Jiang Manyun entered the room, glanced at Zhang Ma, nodded slightly, and walked towards Madam Qiao.
"aunt--"
"Manyun, what brings you here?" After not seeing her for so long, seeing Jiang Manyun looking visibly haggard, Madam Qiao seemed to think of the deceased Qiao Zhen, and her eyes immediately reddened.
"Aunt, are you alright?" Jiang Manyun said, kneeling down in front of Madam Qiao with a thud, tears streaming down her face.
Zhang Ma's eyes reddened as she stood beside her.
No one in the entire General's Mansion truly cared about Madam Qiao; perhaps only Jiang Manyun was the most genuinely concerned.
The two women hugged and cried for a while, but they stopped crying after being comforted by Zhang Ma.
"Manyun, what brings you here?" Mrs. Qiao asked, wiping away her tears with a handkerchief.
"My mother was very worried about my aunt, so she asked Manyun to come and see if my aunt needed anything."
"You've all been so kind." Seeing her family members, Madam Qiao couldn't help but tear up again.
That was, after all, her son, the hope she had held for so many years.
Even though she had always been in poor health since childhood, she never intended for Qiao Zhen to inherit the general's mantle, but she never expected her son to leave so early.
She had pinned all her hopes on her son, and this sudden tragedy left her heartbroken.
How did it turn out like this?
That was her son.
Thinking of Qiao Zhen makes me think of Qiao Yuchen.
His brows furrowed instantly.
After all, they didn't grow up by my side, so their relationship could be described as enemies.
"Aunt, I heard that my second cousin..." Jiang Manyun tentatively began, but seeing Madam Qiao's expression change, she stopped speaking and instead said, "Aunt, the weather isn't so hot anymore, how about we... go out for a walk to clear our heads?"
Jiang Manyun spoke cautiously, as if she was worried that Mrs. Qiao might have seen it.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Madam Qiao looked at her niece and nodded slightly, "That's fine too."
...
East Garden.
Chen Siyuan lay on the bed, unable to fall asleep.
Later, he picked up a book and looked at it from the side.
Qiao Yuchen sat beside him reading a book, and neither of them spoke.
Two maids quietly served by her side.
Wang Yong, Yang Lei, and Wang Li stood at the door, gazing into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.
Butler Yu rushed in from outside and was slightly taken aback when he saw the three people standing at the door.
Wang Yong and Yang Lei knew him; the one who looked slightly unfamiliar was Wang Li, who seemed to be someone close to Chen Siyuan.
That's the person who hurt Qiao Yang that day. Qiao Yang was injured and later beaten with a board. If he hadn't fainted, who knows what would have happened to him.
Thinking about it, I took another look at this person. I only knew that his name was Wang Li, and nothing else.
Thinking about it, I still felt a little scared.
This person attacked Qiao Yang and is still alive; that takes some skill.
Upon arriving at the door, he said, "Young master, the old general is waiting for you in the study!" He had to be careful with his words.
Butler Yu saw things very clearly this time.
In the entire General's Mansion, apart from the old general, there was only the second young master. More importantly, he always felt that the old general seemed to care more about Qiao Yuchen than about Qiao Yang.
Why--
How could this person have ruined such a fine general's mansion?
Chen Siyuan heard the commotion outside and saw that Qiao Yuchen was still reading and seemed not to have heard anything.
Time flew by, and the time it takes for an incense stick to burn passed without any sound coming from outside. Just when Chen Siyuan thought the person had left, she heard Butler Yu's voice again.
"Young master, the old general is waiting for you in his study!"
Another incense stick's time passed.
Butler Yu spoke again, "Young Master, the old general is waiting for you in the study." After saying this, cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
The words General Qiao spoke before leaving now sent shivers down my spine.
If the young master doesn't come, repeat the message every incense stick's time until he arrives.
At first, Butler Yu didn't believe it. Two incense sticks' worth of time had passed, and he had said it three times. Only then did he realize that Qiao Yuchen was really not someone to be trifled with.
Even the notoriously hot-tempered old general had to put up with it; wouldn't Qiao Yuchen be out of control?
Inside the door.
Chen Siyuan looked at Qiao Yuchen, "Aren't you going to go and take a look?"
That's General Qiao. It's not good to keep people waiting like this, especially since that person is the father of the man in front of us. If things go wrong, this relationship could just snap... and be severed.
"Shall we go take a look?" Qiao Yuchen asked the woman.
Chen Siyuan nodded without saying anything.
"Qiao Yang, that ignorant brat, would never dare to stand up to you if she made a scene. The fact that I didn't kill her is already giving her a huge favor. Originally, I was planning to kill Qiao Yang that day and give her a promise before I took you away from this wretched place. But this old man is reluctant to let go. I sent people over several times, but he stopped me each time. Do you think I should still go?"
Chen Siyuan couldn't process the amount of information in those words.
Is that what you meant?
"Don't worry, if anyone dares to bully you, I'll make even death a luxury for them." Qiao Yuchen said casually, but Chen Siyuan was terrified.
If all of this is true, who in the entire capital would Qiao Yuchen be afraid of?
Chen Siyuan waited until Qiao Yuchen left before pondering the meaning behind his words.
Once there were no outsiders around, Chunlan told them everything she knew.
Chen Siyuan was shocked.
They were always there; how did they know what was happening outside?
No, Chunlan has left several times, but she always seems to return quickly.
"Mrs. Qiao's niece, Jiang Manyun, has come to visit Mrs. Qiao."
"Jiang Manyun and Qiao Zhen grew up together as childhood sweethearts. If Qiao Zhen hadn't died suddenly, Jiang Manyun might have been the young mistress of the Qiao family."
"Jiang Manyun?" I don't recall ever hearing of her in my previous life in the capital.
If she had such a powerful presence, she should have known.
"Yes, Jiang Manyun was married to Madam Qiao's third sister, and she is also the only daughter of Marquis Jiang's wife."
"Lord Jiang, is it Jiang Zhiye, the Marquis of De'an, a fifth-rank official?" Chen Siyuan thought for a moment, and a figure seemed to appear in her mind.
"Exactly."
"He also has a daughter?" Chen Siyuan had lived in the capital in her previous life and should know about the relationships between these people, but why did she have no impression of Jiang Manyun?
The general's mansion in her previous life was very low-key. After all, she was a general of the Shang Kingdom for generations. How could she not know about this relationship?
Is it because Qiao Yuchen's reputation is so great that it overshadows this fact?
"yes."
"Is this person on good terms with Mrs. Qiao?"
'yes. '
Chen Siyuan thought for a moment, then looked at Chunlan, "How did you know all this?"
Chunlan smiled frankly, "Madam, this time the son-in-law has changed, and we took the opportunity to place our own people inside."
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