Chapter 328: Got The Keepsakes 3
The incident of Qi Qingyao whisking Qi Qingzhu away from the Jiang residence naturally was seen by those who were observant or eager to know. Although she had only been in Qingzhou City a few days, she was already quite a notable person in Qingzhou City. The moment she stepped foot out of her house, there would be people watching her. Her every move would be reported by spies. Qi Qingyao also knew this, so she did not speak much to Qi Qingzhu.
The spies realized that she had whisked her actual elder sister away from the Jiang residence and then called for a carriage to send her sister back to their old home. The spies could not help but be vexed. ‘Sheesh, and here we thought it was going to be some big news, who would’ve thought that it’d be just… this?’
After Third Brother Yu of the Yulong Gang got hold of this news, he sighed. It seemed that the little lady was just feeling a little family affection and decided to buy her elder sister’s freedom! “Another useless p.a.w.n!”
Old Xie the Eighth looked at Third Brother Yu and said, “Third brother, actually, if we’re talking about p.a.w.ns, the three children by her side would make the best p.a.w.ns.” If they were to use someone, surely the kids would be the best choice.
Third Brother Yu rubbed his lower jaw and said, “Those three p.a.w.ns are currently being watched with not the slightest hint of an opening! When they’re out, that young man will always be by their side. That young man… the second young master said that he is at least rank-nine!”
Old Xie the Eighth frowned, saying nothing more.
Everyone wanted information on Qi Qingyao but even if it was unearthed, no one would really want to accept it! They could not seize her weakness, making it useless in the end.
…
…
Linquan Village.
Thirteenth, January.
Madam Li was carrying some empty dishes early in the morning when she dropped by Qi Yuanxiu’s house for a free meal. Madam Wu was cooking in the kitchen. Madam Li sat down in front of the stove, eating while she helped Madam Wu fan the flames. She casually made idle conversation. They chatted till Madam Wu was done cooking when Madam Li suddenly said, “Madam Wu, your second daughter…”
Madam Wu murmured a “hmm” raising her brows.
“I mean that third child of yours.” Madam Li recalled the incident from that year, her brows tangling up. “The year when she was born…”
Madam Wu’s heart thumped.
Madam Li pretended to sound casual. “Why do I feel like you weren’t pregnant that year?”
Madam Wu’s heart shook. She did not know what Madam Li’s purpose was, bringing up the topic in a light-hearted tone. She bared her teeth and glared at the woman. “Madam Li…”
Madam Li sensed that Wu had gotten angry, so she quickly slapped in a laugh. “I’m just curious, hahaha.”
“You’re curious? If Qi Qingyao is not my child then is she yours?” Madam Wu cursed as she pointed at Madam Li’s nose.
Madam Li’s demeanor dampened a little. “I didn’t say she wasn’t your birth child, I was just thinking.” After accepting some silver, she was tasked to come over and ask about the incident back then. However, she now knew for sure that the girl was Madam Wu’s birth child from the way she responded.
“You were thinking what? Didn’t you just say that you thought that I had not been pregnant at the time?” Madam Wu’s voice had increased by eight decibels as she stood there, her waist c.o.c.ked. “Just because the relations.h.i.+p between our family and Qi Qingyao has broken down, and that we couldn’t catch the golden phoenix, doesn’t mean that you can ridicule me by saying that I didn’t bear the child. Don’t you think this is rather harsh?”
Madam Li hurriedly apologized. “Madam Wu, don’t be angry, I admitted I slipped up, isn’t that enough?”
Pretending as if she had nothing to lose, Madam Wu said, “I confess, I did not handle that golden goose well, which was why it ran away like that! Argh, I get mad just thinking about it! I even went to Qingzhou City with her father earlier to look for her and guess what? She actually chased us out!”
Madam Li already heard from Qi Boli that they had been driven out. Madam Li sighed ruefully. “Your third child is really heartless.”
“So, what’s new?” Madam Wu chimed in.
Madam Wu chatted with Madam Li for a while and cursed Qi Qingyao’s name for almost an hour before Madam Li was done eating and returned home with her dirty dishes. Madam Wu brought the cooked dishes to the main room and, after everyone had finished their meals and she washed all the dishes, she dragged the old codger into the room. Closing the door, Madam Wu then said quietly.
“Madam Li said a lot of weird things in front of me today.”
“About what?” Qi Boli asked.
Madam Wu pressed her lips tightly together. “She seemed to be probing if I really gave birth to Qi Qingyao.”
Qi Boli pondered for a bit before saying, “Could you be thinking things the wrong way? Madam Li could just be running her mouth because she saw that we had never treated her well.”
“I don’t think so!” Madam Wu was typically a rather mean and calculative person, so her mind was also very acute. After deep contemplation, she said seriously, “You should know that Madam Li is usually aware of my temper and wouldn’t ask that kind of thing. But this morning, the way she was talking was really weird, as if she was deliberately trying to lure me into a trap.”
Qi Boli did not respond.
After a moment, his expression suddenly changed. “Has someone found out about it? And deliberately came to investigate the incident back then?”
“This, I don’t know.” Madam Wu shook her head.
“Could it be that Qi Qingyao told someone about this? Or was it Qingzhu who spread it?” Qi Boli finally spoke again after contemplating for a long time.
Madam Wu speculated for a bit and said, “No, why on earth would Qi Qingyao tell someone about this? Since it’s been a while since then, she likely already retrieved the keepsakes from Qingzhu. Considering her temperament, I think she definitely would have informed Qingzhu about everything. Qingzhu is not stupid either. She would not stir up trouble by leaking this news out to random people.
“I think it’s probably that… she stood out too much the few times she came back down from Qingzhou City. Plus the fact that that child does not look like she comes from a village at all! She used to always play in the mud and looked unkempt the entire day. She was even uncouth, not to mention a fool. It completely masked her other qualities. Now her dressing and makeup are comparable to the best. She is also smart and has an air of n.o.bility. Instead of acting ent.i.tled, she has become sophisticated and delicate. It’s quite understandable for people to begin to doubt her roots.”
“If she’s secretly being investigated…” Qi Boli dared not think about it anymore and hurriedly warned his wife, “You better keep your mouth closed and don’t let it run.”
“Of course! I refuse to relinquish that Qi Qingyao is my birth child.” After Madam Wu made this solemn statement, she added, “Say, do you think we ought to let the old lady know about this?”
Qi Boli replied, “I don’t think so. While the old lady likes to bend her back for money, she’s still aware of the grander scheme of things. Wasn’t my father a litigation broker (T/N: Unscrupulous ‘lawyers’ who instigate others to file lawsuits to profit from in old societies) back then? He was smart and his wife was not stupid either. That’s why we put the child under our name and pretended that she was our own. Basically, it is impossible for the old lady to proactively cause trouble.”
“…” True that!
…
…
Qi Qingyao was sitting in the room while the three kids were seated on the couch at the side. They were telling each other stories; Qi Qingyao would start by opening the story’s exposition and then the kids would follow up with whatever their imagination cooked up, adding on to the end of each other’s words!
The kids were having a lot of fun.
Qi Qingyao was fiddling with the jadeite amulet and white jade ring in her hands.
She thought back about what Madam Wu had said.
‘You’re not my actual child…’
This matter had given Qi Qingyao a little worry.
She kept the two keepsakes and watched the children playing, feeling a little gloomy.
‘I don’t know who my real parents are. You guys don’t know who your real father is either.
‘Our family really boils down to one thing… trouble!’