Chapter 544 Amo Returns to Beijing Severely Injured
Upon seeing them emerge, Wen Jue limped forward, greeted them respectfully, and then said apologetically, "My mother has always felt that she favored my eldest brother and sent me to my maternal grandparents' home in the Northwest, which resulted in my crippled leg and the loss of my marriage prospects. Therefore, she feels extremely guilty towards me."
"Mother came here today with sincerity, but was rejected by both young ladies in succession. Mother was so angry that she lost face. Please, Madam and the two Miss Qiaos, don't be angry."
"On behalf of my mother, I would like to apologize to the three of you."
“Young Master Wen, you flatter us.” Qiao Qinghe quickly waved her hand. “It’s all because my two maids have failed to live up to Madam’s good intentions. Please tell your mother that we had no intention of disrespecting her at all; we just felt it was inappropriate.”
Wen Jue smiled and agreed, then took his leave.
He stood respectfully with his eyes lowered from beginning to end, speaking politely, and never once looked at Qiao Yuanyao and Qiao Ning.
After everyone had gone, Qiao Qinghe sighed and said, "He is a polite person."
Qiao Yuanyao immediately saw through the mystery, "This person doesn't look like someone who came here voluntarily."
Qiao Qinghe smiled but didn't say anything.
After descending the mountain, the group boarded a carriage and returned to the Qiao residence in Nancheng two hours later.
As soon as he returned home, Wei Jia quickly came to greet him.
Qiao Qinghe was startled by what she saw and exclaimed repeatedly, "Slow down, slow down. Whatever it is, there's no rush."
Wei Jia didn't slow down and quickly reached Qiao Qinghe. Leaning forward, he whispered in Qiao Qinghe's ear, "Amo is back. He's injured, and his condition is very bad."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Qinghe's heart skipped a beat, and she had a bad feeling.
He hurriedly told Qiao Ning to go back and rest, then dismissed the other servants, and pulled Wei Jia back to the main courtyard. Only then did he anxiously ask, "What exactly happened? Where is the Amor? Did he return alone, or did everyone return?"
Wei Jia said with a solemn expression, "Amo came back alone. He's with Chen San in Xicheng right now."
Seeing Qiao Qinghe frown, Wei Jia quickly explained, "Amo returned to the capital disguised as a beggar. After being picked up by Chen San's men, he was seriously ill with a persistent high fever, and his life was in danger. So the little beggars reported the matter to Chen San."
"Chen San went to see the person in person and recognized him as Amo. He then hurriedly reported the matter to the authorities."
Qiao Qinghe suppressed her unease and forced herself to ask, "Have you seen a doctor?"
Wei Jia nodded. "The messenger said that Amo's life hangs by a thread and he might not make it. So I sent someone to Sanchi Lane to invite Doctor Mu to treat Amo personally."
"We should get news later about whether the person can be cured."
Qiao Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good, that's good! Mu Jin's medical skills are excellent, she will definitely be able to cure him."
Wei Jia asked with a worried expression, "Mother, what exactly happened in Jiangnan? Will my second brother be alright?"
Qiao Qinghe was also very worried.
Judging by the time, it has been almost five months since Qiao Jingyao and his group went to Jiangnan. But they haven't even sent back a single letter.
At first, I could comfort myself by saying that they were still on their way and there was nothing to write about.
Three months should have been enough time for them to reach Jiangnan, but they still hadn't received any news.
Now that we finally have some news, it's the shocking news that Amo has returned severely injured.
The more Qiao Qinghe thought about it, the more uneasy she became.
Finally, the intense unease made her unable to sit still any longer.
"Ah Shuang, go and fetch Qiao Jingyi and the Wang couple. Tell them I need to speak with them."
"Yes." Ah Shuang accepted the order and left.
However, Qiao Jingyi was not in the mansion, while Qiao Wangshi was talking with Qiao Bing and Qiao Ning in the old lady Qiao's courtyard.
It was obvious that Old Mrs. Qiao was pressing Qiao Ning about her visit to Fahua Temple to offer incense that day. Mrs. Qiao and her daughter, Wang, were adding their own humorous touches.
When Ah Shuang said that Qiao Qinghe wanted to see Qiao Wangshi, Old Madam Qiao snorted coldly and waved her hand.
Qiao Wangshi then took her leave and followed Ashuang to the main courtyard.
"Madam, Third Master Qiao is not in the manor." Ah Shuang reported and stepped aside.
Qiao Wangshi stepped forward with a smile and greeted her, "Aunt, you wanted to see me?"
Qiao Qinghe gestured to a chair nearby for people to sit down before asking, "You've been in the capital for about half a year now, haven't you?"
Qiao Wangshi was taken aback, her smile freezing on her face. She asked tremblingly, "Aunt, what...is this to send them away?"
Qiao Qinghe smiled and raised her hand to reassure you, "Don't be nervous, I didn't mean to send you away. I just wanted to ask you some questions."
Qiao Wangshi breathed a sigh of relief, but her smile was still somewhat stiff. "Aunt, please ask. If I know, I will certainly not hide it from you."
Qiao Qinghe nodded in satisfaction and asked in a gentle tone, "I haven't asked for so long, but when you suddenly came to Beijing, was something wrong back in your hometown?"
Qiao Wangshi's face froze again.
Qiao Qinghe ignored her and continued, "Logically speaking, you should have written to inform me beforehand if you were coming. But you didn't say a word and came without a sound."
"And the old lady, at such an advanced age, still went through all the trouble to come to the capital. To be frank, aren't you afraid that something might happen to her on the way?"
"Also, your family, the eldest brother's daughter Qiao Ning, the third brother's daughter Qiao Ling, each with one child... it's all quite unusual."
What exactly is hidden here?
Qiao Wangshi could no longer sit still. She jumped to her feet, stammering, "Aunt, Aunt..."
Qiao Qinghe looked at Qiao Wangshi with a calm expression, "Didn't you say you would tell me everything you knew? What? Have you already forgotten what you just said?"
After hesitating for a while, Qiao Wangshi looked around and saw that besides Qiao Qinghe and herself, there were only Wei Jia and Ashuang in the room, all of whom were people Qiao Qinghe trusted.
She gritted her teeth and said with a panicked expression, "It was my father-in-law and grandfather. After they learned that my aunt had abandoned the Min family and established her own household, they had designs on letting the Qiao family of Jiangnan inherit my aunt's family business."
“Our branch of the family was chosen by my father-in-law and grandfather, who were going to force it on my aunt.”
"Qiao Ling from my third uncle's family is just a supporting character."
“My father-in-law and grandfather said that if my aunt dislikes that we are already grown up and difficult to control, she can adopt our son. As for Qiao Ling, he is just a naughty child, used to highlight our obedient and sensible Qiao Ze and Qiao Hai.”
"Of course, it was also to appease Uncle San's family."
"Back then, my third uncle's family also wanted to go to Beijing."
Qiao Qinghe frowned, her eyes filled with even more doubt. "Since you knew in Jiangnan that I had established my own residence, you should also know about the Xuanping Marquis's family being raided and exterminated."
"Shouldn't you be avoiding me at a time like this? Why are you coming up to me so recklessly?"
Aren't you afraid of being implicated by me?
Qiao Wangshi smiled awkwardly, "I asked my mother-in-law the same question back then. But my mother-in-law said that it was precisely because my aunt betrayed the Min family and the Min family was gone that my aunt needed the Qiao family's support even more."
"This is also a good time for the Qiao family to regain... regain control of my aunt."
Qiao Qinghe scoffed. In the end, it was all a scheme against her!
However, she already knew all this, so she wasn't angry at the moment.
"What about Qiao Ning?"
Qiao Wangshi struggled with her words, but finally said, "My father-in-law and grandfather said that since my aunt doesn't care about the Min family's children and grandchildren anymore, why not let Qiao Ning replace Min Yuexi and become the new Princess Qi?"
"In this way, my aunt can completely break with the Min family and also be completely tied to the Qiao family."
Just as Qiao Ning had said.
But is it really that simple?
From Qiao Wangshi's words, we can tell that the Qiao family came to the capital with a lot of ulterior motives.
But if that's all there is to it, then why did Qiao Jingyao and his group disappear without a trace after heading south? And why did Amo return to the capital severely injured?
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