Chapter 669 The Liu Family's Scheme
When Grandma Qiao heard this, she thought it sounded plausible and that Grandma Qian's words made a lot of sense. What could a little kid possibly know? Doing something so outrageous would surely give people something to talk about.
But they don't seem to realize that those important people who received the gifts were all sitting or standing at the front.
Those from poor families and of low status have no choice but to stand obediently on the periphery of the crowd.
Children naturally give gifts to the people they can see right in front of them!
Grandma Qiao couldn't think about so many things at the moment.
She already believed what Old Madam Qian said, but out of caution, she called the old woman in to ask her again.
The news had already spread, and many people in the manor had heard about it. The head housekeeper naturally knew as well, but she had kept it from Old Madam Qian.
When she asked him this, he knew she already knew. He immediately stopped hiding it and told her all the rumors circulating outside.
When Grandma Qian's words were confirmed, Grandma Qiao felt a tightness in her chest.
When she told Qiao Qinghe about it, Qiao Qinghe got angry and kicked her out. Now look what happened?
Even a baby's first birthday celebration is subject to gossip and criticism!
If something goes wrong in the future, what would happen?
The more Mrs. Qiao thought about it, the more suffocated she felt.
Grandma Qian pressed on, "By the way, old sister, why weren't you here that day?"
Grandma Qian sighed, as if she had forgotten Grandma Qiao's earlier unintentional revelation about being kicked out, and deliberately said, "They say having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. With you watching over things, how could the baby's first birthday celebration have turned out like this?"
"Speaking of which, if I may ask, why didn't you attend the baby's first birthday celebration?"
"It's one thing for those of us who are disliked not to be invited. But you're Qinghe's own mother, she can't possibly not invite you either, can she?"
“Who said she didn’t invite me?” Old Mrs. Qiao retorted without thinking, but hesitated after saying it.
After a long pause, he stammered, "It's all because of what you said that angered her, and she kicked me out before the banquet even started."
Grandma Qian was shocked and comforted Grandma Qiao while pressing her for details.
Old Mrs. Qiao was no match for Old Mrs. Qian, so she recounted what had happened that day.
After hearing this, Grandma Qian was both happy and excited, and couldn't wait to spread the word.
This was said by Qiao Qinghe's mother herself!
This is irrefutable proof of Qiao Qinghe's filial impiety!
There were already rumors about the young master's bad character, and if we add to that Old Madam Qiao's personal accusations against Qiao Qinghe...
Grandma Qian was thrilled just thinking about it.
She managed to suppress the turmoil in her heart, and after trying to remain calm, she comforted Old Mrs. Qiao before taking her leave.
Back home, Mrs. Qian spread the news she had learned from Mrs. Qiao.
The very next day, a memorial impeaching Lady Qinghe appeared in the imperial court.
Some say that Lady Qinghe was of low birth and had a bad reputation, and was not qualified to raise the heir of the Prince of Qi's mansion.
Some say that although Lady Qinghe had experience in sending people to marry for political reasons, the marriage ultimately failed, and the court should revoke her imperial title.
Some say that Lady Qinghe is disrespectful and unfilial, and of low character. She should not only be stripped of her imperial title, but also banished from the capital and never be allowed to return.
While some impeached Qiao Qinghe, others protected her.
For example, the Marquis of Enping, the Duke of Jin, and the old man of the Liu family.
In short, no conclusion was reached in the end.
However, it is undeniable that this matter quickly spread from the imperial court to the general public.
The story of Qiao Qinghe driving away her mother and her brother and sister-in-law on the day of her first birthday celebration was also widely circulated.
Then, her abandonment of the Min family when they were on the verge of collapse, and her subsequent change of the Min family's surname, were brought up again and criticized.
Her background naturally became a topic of discussion.
Despite the overwhelming rumors and gossip, the Qiao family, under the joint control of Wei Jia and Madam He, still experienced a sense of panic.
On the contrary, Qiao Qinghe remained calm and composed, as steady as a mountain.
Seeing Wei Jia's unpleasant expression as she entered, Qiao Qinghe asked with rare curiosity, "Why do you look so pale? You've seen a lot in your life, how come you can't handle this?"
Wei Jia poured herself a cup of tea, took a sip, and then said with a gloomy face, "I just went outside for a walk to see how Qiao Ning and Amo's new house is going."
"But I came back feeling annoyed after listening to all that nonsense."
"You have no idea how widespread and how nasty the rumors about you are."
"I hear people badmouthing you everywhere I go!"
"I really, really wanted to rush up and tear those people's mouths apart!"
Wei Jia got angrier and angrier as she talked, and finally sat down and sullenly drank her own tea.
Qiao Qinghe laughed and teased, "It's so rare for A Shuang to brew such a good pot of tea. I haven't even had a few sips yet, but you've drunk it all."
Originally, it was Asan who was in charge of making tea. But ever since Asan and Asi got engaged to Zhou Bing and Xiong Peng, she stopped what she was doing and focused on making her wedding dress, waiting to get married.
Speaking of the marriages of the four of them, I'd like to add a few words.
After Zhou and Xiong gave their clear answers, about ten days passed. On their day off, Wei Jia arranged for He Shi to arrange a meeting between the four of them.
In the end, A-San took a liking to Xiong Peng, while A-Si chose Zhou Bing. Neither Zhou Bing nor Xiong Peng had any objections. The marriage was thus arranged.
Then comes the process of registering the household, matching birth dates, exchanging gifts, presenting betrothal gifts, and choosing a wedding date...
Because Zhou and Xiong insisted on holding their wedding ceremony on the same day, in order to avoid any clashes, they finally set an auspicious day three months later.
If you calculate the time, the wedding will be held in winter, so it's time to get ready for the New Year.
With over a month to go before their wedding, the two are living in separate courtyards, embroidering their own wedding gowns. Aside from occasionally coming to pay their respects, they no longer serve Qiao Qinghe.
We've gone off on a tangent.
In short, Ah Shuang took over the task of making tea.
Ah Shuang was good at storytelling, and she was meticulous and attentive when serving Qiao Qinghe, handling everything in an orderly manner. However, her tea-making skills were really hard to praise.
What seems simple to others is a nightmare for her. She either puts in too much tea or too little water. She either skips or misses steps in the tea-making process, or uses the wrong water. Sometimes she can't even control the water temperature, and the tea leaves don't properly unfurl.
To say more would only bring tears.
Although Qiao Qinghe didn't care, she still watched helplessly as A Shuang wasted a lot of good tea leaves before she could barely brew a pot of drinkable tea.
If it were Aqi, who was self-taught, or Asan, who grasped the skills immediately, A Shuang would never have mastered the art of tea brewing.
Hearing Qiao Qinghe's teasing words, A Shuang blushed unconsciously.
Wei Jia naturally knew about Ah Shuang's tea-making.
At this moment, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth and gave Ah Shuang a look that was hard to describe.
Qiao Qinghe didn't say this to ridicule A Shuang. Seeing that A Shuang was uncomfortable, she quickly changed the subject.
"Ignore the rumors outside. Tell Chen San to calm down as well."
Qiao Qinghe smiled and said, "Don't be in such a hurry, this is just the beginning."
The Liu family's daughter is about to take over the Qi Prince's mansion; she's plotting to take the child back and keep him under her control.
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