nucmednet Chapter 144 The Arrival of Uncle 3
Chapter 144 The Arrival of Uncle 3
When she discovered that the man beside her was not the young master of the Qiao family she had met on the Qixi Festival, she burst into tears and ran out.
They ran into Qiao Jishen right in front of them.
Since the Qixi Festival, Qiao Jishen has been haunted by the image of that beautiful woman, but he doesn't know who she is or where to look for her.
Later, upon learning that my second brother had married into the Bai family, and hearing that he and the Bai family's eldest daughter had been exchanging letters for a long time, I felt nothing but blessings.
When the newlyweds bumped into each other on the second day of their marriage, they were both stunned.
Qiao Jishen asked incredulously,
"You are...sister-in-law?"
Bai Chanzi also felt dizzy and fainted immediately.
Before the two could clear up their misunderstanding, Qiao Jishen, heartbroken, abandoned everything and became a monk.
This decision made Mrs. Qiao so happy that she couldn't stop smiling for half a month.
At that time, Old Master Qiao was still alive, and he also wanted Qiao Jishen to inherit the title. This greatly angered Old Madam Qiao, who used many methods, both openly and secretly, to try to prevent her eldest son from inheriting the title.
Now look what's happened! Qiao Jishen has actually given up inheriting the title himself!
That's absolutely wonderful news!
Qiao Jizhou inherited the title shortly after his marriage and was quite pleased with himself for a while.
After a period of disheartening despair, Bai Chanzi realized that the facts could not be changed; she had already become Qiao Jizhou's wife.
She suppressed her resentment and wanted to live a good life with Qiao Jizhou.
However, her father did not cherish the wife he had stolen, and soon after their marriage, he began to resume his old habit of seeking pleasure with other women.
If it weren't for Madam Qiao's early prohibition against prostitutes entering the household, there's no telling how many concubines she would have taken in.
Qiao Qingshu had never heard her mother mention this in her previous life; it was only many years after her mother's death that her uncle told her about it during a drunken night.
At that time, Qiao Qingshu was filled with hatred, but her mother had already passed away, and nothing could be done about it.
In this life, Qiao Qingshu felt that she absolutely could not let Old Lady Qiao and her father go.
She will make the Qiao family pay the price they deserve!
She thought to herself that since Prime Minister Lin's incident would happen after the New Year, her father wouldn't be able to stay in power for much longer.
Thinking of this, Qiao Qingshu finally let out a sigh of relief, snatched the broken bracelet wrapped in a handkerchief from Lin Dong's hand, and threw it into the lake.
A series of ripples appeared on the lake's surface, before it returned to calm after a long while.
At that moment, Butler Lai suddenly came forward, smiling, and said...
"Young lady, young lady! Third Master is back!"
Qiao Qingshu was taken aback and frowned.
"Third Uncle is back?"
Besides Qiao Jishen, the legitimate son born to the first wife, and Qiao Jizhou, the son of the old lady, the Qiao family also had a third son, Qiao Jiye, born to a concubine.
Qiao Jiye and her birth mother were ostracized by Madam Qiao in their early years and lived worse than servants in the Qiao family.
At that time, his elder brother Qiao Jishen had already become a monk, and there was no one in the family to help him. Qiao Jiye was also a passionate and principled man, and he left the Qiao family with his birth mother, Xu.
When they left, Old Madam Qiao was still making things difficult for the mother and son, forbidding them from taking a single penny with them.
This third uncle was truly tough; he left the Qiao family empty-handed with Madam Xu, taking nothing with him.
My third uncle was only seventeen when he left; he was still a teenager.
It has been more than a decade since I left.
Qiao Qingshu had no prior impression of this third uncle; her knowledge of him came entirely from what others had told her.
Qiao Qingshu hurriedly asked,
Where is my father?
Butler Lai frowned.
"The Second Master had just left when the Third Master arrived. I went to look for the Second Master, but he was drunk with his colleagues at a restaurant and couldn't even speak properly."
Qiao Qingshu waved her hand and said,
"Please come in quickly."
Qiao Qingshu was unsure why her third uncle, whom she had never met before, had returned, and she remained somewhat wary of him.
Thinking that his grandmother should know about this, he instructed Lai Da to invite the man directly to Fushou Hall.
She slowly made her way to Fushou Hall.
Although Madam Qiao doesn't like Qiao Qingshu now, that's something that happens behind closed doors.
If it involves the interests of the Qiao family, this old woman still has some sense of proportion.
Qiao Qingshu briefly explained to her grandmother about her third uncle's visit, and then several people came in through the curtain.
Qiao Qingshu looked up and was secretly surprised.
The leader was a middle-aged man with a calm and sharp expression and a shrewd and experienced face. Although he was not dressed very fancy, his demeanor was so imposing that he could not be ignored.
Behind him followed an older woman whose face was covered in wrinkles, but whose youthful features were still visible around her eyes and brows; she must have been a beauty.
Behind them was a middle-aged woman with beautiful features, holding two children.
The two children, a boy and a girl, were both quite young, looking to be only fifteen or sixteen years old.
Qiao Qingle immediately guessed her identity. The older woman must be Xu, her grandfather's concubine from back then.
The middle-aged woman should be the third uncle's wife, and the one embracing her is the third uncle's two children.
Qiao Qingshu carefully observed this scene, feeling an inexplicable surge of excitement. She stepped forward.
"Great-aunt, Third Uncle, Third Aunt, hello."
Qiao Jiye squinted and looked him over, then hesitated before speaking.
"You're Qing Shu? You've grown so much?"
Qiao Qingshu smiled and nodded in agreement.
She felt grateful to her third uncle's family!
She was once the Empress of Nanzhao, but she was kidnapped by villains while traveling south and almost lost her life.
If it weren't for her third uncle's family taking the knife for her and hiding her for several days, she would have already lost her life.
Although her own parents treated her third uncle very badly, her third uncle did not take his anger out on Qiao Qingshu.
Instead, they showed her great care and even escorted her all the way back to the capital.
Seeing her third uncle again so soon, Qiao Qingshu felt inexplicably excited.
Qiao Qingshu kept a smile on her face, offering her third uncle's family seats and instructing the maid to serve them the best tea and snacks.
But then a cough came from life, a sound filled with dissatisfaction.
Qiao Qingshu turned her head and saw that Old Madam Qiao was looking at everyone with a cold face.
Qiao Qingshu then realized that she had neglected her, and a faint smile appeared on her lips as she subtly moved aside.
This gave Old Madam Qiao room to exert her authority.
She wasn't sure why her third uncle's family had come back, so she, as their grandmother, decided to scout things out first.
All that was heard was a cold snort from Old Madam Qiao.
"No manners! Why didn't you bow to me when you saw me?"
These words were naturally spoken to his third uncle, Qiao Jiye.
But Qiao Jiye's face remained calm, and he did not kneel down to pay his respects. He simply stood still with his back straight.
He was smiling at Qiao Qingshu just moments before, but when he met Old Madam Qiao's eyes, his face turned cold.
He stood there for a long time, seemingly lost in thought; in short, a long time passed.
He slowly bowed and greeted his wife and children behind him, and then called them to come forward and bow as well.