usatvline Chapter 34 Ruby Glass Pomegranate Gold Hairpin
Chapter 34 Ruby Glass Pomegranate Gold Hairpin
Qingyue, oblivious to the meaning behind his words, chuckled foolishly.
"Okay, okay! Big sister, don't go back on your word."
Qingqiao quickly went up and ripped open her mouth to stop her from talking nonsense.
The two younger sisters were laughing and joking, but Liu Wan'er was genuinely frightened by the joke and broke out in a cold sweat.
Her lips twitched slightly, and Liu Wan'er lowered her eyes, speaking softly and obediently.
"Cousin, please don't make fun of me. How could I be worthy of you? You and Young Master Xiao are a perfect match, a match made in heaven."
Qiao Qingshu gritted her teeth, looking pitiful and delicate, her body supple and submissive, her face full of obedience and humility.
In her past life, Qiao Qingshu was fooled by her appearance for many years.
Recalling the sleepless nights she endured being tormented by this vile woman in the cold palace, Qiao Qingshu wished she could stab the pretentious Liu Wan'er to death right now.
But he still smiled calmly.
"Really? My cousin, do you really think so?"
Although Liu Wan'er felt extremely guilty, she still raised her innocent big eyes, her snow-white face full of purity and harmlessness.
“Cousin, that’s always been my opinion.”
Over the years, Liu Wan'er had ingrained the humble and ingratiating feeling of living under someone else's roof into her very bones, and no one could find fault with her.
If it were in her past life, Qiao Qingshu would have definitely gone up to comfort Liu Wan'er when she saw her like this, telling her not to overthink it and to reflect on whether she had gone too far with her words.
Looking at Liu Wan'er now, I actually approach it with the attitude of appreciating her acting skills.
She watched Liu Wan'er put on an act without saying a word, her eyes filled with mockery.
Granny Zou rushed over from Fushou Hall at this moment and stepped forward to say,
"Ladies, hurry up! The old lady asked me to guide you. It would be bad if we neglected our distinguished guests."
The Xiao family, the Duke of Qi, is now a very influential clan in the imperial court, almost on par with the Bai family, the Duke of Zhenguo.
Both families belonged to the Duke's family, and their ancestors had a life-or-death friendship. Therefore, the relationship between the Xiao and Bai families has been extremely close for the past one or two hundred years.
Even when Bai Chanzi was still a young girl, she was highly regarded by Old Master Xiao, who wanted to marry her into the Xiao family as his daughter-in-law.
When their hopes were dashed, the Xiao family turned their attention to Qiao Qingshu, Bai Chanzi's biological daughter.
When the children of both families were still infants, Old Master Xiao consulted a fortune teller to match their birth dates and times. The fortune teller said that Qiao Qingshu and Xiao Chengyan were a perfect match.
Therefore, even on his deathbed, Old Master Xiao was still talking about this matter, holding Old Madam Xiao's hand and repeatedly urging her, "You must marry Qing Shu into the family."
Qiao Qingshu and Xiao Chengyan's marriage was arranged when they were young. Because of her maternal grandfather's Bai family, Qiao Qingshu often visited the Xiao family and thus frequently saw Xiao Chengyan.
The two were childhood sweethearts who practically watched each other grow up.
Upon arriving at Fushou Hall, a maid lifted the curtain, and Qiao Qingshu led the group of sisters in slowly entering.
As soon as Qiao Qingshu entered the house, Xiao Chengyan's mother, Madam Xing, grabbed her hand and gave her a thorough, enthusiastic look.
"Good girl, it's been a while since I've seen you. You've lost weight and look much more haggard. You've really had a hard time these past few days."
Qiao Qingshu slowly raised her head to look at her mother-in-law from her past life, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes.
Before marriage, Madam Xing doted on Qiao Qingshu, treating her like a daughter, but after marriage, she completely changed.
After marriage, Madam Xing always protected her son. When Qiao Qingshu had just miscarried, she forced Qiao Qingshu to take a concubine for Xiao Chengyan.
When Liu Wan'er gave birth to a child outside the home, Madam Xing learned that it was a boy and even went to take care of Liu Wan'er during her postpartum period. She ignored Qiao Qingshu, who had recently miscarried, and even scolded her as a hen that couldn't lay eggs.
During her years in the Xiao family, half of Qiao Qingshu's suffering stemmed from this Madam Xing.
Qiao Qingshu suppressed her disgust, smiled, withdrew her hand, and curtsied to greet everyone in the room.
Suddenly, I looked up and met those burning eyes.
Xiao Chengyan stared at Qiao Qingshu the moment she entered the room, his gaze fixed on her and following her every move.
Upon seeing Qiao Qingshu, Xiao Chengyan immediately revealed an extremely cheerful smile.
Qiao Qingshu did not respond to the smile, but quickly looked away again.
She was afraid that the endless disgust in her eyes would be discovered.
Watching the exchange between the two, Liu Wan'er, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, felt her heart filled with jealousy and resentment.
She would definitely not let Qiao Qingshu marry into the Xiao family so easily.
Xiao Chengyan assumed that Qiao Qingshu was too shy to look him in the eye, which made him even more smug.
He bowed and greeted each of the girls.
"Hello, young lady."
"Greetings, Second Miss."
"Greetings, Third Sister."
"Hello, Miss Cousin."
Seeing her grandson trying to act cute, Old Madam Xiao patted Xiao Chengyan on the back and chuckled as she scolded Old Madam Qiao.
"Older sister, look at this monkey-like creature of mine. He acts like this whenever he sees your daughters, but he doesn't even bother to talk to his own sisters."
Everyone laughed. Old Madam Qiao squinted at Xiao Chengyan, finding him pleasing to the eye.
This most favored grandson of the Xiao family was full of elegance and poise, and every move he made exuded nobility. Although their Marquis's family was also considered a noble family, they still looked shabby in front of the Duke of Qi's Xiao family.
At least now they have the legitimate daughter, Qiao Qingshu, to hold things up in public; otherwise, the Marquis's mansion would really lose face in front of the Xiao family.
Everyone settled down in the Fushou Hall, drinking tea and chatting.
Seeing that Old Madam Qiao was still taking her medicine, Madam Xiao assumed that she was simply too grief-stricken over Bai's death.
He only offered words of comfort.
"Older sister, you're getting on in years. Don't be too sad, it'll only harm your health."
Upon hearing this, Madam Qiao wiped her dry eyes with a handkerchief and nodded.
She knew that the Xiao family had come today to discuss the marriage between the Xiao and Qiao families, and she wanted to get to the point as soon as possible.
He then instructed Qiao Qingshu,
"Shu'er, take your sisters and accompany Yan-ge'er for a stroll in the garden, and also offer incense to your mother."
Qiao Qingshu nodded in response and left Fushou Hall with her younger sisters and Xiao Chengyan.
The group slowly made their way to Liufang Garden.
Along the way, the third sister, Qiao Qingle, kept talking to Xiao Chengyan, asking him what he had for breakfast and what he had been playing recently.
Xiao Chengyan lowered his head slightly and answered Qiao Qingle's questions one by one with doting affection.
However, Xiao Chengyan's gaze lingered on Liu Wan'er frequently.
Liu Wan'er also shyly stole quick glances at him from time to time.
Qiao Qingshu noticed this out of the corner of her eye.
A bitter smile crept across Qiao Qingshu's face. She thought to herself, how could she have been so oblivious in her past life? How could she have been blind to such obvious flirting for so many years?
It wasn't until the two had gotten together and even had a child that Qiao Qingshu realized Liu Wan'er and Xiao Chengyan had been having an affair all along.
Qiao Qingshu followed Xiao Chengyan's gaze and noticed that the ruby, glass, pomegranate-shaped gold hairpin on Liu Wan'er's head shimmered with an alluring luster in the sunlight, inexplicably catching the eye.
In the dark room, nothing could be seen, but once it came into sunlight, the ruby reflected a dazzling light that was almost blinding.
Qiao Qingshu took the initiative to steer the conversation towards Liu Wan'er.
“Cousin, your ruby pomegranate hairpin is truly dazzling. I remember you only wear this hairpin during the New Year. What a special day it is that you would wear this treasure today.”