Chapter 609 Encounters at the Duke of Jin's Mansion
Qiao Qinghe glared at Wei Jia, "Alright, stop guessing, let's talk inside."
After entering the house, Qiao Qinghe changed her clothes and then took Wei Jia and her daughter to the east wing to see Qian Ge'er.
The little thing was boredly blowing bubbles in its crib, its hand gripping the bell hanging on the bedpost.
An old woman and a maidservant were standing guard nearby. When they saw Qiao Qinghe and the others enter, they quickly stood up to greet them.
Qiao Qinghe usually didn't allow the wet nurses to take care of Li Yiqian.
The wet nurses had only one task: to breastfeed Li Yiqian. They were not allowed to do anything else.
Therefore, the wet nurses on duty would return to the rooms specially prepared for them at the Qiao residence after feeding the babies.
Upon seeing someone enter, Li Yiqian stopped blowing bubbles and scratching the bell on his head. He reached out to Qiao Qinghe, calling out "Ah ah ah" and asking to be hugged.
Qiao Qinghe smiled and picked him up, "Our Qian-ge'er is missing his ancestor!"
Before she could finish speaking, the little thing reached out its hand to Weijia.
Qiao Qinghe turned around and handed the person to Wei Jia behind her. She angrily poked the little guy's forehead lightly, about to scold him for being heartless.
Before she could even finish speaking, the little one rushed into Wei Jia's arms and kept reaching out to grab Zhen Jie'er, who was being held by a maid behind Wei Jia, while making incomprehensible "ee-ee-oh-oh" sounds.
"So you came here for your aunt?" Qiao Qinghe finally understood.
Wei Jia laughed along with her.
But as she called out, Sister Zhen turned her head and turned her face to the side. She looked as if she was angry.
Everyone was amazed. Could these two little creatures really communicate?
Qiao Qinghe played with the child for a while before taking Weijia back to the main room.
Zhen Jie'er was left in the east wing by Wei Jia, who had someone watch over her and Qian Ge'er while they played together. They planned to come and hug her when they left.
After playing with the two children for a while, Qiao Qinghe's frustration had subsided somewhat by the time she returned home.
However, when Wei Jia asked again what had happened, Qiao Qinghe's face fell once more.
Ah Shuang, standing next to him, also gritted her teeth again, her face full of resentment.
"What exactly happened?" Wei Jia was very anxious. "Could it be that the Duke of Jin's mansion, like the Marquis of Yongchang's mansion, has become arrogant after gaining power?"
Qiao Qinghe did not hide the matter of the Yongchang Marquis's residence from Wei Jia.
As the mistress of the Qiao family, she must be familiar with all matters related to the Qiao family in order to weigh the pros and cons and make the right decisions.
Therefore, even if Wei Jia wasn't present at the time, Qiao Qinghe generally wouldn't hide things from her afterwards.
The matter of the Yongchang Marquis's residence was no exception. After Li Sanqi left yesterday, Qiao Qinghe told her about it when Wei Jia came over after dinner.
Qiao Qinghe shook her head and winked at A Shuang, "You should talk to the First Madam."
Ah Shuang curtsied and began to recount their experiences on this trip.
Since the death of the old Duke of Jin more than a decade ago, when Madam Zheng forcefully drove away his illegitimate son, suppressed his clansmen, and adopted the current Duke of Jin, the Duke of Jin's mansion has never regained its former glory.
For the past ten years or so, the Duke of Jin's mansion has been able to maintain a foothold in the capital entirely thanks to the formidable Lady Zheng and the sisterly bond between Lady Zheng and the Empress Dowager.
In reality, many people look down on the Duke of Jin's family.
On several occasions, the ladies were caught red-handed by Madam Zheng when they were discussing matters concerning the Duke of Jin's mansion behind his back.
In short, Madam Zheng had actually been harboring a lot of resentment over the years.
This time, the Duke of Jin went on the expedition with the Marquis of Yongchang's family, and returned with a lot of military merits, receiving a reward from the emperor.
Whether it was due to the Duke of Jin's own abilities or the influence of the relationship between Lady Zheng and the Empress Dowager, it was clear to everyone that Emperor Xiaozhao was willing to give the Duke of Jin's family a chance to be re-established.
As a result, after the bestowal of titles and honors, the Duke of Jin's mansion was filled with guests.
Some came genuinely to congratulate, while others came to offer congratulations and, incidentally, to apologize. Of course, there were also those who came seeking favors and to curry favor.
In short, these days, Madam Zheng has never lacked flattering old ladies around her.
Yesterday afternoon, when the invitation from the Qiao family was delivered to Madam Zheng, there were two elderly ladies with her who hadn't left yet. Upon hearing the report from their servants, they learned that Qiao Qinghe had come to visit today.
So, this morning, as soon as Qiao Qinghe arrived at the Duke of Jin's mansion, she ran into several old ladies at the gate.
Ah Shuang didn't recognize any of the elderly women; they were probably people she hadn't seen at previous banquets. Therefore, their rank was likely not high.
Sure enough, several old ladies came up to greet Qiao Qinghe, but they didn't introduce themselves. They simply said that they had come together to play cards with Madam Zheng.
The group politely let Qiao Qinghe go first, and then they followed.
Everything was normal at first.
But as the group walked inside, Ah Shuang realized that these old ladies were deliberately trying to disgust people.
An elderly woman lowered her voice in surprise and said, "Oh my, Madam Qiao really came! I thought I was seeing things!"
Another person covered their mouth and chuckled, whispering to the old lady next to them, "When Madam Qian said it, I thought it was a lie, but I never expected that she would actually come."
"Tsk tsk, sure enough, what friendship or not, they just came running over to consolidate their position as soon as they saw that we were in frequent contact with Madam Zheng."
"That's right! I used to think that Madam Zheng and she had a very good relationship, but it turns out that she was the one who flattered and fawned over her!"
Several gossipy old ladies followed behind Qiao Qinghe, their mouths never stopping.
Although the group seemed to be lowering their voices, Qiao Qinghe could still hear them clearly.
Several times, A Shuang wanted to turn around and say something, but each time Qiao Qinghe stopped her.
However, this was only the beginning.
When they arrived at Madam Zheng's courtyard, she already had guests.
After exchanging greetings, everyone took their seats. Before Madam Zheng could speak, the first old lady to arrive took the initiative and spoke first.
“Usually it’s just a few of us who come over to keep Madam Zheng company, but Madam Qiao is quite a rare guest today.”
"I wonder what brings Madam Qiao here today?"
Qiao Qinghe frowned slightly, her gaze towards Madam Zheng full of questioning.
She couldn't believe that Madam Zheng would invite so many people over after receiving her invitation and knowing she would be coming today.
Madam Zheng was also a little annoyed. These people would come over every few days, and she found it lively the first couple of times.
After coming so many times, she got annoyed.
So she hinted and explicitly told them several times that she preferred quiet and that they shouldn't visit her unless absolutely necessary.
But these people seemed not to understand what she meant and continued to do as they pleased.
But she was too embarrassed to break off relations and tell him to leave.
As for why, it's naturally for the reputation that the Duke of Jin's mansion had painstakingly salvaged.
It is said that it is better to offend a gentleman than a petty person.
These old ladies who have nothing to do all day are even more difficult to guard against than petty people.
Unless absolutely necessary, Madam Zheng was not keen on escalating the conflict with them.
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