EBE Chapter 2 Dignity
Chapter 2 Dignity
When the fire broke out, the servant came to report it, and Madam Qiao immediately sent someone to Jinxiu Hall.
But it was too late. Bai Chanzi and her personal maid Huan'er had already been burned alive in the room, their bodies charred like charcoal.
Granny Zou personally led a search party to find the lost items, and collected a box of jewelry from the ruins.
Madam Qiao has now completely abandoned all concern for anything. She didn't even go to the mourning hall, but instead sat on the edge of the bed and ate a bowl of bird's nest soup.
He carefully placed the warehouse key under his pillow, asked no more questions, and lay on the bed, groaning and complaining of headaches, stomachaches, and heartaches.
Qiao Qingshu walked into the inner room. Two maids wearing light-colored embroidered jackets lifted the curtain. After passing the white jade screen inlaid with mother-of-pearl, she saw an old woman wearing a jade headband, a beige jacquard soft silk inner garment, and a dark purple brocade robe with gold foil draped over her shoulders, sitting crookedly on the edge of the bed.
Old Madam Qiao had a thin face, her triangular eyes flashed with shrewd calculation, her lips were so thin they were almost nonexistent, and her expression was hesitant and sorrowful. Although she was ill, her complexion looked quite good.
A hint of murderous intent flashed in Qiao Qingshu's eyes as she thought to herself, "That old man is always good at pretending!"
In her previous life, Old Madam Qiao had known about Xu Biyun's affair with her father for a long time and had been helping to cover it up.
After Bai died of illness, this old woman pretended to be ill and refused to handle the funeral arrangements, precisely because she refused to spend the Qiao family's money, relying on Bai's family to contribute and on Qiao Qingshu to subsidize the expenses with her own savings. Furthermore, she conspired with Qiao Jizhou and Xu Biyun to embezzle Bai's dowry.
This old man told Xu Biyun in person that the Bai family, the Duke of Zhenguo, was wealthy and had plenty of money, and would definitely not let their daughter and granddaughter suffer.
Qiao Qingshu sneered inwardly. So you're unwilling to shed blood? I'll make you, you old bastard, hand over your life savings obediently!
Qiao Qingshu collapsed into the old lady's arms, weeping bitterly.
"Grandmother! My mother died a terrible death!"
Old Madam Qiao hugged Qiao Qingshu tightly, calling her her darling, and two lines of tears rolled down her deeply lined cheeks.
“My poor child! You have suffered so much. My old bones are useless now. If I weren’t so sick that I couldn’t even get out of bed, I would definitely go to your mother’s grave and cry. How could such a good person have such a short life!”
Qiao Qingshu looked up, gazing sadly at that scheming old face.
"Grandmother, the most important thing right now is Mother's funeral. What should we do?"
Old Madam Qiao took out a pair of cards from her bosom and handed them to Qiao Qingshu.
“Good child, you’re about to get married and should learn how to manage a household. I’m too sick to get out of bed right now. I took two doses of medicine yesterday but I’m not feeling any better. I’m no good for you. I’ll have to send Granny Zou and Granny Li to do things for you. I’ll also rely on the steward to help with the affairs of the outer courtyard. They’re all old hands of mine. You should learn how to manage them.”
Granny Zou stepped forward and said,
"Miss, please go ahead and do it. If you need anything, just write a note and give it to this old servant, and I will fetch it for you."
Li's mother also stepped forward and said.
"Miss, if you need any instructions on who to assign you tasks or what duties to perform, please give me your word. This old servant will certainly make the arrangements for you and relieve your worries."
Old Madam Qiao coughed twice, took a breath, and added,
"You've got enough to do in the inner courtyard. Leave the outer courtyard matters to Lai Da. I've already sent someone to inform your father. Things will be better once he returns."
Qiao Jizhou went to Jiangnan on business, and by the time he gets back, it will probably be the seventh day after his death.
Qiao Qingshu sneered inwardly. They dumped this mess on her, the eldest daughter, and even sent two old men to keep an eye on her.
Every move he makes is watched by informants; this old man is always incredibly shrewd.
Qiao Qingshu unconsciously clenched her hands, wishing she could throw a cup of tea in the old woman's face. In her previous life, it was the same; the funeral was left to Qiao Qingshu to handle, but when it came to money, she would either make excuses about the deficit in the accounts or say that she could spare the money later.
But no matter how much the funeral was delayed, Qiao Qingshu had no choice but to assume that the Qiao family was really in debt and used her own savings to make up for it.
The entire set of red gold jewelry was originally intended for the bride's wedding, but she gritted her teeth and pawned it to make her mother's funeral more respectable.
Later, when the Bai family, her maternal grandmother's family, came to offer their condolences, even though Qiao Qingshu contributed a lot of money, the funeral was still considered somewhat simple by the old lady Bai.
Thinking that the Qiao family was indeed in dire straits, the Bai family took out another five thousand taels of silver to help them.
After all, Bai Chanzi was the eldest daughter of the Bai family and was the most beloved by Old Madam Bai before she was married. Now that she is dead, how could Old Madam Bai bear to let her own daughter suffer?
Although this funeral is a charade, Qiao Qingshu will never again let the Bai family spend a single penny, nor will she contribute a single cent herself.
She just wants the Qiao family to suffer a huge financial loss!
They emptied their savings to fund this fabricated funeral!
Suppressing her anger, Qiao Qingshu gripped the management card in her hand and asked, feigning innocence.
"Grandmother, how much usable silver does Zhonggong have in his account right now?"
Grandma Qiao coughed violently again, sighing repeatedly.
"The family is currently in debt and doesn't have much cash in the account, so your mother will have to make do with five hundred taels for now."
Qiao Qingshu frowned slightly, finding it laughable that even respectable merchant wives nowadays spend more than five hundred taels on funerals.
Her own mother was the legitimate daughter of a duke's family. Not to mention the standards of a duke's family, the standards of a wife of a marquis's family would be at least three to five thousand taels. This old woman really had a lot of nerve, daring to use five hundred taels to humiliate her mother.
Seeing that Qiao Qingshu's expression was off, Old Madam Qiao also felt that the amount was somewhat disrespectful to her, and said again,
“I will secretly give your mother an additional three hundred taels. She is a dutiful daughter-in-law. A few years ago, when I was unwell, she took care of me the whole time. But don’t say anything, just take it and use it.”
Zhenzhen, don't make a sound. If word gets out that you have eight hundred taels, people will laugh their heads off.
They were stingy with the eight hundred taels, refusing to give it all at once, only giving three hundred taels first, saying they would come back for more when they ran out.
Without further ado, Qiao Qingshu took the silver and left the filthy Fushou Hall.
As dawn broke, the rooster crowed to announce the approach of day.
Looking at her daughter's thin figure standing in the morning mist, Lin Dong felt wronged and wiped away her tears, saying...
“Young lady, this amount of money is hardly enough to hold a decent funeral. It’s an insult to our lady.”
Qiao Qingshu stopped her hurried steps, looked up at the sky that was turning pale, and felt a strange excitement in her heart. Dignity?
Who cares about appearances!
She doesn't care about appearances anymore; she's going to turn this Marquis's mansion upside down!
Let's expose all the dirty secrets of the Marquis's mansion to everyone!
She would only feel relieved if she completely ruined the reputation of this Marquis's mansion!
Qiao Qingshu murmured a cold laugh.
"The show is about to begin."
Lin Dong didn't hear clearly, so he leaned closer and asked again.
"What did the girl say..."
Qiao Qingshu turned to look at Lin Dong and chuckled softly.
"Good Dong'er, stay close to me and don't fall behind. I'll show you the grandeur and prestige of this Marquis's mansion."
Lin Dong stared blankly with her almond-shaped eyes and asked,
"Girl? What are you saying? I don't understand."
Lin Dong was Qiao Qingshu's first-class maid. They had grown up together since childhood and knew each other well. Later, she followed Qiao Qingshu into the Xiao family and was loyal and hardworking.
However, she was later forcibly taken by the eldest patriarch of the Xiao family. Lin Dong was taciturn but fierce-willed, and she ended her life with a foot of white silk.
Afterwards, Qiao Qingshu blamed herself and felt remorseful for several years. She never gave her father-in-law a kind look again and also hated herself for not protecting Lin Dong back then.
Now that she's alive again, Qiao Qingshu will definitely protect her well, help her find a respectable marriage, and let her get married happily and live a peaceful life.
Qiao Qingshu touched her tender little face and smiled.
"It's okay if you don't understand, your daughter does."
At this moment, Steward Lai led the two in through the second gate. The man leading the way had an air of otherworldly wisdom. Qiao Qingshu recognized him as Mr. Ye from the Yin-Yang Division, whom she had invited.