Tie Xiong breathed a sigh of relief. At least now he could confirm that Qi Guze was alive and safe in the Mingyue Kingdom. The next step was to persuade the King of Mingyue Kingdom and bring Qi Guze back safely.
Everyone was very happy that Xu Yuehuai had returned safely, and they prepared a sumptuous meal to welcome her back.
However, not long after dinner, the waiter in the building reported that two people wanted to see Xu Yuehuai.
Xu Yuehuai had just returned, and in order to let her get some rest, Zhou Wan went to see the visitor first.
In the clean and bright guest room sat two people she knew all too well—Zhou Qionghua and Jiang Shixu!
She was shocked. What were these two people doing at Tianxiang Tower for no reason? They must be plotting something!
Xu Yuehuai listened to Zhou Wan's concerns but didn't have any particular thoughts. To her, the two of them were no threat at the moment. However, she was also very curious about what they were up to.
Upon meeting, Zhou Qionghua's face lit up with a smile, her expression more kind and friendly than ever before: "Oh, Yuehuai, now that you've married into our Jiang family, you're practically a member of the Jiang family. Why be so ruthless?"
Xu Yuehuai raised an eyebrow. Zhou Wan had been in charge of things in the building during this period, and she was unaware of it.
It took me a while to understand that Zhou Qionghua couldn't keep up with the manual labor anymore, and since there was no man in the family, anyone could take advantage of them.
Xu Yuehuai scoffed. Sentiment? Does such a thing even exist between them?
Even when they came to ask for favors, Zhou Qionghua and Jiang Shixu remained seated, adopting an arrogant and condescending attitude, as if Xu Yuehuai would obey them with just a few words.
"I don't understand what you mean, sister-in-law. I just came back from a trip to clear my head, how am I supposed to be so ruthless towards you all?" Xu Yuehuai rolled her eyes. She wasn't some saintly white lotus who would sympathize with everyone.
Zhou Qionghua had anticipated her response and immediately became aggrieved: "Good Yuehuai, do you dare say that your brother's imprisonment has nothing to do with you? As his sister-in-law, I don't even ask you to get him out. I would be content if you would just help me and your nephew."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qianqian hesitated, but ultimately took a step back.
She tugged at Xu Yuehuai's clothes and gave her a look.
"Yuehuai, my daughter is doing all this hard work for you, shouldn't you do something in return?" Zhou Qionghua's eyes lit up, ready to squeeze every last drop of value out of Jiang Qianqian.
Xu Yuehuai immediately frowned; it seemed this person wasn't going to let go of any opportunity to ask for money.
She had originally thought that if Zhou Qionghua could treat Jiang Qianqian better, she might be willing to help her out. But now it seems that Jiang Qianqian still doesn't have a place in Zhou Qionghua's heart. Considering everything that happened before, she doesn't need to save face for them anymore.
She sneered, "If that's the case, then you should also give me the money I spent on Qianqian's schooling?"
Zhou Qionghua's face immediately fell.
She never expected Xu Yuehuai to say such a thing.
"This is your own idea, what does it have to do with us? Why should I have to pay for it?" Zhou Qionghua's tone suddenly turned unpleasant.
Upon hearing this, Xu Yuehuai lost all interest in keeping them and simply ordered them to leave: "I have no money to help you. If you don't leave, I will report you to the authorities and have you driven away."
Although Zhou Qionghua wanted to say something more, she was also afraid. Jiang Mingfu was already in jail, and if she went in too, no one would care about Jiang Shixu anymore.
This is her life.
Without thinking twice, she immediately left Tianxiang Tower.
Seeing how pitiful they were, Jiang Qianqian couldn't bear it and slipped away.
Xu Yuehuai knew she must have gone to get the money to give to them, so she simply stood upstairs and watched the situation below.
"Mother, Mother, wait a moment!" Jiang Qianqian immediately chased after them.
Unexpectedly, when Zhou Qionghua saw her bright clothes and then looked at Jiang Shixu's tattered clothes, she felt a surge of resentment and pushed him away, saying, "You ungrateful wretch, how dare you chase after us? Don't you see what kind of life we're living now? Your brother and I are about to go hungry, and you, on the other hand, are still able to go to school."
"Mother, this is some silver I've saved up..." Jiang Qianqian stood up from the ground, and before she could even brush off the dirt, she handed over the silver in her arms.
When Zhou Qionghua saw the silver, her eyes lit up immediately. She snatched the silver away without waiting for Jiang Qianqian to say anything more, and immediately pulled Jiang Shixu away.
You should know that this amount of silver is enough for them to live on for a while.
Jiang Qianqian's hands were empty. Looking at Zhou Qionghua walking away, she felt utterly hopeless and slowly walked back.
Xu Yuehuai, standing upstairs, witnessed this scene and a cold glint flashed across her face, but she made no attempt to stop it. Instead…
"You two follow Zhou Qionghua and her companion. When the time is right, drive them out of Chang'an. Take this money and use it to tidy up the city gates. I don't want to see them in Chang'an again." Xu Yuehuai coldly gave the order before heading to check on Jiang Qianqian.
The next day, news indeed spread that Zhou Qionghua and her son had been expelled from Chang'an.
Since then, Jiang Qianqian seems to have broken free from the constraints of her family of origin and become more confident. She wears beautiful clothes and walks and talks with grace and poise, which makes Xu Yuehuai very happy.
Jiang Shichen and Zhou Wan also completely changed their opinion of Xu Yuehuai at this time.
However, the good fortune didn't last long. In recent days, His Majesty has lost his appetite and doesn't want to eat anything.
Ah Qi saw all of this and felt very sorry for him. She personally served him food and said, "Father, if you don't eat or drink, your body will definitely not be able to take it. Please have some porridge."
"No, I have no appetite." Ever since the late summer heat, the Emperor has lost his appetite even more, and under this scorching sun, he can't feel any hunger at all.
However, seeing Ah Qi's filial piety, he felt very gratified.
He quickly patted Ah Qi's head and said with a smile, "You don't need to worry about me. I know what I'm doing."
"Alright, it's time for class at the Imperial Academy soon, you should go to class quickly." The Emperor left the porridge behind and then sent Ah Qi out.
Ah Qi didn't say anything more, but obediently retreated.
Although the Emperor was not interested in the imperial chefs' cooking, it didn't mean he wouldn't have other ideas. He already had a plan in mind and intended to ask Xu Yuehuai for help.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com