Chapter 114 Approaching the Truth
Madam Min Qiao instantly understood, “No wonder the Cui family is so wary of me. The very day I returned to Hangzhou, the Cui family couldn’t wait to come and test me.”
Madam Li sighed and continued, "The Cui family came to humiliate Yuanyao. Your second sister-in-law was heartbroken, and your second brother was even more furious, so he went to the Cui family's door to make a scene."
"Unexpectedly, in the chaos, your second brother was seriously injured in the head and died a few days after being brought back."
Although she had suspected it beforehand, upon hearing this, Madam Min Qiao's eyes turned red with rage, and she wished she could immediately lead her men to wipe out the entire Cui family.
Seemingly sensing Min Qiao's anger, Xiao Li quickly patted the back of Min Qiao's hand and comforted her, "Your second brother got into trouble, and that young master of the Cui family didn't get away with it either."
"On the night your second brother died, the young master of the Cui family also died inexplicably in the maid's bed."
"The coroner examined the body and said that the person had taken too much of that kind of medicine, so it's no one else's fault."
"This is retribution for his many evil deeds!"
A strange feeling flashed through Min Qiao's mind. Why did this situation seem so familiar?
Before Min Qiao could grasp the thought that flashed through her mind, she saw Xiao Li look at her with a strange expression and say hesitantly, "I don't know what your second brother said to your second sister-in-law in the days before he died. Anyway, after your second brother died, your second sister-in-law became like this."
She seems perfectly fine most of the time. But she goes crazy whenever she hears someone mention your name.
Min Qiao was utterly astonished.
Shouldn't the second sister-in-law hate the Cui family the most? How could she hate her?
Judging from the sister-in-law's account, it seems that neither the accidental deaths of the first two children nor the accidental passing of the eldest brother had much to do with her.
Min Qiaoshi had her doubts, so she asked them aloud.
But Madam Li shook her head. "I don't know either. When Madam Zhou first fell ill, I was also very puzzled. I even asked your eldest brother. But he just shook his head and wouldn't say anything. Afterwards, I asked Mother, and she also said she didn't know."
Little Li looked at Min Qiao meaningfully, "You can only ask your elder brother about this."
Madam Min Qiao nodded, suppressing her doubts, and pressed on, "What about Yuanyao? What happened to that child after that? I've been back for so many days and haven't seen her."
Speaking of Qiao Yuanyao, Madam Li couldn't help but tear up again.
“After your second brother died, Yuanyao was also burdened with the reputation of being a father-killer, and now she will never be able to get married.”
"In order not to cause trouble for the Qiao family, she asked to move into Qiushui Nunnery on Cuiping Mountain."
“Our family tried to persuade her to come back many times, but she refused. When pushed too far, she threatened to kill herself. We had no choice but to let her go.”
"Sigh, it's been five years already."
"But don't worry, we have been sending people to visit Qiushui Nunnery regularly over the years, and we also send money and gifts to Qiushui Nunnery regularly."
"The family sent someone to check on her before you came back. She's doing well at Qiushui Nunnery."
A young girl, all alone, living in a nunnery—it would be a miracle if she had a good life!
Min Qiao felt a heavy weight in her heart, an indescribable sadness.
After leaving Li's place, Min Qiaoshi remained sullen, thinking about the affairs of the second branch of the family.
Why did all the bad things happen to the second wife?
Of the five members of the family, three died, leaving only a mother and daughter. One went insane, and the other became an old maid who couldn't get married and ended up living in a nunnery.
Ayi, who was standing beside Madam Min, was afraid that Madam Min might be upset, so she couldn't help but try to distract her by saying, "Madam, should we prepare some money and gifts to send to Miss Qiushui Nunnery?"
Madam Min thought for a moment and shook her head, "No rush. Let me see my elder brother and find out the whole story first."
After leaving Xiao Li's place, Min Qiao went straight to the Qiao family's storeroom without wasting a moment.
Sure enough, Qiao Qingping was taking inventory of the items in the warehouse.
In recent days, among the properties that those people have returned, besides estates and shops, there are also some decorative items that they forcibly bought from the Qiao family at a low price.
Qiao Qingping has been checking these things with the old accountant for the past two days.
Qiao Qingping was somewhat surprised to see that Madam Min Qiao had come to see him in person. "You wanted to see me about something?"
As he spoke, he noticed Min Qiao's reddened eyes and slightly pale face. After a moment's thought, Qiao Qingping guessed about 70-80% of what had happened.
"You went to see your second sister-in-law?"
Madam Min Qiao nodded, "Yes. I have some questions for my eldest brother about my second brother and sister-in-law."
Qiao Qingping sighed. "Let's go. Let's talk in the study."
After a quick wash, Qiao Qingping waited for the servant to bring in tea. He then dismissed all the servants in the room, leaving only himself and Madam Min. Only then did he sigh and slowly begin to speak.
“If you hadn’t been so anxious that you vomited blood that day, I would have told you about the second wife’s affair that same day.”
Min Qiaoshi knew that her elder brother was referring to the day after she returned to Xincheng County, the day she went back to the Qiao family's old house.
Hearing Min Ji's various schemes against the Qiao family and her, she became so enraged that she vomited blood.
Everyone was worried about her health, so they stopped talking.
After that, she busied herself planning her mother's birthday banquet, and then waited for the responses from each family.
Therefore, that unfinished conversation has been delayed until now.
However, it's not too late now.
"Eldest brother, what exactly has been going on with second brother, second sister-in-law, and second wife all these years? Why has all the bad things happened to second brother's first wife?"
Why is the eldest brother's branch of the family unharmed? Even the branch of the third brother, who was born out of wedlock, was able to separate and live independently without any problems?
Ironically, her and her brother’s second brother, who shared the same mother, were in a miserable situation.
It wasn't that she was questioning anyone; it was just that the matter was too intriguing.
Seeing the doubt in Min Qiao's eyes, Qiao Qingping couldn't help but sigh heavily.
At this point, he felt there was nothing left to hide, so he immediately said, "The Qiao family was able to become one of the four great merchant families, but many times, their methods were not clean."
“From our ancestors, the Qiao family has had a clear division of labor. Some people stand in the open, while others live in the shadows. Some inherit the family business and enjoy great success. Others, however, have to do shady things and live in the dark, bearing the burden for the sake of the Qiao family.”
"Your second brother is the one who bore the burden for the Qiao family."
At this point, Qiao Qingping couldn't help but feel his eyes redden. "If it weren't for the Qiao family, your second brother's branch of the family wouldn't have ended up in this state."
Min Qiao felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this. Indeed, no one's happiness comes without a reason.
"So, both of my second brother's children died for this reason?" Madam Min asked, voicing her doubts. "But my sister-in-law said they were only a few years old when they died! Are those people so heartless that they wouldn't even spare children?"
Qiao Qingping's expression was somewhat complicated. After a long while, he shook his head and said, "Those two children are not dead."
Madam Min thought she had misheard. "Brother, what did you say?"
Qiao Qingping said with a heavy expression, "Those two children are not dead."
This time, Madam Min heard clearly, but she still couldn't believe it. "Not dead? You're still alive?"
Qiao Qingping nodded heavily again, "They're all alive."
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