Chapter 102 Yang An Gets Beaten
"Yes." Ajiu responded and went out. Aqi had already finished his work and rushed over to wait outside the door.
After handing the matter over to A-Qi, A-Jiu went back inside to keep watch.
Madam Min looked at the sky, which had become completely dark, and said to Qiao Qingchen, "It's getting late. I'll send a few people to take you home. I'll come to see you at your residence tomorrow."
Qiao Qingchen quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need, my place is too small, there's not even a place to stand. I'll bring the children to see my elder sister tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Madam Min Qiao nodded, "Alright, bring your aunt along too. It's been so many years since we last met, I'd like to see her as well."
"Okay. Auntie will be happy to know that Eldest Sister is back."
At this point, Qiao Qingchen paused, her expression hesitant, and said, "Eldest sister, Father and Mother have gone back to our hometown in Xincheng County with eldest brother. When are you planning to go back to see them?"
After a moment's thought, Madam Min Qiao said, "My mother's seventieth birthday is in a few days. I will go back then."
In the next few days, she needs to get a feel for the situation in Hangzhou and also build up her confidence.
She originally thought that the biggest obstacle to her return would be the Qiao family's resentment and hostility towards her. But what she didn't expect was the decline and predicament of the Qiao family.
She needs time to calm down, and also some time to sort out the current situation, face reality, and come up with a solution.
“That’s fine. I’ll take the children and my eldest sister back to celebrate Mother’s birthday then.”
Qiao Qingchen looked out the window. "Big sister, I'll head back now. I'll come see you again tomorrow."
"Alright. I'll see you out." It was indeed getting late, so Madam Min didn't try to stop her any further.
"No need, I can walk by myself," Qiao Qingchen quickly refused.
Min Qiaoshi, however, insisted on sending the person away.
The siblings went downstairs hand in hand, and Aqi had already arranged everything.
The carriages and escorting servants were all in place.
Aqi stepped forward and handed a purse containing five hundred taels of silver notes to Madam Min.
Madam Min Qiao took it and put it in Qiao Qingchen's hand, saying, "Take this and buy some clothes for the children."
Before Qiao Qingchen could refuse, A Si came up with two food boxes. "Madam, this is the dinner that I asked the head kitchen to prepare for the Third Master."
Fearing that Qiao Qingchen might feel embarrassed, Madam Min smiled and tried to take it for him.
The two food boxes looked quite heavy, so Qiao Qingchen didn't dare let Min Qiao handle them and quickly took them herself. "Thank you for your kindness, elder sister. I won't be polite then. I'll take them back to add some dishes for my aunt and the children."
Hearing this made Min Qiao feel a pang of sadness.
Before she got married, not to mention the Qiao family, even the Qiao family's servants never lacked food.
Suppressing the stinging in her nose, Madam Min Qiao waved her hand and said, "Let's go quickly, don't keep Aunt and the children waiting."
...
After seeing Qiao Qingchen off, A Si and the others brought Min Qiao's dinner to her room.
However, Madam Min Qiao had little appetite and only ate a few bites before ordering the food to be taken away.
"Haven't Steward Yang and the others returned yet?"
Madam Min asked Ajiu, "It's past 7 PM already, why haven't they returned yet? Send someone to check what's going on."
"Yes." Ajiu responded and went out. Just as she was about to go downstairs, she ran into Yang An and Granny Fang on the stairs.
"Manager Yang, the Madam is looking for you."
After saying this, Ajiu suddenly noticed that Yang An had bruises around his eyes and a cut on his lip, and his steps were unsteady as he went upstairs.
Following behind Yang An, Granny Fang looked at him with a worried expression. Her eyes were red, clearly from crying.
"Manager Yang, has something happened to you?" Ajiu's voice turned cold, and her eyes unconsciously darkened.
Yang An waved his hand, clearly not wanting to say more. He only asked A-Jiu, "Is the Grand Madam upstairs?"
"Yes." Ajiu nodded.
"I'm going to see the Grand Madam." With that, she limped quickly upstairs.
Ajiu grabbed Granny Fang, frowning, and asked, "Granny Fang, was Steward Yang beaten up?"
Granny Fang nodded, hesitated, and finally sighed, "Let's talk about it together with the Grand Madam."
The group entered the house.
When Madam Min saw the injury on Yang An's face, she was immediately shocked. "What happened?"
Yang An frowned and said in a cold voice, "Madam, when we went to your dowry residence this afternoon, we found that someone was living there."
"I thought that since the house was part of the Dowager's dowry, the deed must be in her possession."
"I didn't make a fuss at the time. I went directly to the government office to find out who forged the documents and seized the dowry house belonging to the old lady."
"The clerk in the government office first told me to wait, and then said that the clerk in charge of the archives was not here."
“I identified myself and said I wanted to see the prefect. The clerk then made an excuse that the prefect was not here.”
"I wasted the whole afternoon at the government office, but I didn't see a single person who could get things done."
"Finally, I brought people to knock on the door, wanting to argue with that family. Unexpectedly, that family was unreasonable. Before we could even say anything, they started hitting us. They said that our knocking had disturbed their pregnant young mistress."
“That family had a lot of power and numbers, and I and several of their servants were beaten. Fortunately, that family still had some principles; they only beat the men and didn’t lay a hand on my husband or the girls Ayi and Ashuang.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Min Qiao immediately understood what was going on and asked in a chilling tone, "What is that family's surname?"
Yang An frowned even more deeply and said in a gloomy tone, "The surname is Li, the Li family that the eldest daughter of the Cui family married into."
Min Qiao chuckled lightly. So, this was also a test arranged by the Cui family beforehand?
Cui Hao feigned weakness, while Miss Cui's husband's family asserted strength. Was this a combination of soft and hard tactics?
How afraid of her is the Cui family?
wrong!
What terrible things has the Cui family done to offend the Qiao family that makes them so easily frightened and constantly testing her?
Thinking of the house that had been taken over by Miss Cui's husband's family, Madam Min's face instantly darkened.
They even dared to seize her dowry house; the Cui family will only become more unscrupulous towards the Qiao family!
***
In the Cui family mansion, Cui Cheng, the eldest son of the Cui family and the current head of the family, who serves as the judge of Hangzhou Prefecture, frowned deeply when he saw the injury on his nephew Cui Hao's face.
"Is Madam Qiao of the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion truly so powerful that she dared to slap you like this in public?"
Cui Hao shook his head. "Uncle, you've misunderstood. I typed it myself."
"You did it yourself?" Cui Cheng asked, puzzled.
Cui Hao nodded, "It was done in public. I'm just being prepared."
Cui Cheng gestured for Cui Hao to continue: "What are you thinking?"
Cui Hao hesitated for a moment before saying, "Uncle, it is absolutely impossible for our relationship with the Qiao family to be repaired."
"I thought Qiao Qinghe had completely severed ties with the Qiao family, but I didn't expect her to suddenly come back now."
"Although Qiao Qinghe is not much, she is still the matriarch of the Xuanping Marquis's mansion, and her son is still the Xuanping Marquis! If she really wants to be at odds with our Cui family for the sake of the Qiao family, it will be troublesome for us to deal with her."
"So you mean...?"
"What I mean is, either we should be humble and kowtow to admit our mistakes, return some of the property we've taken from the Qiao family over the years, and treat it as sending away a plague god, and then wait for Qiao Qinghe to return to the capital."
"Either we cut off her supply lines completely, sever all ties with Qiao Qinghe, and force her into a corner..."
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