klisemfg Chapter 171 Spare Key
Chapter 171 Spare Key
Qiao Qingqiao stepped forward with a smile on her lips and said,
"Third sister, that's right, these all belong to eldest sister."
Qiao Qingle's face scrunched up, her eyes flashing with jealousy. She gritted her teeth.
"How could this be!"
The Xiao family's eldest branch was equally furious, and Madam Xing was so angry that she turned and left.
I originally came to see Qiao Qingshu make a fool of herself, but I never expected to become the fool myself!
After giving a few more instructions, Madam Xiao and Qiao Qingshu left with the rest of the Xiao family.
Before leaving, Xiao Zhijie whispered to her,
"I am leaving."
Qiao Qingshu nodded, a genuine smile appearing on her face.
Qiao Jizhou originally intended to hide in his study and neglect the Xiao family, but unexpectedly, Steward Lai called him from the middle of the night.
Qiao Jizhou was so happy that he jumped up and quickly changed his clothes, eager to come out and meet his in-laws.
To his surprise, the Xiao family had all left. Qiao Jizhou stared wide-eyed at the boxes piled up inside and outside the courtyard.
so much?
Wow, that many?
He casually lifted a box to take a look, and inside was a box full of dazzling pearls. Their warm luster made them look extremely precious.
Old Madam Qiao's favorite headband was inlaid with a pearl, but its quality was not as good as any of the pearls in this box.
A surge of heat rose in Qiao Jizhou's chest, his eyes filled with surprise.
He searched for Qiao Qingshu in the crowd. Qiao Qingshu was currently standing sideways, following Butler Lai, instructing him on how to count the betrothal gifts.
Qiao Jizhou rushed excitedly to his daughter, his previous indifference completely gone, replaced by boundless excitement.
"Shu'er, there's so much! The storeroom at home might not be able to hold it all."
Qiao Jizhou was just joking when he said that; it had a hint of ingratiating charm.
Qiao Qingshu smiled faintly, as if she had already made a plan.
"Indeed, the storeroom at home can probably only hold a small portion. I will send the rest to my maternal grandmother's house for temporary storage, and then take them all with me when I get married."
Qiao Jizhou's excited face froze instantly; he was somewhat bewildered.
"That's not right, Shu'er. The betrothal money should belong to the Qiao family, right? Of course you can take a portion of it, but you can't take it all."
Qiao Qingshu had already anticipated her father's attitude and was not surprised. She nodded and said...
“Father, you’re right.”
After saying that, she handed the thin list of betrothal gifts to her father.
"This list contains ten chests of betrothal gifts. Father, you can choose three or five items to keep."
Qiao Jizhou's brows furrowed suddenly, and he pointed unhappily at the boxes scattered throughout the yard.
"With so many betrothal gifts, you only left me three or five boxes? Shu'er, does that mean all the hardship and toil I've endured raising you all these years has been for nothing?!"
Qiao Jizhou's tone was very fierce; this had truly crossed his bottom line!
He didn't care how assertive and controlling his daughter was on a daily basis, but he was bound to get angry whenever her interests were involved.
Qiao Qingshu wasn't in a hurry; she simply and slowly straightened her clothes, saying gently,
“Father, didn’t you hear what Old Madam Xiao said? We need to avoid trouble. Right now, the Qiao family has only received ten loads of betrothal money. Anything extra is naturally my personal money. How can I leave it to the Qiao family?”
Qiao Jizhou was so angry that he stomped his feet.
"That's just something to fool outsiders! You and your own father are still doing this!"
A faint smile played on her lips. She glanced around and whispered a shushing sound.
"Father, keep your voice down, or someone might hear you."
She paused, then continued,
"Father, haven't you been getting close to Prime Minister Lin lately? Don't you know that Prime Minister Lin is the Empress Dowager's confidant? If the Empress Dowager passes away and Prime Minister Lin discovers that our Qiao family has been extravagant and wasteful during the Empress Dowager's mourning period, do you think you'll still be able to get along well with Prime Minister Lin in the future? Wouldn't all the money you've spent in the past have gone down the drain?"
Qiao Jizhou's chest, which had been panting heavily, gradually calmed down.
His gaze slowly shifted to Qiao Qingshu, realizing that her daughter was right. Now was the time when he and Prime Minister Lin were getting along very well. If things went wrong now, all his previous efforts would be wasted!
He frowned slightly, and Qiao Qingshu stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder.
“Father, you are my own father. If I am not filial to you, who else can I be filial to? It’s just that the situation is special now. After this period is over, I will definitely be filial to you when I go back to my parents’ home.”
Qiao Jizhou looked Qiao Qingshu over. Everything his daughter had done in the past was for the sake of the Qiao family. She had even found out about Old Madam Qiao's foreign loans and had even paid out of her own pocket to prepare gifts for him to give to Prime Minister Lin. This daughter was almost completely devoted to the Qiao family.
He also believed from the bottom of his heart that his daughter would be filial to him and would not mistreat him.
After thinking for a moment, Qiao Jizhou nodded, which was considered as his agreement.
When Mrs. Qiao heard from Li's mother what had just happened in the front yard...
She was taking her medicine when she got so angry that she snatched the bowl and smashed it to pieces.
The veins on Old Madam Qiao's forehead bulged.
"She really won't give it to you? She's going to take all that betrothal money with her?"
Seeing the old lady so angry, Li's mother lowered her head and murmured in fear.
"Yes...yes, this old servant heard it clearly."
Sparks seemed to fly from Old Madam Qiao's cloudy eyes as she gritted her teeth and said...
"What an ingrate! I can't let her get away with this!"
She glanced around, then looked at Li's mother and said in a low voice
"Don't you have a spare key to the warehouse? Open the door for me tonight and go in to take it. I want to see if I can keep this girl in check!"
Li's mother was somewhat timid, staring wide-eyed at Old Madam Qiao and whispering,
"Go steal it..."
Old Madam Qiao glared at her fiercely, slammed her hand on the bed, and yelled.
"It originally belonged to the Qiao family! We'll take it! We'll take it!"
Startled, Li's mother nodded hurriedly and nodded vigorously in agreement.
She had actually seen through Qiao Qingshu's abilities these past few days; the entire Qiao family had been dealt with by her.
However, it must be said that after Qiao Qingshu's renovation, the Qiao family home is actually much cleaner and brighter than before.
She held a certain amount of respect for Qiao Qingshu, and she was also afraid that if she stole Qiao Qingshu's betrothal gifts and Qiao Qingshu found out, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Therefore, he was somewhat unwilling to help Madam Qiao do bad things, so he simply took out the spare key from his pocket and handed it to Madam Qiao.
She said somewhat nervously,
"Madam, here's the key, but I absolutely dare not touch the eldest daughter's betrothal money, I wouldn't dare."
Holding the key, Old Madam Qiao looked at the trembling Li Mama and launched into a tirade of angry, disapproving scolding.
"You idiot! You've been with me for so many years, and you're still such a coward! What use are you!"