mtl008 Chapter 18: Was she also reborn?
Chapter 18: Was she also reborn?
Qiao Qingshu looked coldly at Xu Biyun.
"If that's the case, then let's take my aunt as a concubine."
Both Madam Qiao and Qiao Jizhou looked at Qiao Qingshu with excitement and satisfaction in their eyes.
Old Madam Qiao stepped forward, took Qiao Qingshu's hand, and began to weep.
"Good child, you are so sensible and understanding of your grandmother's and father's good intentions."
Qiao Jizhou also assured,
"Shu'er, you are so sensible. Father will definitely make it up to you in the future."
"Father will never marry a legal wife again in this life. He will only have your mother as his wife. Xu Biyun will only be his concubine. If Father breaks his promise, you can ask your maternal grandparents to punish him."
Qiao Qingshu nodded lightly, but couldn't help but smile slightly as she looked down.
He thought to himself that it would be much easier to deal with Xu Biyun now that she was a concubine!
She absolutely will not let the bastard in her belly live past three months!
Lanxiang Pavilion
As soon as she returned to the room, Xu Biyun collapsed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), covered her face, and cried uncontrollably.
Liu Wan'er looked at her mother with mixed feelings, her brows furrowed tightly. How could everything be so different from her previous life?
In her previous life, her mother successfully became the matriarch of the Qiao family, and she herself successfully became a daughter of the Marquis's family; everything went smoothly.
Reborn, he learned that Bai had perished in a fire, and that his death occurred more than half a year earlier than in his previous life.
She had her doubts, but thinking that if Bai died early, her mother could take the position of mistress sooner, she considered it a good thing and didn't think much of it.
After today's incident, Liu Wan'er immediately became alert; the whole thing seemed very strange.
How could Mother and Second Master have been caught by such a coincidence?!
In her previous life, Qiao Qingshu had always been considerate and compassionate towards herself and her mother. However, in the mourning hall today, Qiao Qingshu's expression was filled with hatred, coldness, and intense killing intent. She must have found out something!
Could it be that she too has been reborn and returned?
Liu Wan'er suddenly looked up.
"Doesn't Mother find today's events strange?"
Xu Biyun was taken aback. Her mind seemed to be filled only with beautiful clothes, food, entertainment, and men; she could only blankly ask in return,
"Strange? What's strange? I guess I'm just unlucky."
Liu Wan'er walked over and sat down next to Xu Biyun, tidying up the messy hair at Xu Biyun's temples.
“Mother, today’s events are too coincidental to be true. It’s a perfect storm of timing, location, and people. If it were just one step off, it would have failed. I think it’s not fate, but human doing.”
Xu Biyun stared wide-eyed.
"Which person?"
Liu Wan'er sneered and looked at her mother with a sinister gaze.
Who benefits the most from today's events?
Xu Biyun thought for a moment, and after a long while, she blurted out,
"Shu girl!"
Liu Wan'er nodded, her face serious.
"My cousin must have known about you and the Second Master all along, and she was waiting here to plot against you. The Second Master lost his official position, and now Mother's position as the mistress of the house is completely gone. She also managed to manipulate the Old Madam and the Second Master, and even got back her mother's dowry. How come I never realized before that my cousin is so capable!"
Xu Biyun's mouth gaped open after hearing these words, and she couldn't close it for a long time.
"She...she...she..."
Xu Biyun had never thought of this; in her eyes, Qiao Qingshu was very similar to her, Bai Shi.
They were all well-educated and virtuous ladies from respectable families, simple and kind, and disdainful of resorting to petty tricks.
Would someone as dignified and respectable as him also scheme against others?
She immediately grabbed Liu Wan'er's hand, somewhat frightened.
"Could it really be that Qiao Qingshu is behind this, framing me and Second Master!?"
Liu Wan'er patted her mother's hand reassuringly.
"Mother, don't worry, I'll look into it and find out."
Fushou Hall
Old Mrs. Qiao swept the cups and plates off the table, venting her anger for half a day, but the rage in her chest still wouldn't dissipate.
She was panting heavily, pointing at her son's nose and yelling.
"You bastard, I wish I could beat you to death to vent my anger! On the seventh day after Bai's death, you did that kind of thing with that whore!"
"If you were doing it behind someone's back, that would be one thing, but you two started doing it without any regard for anything in the Bai family's mourning hall. Have you never had sex before or what?!"
"Now look what's happened! The official position that was practically in our grasp is gone! Bai's dowry has also vanished! We've lost everything!"
Qiao Jizhou's mood also fluctuated wildly; just a few hours ago, he was soaring to the sky, and a few hours later, he was plummeting to the bottom.
He knelt on the ground, dejected, utterly exhausted, and sighed repeatedly.
"It's all my son's fault. He was blinded by lust and now he's ruined himself. How could I have gotten involved with her in the mourning hall? I know I shouldn't have done it, but somehow tonight I couldn't control myself, and Lord Li even saw us. Oh dear, it's really..."
Qiao Jizhou slapped his thigh, hanging his head in deep regret. The feeling of gaining and then losing was more torturous than never having had it at all.
As she sat on the edge of the couch, panting heavily, she unconsciously pieced together everything that had happened in the past few days.
Qiao Jizhou's bright future was just around the corner. If it weren't for Xu Biyun, that prostitute, seducing her son and having an affair in the mourning hall, how could Li Pu have caught them? How could the official position that was within his grasp have flown away? How could he have returned the dowry that was already in his hands?
It's all because of Xu Biyun.
Mr. Ye also said that this evil spirit had been in the Marquis's residence for several years, and Xu Biyun had been staying there for several years...
Old Madam Qiao secretly regretted that if Xu Biyun hadn't been so good at flattering people, always paying her respects three times a day, being subservient and sweet-talking, and being her own niece whom she both liked and felt sorry for, she would have allowed Xu Biyun and Qiao Jizhou to have an affair for so many years.
Now that this commotion has caused such a stir, it's as if Old Madam Qiao has finally woken up from a long-held dream.
If Xu Biyun hadn't been pregnant, she would definitely have used the Bai family as an excuse to get rid of Xu Biyun!
Now, Old Madam Qiao has hardened her heart and is preparing to drive Xu Biyun out of the Xu family mansion after the child is born.
Just as I was making plans, I heard Mother Zou say,
"Madam, Aunt Xu is outside demanding to see you."
Upon hearing this, Madam Qiao frowned. At this critical juncture, Xu Biyun still dared to approach. She ordered her to be sent away immediately.
Zou's mother hesitated for a moment before saying,
"Aunt Xu is insisting that the Second Master and she were framed for what happened at the funeral hall, and that she knows the truth!"
In fact, what Xu Biyun was shouting outside the courtyard was that the eldest daughter, Qiao Qingshu, had plotted against the second master and her!
But these words were too absurd and outrageous for Granny Zou to say in person.
Both Qiao Jizhou and Madam Qiao were shocked upon hearing this.
He waved his hand, telling people to come in quickly.