Chapter 122 Qiao Yuanyao Descends the Mountain
"It's me," Qiao Jingyao readily admitted.
Qiao Yuanyao looked him up and down in surprise. "Why are you dressed like this?"
Qiao Jingyao ignored her doubts and said solemnly, "Pack your things and go down the mountain with your aunt."
Qiao Yuanyao looked at him in surprise, "Are you sure?"
He was the one who sent her up the mountain in the first place! Why is he making her come down now?
Didn't he say before that she shouldn't come down the mountain no matter who came to pick her up?
Qiao Jingyao nodded, "I'm sure. After you go down the mountain, you and your mother pack your things, and then go back to the capital with your aunt in a few days."
Qiao Yuanyao was taken aback, her shock growing even greater. "You want my mother and me to go to the capital with my aunt?"
As she spoke, she glanced at Madam Min Qiao unconsciously.
That one glance was full of doubt.
Min Qiaoshi felt a lump in her throat. What kind of look was that?
The next moment, Qiao Yuanyao asked Min Qiaoshi without any politeness, "Aunt, will you take good care of my mother?"
Before Min Qiaoshi could answer, she added, "Of course, I don't need you to take care of me. I will take good care of myself. After all, we are not familiar with each other, and I can't expect you to be very good to me."
Upon hearing this, Madam Min Qiao choked again.
Goodness, this girl really dares to say anything! She blurts out everything, isn't she afraid of getting angry?
Although Qiao Yuanyao's straightforwardness annoyed Min Qiao Shi a little, she still nodded solemnly and said, "Don't worry, I will take good care of your mother, and I will take good care of you too."
Qiao Yuanyao smiled and said, "As long as you are good to my mother, that's fine. After all, the capital is too far away. If we don't make things clear, I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of my mother by myself."
When Madam Min heard that she meant she was willing to return to the capital with her, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
However, before she could even catch her breath, she saw Qiao Yuanyao get up, walk to the window, pour water, grind ink, lay out paper, pick up a brush, and start writing...
Before long, Qiao Yuanyao came over with a contract that was still wet with ink and casually placed it in front of Min Qiaoshi.
"Aunt, take a look. If there are no problems, then sign it. A verbal agreement isn't enough, is it?"
When Madam Min looked at the contract in front of her, she felt another heart attack.
Good heavens, the contract clearly states that after Qiao Yuanyao and her daughter follow Madam Min to the capital, Madam Min is required to provide them with accommodation, and the accommodation conditions cannot be much worse than the Qiao family's current accommodation.
They also provide three meals a day, and the standards for those meals are listed out.
The contract stipulated that after Min Qiaoshi arrived in Beijing, she would need to send at least two maids to take care of her mother's daily life.
She also had to regularly call doctors for her mother to see her, check her pulse, and so on.
As for her own needs, she only said one thing: accommodation is all she needs. She didn't ask for anything else.
Looking at the carefully listed clauses in the contract, Madam Min Qiao felt both amused and exasperated.
How little does this girl trust her?
However, the girl's demands were not high at all. Compared to Zhou's and her current life, they were even quite low.
"If signing this contract will put your mind at ease, then I will sign it."
As he spoke, he decisively took the pen from Qiao Yuanyao's hand and wrote his name at the end of the contract.
After Madam Min signed the contract, Qiao Yuanyao's face lit up with joy. She quickly picked up the contract, blew the ink off it, folded it meticulously, and put it into her purse.
After carefully putting away the purse, Qiao Yuanyao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said to Qiao Jingyao with a smile, "Now I can take Mother and Aunt to the capital."
Then he asked Madam Min, "Aunt, when are we leaving?"
Madam Min choked, finding it difficult to handle Qiao Yuanyao's temperament.
Just then, Qiao Jingyao apologized to Madam Min, saying, "Aunt, please don't mind. Yuanyao was also hurt by those people and things in the past, which is why she developed the bad habit of having to have someone write a written agreement for everything."
This lovely young woman was engaged three times, and each time the engagement was called off. She didn't contemplate suicide or become despondent; she only developed some minor, not-so-worst, which is already a blessing!
After a moment's thought, Madam Min smiled and nodded nonchalantly, "It's alright, the past is the past. It's never a bad thing to have a written agreement."
As she spoke, she looked at Qiao Yuanyao and said, "It's getting late today, so we'll probably have to rest at Qiushui Nunnery for the night. Let's pack everything up tonight and head down the mountain early tomorrow morning. We can still get back to Xincheng County before dark."
“Alright. I’ll go and talk to Abbess Huijing and ask her to arrange a few rooms for my aunt and her sisters.”
Qiao Yuanyao started to walk out as she spoke, looking quite hurried.
Before Madam Min could stop him, Qiao Jingyao said, "I'll go and tell them. I also need to tell the bodyguards who came with me to find a sheltered place outside Antang to pitch their tents for the night."
Qiao Jingyao glanced at Qiao Yuanyao and instructed, "You keep your aunt company for a while, and take her around to see the sights. It's her first time here, so show her the scenery on this mountain."
Qiao Yuanyao reluctantly replied, "Alright then."
After Qiao Jingyao left, Qiao Yuanyao indeed took Min Qiaoshi for a stroll in the courtyard. Ajiu, who was guarding the door, quickly followed.
On the other side, Huijing and Hui'an were not surprised at all when Qiao Jingyao told them that Madam Min Qiao would be staying at Qiushui Nunnery for the night. They immediately smiled and told someone to prepare a room.
After Qiao Jingyao finished speaking, he went to find the bodyguards who accompanied him outside the mountain gate.
Qiao Jingyao only mentioned that Min Qiaoshi and the others wanted to stay for one night, without mentioning that Qiao Yuanyao was leaving.
Adding to what Zhixing had said earlier, the two were even more certain that Qiao Yuanyao wouldn't leave. They were completely relieved.
The next day, when the two saw Qiao Yuanyao carrying her bundle and preparing to go down the mountain with Min Qiao's group, they were struck dumb.
Hui Jing trembled and almost lost her balance. Fortunately, Zhi Xing caught her, preventing her from falling to the ground.
Hui'an almost fainted as well. After regaining her senses, she immediately reached out and blocked Qiao Yuanyao's path.
"Qiao Yuanyao, you can't leave!"
Everyone was stunned.
Madam Min Qiao also looked at Hui'an with a puzzled expression, "What does the nun mean by this?"
Hui'an's face was grim as he said in a cold voice, "Yuanyao has lived in Qiushui Nunnery for five whole years. How can she just leave like that?"
Madam Min frowned, but before she could speak, Qiao Yuanyao said with a smile, "Does Master Huian mean that if I want to leave, I have to leave something behind?"
Huian choked, but still insisted, "You've been on the mountain for five years. Has Qiushui Nunnery ever mistreated you in the slightest? How can you be so heartless, leaving without a second thought of our past relationship?"
"What? Is leaving heartless? Then should I ask the Qiao family to send a huge sum of money to Qiushui Nunnery to redeem me, and that would be considered being kind and righteous?" Qiao Yuanyao's words were overflowing with sarcasm.
Hui'an wasn't stupid; she naturally heard the sarcasm in her words.
But the thought that Qiushui Nunnery would return to its previous impoverished state once Qiao Yuanyao left made her steel her resolve and retort, "Isn't that right? Qiushui Nunnery raised you for five years, don't you even care about their kindness in taking you in?"
Min Qiaoshi could hardly bear to listen anymore. This old nun from Hui'an wasn't just morally blackmailing Qiao Yuanyao; it was blatant extortion!
Min Qiao was furious and about to lash out when she saw Qiao Yuanyao rummaging through the bag he carried with him and quickly pulled out a book.
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