Chapter 511 Min Pan'er's Scheme Within a Scheme
Fifteen minutes later, the car dealership's five luxury cars stopped outside Three-Foot Lane.
After receiving the news, Qiao Qinghe personally led Wei Jia and invited the Qiao family members into the car.
There were five carriages, and Qiao Qinghe and Wei Jia rode in one of them.
Grandma Qiao and Qiao Ning from the eldest branch of the family rode in a car.
Qiao Jingyi and Qiao Wangshi took their daughter Qiao Bing in a car.
The remaining three boys rode in a car by themselves.
The remaining vehicle was loaded with luggage that the Qiao family had brought from Jiangnan.
Qiao Qinghe originally thought that since so many people from the Qiao family were coming to the capital, they must have brought a lot of things with them, so she planned to return to her residence first and then send servants to move the things later.
As a result, all their belongings fit in one car, with plenty of room to spare.
When Qiao Qinghe got into the car, she had already heard A Shuang's report.
Suddenly, the doubts in my heart deepened.
They had little luggage, yet claimed they intended to stay for an extended period. They hadn't brought their usual servants either. Qiao Qinghe noticed that among so many members of the Qiao family, only one old woman and two maids from Old Madam Qiao's household had accompanied them.
Although the Qiao family was not as prosperous as before, they still had many servants, and the young masters and ladies were never short of maids and servants. But this time, apart from Old Madam Qiao, no one brought a single servant with them when they went to the capital.
This is really strange.
Qiao Qinghe remained silent throughout the journey, her mind racing with speculation about the purpose of the Qiao family's trip.
She didn't come to her senses until the carriage stopped in front of her house, only to be awakened by Wei Jia's calls.
As the group alighted from the carriage, Madam He, along with a group of servants, stood at the gate, looking very spirited, to welcome them.
Previously, when Qiao Qinghe asked He Shi to instruct the coachman to hire a carriage and book a banquet, she consulted with Qiao Qinghe and asked the coachman to take her back to the mansion on the way.
Upon returning, she instructed people to quickly tidy up several unused courtyards. She also arranged for hot water to be boiled and tea and snacks to be prepared.
After everything was arranged, he hurriedly led some of his servants to the door to line up and wait respectfully.
Upon seeing the servants who came to greet them, a hint of satisfaction flashed in Old Madam Qiao's eyes, but her expression remained indifferent. She said nothing and, supported by Qiao Jingyuan and his wife, went straight into the mansion.
Qiao Qinghe, the mistress, was actually a step behind.
"Madam, the courtyards for the old lady, Third Master, Third Mistress, and the young masters and young ladies of the cousins have all been prepared."
Madam He came up with a smile and reported, "Hot water, tea, snacks, and dinner have all been prepared."
Qiao Qinghe nodded in satisfaction and asked the old lady Qiao, who was walking ahead, "Mother, would you like to go back to the courtyard to bathe, change clothes, and rest first, or would you like to have your meal first?"
Grandma Qiao subconsciously wanted to say something sarcastic to Qiao Qinghe, but Qiao Jingyi tugged her arm, and she immediately frowned and said unhappily, "I've traveled for so long and sat at your second sister-in-law's place for half a day. I'm exhausted."
"Of course, we eat first, then take a bath and go straight to bed. Is that even a question?"
Qiao Qinghe said with a smile, "It was my oversight. Let's all go and have our meal first."
Soon, the group was led to the dining hall, where adults and children were seated at two separate tables.
Perhaps she was genuinely hungry, or perhaps the food at the restaurant was delicious, but at the dinner table, Old Mrs. Qiao didn't nitpick anymore.
The children ate with great relish.
After dinner, accompanied by Madam He, Qiao Qinghe personally escorted Old Madam Qiao to her courtyard before returning to the main courtyard.
As for the others, they were led to their respective courtyards by their servants.
When she returned to the main courtyard, Qiao Qinghe was completely exhausted.
Ah Shuang and Ah Si quickly came over to massage her, one massaging her shoulders and the other her legs.
Madam He quickly reported, "Madam, in addition to the three servants that the old lady brought, I have also arranged for four maids and two old women to go and serve her."
Qiao Qinghe nodded.
Madam He continued, "Third Master and Third Madam live in the same courtyard. They are also assigned four maids and two old women."
"The two young ladies will live with the old lady. Each of them will have two maids to serve them."
“The three young masters each have their own courtyard. Each of them has a personal servant, and four maids are also assigned to them.”
"Madam, please take a look. Is there anything that needs to be added or removed?"
Qiao Qinghe was so exhausted that she didn't even have the strength to shake her head. She said weakly, "Let's leave it like this for now. If there are any shortcomings, we can make changes after they point them out."
"yes."
Qiao Qinghe then asked, "How is Wei Jia doing? Has she had dinner yet?"
After returning to the manor, Qiao Qinghe forcibly sent Wei Jia back to her own courtyard to rest.
Madam He quickly replied, "She has already eaten. I had the kitchen prepare an appetizing and easy-to-digest meal for Madam. Perhaps she was hungry, as she ate a bowl of porridge and three small dishes for dinner. She seemed to have a very good appetite."
"That's good." Qiao Qinghe's voice grew softer and softer, as if she was about to fall asleep at any moment.
Seeing this, A Shuang felt extremely distressed and lowered her voice to ask Madam He, "Is the old lady tired? Does Steward He have anything else to report?"
Madam He wasn't oblivious to subtle cues; she knew Ah Shuang was trying to get rid of them, so she immediately shook her head and said, "It's alright. The old lady is tired today; you should help her get off."
With that, he quietly slipped out.
After Madam He left, A Shuang quickly instructed someone to prepare hot water, while she and A Si quietly woke up Qiao Qinghe and helped her back to the bedroom.
Wash up, change clothes, take down your hair bun...
Ah Shuang and Ah Si had tried their best to be gentle and quick in serving her, but when it was time for her to go to bed, Qiao Qinghe was still kept awake by them.
Lying in bed, I closed my eyes...
Qiao Qinghe suddenly thought of something, "A Shuang."
Ah Shuang, who was about to turn off the lights and go to the outer room to keep watch, heard Qiao Qinghe call her and quickly stopped what she was doing. She hurried to the bedside and asked in a low voice, "Madam, what are your instructions?"
Qiao Qinghe said, "Go and ask Amo how Min Pan'er is doing."
After leaving the Jiang residence, she had Amo pass on a message to Chen San, instructing him to arrange for two little beggars to keep an eye on Min Pan'er.
Let's see where she goes after leaving the Jiang residence.
Ah Shuang accepted the order and left, returning shortly afterward to report back.
However, when Ah Shuang returned, her expression still carried a hint of disbelief.
"You found out?" Qiao Qinghe looked at A Shuang with a strange expression. "Where did Min Pan'er go to make you look like that?"
Qiao Qinghe twitched the corner of her mouth and guessed, "Could she have gone to the Chu Prince's residence?"
Ah Shuang stared in shock, her mouth agape. "Madam, how did you know?"
Qiao Qinghe chuckled softly, "Is that so hard to guess?"
"I was wondering before, Min Pan'er finally got a new identity by borrowing the Jiang family, why would she be so eager to cause trouble and even push herself into a corner."
"Ha, on second thought, maybe all of this was planned all along. As the saying goes, 'Put yourself in a desperate situation and you will survive.'"
"Even if she now has the status of the second young lady of the Jiang family, she is still far from being worthy of being the Princess Consort of Chu."
"No, she can't even get close to the position of the King of Chu's concubine, let alone the position of the King of Chu's consort."
"Others may not know her situation, but how could His Majesty and the Empress not know?"
"Given Da's experience, His Majesty and the Empress would never allow Min Pan'er to enter the Chu Prince's residence. Especially the Empress."
"So that's why Min Pan'er took such a risky tactic and came up with this multi-pronged plan, right?"
Qiao Qinghe scoffed and said in a knowing tone, "I'm afraid that the more miserable Min Pan'er was when she was kicked out of the Jiang family, the more heartbroken and guilty the Prince of Chu must have felt."
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