After drinking the medicine, Yuan Qi asked the driver to take the mother and child home.
Two yellow dots of light flew into Yuan Qi's mind platform. She smiled slightly: "There are still merits to earn?"
When Yuan Qi returned to the Jiang residence, he met Li Qingkui at the gate. Li Qingkui was the elder brother of Li Guiqie and the eldest son of the Li family.
Li Qingkui was speaking urgently to the gatekeeper: "Let me in, my sister is Li Gui's concubine, something has happened to my family."
Although Concubine Li was a concubine, she was more favored than Madam Xiangli Mingzhu and was Jiang Zhengqing's only legitimate concubine, so she held a high position in the household.
The gatekeeper recognized Li Qingkui and led him inside.
Yuan Qi entered silently, almost right behind Li Qingkui.
She ate her melon quietly, and even eavesdropped for a while outside the gate of Concubine Li's courtyard.
As soon as Li Qingkui entered the courtyard, she shouted, "It's terrible! Our house has been robbed! A lot of things in the storeroom have been stolen! Miao'er, all the things you sent over are gone! The people from the Jingzhao Prefecture are useless; they can't find a single clue."
Yuan Qi was delighted to hear this; just as she had predicted, the Li family's misfortune had begun.
She returned to Peony Residence and had barely taken a sip of water when Green Bamboo found out what had happened, and it was almost exactly what she had overheard.
"Consort Li has already taken Li's eldest brother-in-law to see the Marquis, saying she wants him to put pressure on the Jingzhao Prefecture to recover the Li family's lost property as soon as possible." Green Bamboo also seemed somewhat gloating. "I heard that the Li family lost over 30,000 taels of silver worth of goods, including cloth, jewelry, calligraphy and paintings, and a pair of jade ruyi scepters that they planned to use for their grandson's engagement. The loss is enormous..."
Yuan Qi listened with great interest, especially enjoying hearing about other people's misfortunes. She urged Green Bamboo, "Go and keep asking around. Tell me as soon as you have any news."
As soon as Lüzhu left, Wen Zhujun complained, "Why don't you feel any heartache at all? Judging from your expression, do you think the Li family has lost enough things already?"
Yuan Qi chuckled, revealing a sly face: "You don't know, the Li family has been making a fortune all these years because there's a koi carp that's become a spirit in their lotus pond. The Li family has been raising that koi for many years, and in return, it blesses the Li family with smooth sailing and soaring success. The day I went to the Li family, Li Huilin was causing me trouble and accidentally fell into the lotus pond, injuring that koi."
Wen Zhujun said "Oh": "So the Li family started to have bad luck?"
Yuan Qi nodded exaggeratedly: "That's right. Losing some valuables is just the beginning of bad luck. The Li family will suffer in the future. Most importantly, it's true that the koi fish protected the Li family, but she shouldn't have started by taking advantage of them. The Li family has been spoiled by her, and their appetite and audacity have grown bigger and bigger. The Li family members have bullied others and done a lot of bad things outside. The koi fish being injured and even eaten is her retribution."
Wen Zhujun understood. Yuan Qi had foreseen the Li family's decline that very day, yet she hadn't warned them. It seemed she had a sense of right and wrong; she wasn't the kind of person who would do anything for money.
She asked curiously, "Aren't you going to get involved?"
Yuan Qi glanced at her sideways and pouted, "If I get involved, the consequences will fall on me, and I don't care."
Li Qingkui's matter alarmed Xiangli Mingzhu.
Jiang Zhengqing was away at the yamen on duty and not at home, so Li Guiqie and Li Qingkui could only wait in the front hall. Li Huilin also went to the front hall when she heard the commotion, along with Li Guiqie's two sons and one daughter.
Before long, the pearl in the mirror arrived.
Xiangli Mingzhu knew why Li Qingkui had come and was very angry.
He immediately berated Li Guiqie and her brother upon entering the room:
“Li Miao’er, I don’t care if you use your private savings and your son’s money to support your family, and I can turn a blind eye to how much the Li family has taken advantage of the Jiang family over the years, but you can’t pretend I don’t exist. The Li family has become arrogant and domineering with their wealth, and who knows how many bad things they’ve done under the Jiang family’s name. The Marquis has had to clean up their messes quite a bit. This time, the Jiang family won’t interfere in the Li family’s affairs. Tell her to leave immediately.”
Concubine Li didn't listen to her. She was very proper when she saw Xiangli Mingzhu, but that didn't mean she was afraid of him.
“Madam, the Li family’s affairs have nothing to do with you, do they? I did use the money to support my family, but I didn’t use a single penny from the public funds, nor did I ask the Marquis for a single copper coin. It was all my own savings and money earned by my son. This is none of your business.”
Xiangli Mingzhu was furious and glared fiercely at Li Guiqie: "Anything that leaves this house belongs to the Jiang family. What about your son's money? Your son still has to call me 'Mother.' His money is also the Jiang family's money. Guards, throw her out!"
Immediately, guards outside responded loudly and stormed in, grabbing Li Qingkui and pulling her outside.
Concubine Li became enraged: "Xiangli Mingzhu, don't push your luck! Although our Li family is a small household, not as powerful as the Xiangli clan, we are not to be trifled with. If you piss me off, I'll..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xiangli Mingzhu laughed: "What about me? My Xiangli family can crush you as easily as crushing an ant."
Jiang Junjing and Jiang Junyu were extremely annoyed, as the last thing they wanted to see was these two women fighting.
Jiang Junyu studied under Master Yunyi and was full of strategies, but she was helpless when it came to the affairs between the women in the inner quarters of the household.
The two stepped forward together and bowed to Xiangli Mingzhu, saying, "Mother, please calm your anger."
Xiangli Mingzhu disliked these two people in the first place. As illegitimate sons, they were too outstanding. Wouldn't it be better if they were a little stupid or clumsy?
"Stop trying to fool me, you two. I will never agree to this. Throw him out!" Xiangli Mingzhu gave a forceful order, and also told the gatekeeper that no one from the Li family should be allowed to enter the house again.
Xiangli Mingzhu also complained: "I've really had enough. They take our family's money to subsidize their own family, and now that their own family has lost something, they still have the nerve to come here. Aren't they ashamed?"
Li Qingkui was thus forcibly removed, and Consort Li was powerless to do anything about it. Although Xiangli Mingzhu was not favored, her words still carried weight in the household, and the servants dared not disobey her. Jiang Zhengqing usually gave her some face as well.
Ultimately, it was her fault for handling this matter poorly.
Li Qingkui was furious: "That vicious woman dared to kick me out. When I see the Marquis later, I'll tell him how I'm going to complain and make him come out and kneel down to apologize to me. Otherwise, this matter won't be over."
Concubine Li scolded irritably, "Alright, are you ever going to stop? Do you think you can afford to offend the Xiangli family?"
Li Qingkui spat as she spoke: "Can't I even have a good talk? She's bullying me too much. You didn't take her money to support your family, so why is she meddling in our business?"
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