Chapter 123 Human greed is insatiable
To get closer to Qiao Yuanyao, Madam Min pulled her to her side as soon as they left the house. Now, standing side by side, she glanced at the booklet Qiao Yuanyao had taken out and clearly saw the words "Qiushui Nunnery Account Book" written in large characters on the cover.
The next moment, Qiao Yuanyao opened the account book and began to read: "On the second day of the third month of the seventh year of Xin'an, the Qiao family sent: five shi of rice, five shi of wheat flour, ten bolts of cotton cloth, and fifty taels of silver."
"On the fifth day of the fifth month in the seventh year of Xin'an, the Qiao family sent: three shi of rice, three shi of wheat flour, one hundred zongzi of various colors, and fifty taels of silver."
"The seventh year of Xin'an, the sixth day of the ninth month..."
Qiao Yuanyao read a few pages, then stopped and looked at Hui An meaningfully, "Every time the Qiao family sends something, Abbot Hui Jing signs her name in my ledger!"
"I haven't been living at Qiushui Nunnery all these years for free! It was all obtained through a real exchange of money and benefits between the Qiao family and your Qiushui Nunnery!"
"And on top of that, I still have to wash my own clothes, wash my own dishes, gather my own firewood, boil my own water... Ha, if it weren't for the fear that I eat too much, I probably would have to cook all the meals myself, right?"
"Even so, those nuns at Qiushui Nunnery who actually eat and live there for free still scold me every day for not doing any work! They're always picking on me and finding fault with me!"
"That's it? What other kindness do you expect me to feel indebted to Qiushui Nunnery?"
"Ha, shall we take the ledgers and let the world judge them?"
Qiao Yuanyao's words left Hui'an speechless.
But Madam Min Qiao found it quite amusing. Good heavens, it seems that having people leave written agreements anytime, anywhere is truly a good habit! Isn't this coming in handy?
With things having developed to this point, Huijing, who had been pretending to be devastated, could no longer keep up the act. She quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Amitabha. Please don't be angry, benefactor Yuanyao. It's all a misunderstanding."
“Junior Sister Hui’an is not threatening you, benefactor. She simply doesn’t want you to leave and desperately wants you to stay. Unfortunately, Junior Sister Hui’an is not good with words, and her words have caused you to misunderstand. This is truly a sin! A sin!”
Huijing spoke up, and Madam Min Qiao also chimed in at the opportune moment: "It's good that it's a misunderstanding! It's good that it's a misunderstanding!"
"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!" Huijing quickly chimed in.
Hui'an's face was gloomy, and his eyes were full of resentment.
Qiao Yuanyao glared at Hui'an with disdain and contempt. Ha, do you really think she's an easy target?
If it weren't for her second brother's fear that something might happen to her if she stayed in the Qiao family, she wouldn't have come to this godforsaken place!
Seeing that the commotion had subsided, Huijing dared not delay any longer. With a warm smile, she gestured for them to proceed, saying, "It's getting late. Madam, please take Benefactor Yuanyao down the mountain."
Just when everyone thought the matter was over, they heard Madam Min Qiao wave her hand with a smile and say, "There's no rush. Just now, Abbess Huian said that Yuanyao was heartless and left without a word. I suppose Abbess Huian felt that the things I sent yesterday were too few and didn't like them."
"Since that's the case, then I won't leave those things behind to embarrass myself."
As she spoke, Madam Min Qiao instructed the people behind her, "Go and take away everything we brought yesterday, without missing a single item."
Qiao Jingyao nodded upon hearing this, and led more than twenty bodyguards, charging into Qiushui Nunnery with unstoppable momentum.
Upon seeing this, Huijing was startled and immediately tried to step forward to stop her, but Ajiu grabbed her arm.
Hui Jing's path was blocked, and she turned around anxiously to look at Madam Min Qiao. "Madam, this is all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! Madam, please have mercy and forgive Hui An's unintentional words! She didn't mean to keep Yuan Yao from leaving. Madam, please have mercy!"
"Oh dear, what's with Abbess Huijing's anxious and agitated state?" Madam Min Qiao gave Abbess Huijing a reproachful look. "Just now, when Abbess Huian was stopping Yuanyao from leaving, Abbess Huijing didn't try to dissuade her at all. Why is she begging me now?"
"I advise Abbot Huijing to say less, otherwise I'll have to take the accounts from Yuanyao and settle accounts with Qiushui Nunnery."
Min Qiao's eyes flashed with a sharp light, her words carrying a strong warning.
Huijing was truly devastated this time. Her body went limp, and she leaned directly against Zhixing, no longer daring to speak.
Hui'an, who had caused the trouble, only realized how frightened he was at this moment. When Min Qiaoshi glanced at him, he fell to the ground with a thud.
Soon, Qiao Jingyao and his men moved all the things that had been moved into Qiushui Nunnery the day before out.
"Let's go." Madam Min Qiao sat in her sedan chair and beckoned everyone to descend the mountain.
Just as the sedan chair was being lifted, Madam Min Qiao seemed to have thought of something and suddenly said with a smile, "Oh, right, leave a bag of rice as payment for my lodging at Qiushui Nunnery last night."
Then, he said to Qiao Yuanyao, who was walking beside the sedan chair, "Yuanyao, don't forget to keep the accounts, and also have Huijing sign them."
After saying this, he patted the sedan chair, and the servants understood, carrying Madam Min down the mountain.
From the moment Madam Min instructed them to retrieve the items delivered yesterday, Qiao Yuanyao's eyes had been sparkling as she looked at Madam Min.
Upon hearing what Madam Min said, he immediately smiled and did as she said.
Huijing really wanted to say no with pride, but this bag of rice weighed a full shi (120 jin), how could she bear to give it up?
He immediately thanked her politely and respectfully signed his name on Qiao Yuanyao's ledger.
Watching the group walk away, and all the things they carried on their shoulders and backs, Huijing felt like she couldn't catch her breath. Her eyes rolled back, and she passed out.
"Senior Sister!" "Host!"...
The crowd and the nuns at Qiushui Nunnery were in complete chaos.
The group of people who were already heading down the mountain heard the commotion behind them and burst into laughter.
It's often said that going up a mountain is easier than going down. But in reality, the path down is much easier than the path up.
When they arrived, it took Min Qiaoshi and her party half an afternoon to climb the mountain, but when they returned, they arrived in Xincheng County just after noon.
Madam Min took Qiao Yuanyao back to her temporary residence. They washed, changed clothes, ate, and rested. It wasn't until evening that Madam Min led her people back to the Qiao family's old residence.
However, just as Madam Min returned to the Qiao family's old residence, she received an urgent report from a servant saying that an important letter had arrived from the capital, and Ayi instructed that it needed to be delivered to Madam Min immediately.
Madam Min was startled. She had just received a letter from Wei Jia yesterday.
Since returning to Xincheng County, she has received a letter from Wei Jia from the capital every few days.
In her letters, Wei Jia would always tell her everything that happened at the Xuanping Marquis's residence, leaving nothing out. Occasionally, she would also include some interesting or important events from the capital.
Overall, in the months she was away from the capital, apart from the three marriages mentioned earlier, nothing else in the capital had piqued her interest.
It's been less than a day since I received the last letter, why is another one arriving? What serious event has occurred?
Madam Min instructed Qiao Jingyao to take Qiao Yuanyao to see Master Qiao and Old Madam Qiao, while she herself took the letter handed to her by the servant and went to the flower hall.
Madam Min opened the letter, quickly glanced through it, and was immediately furious.
"A-Jiu, quickly convey my message: we're returning to the capital tomorrow! Also, send someone to the estate immediately to inform Yang An and his wife!"
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