Chapter 347: Left Behind

Chapter 347: Left Behind

The tenth anniversary of Qiao Hui's mother's death was marked with much fanfare and noise. Although the old Qiao family estate didn’t have many relatives, as the saying goes, “Poverty in the city goes unnoticed, while wealth in the mountains attracts distant relatives.” The commemoration lasted three days, with a continuous feast laid out at the entrance of Shuixiang Village. Over the three days, around four to five hundred people came to pay their respects; some were distant relatives of the Qiao family, others were local gentry from nearby villages, and some were officials and their wives from neighboring counties and prefectures.

Xiong Yoyo sat with Xianjin. Her young son, barely two years old and just learning to run, shouted “Auntie!” at Xianjin before dashing out, with three or four maids and nannies chasing after him.

In a hurry, Xianjin handed over a cup of tea and offered a plate of pastries, adding, “Take care of yourself for now—” before glancing at the lady in the next room, “and help me look after Madam Guan from Huai'an Prefecture while you’re at it.”

Xiong Yoyo: ...She can barely take care of herself, and now she has to entertain guests too?

After Xianjin had settled all the ladies who came to offer their condolences, she finally had a moment to sit with Xiong Yoyo and exchange a few quiet words.

“You look like you’ve taken an elixir,” Xianjin said, taking big gulps of water and observing Xiong Yoyo’s rosy cheeks and radiant appearance. The last time they met at the Orange Courtyard, Xiong Yoyo looked well, but not as triumphant as she did now.

Xiong Yoyo smiled, “Ever since my uncle was confirmed as the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, my mother-in-law suddenly became reasonable! She even dedicated a room to store my dowry and no longer fights me to take care of our son, Yuan. She says, ‘The Xiong family is prestigious, and they have their own way of raising children,’ and treats me like a precious object, practically showing filial piety morning and evening.”

Xiong Yoyo sighed softly, “In this world, whether your family of origin is strong really matters.”

—This was also why she chose Cui Heng. The primary reason was that Cui Heng wasn’t a bad person, and as long as her uncle was his superior, she would live comfortably in the Cui family. Although Cui Heng’s mother was a shrew, she only dared to speak ill of Xiong Yoyo behind her back, crying, kicking, and falsely accusing her in front of her son, playing the victim. She wouldn’t even dare to send a maid into Cui Heng’s room.

Now that her uncle had risen to a high position, and Cui Heng treated her well, his mother had transformed from a vulgar widow into a refined lady of a prestigious family. What was once “that arrogant daughter-in-law” was now “our esteemed eldest madam”...

Xiong Yoyo felt deeply moved.

Xianjin took a bite of her pastry, found it too greasy, and placed it back on the table.

At that moment, Qiao Hui arrived, casually took the pastry Xianjin had bitten, drank the tea in big gulps, and whispered in her ear, “Madam Guan is leaving; their carriage’s wheel broke. I’ve sent Hai Xing to find a new one. If we can’t get one, we’ll have to ask Dog Ye to see her off personally. The second master of the Bai family from Chuzhou Prefecture wants to offer Eight-Zhang Xuan Paper as tribute. Should I direct him to Director Dong or Steward Zhong?”

Xianjin nodded, “Just talk to Dog Brother. There are still two pieces of Eight-Zhang Xuan Paper stored in Xuancheng Prefecture. If they really want to see it, they’ll have to go to the Wuxu Hall there.”

The two of them acted naturally, not standing out amidst the busy and noisy rural hall.

Xiong Yoyo, however, froze on the spot. Only after Qiao Hui had left the hall did she snap out of it, grabbing Xianjin’s wrist and stammering, “You, Lord Zhongwu... You two? Are you...”

Xianjin, her wrist caught, scrunched up her face and laughed.

No denial meant an admission.

Xiong Yoyo suppressed a scream, pacing back and forth before realizing her previous words were inappropriate, “Whether your family of origin is strong doesn’t matter that much!”

“A blacksmith must have strong tools!”

“With your connection to the Qiao family, if Qiao Baoyuan doesn’t treat you well, he’ll be condemned! When the Qiao family was in trouble and Qiao Shanchang was imprisoned, even my uncle only dared to help secretly! Cui Heng, while managing to preserve the plaque personally inscribed by ‘Jing County’ Qiao Shanchang, didn’t dare to openly rescue the Qiao family!”

“Only you raised Baozhu from infancy!”

Xianjin: ...Not really... Unless Baozhu is intellectually challenged, at her age, it’s hard to deal with poop and pee again...

Xiong Yoyo paced a few more times, her voice sharp and light, “No matter how high an official Qiao Baoyuan becomes, if he doesn’t treat you well, he’ll end up in the deepest hell! His tongue will be pulled out, he’ll be fried in oil, his bones stripped, and in his next life, he’ll be a mountain chicken!”

The hall was bustling with people coming and going.

Thus, only Xianjin had the misfortune of hearing Xiong Yoyo’s curse about Qiao Hui being reincarnated as a mountain chicken; no one else was lucky enough to hear it.

For the entire afternoon, Xiong Yoyo was highly agitated, alternating between cursing Qiao Baoyuan to a terrible fate if he betrayed kindness and fiercely advising Xianjin, “Hold onto Qiao Baoyuan! A third-rank official in his twenties won’t come by often! Be careful in the Capital City; the women there are full of schemes, enough to fill a pot of porridge. You need to be extra cautious.”

She was so eager to fight alongside Xianjin that Xianjin didn’t dare argue easily—this was the difference between a married woman and an unmarried girl. Hengxi’s focus was on “You love me, I love you, Mi Xue Bing Cheng Tian Mi Mi”...

Xiong Yoyo's focus lies in "Fight! The battle doesn't end as long as life continues! Challenge the mother-in-law! Challenge the sisters-in-law! Challenge the gossipy neighbors! Urah!"

Xianjin wasn’t in the mood for fighting; all she wanted was to sleep.

On the way back from Jing County to Xuancheng, Xianjin slept as if she hadn’t slept in days.

Upon returning to the Orange Courtyard, the boxes for the journey to the capital were packed early. Qiqiqi, Steward Xiao, Zhou Ergou, Suo'er, and Mother Zhang would accompany her to the capital. Since Aunt Zhong’s youngest child was still young and her elderly parents were advanced in age, Xianjin needed Aunt Zhong to stay in Xuancheng to manage things on their end. So Aunt Zhong postponed her trip to the capital and remained in Xuancheng; Li Sanshun and the Zheng brothers also stayed behind.

At this, Qiqiqi bawled his eyes out.

A grown man, tears and snot streaming down his face, clung to the carriage and cried, "I, I don’t wanna go to the capital…”

Qiao Hui stepped up onto his horse, the animal pawing the ground. He bent down and asked Xianjin, "What's this about?"

Xianjin, expressionless, said, "He’s had a long-standing crush on Steward Zhong, but since she doesn’t feel the same, he’s kept it under wraps."

Qiao Hui snorted, "Poor guy." The horse’s tail swished proudly as it walked away.

Xianjin also boarded the carriage.

Behind them, Qiqiqi cried loudly, "I heard everything! Can you keep it down?!"

Before departing and checking the luggage, Chen Fu ended up carrying four or five boxes, taking up an entire carriage by himself.

Xianjin was somewhat surprised, "Didn’t you say you weren’t going to the capital?"

Chen Fu glanced at the robust prospective son-in-law sitting high on his horse in the distance and snorted lightly, "I’m coming along to make sure you don’t give my future son-in-law any trouble."

Xianjin: ...Had he been given some kind of love potion by Qiao Hui?

Before they set off, there was a flurry of last-minute preparations. People and horses moved back and forth, and the boxes and packages were organized and stored. After counting the people once more, the steady clip-clop of hooves led the way, followed by the clinking of the carriage’s chains. A breeze blew from south to north.

Xianjin leaned against the carriage wall and pulled back the curtain just enough to peek outside. She watched as the familiar landscape slipped away, piece by piece.

Xianjin inhaled deeply, savoring the moment.