Chapter 630 Finding Someone and Encountering Wen Jue
But the old woman quickly retreated, and Madam Wen didn't look at her again, continuing to talk and chat with the people around her.
Just then, Madam Zheng nudged her with her elbow, "What are you thinking about? You seem so lost in thought."
Qiao Qinghe responded somewhat absentmindedly, "What? Oh, nothing."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Bai looking at him with a resentful expression.
She smiled sheepishly, "Was Madam speaking to me just now? I'm so sorry. I'm getting old, my spirits aren't good, and I often drift off."
Madam Zheng smiled and waved her hand, "Why are you apologizing to her? It's not a big deal. If you didn't hear her, just ask her to say it again."
Bai was just putting on a pitiful expression on purpose, just to make the two old ladies happy. She wasn't really angry.
Hearing Madam Zheng say this, she immediately and happily repeated what she had just said.
This time, Qiao Qinghe heard it clearly.
It turns out that Gu Yuan, the grandson of Bai's maternal uncle, passed the imperial examination with top marks and was invited to the flower banquet today. Apparently, very few tribute students were invited to the banquet today.
No wonder the Bai family was so happy.
When Gu Yuan is mentioned, Qiao Qinghe inevitably thinks of Yang Honglan, who married Gu Yuan, and the Yang family.
During the Lunar New Year, the Yang family also sent New Year's gifts to the mansion.
But why did Bai suddenly bring up Gu Yuan in front of her?
Bai was not the type to show off.
Sure enough, the next moment, Bai Shi said, "The Gu family's idea is to have Gu Yuan and his wife pay a visit to the old lady after Gu Yuan finishes the palace examination."
This was an attempt to ease tensions between the two families by taking advantage of Gu Yuan's entry into officialdom.
After all, the key to the Gu family marrying Yang Honglan was the relationship between the Yang family and Qiao Qinghe.
Later, the Yang family made a foolish mistake and severed ties with the Qiao family, which had a significant impact on the Gu family.
Fortunately, the relationship between the Gu family, the Bai family, and the Duke of Jin's mansion is still intact.
Qiao Qinghe had a very close relationship with the Duke of Jin's family.
This gave the Gu family the confidence to step in and ease the relationship between the Qiao and Yang families.
The Bai family naturally wanted the best for the Gu family, which is why they acted as intermediaries.
Unfortunately, the Bai family was destined to be disappointed.
Qiao Qinghe smiled and waved her hand, "Let's not. I'm getting old and prefer peace and quiet."
"But……"
Bai wanted to say something more, but Madam Zheng stopped her with a look.
Bai had no choice but to obediently shut her mouth.
Seeing this, Qiao Qinghe couldn't help but feel envious.
Bai's daughter-in-law is truly obedient!
If Madam Zheng says east, she will never go west.
If Madam Zheng tells her to shut up, she will never say another word.
"Your daughter-in-law is truly filial!"
"Yours isn't bad either."
The two flattered each other, chatting and laughing.
Qiao Qinghe glanced at Madam Wen from time to time, and only when she saw that there was no reaction from there did she feel a little relieved.
It wasn't until the old woman who was always with Qiao Ning came over and whispered to her that Qiao Ning was missing that her expression changed drastically, and she looked at Madam Wen with a sharp look in her eyes.
They happened to run into Madam Wen's gaze.
Madam Wen gave her a meaningful smile, then looked away.
Qiao Qinghe told Madam Zheng, "Qiao Ning is missing. I'm going to go check on her."
Madam Zheng quickly stood up as well: "I'll go too."
Then he called over the old woman who was waiting nearby and instructed her, "Call all the people we brought."
"With more people, it'll be easier to help find the person. We brought them ourselves, so the news won't easily leak out."
Qiao Qinghe nodded gratefully to Madam Zheng and quickly left the flower hall.
Madam Bai originally wanted to follow, but was stopped by Madam Zheng, who said, "You stay here. If anyone asks about Madam Qiao and me, just say we felt bored and went out for a walk."
Bai didn't ask any more questions and obediently nodded, saying, "Okay."
After the group left the flower hall and went to a secluded spot, Qiao Qinghe asked the old woman what had happened.
The old woman quickly explained what had happened.
Qiao Qinghe felt her brows furrowing in dismay after hearing this.
How did Qiao Ning's disappearance get involved with Zhen Huan again?
Madam Zheng, who was standing to the side, pondered for a moment, then lowered her voice and reminded her, "Do you still remember what Madam Bai said unintentionally before?"
Qiao Qinghe was taken aback, then, as if remembering something, said, "You mean, someone is targeting Miss Yu Si?"
Madam Zheng nodded: "That's possible. But it's also possible that someone wants to use this matter to damage your relationship with the Marquis of Yongning's mansion."
Upon closer reflection, something really did happen. Who would her maidservant turn to?
They must be trustworthy people.
The maids from the Qiao family were naturally those who had connections with the Qiao family.
Therefore, it was almost inevitable that Xiao Feng would approach Qiao Yuanyao.
As long as Qiao Yuanyao and Qiao Ning leave the waterside pavilion and get away from the crowd, the other party will have a way to achieve their goal.
However, Qiao Yuanyao's departure and Qiao Ning's isolation made the other party's plan easier.
Afterwards, if anything happens to Qiao Ning, Yu Huanzhen, who caused Qiao Ning to leave the waterside pavilion, will inevitably be resented by the Qiao family.
As Qiao Qinghe walked towards the waterside pavilion, she instructed the old woman beside her, "Go and inform Lady Yongning of this matter."
The old woman obeyed and went back.
Qiao Qinghe then arranged for people to go find Princess Huaiyang, while the rest of the people were sent ahead to the place where Qiao Ning disappeared to search for her.
Qiao Qinghe was left with only A Shuang to serve her.
Only one old woman remained by Madam Zheng's side; the rest were sent to search for people with the Qiao family.
***
Meanwhile, Li Sanqi had already met Qiao Yuanyao. After hearing what Qiao Yuanyao said, she had her men search the waterside pavilion thoroughly, but they couldn't find anyone.
Then she arranged for people to carefully search the surrounding area starting from where Qiao Ning last stayed.
Qiao Yuanyao couldn't sit still any longer, so after telling Li Sanqi, she went out to look for people herself.
Two quarters of an hour have passed since Qiao Ning was discovered to be missing. Qiao Yuanyao was gripped by immense panic.
She walked along in a daze, and before she knew it, she had become separated from the others, and then unknowingly wandered behind an unnamed artificial hill.
Just as she stepped on a protruding rock and nearly fell, someone pulled her up from behind.
"careful!"
Qiao Yuanyao was startled, and when she came to her senses, she found that there was a hand draped over her shoulder.
She quickly pulled her hand away, took two steps forward to create some distance, and then turned to look at the owner of the hand.
Upon closer inspection, I spotted someone I knew.
Wenjue.
"Why is it you?" Qiao Yuanyao frowned subconsciously.
"You don't seem to want to see me?" Wen Jue raised an eyebrow slightly. "I just saved you, and instead of expressing gratitude, you're giving me a disgusted look?"
"Have I done something to offend the girl?"
Qiao Yuanyao knew she was in the wrong and was about to apologize, but when she thought of Qiao Ning, her face became even uglier.
It all started because of him!
If this man hadn't been so old and unmarried, and hadn't been pretending to be a cripple, how could Madam Wen have taken a liking to Qiao Ning, who was not a good match for her?
In the end, the marriage didn't happen, and instead, they became enemies.
Since the person in question was present, Qiao Yuanyao didn't want to waste any more words and said directly, "My niece is missing. If it was someone from your household who kidnapped her, please return her to me!"
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