh.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed into her mind.
Is it possible that the matchmaker wasn't sent by the Yongchang Marquis's mansion at all, but was invited by the Qian family's matriarch?
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