Chapter 110 The Shameless Min Qiao Shi
Min Qiao didn't care what these people thought, and just smiled faintly and said, "I'm just a useless old woman. I haven't been back for so many years, and no one in Jiangnan takes me seriously anymore."
"But no matter how useless I am, I am still a first-rank lady bestowed by the imperial court."
"I'm putting my words here today. Either you kill me before I return to the capital, or you all obediently return to me whatever you've taken from the Qiao family over the years, and how much you've taken."
Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned, thinking they had misheard.
However, immediately afterward, Min Qiao continued, "Sigh, after living most of my life, I've finally figured it out. A person shouldn't be too concerned about saving face!"
"I may not be very capable, but I do have some connections in the capital."
"I just arrived in Hangzhou a few days ago and wrote a letter to the Dowager Lady of the Duke of Jin's Mansion, saying that I was being plotted against when I went back to my parents' home and that I was having a hard time. I asked her to go to the palace and ask the Empress Dowager if the imperial titles in the court are just for show?"
"Or has the Jiangnan region already established itself as a separate country, no longer under the jurisdiction of my Dayan? How come I, a first-rank imperial consort bestowed by the court, cannot even receive the most basic respect and awe when I return to my maternal home?"
Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.
The mother of the Hangzhou prefect, Lady Lin, quickly smiled and said, "Madam, you are too kind. How can things be so serious? Why should we bother the Empress Dowager with such a small matter? Let's sit down and discuss it properly."
Madam Xiaolin, the mother of the magistrate of Xincheng County, quickly explained, "That's right, Madam, please calm down. Everything in Hangzhou is a misunderstanding! Who would dare to offend you? It's all a misunderstanding!"
Everyone chimed in, "That's right, it's all a misunderstanding."
While everyone wore smiles on their faces, they were inwardly cursing Min Qiao Shi to the core.
Instead of resolving matters within our Jiangnan region, you've resorted to complaining? And you've even escalated internal conflicts to the national level?
Min Qiaoshi is showing no martial virtue!
But even more unsportsmanlike acts were yet to come!
Seeing everyone saying that the incident in Hangzhou was a misunderstanding, Madam Min's face immediately darkened. "Then the Li family forcibly occupied my house, and that's also a misunderstanding?"
Everyone looked embarrassed.
Someone whispered, "The entire Li family is dead. Even if they seized the old lady's house, they've now returned it."
Madam Min glanced at the person who spoke, "Not only has my perfectly good new house been forcibly occupied for decades, but now someone has died in it. You're telling me this is what you call returning it?"
The man flinched, lowered his head, and dared not say another word.
Madam Min didn't dwell on the matter, but instead continued to ask, "My steward took the house deed to the yamen to inquire, but was met with all sorts of excuses by the yamen officials. Is this also a misunderstanding?"
At this point, Madam Min Qiao's gaze fell directly on Madam Da Lin. "If I'm not mistaken, this matter should fall under the jurisdiction of the Prefect, right?"
"Madam, should we go back and ask your son if this was intentional or deliberate?"
Mr. Da Lin choked.
Seeing her sister's discomfiture, Madam Lin immediately tried to smooth things over, saying, "Madam, you are mistaken. The Prefect is very busy with official duties; how could he possibly notice such a trivial matter? It must have been an oversight by his subordinates. We'll have the Prefect investigate who was fooling the Madam's steward and deal with them according to the law."
"This matter has nothing to do with my sister, so why is the Grand Madam making things difficult for her?"
Min Qiao pursed her lips and sneered, "Asking a couple of questions is considered difficult? If someone wiped out the entire Li family and then tried to smear me, wouldn't that be blatantly asking me to die?"
After these words were spoken, the entire room fell silent for a moment, and soon whispers could be heard from all around.
"What slander? I can clearly see the truth!"
"Exactly. If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. If she didn't do it, why is everyone in the city saying it was her?"
"Yes, something happened, and they rushed all the way from Hangzhou to Xincheng County in just two days. Isn't that just a guilty conscience?"
...
Amid the murmurs of the crowd, Madam Dalin spoke again: "This matter is not yet settled, why should the Dowager Madam suffer so much? As the saying goes, the innocent are innocent, and the guilty are guilty. The Dowager Madam did nothing wrong, so why should she care about what others say?"
Madam Min smiled. "What you say is true, Madam. To be honest, I think the Prefect was behind this. Otherwise, how come after such a serious incident as the massacre of an entire family, several days have passed and the Prefect still hasn't caught the murderer? Perhaps the Prefect is the real culprit? Or is he deliberately protecting the murderer?"
Da Lin's face darkened, and anger surged into her heart instantly.
Is it okay to say such things so casually? Especially in front of so many people!
However, before she could get angry, Madam Min's face darkened, and she said coldly, "I hope that the Prefect can find the murderer within three days and clear my name. Otherwise..."
Everyone curled their lips in disapproval.
What else can we do? Continue to complain to the Empress Dowager through the mouth of the Dowager Lady of the Duke of Jin's mansion?
Madam Da Lin frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Otherwise, what does the Grand Madam intend to do?"
Madam Min patted her chest and said in a pretentious manner, "I'm old now, I can't stand being frightened or wronged."
"If the prefect cannot clear my name, I will have no choice but to write a letter to my future grandson-in-law."
At this point, Madam Min Qiao seemed to have just remembered something and looked at everyone, asking, "Oh, by the way, you don't know who my future grandson-in-law is, do you?"
"Madam, you are overthinking it. We are aware of this information."
Madam Dalin curled the corners of her lips and said sarcastically, "Isn't the future grandson-in-law of the Grand Madam a newly appointed scholar named Tang Yunxiu?"
Madam Xiaolin quickly reminded her, "Sister, you forgot, there's also the young master Sun from the Minister of Works' family. It's just that we don't know if the young master Sun acknowledges the Grand Madam as his grandmother. After all, Miss Min, who is engaged to the young master Sun, isn't the Grand Madam's biological granddaughter!"
After saying that, she covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
Everyone covered their mouths and laughed.
Even if Young Master Sun acknowledges Lady Min, what difference will it make?
Are there really so many people in Jiangnan who would be afraid of a mere youth? Or is Min Qiao trying to intimidate them by using the Minister of Works?
Instead of doing that, Madam Min would be better off just bringing up her son.
Her son is at least someone the Emperor can rely on; isn't he more intimidating than a Minister of Works who has little influence?
Just as everyone was waiting to see Min Qiaoshi make a fool of herself, she remained calm and said in a leisurely tone, "Oh dear, you all don't know? I only just took in a granddaughter before I left the capital. You don't even know my granddaughter. But you should all know my granddaughter's husband."
Madam Min Qiao kept everyone in suspense for a moment, smiled, and then said, "He is the Earl of Enping."
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped and their expressions changed.
Very good, it seems the Earl of Enping's reputation has spread all the way to Jiangnan. She doesn't need to waste any more breath introducing the Earl of Enping's great achievements.
"Oh, right, I forgot to mention. A few days ago, when I wrote a letter to the Dowager Lady of Jin, I also wrote a letter to my grandson-in-law."
Madam Min Qiao said with a smile, "In my letter, I told him that if anything happened to me in Jiangnan, he should inform the Emperor that I died unjustly and ask the Emperor to grant him permission to bring his troops to pacify Jiangnan."
"In this way, I can avenge myself, help His Majesty eradicate the chronic disease in Jiangnan, and my grandson-in-law can earn merit for free. It's a win-win-win situation. I think my grandson-in-law and His Majesty will agree with it."
Madam Min Qiao watched the changing expressions of the crowd with great pleasure, and continued to say infuriatingly, "Oh dear, my grandson-in-law may have already received my letter and is now eagerly awaiting news of my death to reach the capital!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com