in2ebook Chapter 181 Pretending
Chapter 181 Pretending
Xiao Zhijie simply nodded and did not speak.
Seeing that the room was full of people coaxing the second wife, Madam Xing's eyes turned red and her heart felt heavy. Not long after, she made an excuse to leave.
During this time, Qiao Qingshu and Xiao Zhijie were both recuperating at their respective homes, but their wedding date was getting closer and closer.
Especially the Xiao family, because of the old lady's wishes, the wedding was actually arranged by the old lady herself.
This made the eldest son so angry that he almost trembled with fear.
The Qiao family home was quieter, though.
Qiao Qingshu was bedridden and recuperating, so Old Madam Qiao had no intention of helping her with the wedding arrangements. She secretly thought that the more shabby the wedding, the better.
He simply claimed that he was physically weak and unable to help Qiao Qingshu.
Qiao Jizhou had no idea about matters of marriage within the inner quarters of the household, so naturally he was clueless.
It was Qiao Qingqiao who suffered, as she took on the task.
Because her wedding was on the same day as Qiao Qingshu's, and Qiao Qingshu had already taken care of most of the arrangements.
Therefore, she took on this responsibility and began to arrange her own marriage and that of her eldest sister.
He would also frequently visit Qiao Qingshu's courtyard to bring her delicious food and fun toys, and to keep her company and relieve her boredom.
This comparison reveals the differences.
The second younger sister, Qiao Qingqiao, came frequently, while the third younger sister, Qiao Qingle, never came.
Once, while Qiao Qingshu was eating pastries that Qiao Qingqiao had brought her, she couldn't help but ask about Qiao Qingle.
"What has Third Sister been doing these days?"
Qiao Qingqiao sighed, somewhat helplessly,
"Eldest sister, you may not know this, but these days she stays at home every day writing letters to the Crown Prince, secretly asking Cui Mei to deliver the letters. Cui Mei is now working in your room, but she seems unwilling. That third sister has been busy making trouble for Cui Mei lately."
Qiao Qingshu, who was half-lying against the edge of the bed, sat up upon hearing this.
"What? There's such a thing? I had no idea!"
Qiao Qingqiao sighed again.
"That's why Cuimei is so caring towards her master. Knowing that you've been resting recently, she doesn't dare to bother you with these things. I've seen it several times, and I said I wanted to tell you, but Cuimei stopped me each time."
"Since my older sister asked today, I couldn't care less about anything else and that's why I told you."
Qiao Qingshu frowned slightly upon hearing these words, her expression becoming somewhat serious.
"Bring Cui Mei in."
Since following Qiao Qingshu, Cui Mei has been doing simple cleaning and sweeping work in the inner courtyard. When the maids in the house are busy, they will also come in to help serve tea and water.
Qiao Qingshu trusted her very much.
Cui Mei was called in, and when she saw Qiao Qingqiao standing next to her, she understood what was going on. She clutched her sleeves, lowered her head, and stood at the lower end of the table.
Qiao Qingshu asked,
"Qing Le came to see you again?"
Knowing she couldn't hide it any longer, Cuimei had no choice but to answer honestly.
"Yes, the Third Miss has come to me several times. First, she sent other maids to the Crown Prince's residence to deliver messages, but they were all beaten and thrown out. The Third Miss then assumed that the Crown Prince's residence might not recognize these people, so she came to me to deliver the messages again. Now that I'm part of the Eldest Miss's household, I naturally refused. If she's unhappy, then..."
Qiao Qingshu frowned, clearly displeased.
"What?!"
Cui Mei lowered her voice, not daring to look up, and just murmured, her hands clasped together.
"nothing..."
Qiao Qingqiao couldn't stand it, so she stepped forward and rolled up Cui Mei's sleeve. She saw that her entire arm was covered in pinch marks, bruises and welts, a shocking sight.
Qiao Qingle gasped.
"This Qiao Qingle is truly lawless!"
Seeing that her older sister was upset, Qiao Qingqiao quickly stepped forward to comfort her.
"Elder sister, please don't be angry. I already taught Third Sister a lesson yesterday, and I also had several maids accompany Cui Mei around. If Third Sister dares to cause trouble for Cui Mei again, I will definitely step in to stop her immediately."
Seeing that Qingqiao had handled the situation very well, Qiao Qingshu's brows relaxed slightly.
She let out a long, slow sigh.
"How could she be so stupid? She sent someone else to deliver the message and got kicked out. Qiao Qingle still can't see the trick."
No wonder she had such a tragic ending in her past life; it was truly no wonder.
Qiao Qingqiao also sighed.
"Yes, logically speaking, Third Sister should have realized her mistake by now, but she is still so stubborn and unrepentant. Everyone else can see the truth, but she can't see it."
Qiao Qingshu waved her hand, dispelling the many thoughts in her mind, and slowly said,
"She's so engrossed in her dreams that no one can wake her up. Let her continue living in this daze; she'll eventually reap what she sows."
She looked up at Qiao Qingqiao and inquired about the wedding preparations.
Qiao Qingshu had already made most of the preparations for the wedding; all that was left was to wrap things up.
Qingqiao would come to her room every day to report on the progress, so although she wasn't personally handling the wedding arrangements, they were proceeding in an orderly manner.
With only a few days left until her wedding, her revenge plan had reached a crucial stage.
She couldn't help but feel excited.
The thought that she would never see the Qiao family again after getting married made her want to see them one last time.
After lunch, Qiao Qingshu went to Fushou Hall.
Madam Qiao was resting in bed at the moment, while Li Mama was kneeling on the footboard, massaging Madam Qiao's legs, saying that this would help her legs recover sooner.
Qiao Qingshu lifted the curtain and went inside. Li's mother turned around, startled, and let out a soft cry.
"Madam, the eldest daughter has arrived."
When Madam Qiao heard these words, she woke up as if from a nightmare.
She frowned and looked at Qiao Qingshu, who was standing above her, and said unhappily,
"Why are you here!"
The tone was one of reproach and dissatisfaction.
Qiao Qingshu seemed oblivious to the unfriendly tone and walked straight to the embroidered stool next to her and sat down.
She looked around the room; what a luxurious and exquisite bedroom, what a comfortable and pleasant life!
She couldn't help but let out a bright smile, her laughter clear and melodious.
But to Old Madam Qiao's ears, the laughter sounded like a death knell, making her hair stand on end.
Seeing Qiao Qingshu like this made her inexplicably uncomfortable, and her voice suddenly rose eight octaves.
"why are you laughing?"
It was both an inquiry and a demonstration.
But Qiao Qingshu was not frightened at all; she sighed softly.
"Grandmother, I'm getting married in just a few days. I really don't want to leave you all. It will be hard to see you again in the future."
Kneeling at the bottom, Li's mother muttered to herself, "It's just getting married, it's not like he's far from the capital. It's only two streets away from home, so why is it so hard to see him?"
Then she thought that perhaps the Xiao family had strict rules and did not allow the new bride to visit her parents' home often. She thought that was possible, so she just pursed her lips and lowered her head.
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Qiao scoffed, as if she had heard a joke.
"You'll miss me? Qiao Qingshu, what are you pretending for in front of me?"
Qiao Qingshu tilted her head and looked at her grandmother, the smile in her eyes not reaching her eyes.
"Pretending? When it comes to pretending, how could I possibly be better at it than my grandmother?"