Chapter 562 Liao's Confession
Liao stared wide-eyed in horror, looking at Qiao Qinghe in disbelief.
This shouldn't be happening! The old lady shouldn't have treated her like this; she shouldn't have been so cruel!
The man said that the old lady would give her a break because of her parents-in-law, because her eldest son was a scholar, and because her daughter's husband's family was related to the Duke of Jin's family by marriage!
After all, she was just putting on an act, trying to scare the old lady and disgust her at the same time!
Just then, Madam He suddenly felt a blur before her eyes and dizziness. The hand that was covering Granny Fang lost its strength, and she collapsed limply to the ground.
"Butler He!!"
Because they were standing face to face, Ah Shuang was the first to notice that something was wrong with He Shi and exclaimed in surprise.
Zhu Xi, who was hiding in the corner, was the first to rush to He Shi.
She checked on Madam He's condition and was immediately shocked. "Madam, Steward He has been poisoned!"
She held up the not-so-serious cut on the back of He's hand for Qiao Qinghe to see; the cut, which should have been bright red, had now turned black.
"The hairpin was poisoned!"
Qiao Qinghe was also frightened and hurriedly ordered, "Quickly take her downstairs to find a doctor! No! Quickly take her to the First Madam's courtyard! Ask Doctor Mu if he can spare the time to examine her!"
"If Doctor Mu is busy, I have some pills in my room. Go and get them quickly and feed them to her to save her life first. We'll detoxify her when Doctor Mu is free."
Zhu Xi carried the person downstairs, and A Shuang quickly instructed A Si to retrieve the medicine.
After arranging everything, she stood firmly by Qiao Qinghe's side, protecting her like a mountain.
Qiao Qinghe glanced coldly at the dumbfounded Liao Shi and Granny Fang, stood up, and coldly ordered, "Go report to the authorities!"
After saying that, he turned and walked out without looking back.
Just then, Granny Fang suddenly rushed forward and hugged Qiao Qinghe's legs, looking up at her and crying out, "Old Madam, please don't report it to the authorities! If you do, Hongyuan and Honglan will be gone!"
As she spoke, she turned and roared at Madam Liao with a pained expression, "Madam Liao, are you still not going to talk? Do you really want to ruin Hongyuan and Honglan's lives?"
At this moment, Madam Liao was still immersed in shock, her eyes vacant, muttering repeatedly, "How could this be? How could there be poison on the hairpin? Impossible! This can't be!..."
Hearing Granny Fang's roar, she slowly snapped out of her shock, her eyes gradually focusing. Soon, her face and eyes were filled with terror, and her whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.
With her hands tied behind her back, Liao knelt down with difficulty before Qiao Qinghe, tears streaming down her face, and said, "Grandma, I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"
"This story begins about six months ago..."
According to Liao, more than six months ago, on the day the Yang family came to the Qiao residence to apologize but were refused entry.
After leaving the Qiao residence, she went out into the street alone and accidentally bumped into a beautiful woman.
The beautiful woman was kind-hearted and did not look down on her for being uncouth. She even treated her like a sister and invited her to visit her whenever she had free time.
Over time, the two became acquainted.
After chatting for a while, Liao learned that the beautiful woman was called Wan Niang and that she had originally lived alone with her daughter.
Because of her beauty, her daughter caught the eye of a powerful and wealthy man, who took her as a concubine. Only then did she live in a large mansion, have maids to serve her, and endless money to spend.
Because she didn't want people to look down on her daughter, she hardly ever interacted with her. She lived alone in the southern part of the city and had no one to confide in.
After meeting Ms. Liao, I found her to be kind and we got along very well.
The stepmother was eager to make friends with Liao Shi. In addition to telling her everything about herself, she would also prepare small gifts for Liao Shi from time to time.
Sometimes it was pastries from Babaozhai, sometimes it was a new handkerchief from Xiujinpu, and sometimes the stepmother would even give Liao some small jewelry that she didn't like.
Over time, Liao came to regard her stepmother as a close friend and told her everything about her family.
The stepmother would share her hatred and curse the heartless and ungrateful Qiao Qinghe together.
They would also give her money when they heard that her family was struggling financially, and not just once!
Of course, nominally it was a loan from her.
But in reality, the stepmother never asked her to pay it back.
Later, her stepmother would even give her advice on how to vent her anger and how to get revenge...
At first, she just listened, but as her stepmother talked more, she began to take it to heart.
The reason why Madam Cao suddenly brought Granny Fang to visit was because she listened to the encouragement of Wan Niang.
The stepmother said that Qiao Qinghe would consider Yang An and Granny Fang's feelings, care about Yang Hongyuan's future, and be mindful of the relationship with the Duke of Jin's mansion, so she definitely wouldn't do anything to her. At most, she would scold her a few times and completely sever ties with their family.
But in doing so, she was able to vent her anger.
The stepmother also said that, in order to encourage her to break free from the past, as long as she dares to make a big scene and completely sever ties with Qiao Qinghe, she will reward her with one hundred taels of silver!
The stepmother also gave her a silver hairpin and personally put it in her hair, implying that if she dared to hurt Qiao Qinghe, even just by scratching her skin, she would respect her courage.
She also said that if she could overcome her fear of Qiao Qinghe and stab her, she would give her a gold headdress to celebrate her triumphant return.
So she tricked Granny Fang into bringing her to the Qiao residence.
“Grandma, I was persuaded by my stepmother because I harbor resentment towards you, and I also really want the one hundred taels of silver and gold-headed noodles that my stepmother promised me.”
"But I really didn't know that the hairpin was poisoned!"
With tears streaming down her face, Liao pleaded, "Grandma, I know I've been used as a pawn. I dare not ask for your forgiveness. I only beg you to forgive the Yang family after I die."
As she spoke, Liao was about to ram her head against the wall.
Unfortunately, Liao's hands were tied. By the time she got up and tried to bang her head against the wall again, Qiao Qinghe, who had already seen through her thoughts, had already signaled A Shuang to go up and stop her.
Liao was taken aback, then overjoyed.
Is the old lady taking pity on her and is going to spare her life?
Just as Liao was thinking this, she heard Qiao Qinghe say calmly, "Wait until you've seen your son and daughter and explained everything before you die."
"So that they won't hold a grudge about your death."
At this point, Qiao Qinghe looked coldly at Granny Fang, "You know I'm not a soft-hearted person now."
"If the Yang family holds a grudge against me because of this, I will not leave myself any potential trouble."
Do you understand what I mean?
Granny Fang nodded, trembling all over, "I understand!"
This was a side of Qiao Qinghe she had never seen before: cold, cruel, resolute, and brooking no argument.
She knew that their decades-long bond as master and servant had vanished completely at this moment.
After leaving the house, Qiao Qinghe sent someone to the Yang family to inform them of this matter.
They also sent people to investigate the whereabouts of "Wan Niang" according to the address and people mentioned by Liao.
This person clearly approached the Liao family on purpose!
However, she did not recognize a woman who matched Liao's description of a beautiful woman.
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