Chapter 508 Old Mrs. Qiao's Difficulties
A quarter of an hour later, Qiao Qinghe's carriage stopped at the entrance of the Qiao family's courtyard in Sanchi Lane.
Ah Shuang went up and knocked on the door.
Soon, the sound of footsteps approaching and opening the door could be heard. As the person ran, they called out, "Who is it?"
Ah Shuang recognized the voice as Qiao Yuanyao's and replied, "Miss, it's our old lady who's here."
During the question-and-answer session, Qiao Yuanyao opened the door.
Upon seeing Qiao Qinghe approaching, Qiao Yuanyao quickly slipped out the door and swiftly closed it slightly behind him.
Then he walked up to Qiao Qinghe and said nervously, "Aunt, Grandma is here. And my eldest uncle's third cousin's family, my eldest cousin's eldest daughter, my third uncle's grandson... a whole bunch of people have come. My house is almost overflowing."
Qiao Yuanyao said with a headache, "I think Grandma's come with ill intentions this time. My mother was severely scolded by Grandma before. You should also be careful."
Qiao Qinghe frowned almost imperceptibly, but still smiled calmly and said, "So you've come to tip me off?"
Qiao Yuanyao smiled and said, "Of course."
After a moment's hesitation, she said uncertainly, "Grandma seems to want to bring everyone to live at your residence."
"And they're even waiting for you to come and invite them to stay there in person."
"Not only that, it seems that Grandma has other plans for coming to the capital this time."
Qiao Yuanyao became increasingly worried as she spoke, and finally concluded, "I have a feeling this isn't going to be a good thing."
Qiao Qinghe nodded knowingly.
If it were a good thing, the old lady should have written to inform her and her second sister-in-law in advance, instead of suddenly coming to Beijing and catching them off guard, causing chaos and confusion.
However, since they're already here, it's too late to say anything now.
As the saying goes, when soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it. Let's just take it one step at a time.
Qiao Qinghe asked about Wei Jia's condition: "Is Wei Jia alright? Did the old lady give her a hard time?"
Qiao Yuanyao's expression froze, and she hesitated, unsure whether she should speak.
Qiao Qinghe's face darkened. "Has something happened to Wei Jia?"
As she spoke, Qiao Qinghe strode towards the courtyard.
Qiao Yuanyao quickly pulled the person back, "It's alright, sister-in-law is alright. Aunt, don't worry."
"Nothing wrong? Then why were you stammering just now?" Qiao Qinghe waited for Qiao Yuanyao's answer with suspicion.
Qiao Yuanyao bit her lip before saying, "Just now, Grandma made things difficult for my sister-in-law and even wanted to make her kneel as punishment."
Fearing that Qiao Qinghe would worry, Qiao Yuanyao not only delayed but also quickly said, "However, my mother stopped me, saying that my sister-in-law is pregnant and the pregnancy is not good, and she absolutely refused to let my sister-in-law kneel."
"However, my mother was also severely scolded by my grandmother for talking back to her."
Having heard this, Qiao Qinghe had a general understanding of the situation inside and was not going to linger any longer, so she prepared to go in.
The courtyard gate was opened, and a little boy who looked about five or six years old, with a chubby face, poked his head out and looked at them with curiosity in his eyes.
Qiao Qinghe didn't recognize the child; he looked completely unfamiliar.
When Qiao Yuanyao saw the child, her expression changed. She was about to stop him, but it was too late.
The next moment, the little boy turned around and ran back, shouting as he ran, "Great-Grandma, Third Aunt is secretly talking bad about you to someone outside the door!"
"Qiao Xiaobao, come back here right now!"
Qiao Yuanyao chased after her for a few steps but couldn't catch up. Remembering that Qiao Qinghe was still outside the door, he turned back.
“This is…” Qiao Qinghe pointed to the little boy who ran away.
Qiao Yuanyao said somewhat irritably, "This is my third uncle's grandson, nicknamed Xiaobao. He looks chubby and very well-behaved. In reality, he's quite mischievous and a tattletale."
"Grandpa and Grandma never liked Uncle's family before. But for some reason, Grandma brought this annoying brat from Uncle's family with her when she went to Beijing this time."
After saying that, Qiao Yuanyao shook her head again and urged anxiously, "Aunt, let's go in quickly. I'm afraid Grandma will be angry with us if she hears that brat's nonsense."
Qiao Qinghe nodded. "Let's go."
The group quickly entered the courtyard.
Sure enough, as soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw a large group of people coming out of the main hall.
This posture clearly indicates they're preparing to come out and demand an explanation.
The leader was a young woman who looked to be in her twenties, and the little boy who had just complained was standing next to her.
Several teenagers followed behind her.
The group of people, who had initially appeared aggressive, were all stunned when they saw Qiao Qinghe.
"It's her!" The little boy tugged at the young woman's sleeve. "Just now, my third aunt was saying bad things about her great-grandmother."
The young woman glanced down at the little boy, then put on a warm smile and hurried over.
"My nephew's wife, Wang, has met my aunt."
The young woman was none other than the third cousin-in-law from Qiao Yuanyao's uncle's family.
Qiao Qinghe smiled faintly, "You're my eldest brother's third daughter-in-law, right? I think I saw you at a family banquet when I went back last year."
Qiao Wangshi quickly replied with a smile, "Aunt has such a good memory. After so long, you still remember me."
"Auntie, you don't know, but I admired you a lot back then. Unfortunately, you were too busy with your affairs, so I didn't have a chance to spend much time with you. Now that I'm back in the capital, I'm so glad to see you again."
"From now on, I'll have to beg my aunt for forgiveness. Please don't find me annoying."
Qiao Wangshi was a talkative woman; once she started talking, she would launch into a long tirade.
Qiao Qinghe was about to say something perfunctory when she heard a stern voice come from the main room: "What are you dawdling outside for? Hurry up and come in."
Qiao Wangshi smiled awkwardly at Qiao Qinghe, "The old lady is angry, Aunt, let's go inside and talk."
Qiao Qinghe nodded slightly and stepped into the main room.
The others followed closely behind and entered the main room.
When Zhou bought this small courtyard, it was for her and her daughter Qiao Yuanyao to live in. Therefore, the courtyard is not large. There are only three main rooms and two rooms each in the east and west wing rooms.
The main hall is in the middle of the main house, Zhou Shi lives in the left wing room, and Qiao Yuanyao lives in the right wing room.
The east wing was reserved by Zhou for Mujin and her son Mufangfeng to stay in occasionally.
As for the west wing, it was used as a storage room.
In the main room, the old lady of the Qiao family sat in the main seat, with an old woman and two maids standing behind her.
Sitting to her left was a young man in his twenties, presumably Qiao Wangshi's husband and Qiao Jingyi, the third son of the Qiao family's eldest branch.
Mrs. Zhou sat to the right of Old Mrs. Qiao. Mu Fangfeng stood beside Mrs. Zhou. Wei Jia and Mu Jin were not present.
Seeing Qiao Qinghe standing at the door looking around without coming in, Old Madam Qiao's face immediately darkened.
"What are you still standing there for? Do I have to invite you in?"
Qiao Qinghe frowned almost imperceptibly, stepped into the house, and greeted him with a smile, saying, "Mother, what are you saying? I was just so happy to see you all of a sudden."
"Happy? I doubt it," Old Mrs. Qiao scoffed. "If you were truly happy to see us, why did it take you so long to come?"
“Mother, didn’t I just say that my younger sister went to a banquet? I didn’t know you were in the capital today,” Zhou said, defending Qiao Qinghe.
Grandma Qiao's face immediately darkened. "What business is it of yours? Why are you interrupting?"
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