Chapter 715 Qiao Zhiyu
Madam Gu's expression was even more unpleasant than theirs.
She always favored the eldest son's family and Meng Yunlan, but she never expected that Meng Yunlan would disappoint her time and time again after Shen Wantang entered the family!
Under suspicious circumstances, shouldn't she, as the sister-in-law, avoid suspicion with her brother-in-law? And to enter Gu Qianhan's study in front of Shen Wantang, giving others ammunition to criticize her!
Gu Qianhan infuriated her even more, for he actually let his sister-in-law into the study but not his wife!
What is he trying to do? If he can't take his elder brother's title, is he going to take his elder brother's woman?!
Madam Gu's temples throbbed with anger, but the most important thing right now was not to teach the two of them a lesson, but to quickly call Shen Wantang over and have her tell everyone that it was all a misunderstanding and to calm this mess down as soon as possible!
She looked at Qin Xin: "Where is your master? Quickly call him here. There must be some misunderstanding. While everyone is here, explain everything clearly so as not to ruin the family's relationship!"
Qin Xin, soaked to the bone, knelt in the rain and cried, "Our young mistress was heartbroken and went out. She's not in the manor right now."
Madam Gu's vision blurred; why had they gone out in such heavy rain?
Where did you go? Did you go out to find someone to confide in? Don't spread rumors and ruin Meng Yunlan's reputation!
She pointed at Gu Qianhan and said, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go find your wife!"
Gu Qianhan looked at Qin Xin: "Where did Atang go?"
Qin Xinren knelt on the ground, but when she looked at Gu Qianhan, she exuded an imposing aura. She said stiffly, "I don't know!!"
Gu Qianhan's face was extremely ugly. Qin Xin was Shen Wantang's most trusted confidante. How could she really be completely unaware of Shen Wantang's whereabouts?
Clearly, she had a problem with him, which is why she wouldn't even tell him where Shen Wantang had gone.
Even so, he couldn't reprimand Qin Xin, because the problem lay with him.
Moreover, he not only couldn't scold Qin Xin, but he also had to protect her when Shen Wantang wasn't around, and he couldn't let anyone bully Shen Wantang, otherwise he wouldn't be able to explain it when she came back.
He spoke coldly, "Get up. What are you kneeling for? You are a member of Qionghua Courtyard. Even if you have made a mistake, it should be Ah Tang who deals with it, not someone else!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Xin immediately stood up.
Seeing Gu Qianhan wave her away, she turned and left without hesitation, lest Meng Yunlan find an excuse to punish her if she stayed.
After Gu Qianhan saw her leave, he glanced at the guard standing at the gate not far away and said indifferently, "Jixiang, tell him to kneel outside the courtyard. He doesn't need to get up until the young mistress returns."
"Yes, young master."
"And you, kneel down too. You're blind! You couldn't even see the young mistress being stopped at the door. What use are you to me?"
Jixiang lowered his head, his face pale: "Yes, young master, I know I was wrong."
Having followed Gu Qianhan for so long, he understood his temper. Don't be fooled by his master's calm demeanor; he was actually suppressing his anger. Right now, he needed to find Shen Wantang first, and once he found her and understood the situation, he would come back to deal with his subordinates.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Jixiang and the guards knelt in the rain.
The guard's expression finally changed; he realized he had violated his master's taboo and was in deep trouble.
When Madam Gu saw that Gu Qianhan had even made his personal servant kneel as punishment, she knew that he was doing this for the whole mansion to see. Anyone who dared to disrespect Shen Wantang would suffer this fate.
"Yunlan, come with me."
Madam Gu didn't care how her son punished his subordinates; she only cared about her eldest son's reputation. Meng Yunlan's actions today showed that he didn't take his eldest son seriously at all!
She wanted to know what Meng Yunlan, as the sister-in-law, was doing running into her brother-in-law's study!
——
Yongquan Lane.
The Qiao residence.
Shen Wantang handed the brand-new royal blue ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) to Qiao Zhiyu.
Qiao Zhiyu looked at the exquisite and luxurious clothes in the box and hesitated for a long time without saying a word.
She recognized the fabric of the dress; it was a brocade woven with gold threads, worn only by noble ladies in the capital. The brocade had a pale golden sheen when she moved, making it extremely luxurious.
Because gold thread is considered luxurious, it is often used in more subdued colors, such as royal blue, deep purple, and dark green, so as not to appear tacky.
The person who most often wore royal blue brocade was her cousin, Meng Yunlan.
Qiao Zhiyu had always wanted a dress like this, but unfortunately, she was too poor to afford one, let alone a brocade dress. She couldn't even afford a handkerchief.
Because brocade with gold thread is very expensive, the cheapest one costs at least a hundred taels of silver per bolt. These are usually simple in design and use very little gold thread. The kind with intricate and exquisite designs and a large amount of gold thread would cost thousands of taels of silver.
The piece that Shen Wantang gave her was clearly top-grade brocade with gold thread. The irises embroidered on it were lifelike, and the butterflies were shimmering with gold. Even the collar and cuffs were adorned with a lot of gold thread, making it extremely luxurious.
Qiao Zhiyu really wanted it, but she didn't want to show her deep-seated greed and desire.
"cough."
Qiao Zhiyu cleared her throat and spoke softly, "Miss Chen, oh no, you are now the second young mistress of the Gu family. Although we met once before, we were not close. Why did you suddenly think of me? And even sent me a gift."
Shen Wantang smiled slightly: "I really couldn't remember at first, but I've seen my sister-in-law a lot these past few days, and you and my sister-in-law look alike, so it suddenly reminded me of you, Miss Qiao."
Qiao Zhiyu subconsciously touched her face and said softly, "Do you think so too? Everyone who has met us sisters says we look alike! It's just a pity that I have the same appearance as my cousin, but I don't have her good fortune."
Her voice was soft and melodious, but the sorrow and melancholy in her tone could not be hidden.
Shen Wantang wasn't surprised, because she had seen Qiao Zhiyu once two years ago, and she looked just like that back then.
At that time, she was twenty years old and had just finished her mourning period.
Three years ago, her father, Qiao Xingjian, died of depression after being demoted one after another. No sooner had Qiao Xingjian passed away than the Zhu family, who had arranged the engagement, came to break off the engagement.
Qiao Zhiyu's marriage was thus ruined.
Three years later, she finished her mourning period and was already twenty years old. Although she was beautiful, she had no father to rely on and no decent dowry. Her mother tried to find her a suitable marriage everywhere, but to no avail.
Those from high-ranking families looked down on Qiao Zhiyu, and those from low-ranking families were also undesirable to her, so she refused to marry them.
Two years have passed in the blink of an eye, and she is now twenty-two years old, with even fewer options available to her.
Shen Wantang was reborn, so she naturally knew that the person Qiao Zhiyu had always liked was her brother-in-law, Gu Qianling.
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