He was murdered after his family was wiped out and left with no descendants; his whole family knelt

Chapter 28 Slapping Aunt Chen

Qiao Qingshu did not slow down the process of handling Bai's dowry because Old Madam Qiao was ill.

On the contrary, it accelerated the progress.

The next morning, Qiao Qingshu arrived at Aunt Chen's courtyard very early.

This startled Aunt Chen, who was eating breakfast, and she even choked on her porridge.

She looked anxiously at her maid, Hu Niu, and said...

"This Sister Shu never used to visit my Begonia Garden, so why is she coming here again and again?"

The kind-hearted Tiger Girl lowered her head and shook her head.

"Auntie, how would I know?"

Aunt Chen wondered if it was that stupid son Qiao Antai who had caused her trouble again, so she wiped her mouth and got up.

At this moment, Qiao Qingshu had already slowly entered the room, and Aunt Chen could only smile politely.

"Young lady, what brings you here again?"

Although he was smiling, he was worried, wondering what the legitimate daughter was up to.

Qiao Qingshu walked straight to the head of the main hall and sat down, getting straight to the point.

"Jiu'er is in your room, isn't she?"

Jiu'er was originally a member of Bai's Jinxiu Hall. The day after Bai's death, Old Madam Qiao reassigned all the people in Bai's house to different rooms, and divided up all of Bai's servants.

Jiu'er was originally a first-class maidservant by Bai Shi's side, but Old Madam Qiao assigned Jiu'er to Aunt Chen, and now she does some rough work such as washing and sweeping in the courtyard.

It's unclear whether this arrangement was intentional.

Because Jiu'er had been following Bai Shi, her food, clothing, and daily necessities were extremely refined, and the fabrics used to make her clothes were even better than those used by the concubines. Aunt Chen had long been envious and jealous of the senior maids around Bai Shi.

Now that Jiu'er has fallen into Aunt Chen's hands, she's not getting any good treatment. She's already been thoroughly ridiculed and tormented by Aunt Chen.

Qiao Qingshu knew that Jiu'er would ultimately die for her master, so she rushed over in time to prevent this tragedy.

Aunt Chen was somewhat displeased when she heard Jiu'er being asked about it.

"Oh, you mean her? That girl has gotten used to a good life and really thinks she's half a master. She dawdles when she does chores. Yesterday she even ruined one of my clothes while washing it, and now I've locked her in the woodshed and made her kneel as punishment."

Qiao Qingshu was already seething with anger, but she still spoke slowly.

"Bring it up."

Aunt Chen, however, was displeased, frowning and raising her voice,

“Young lady, is it wrong for me to discipline my own servants? You’re really getting too involved these days, even meddling in the affairs of my own courtyard. Even when Madam was alive, she never interfered with me like this.”

Qiao Qingshu pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and realized she really couldn't give this Aunt Chen a good look. She slammed her hand on the table and angrily rebuked her.

"Don't make me say it a second time!"

Aunt Chen was always impulsive. Even when Madam Bai was around, she spoke in such a loud voice. Madam Bai would at most scold her a few times, but there was no other punishment.

Therefore, Aunt Chen thought that Qiao Qingshu must be the same way, and since she couldn't do anything about it, she continued to yell at the top of her lungs.

"Young lady, are you taking advantage of me, this concubine, who has no one to rely on? Although I am of lower status, I am still someone belonging to the Second Master..."

Before she could finish speaking, a gust of wind swept past her, and a burly maid rushed forward and slapped Aunt Chen hard across the face.

She was hit so hard she saw stars and spun around several times.

The burly Xia Zhi stood in front of Qiao Qingshu and angrily rebuked Aunt Chen.

“Auntie, show some respect. If you continue to yell at the young lady, it won’t just be a slap.”

Aunt Chen stood there dumbfounded, covering her face. Apart from being slapped a few times by Old Madam Qiao when she first entered the mansion for not knowing the rules, no one had hit her in the past few years.

Looking at Xia Zhi's robust figure, Aunt Chen knew that even if all five of her maids in her courtyard attacked together, they would not be a match for her and would definitely suffer a loss.

He stood there angrily, stamping his feet in frustration.

Qiao Qingshu didn't waste any more words with her, and simply gestured to the people beside her, saying...

"Go to the woodshed and bring the person here."

When Jiu'er stood before Qiao Qingshu, covered in wounds and looking utterly disheveled, Qiao Qingshu felt a strange pang in her heart.

Although Jiu'er was not beautiful, she had a dignified and upright demeanor and was kind in her daily life. Having served Bai Shi for many years, she had also learned Bai Shi's temperament from her. She was a very outstanding maid.

They used to wear and use very fine clothes, and Bai treated them well. When they went out shopping, they were often mistaken for ladies from wealthy families.

That once glamorous person now stood before Qiao Qingshu, dressed in tattered clothes, covered in scars, and emaciated, his face ashen with despair.

In just a few days, a respectable person could be tormented like this. Qiao Qingshu's gaze towards Aunt Chen immediately hardened even more.

She stood up, her heart aching, and gently took Jiu'er's hand, saying softly...

"Sister Jiu'er, I'm here to take you away."

Jiu'er glanced blankly at Qiao Qingshu with her vacant eyes, then her gaze dimmed again.

Aunt Chen covered her face and shouted angrily.

"Young lady, she was assigned to my room by the old lady. Now you want to take her away without permission. Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the old lady?"

Qiao Qingshu sneered.

“Alright, I was just about to go to the old lady’s room. Aunt, you can come with me. I can also tell the old lady about you hitting Tai’er.”

Aunt Chen shrank back, somewhat frightened and unwilling to go, but the next second Xia Zhi dragged her away.

Before long, a large number of servants who were originally bound to the Bai family gathered outside Old Mrs. Qiao's house.

Eighty-nine people from all sides and academies gathered together.

Seven or eight people were also called away from Qiao Jizhou's house. As the male head of the Qiao family, he naturally rushed over to see what his daughter was up to when he saw her making such a big fuss.

When they arrived at Madam Qiao's Fushou Hall, they saw that all the masters of the house had arrived.

As soon as Aunt Chen saw Qiao Jizhou, she rushed over and cried out,

"Sir, please do justice for me! The young lady came to my room to take someone away and even slapped me. I'm so wronged!"

At this moment, Qiao Jizhou couldn't care less about a concubine. Not only had people been taken from his concubine's room, but several people had also been taken from his own room. Who could he complain to?

Just when she was already feeling agitated, Aunt Chen came to bother her again, and she scolded her with a long face.

"Who gives you the right to speak here? Get out of here!"

Aunt Chen was humiliated and could only pout and retreat into the crowd, muttering curses under her breath.

The second daughter, Qiao Qingqiao, was standing diagonally in front of Aunt Chen, and all the vile insults reached her ears.

Qiao Qingqiao frowned, glanced at Aunt Chen, and felt utterly contemptuous.

He wondered to himself how he could have crawled out of the belly of such a woman.

To spew vulgarities in front of so many masters and servants, showing no regard for dignity, is worse than even a common woman!

As Aunt Chen cursed, she became more and more enthusiastic, pulling several nannies and maids beside her to talk animatedly, her spittle flying and her eyebrows dancing.

They criticized Qiao Qingshu for being disrespectful and abusing her power, and described Jiu'er as stupid and incompetent, etc...

As Qiao Qingqiao, the second daughter, listened to her increasingly outrageous remarks, her face grew increasingly gloomy. She turned around and muttered disdainfully,

“Auntie should have some self-respect. You’re the only one spouting nonsense in the whole courtyard. Aren’t you ashamed?”