Chapter 115 The Cruel Truth
Madam Min Qiao jumped up from her chair. "How is this possible?! If they were all alive, then why did Second Brother die? Why is Second Sister-in-law in this state? And what about that child, Yuanyao…"
Min Qiao looked directly at Qiao Qingping, "Brother, tell me, what exactly is going on?"
Qiao Qingping raised his hand and pressed down, gesturing for Madam Min to sit down and talk.
Min Qiao took a deep breath, calmed herself down a bit, and sat down again. But her gaze never left Qiao Qingping.
She desperately wanted an answer!
Qiao Qingping didn't keep Min Qiaoshi waiting any longer. After she sat down, he solemnly said, "Back then, when Min Ji approached the Qiao family to propose to you, he handed over the assassin organization to the Qiao family to show his sincerity."
"In order to truly control the assassin organization, your second brother sent Jingyuan into the organization to train him from a young age, hoping that he would take over the organization in the future."
Madam Min was shocked. "So, the Qiao family claimed that Jing Yuan died unexpectedly, but in reality, he was hiding his identity and was placed in an assassin organization?"
Qiao Qingping nodded: "Yes."
"Since the child is not dead, why not tell your second sister-in-law?"
Madam Min frowned. "It's one thing to keep it from outsiders, but why keep it from my second sister-in-law as well?"
“She is Jingyuan’s biological mother!” Madam Min Qiao strongly disagreed.
Qiao Qingping smiled bitterly, looking at Min Qiaoshi with a meaningful gaze, "If it were you, would you be willing to send your son to be an assassin at such a young age? If it were you, after learning that your son had been chosen as an assassin, could you hide your emotions at all times and prevent outsiders from noticing anything amiss?"
Min Qiao choked.
She desperately wanted to say she could! Because right now, she didn't care about Min Rong at all; she didn't care if he died!
But in her previous life, she would have risked her life to make a scene until the Qiao family sent her son back!
Min Qiao was speechless and could only change the subject: "Then, since Jing Yuan has already been sent to the assassin organization, what about Jing Yao?"
Qiao Qingping said with a bitter expression, "Because Jingyuan performed too well, he was chosen by a big shot to be his bodyguard when he was just ten years old. That's why your second brother had to send Jingyao to the assassin organization to take Jingyuan's place."
Upon hearing this, Madam Min felt both absurd and heartbroken.
How could you do this?
Madam Min felt a tightness in her chest. "How could you be so heartless as to do this?! My second sister-in-law is so innocent, why must she suffer the pain of losing her son again and again?"
At this point, Madam Min Qiao couldn't help but shed tears, a nameless rage burning within her. "It's all because of your ambition! If you didn't want to expand the Qiao family's power, if you didn't want to use the Xuanping Marquis's connections to become the number one merchant family in Jiangnan, how could you have fallen for Min Ji's scheme?"
Qiao Qingping sighed and did not argue.
Admittedly, these factors were indeed among the reasons why we accepted Min Ji's deal in the first place.
But more often than not, it was due to the pressure of the situation!
At that time, no one in the entire Jiangnan region would allow the Qiao family to back down! They didn't give the Qiao family any chance to refuse!
They disguised everything as a huge windfall, congratulating the Qiao family with an envious and jealous tone. Even officials at all levels lowered their stance, feigning flattery and showing concern for the Qiao family, acting as if they were eager to curry favor.
Thus, with everyone's encouragement, the Qiao family took the bait and ultimately became the offerings on the altar!
After venting her anger, Madam Min Qiao finally deflated, saying, "In the end, it's still Min Ji who's too insidious! Didn't I get deceived by him for two lifetimes too?"
Madam Min didn't say the last sentence aloud. But she knew in her heart that Min Ji would stop at nothing to protect the Xuanping Marquis's mansion.
Let alone a small-time merchant, even a high-ranking official of the court, a newly appointed Grand Secretary, became a victim of his schemes.
Thinking of this, Madam Min sighed dejectedly, "Forget it, haven't I been kept in the dark by Min Ji all these years? How can I have the face to blame you?"
"In the end, it's all Min Ji's fault. He's too calculating. We're all just pawns in his game."
Qiao Qingping wanted to say something to comfort Min Qiao Shi, but after opening and closing his mouth for a long time, he didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only sigh.
Min Ji is already dead, and it's pointless to pursue his mistakes now.
Madam Min didn't want to dwell on that too much, and got back to the main point: "Then what happened to Second Sister-in-law? Why did she fall ill because of me? What did Second Brother say to Second Sister-in-law before he died? Also, was Second Brother's death a genuine accident, or was it deliberately orchestrated?"
Qiao Qingping didn't hide anything and told the truth: "Your second brother's death was indeed an accident. But the culprit is the Cui family. If the Cui family hadn't plotted to ruin Yuanyao's reputation and come to humiliate him, your second brother wouldn't have been able to bear it any longer and would have gone to make trouble."
“Although we couldn’t do anything to the Cui family back then,” Qiao Qingping changed the subject, “Cui Cheng’s youngest son also died with your second brother. It can be considered an eye for an eye.”
Madam Min Qiao said angrily, "How can that good-for-nothing son of Cui Cheng be more important than my second brother's life?"
“Who says otherwise?” Qiao Qingping said helplessly. “What else can we do? Are we supposed to let Jing Yao wipe out the Cui family? Alas, I’m afraid that before the Cui family is wiped out, Jing Yao himself will expose his identity and die without a burial place.”
As if afraid that Madam Min would continue to steer the conversation away from the topic, Qiao Qingping did not give Madam Min a chance to speak and continued the previous topic: "As for your second sister-in-law's situation... because of the fact that her two children 'passed away' one after another in the early years, your second sister-in-law was already greatly traumatized."
"After that, Yuanyao was schemed against by the Cui family, which ruined her reputation. Your second sister-in-law always felt it was her fault and blamed herself for not protecting Yuanyao properly. Before she could get over her self-blame, your second brother got into trouble."
"At that time, your second sister-in-law was completely devastated. It looked like she was going to go with your second brother."
“Dad and I discussed it and had your second brother make up a lie, blaming you for all the suffering the second wife endured, so that your second sister-in-law would hate you, just to give her a reason to live.”
"The reason your second sister-in-law has been able to survive all these years is because of the words your second brother left behind before he died."
"Your second brother told your second sister-in-law to live well and wait for you to come back, and also told her to confront you face to face. You have ruined the Qiao family and the second branch of the family. How can you have the face to come back?"
At this point, Qiao Qingping looked at Min Qiaoshi with guilt, "Your second sister-in-law's matter was all my idea. If you want to blame someone, blame me."
After hearing Qiao Qingping's words, Madam Min felt a pang of sadness.
She shook her head, her emotions a jumbled mess, and said, "Actually, what my eldest brother said isn't wrong. The Qiao family's affairs are also related to me. If I had paid more attention to the Qiao family back then, and been more wary of Min Ji instead of foolishly believing everything he said, the Qiao family might not have ended up like this. My second brother, second sister-in-law, and the children wouldn't have suffered so much."
Qiao Qingping disagreed with Madam Min's words, retorting, "Min Ji was determined from the beginning to sacrifice the Qiao family to appease the heavens. What can a woman from the inner quarters do?"
"What's more, you were just one of his concubines back then."
“If you had been deeply wary of him from the beginning and had been wholeheartedly devoted to the Qiao family, I'm afraid you wouldn’t have become the wife of the Marquis of Xuanping, let alone have your current status and position.”
Qiao Qingping paused for a moment, then said, "If you had been so wary of him from the beginning, I'm afraid you might not even be alive today."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com