Chapter 127 The Third Wife and Her Son Visit
The journey from Hangzhou to Xincheng County took two days.
The return trip, however, only took one day.
Min Qiaoshi and her entourage set off in the morning and entered the city before dark.
They need to stay overnight in Hangzhou and then go to the dock early the next morning to board a ship and return to Beijing along the same waterway they came from.
This time, instead of staying at an inn, they moved into the new house that the Cui family had given her as compensation.
When the Cui family compensated her with the new house, she specifically sent someone to inspect it and arranged for people to come and clean and guard the house.
Originally, she planned to stay in Hangzhou for ten days to half a month before returning home, to enjoy the local delicacies, reminisce about the taste of her hometown, and perhaps invite the wives of officials from the Jiangnan region to have tea.
As a result of this incident in the capital, she was no longer in the mood to stay in Jiangnan for long, and naturally, she didn't have time to give those people in Jiangnan a final warning before leaving.
As soon as Madam Min and her entourage arrived at the residence, before they had even finished unpacking, the gatekeeper came in to report that Third Master Qiao had arrived with Concubine Wei.
Upon hearing the message, before Madam Min could express anything, Granny Fang exploded, "How dare they even come to our door?"
"When the Li family was wiped out, Aunt Wei took her daughter-in-law and grandchildren and hid far away. When the Grand Madam left Hangzhou for Xincheng County, they didn't even come to see her off! Even the Third Master, who had promised to go back to Xincheng County to celebrate the Old Madam's birthday, didn't go back!"
"Heh, isn't it just that they're afraid the Grand Madam and the Qiao family's affairs will implicate them?"
"Now that it seems these people from Jiangnan can't do anything to the Madam, they actually have the nerve to come knocking on her door?"
Whenever something happened to her, Granny Fang was always the first to jump out and feel sorry for her.
Madam Min smiled helplessly, "I don't care, why are you so angry?"
Granny Fang glared at her, "I'm angry on your behalf precisely because you don't care!"
Madam Min Qiao did not respond further and sent someone to invite the mother and son in.
Soon, Qiao Qingchen brought Aunt Wei in.
Upon meeting, Aunt Wei respectfully curtsied to Madam Min Qiao and said nervously, "Madam Wei greets the eldest young lady!"
Madam Min smiled slightly, "Auntie, there's no need for such formalities, please sit down. Third brother, please sit down as well."
Seeing that Madam Min's attitude was relatively kind, both mother and son breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Then, Madam Min Qiao calmly corrected her, "Auntie, have you forgotten? I'm no longer the eldest daughter of the Qiao family. If you continue to address me like that, it will cause gossip if word gets out."
Madam Wei looked embarrassed and quickly nodded in agreement, "It's been so many years since I've seen Miss, I got excited and just called her that without thinking. Miss, oh no, Madam, please forgive me."
Min Qiao smiled but didn't say anything.
The atmosphere in the room became somewhat tense for a moment.
Qiao Qingchen felt ashamed and annoyed, but there was nothing she could do.
I had initially agreed to bring my whole family to see my eldest sister, but when I went back and told my family about it, my aunt immediately disagreed.
It took a lot of persuasion from him to convince his aunt to agree to go to the inn to see his eldest sister the next day.
But who knew that after news spread the next day that the Li family had been allegedly wiped out by the eldest sister's men, the aunt resolutely refused to go to the inn to see the eldest sister, and forbade all of them to go.
He looked like he wanted to distance himself from his older sister.
This reminded him of the time when the Qiao family slunk away from Xincheng County, and his aunt threw a tantrum, crying and demanding to separate from the family and live independently.
At the time, he hadn't actually thought about separating the family. He was all ready to pack his things, take the people from the third branch of the family, and follow the Qiao family's main group back to Xincheng County.
As a result, it was because of his aunt's threat of suicide that he had no choice but to separate the family and stay in Hangzhou with his aunt and the children and grandchildren of the third branch of the family.
I originally thought life back in Xincheng County would be tough, but heaven knows, life in Hangzhou was truly miserable! From the inside out, from body to mind, I suffered in every way!
He finally met his eldest sister, who had returned from the capital. She was extremely warm to him, stood up for him, prepared food for him, and generously gave him a lot of money, allowing him to feel the long-lost sibling affection.
However, the little bit of family affection he had painstakingly regained was easily destroyed by his aunt's shallowness and shortsightedness.
Later, I heard that the eldest sister had made a name for herself in Xincheng County, intimidating everyone in the entire Jiangnan region and even making them obediently return a lot of property to the Qiao family.
His aunt immediately regretted it, saying she should have let him go back to Xincheng County with Min Qiaoshi. She scolded him for being short-sighted, not realizing he was clinging to Min Qiaoshi's coattails. He completely forgot that it was she who had desperately tried to stop him from leaving the house!
Hearing that her eldest sister would be boarding a ship at the Hangzhou dock to return to Beijing, her aunt had inquired about her sister's itinerary well in advance. As soon as the eldest sister entered the city, she dragged her to the house to wait for her.
He was initially adamant about not coming. But his aunt said that this time his eldest sister was leaving, he might never see her again in his lifetime. Didn't he want to see her one last time before she left?
So, he finally came.
Unexpectedly, before he came, he repeatedly told his aunt not to try anything clever, but she still didn't listen to him.
It's been decades, and they still call the eldest sister "Miss"! Ha, isn't it just to get closer and express intimacy?
Does Aunt really think Eldest Sister is a fool? Can't she even see this?
I really want to get closer to my eldest sister. When she first came to Hangzhou, my aunt shouldn't have avoided seeing her and even prevented me from contacting her!
It's no use talking about this now. Qiao Qingchen also didn't want to investigate who was more at fault, her aunt or herself.
All he wants now is to have a proper conversation with his older sister and leave each other with memories that aren't too embarrassing.
Qiao Qingchen tugged at the corners of her mouth, revealing a fairly polite smile, and spoke to break the stiff atmosphere in the room.
"Elder sister, I heard that you are leaving by boat early tomorrow morning. I'm afraid that once you leave, my brother and I may never have the chance to see each other again in this life. So, I took the liberty of coming to see you before you leave. I hope you won't be angry with me."
Aunt Wei wasn't stupid; she had sensed Min Qiao's coldness towards her before. Hearing her son's words, she quickly chimed in, "That's right. Third Brother has always been attached to you since he was little. When he heard you were leaving, he rushed over as soon as he heard."
"Oh, right, me too. I'm getting old, and my health hasn't been very good these past few years. My third brother said before that you wanted to see me, but I was sick at the time. I was afraid of passing on my illness to you, so I didn't dare to come."
"When I heard you were leaving, I figured I was still feeling alright, so I came with Lao San."
As she spoke, Aunt Wei gave Madam Min a fawning smile.
There are too many flaws; even Min Qiaoshi is too lazy to complain.
However, out of respect for Qiao Qingchen, Madam Min did not make things too difficult for Aunt Wei. She simply nodded slightly to Aunt Wei and then turned her gaze to Qiao Qingchen.
“I’m very happy that my third brother came to see me. However, as you can see, I’m in a hurry. I traveled all day today and I have to leave by boat early tomorrow morning. I’m afraid I won’t have much time to catch up with you.”
Madam Min looked at Qiao Qingchen meaningfully, "So, Third Brother, if you have anything to say, just say it quickly."
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