amaotonovel Chapter 260 Green Pine
Chapter 260 Green Pine
Qiao Qingshu and Xiao Zhijie were both taken aback. Xiao Caiwei continued,
"Having wasted most of my life in the palace, I now realize there's nothing worth remembering; it's all just a mirage. It would be more worthwhile to do something practical to benefit the people."
Qiao Qingshu was somewhat worried about the safety of a woman working as a doctor, and Xiao Caiwei noticed her concern and smiled as she spoke.
“When I was young, I had two hobbies: studying medicine and practicing martial arts. I was good at both of them. So there’s no need to worry about me.”
Xiao Zhijie and Qiao Qingshu exchanged a glance, seemingly unable to think of any other rebuttal.
Xiao Caiwei continued,
“These two children of your mother’s are smart and eager to learn. Why not let them come with me? They can learn a skill in the future. I will teach them martial arts and medicine, so they will have something to eat when they grow up.”
Qiao Qingshu had originally planned to bring the two children back if her mother went traveling, but after hearing Xiao Caiwei's suggestion, she felt that it would be even better and nodded in agreement.
After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Caiwei took out a jade pendant from her bosom and handed it to Qiao Qingshu.
"Yonglin... my Yonglin, she's the one I worry about the most. This child was brought into the palace by me and raised for decades without my knowledge, and now I'm leaving, leaving her, a little girl, in the palace..."
Xiao Zhijie said at this moment,
“Yonglin’s marriage has been arranged, and she will be getting married soon, so Mother doesn’t need to worry.”
Yonglin married into the Bai family of the Duke's mansion. With the support of Bai Chanzi and Qiao Qingshu, she had some support.
Xiao Caiwei was still somewhat reluctant, pointing to the jadeite and saying,
"Shu'er, when Yonglin gets married, give her this jade pendant as part of her dowry. I think she will understand."
Qiao Qingshu nodded, which was considered an agreement.
Qiao Qingshu and Xiao Zhijie had their meal in the bamboo forest before returning.
The two returned to the Xiao family home. Xiao Zhijie went straight to his study, while Qiao Qingshu went back to her room.
Seeing that no one was inside, Qiao Qingshu called out twice, but neither Wanqiu, Xiazhi, nor Lindong Cuimei came over.
She was a little puzzled, so she came out of the house and heard women laughing and joking in the backyard.
She followed the sound and saw three maids huddled together, heads down, seemingly looking at something.
"What are you looking at?"
As soon as Qiao Qingshu spoke, the three maids trembled in fright and frantically tossed the paper around until it finally landed at Qiao Qingshu's feet.
Wanqiu wanted to go forward to pick it up, but was scared away by a look from Qiao Qingshu.
“Pick it up and give it to me.”
Wanqiu was a little nervous, but she still picked up the paper and handed it to Qiao Qingshu.
She looked down and saw that it was a love letter.
It was actually written to Lin Dong.
She looked up and saw that standing in front of her were Wanqiu, Xiazhi, and Cuimei.
Winter is not here.
Qiao Qingshu waved the letter in her hand and said somewhat seriously,
"How did something written for Lin Dong end up in the hands of the three of you?"
Late Autumn stepped forward to answer.
“Madam, I thought the weather was nice today, so I thought I’d air out the quilts. All three of us were here, and then Lin Dong went out. I was just being kind by taking the quilts out to air them. When we were taking the quilts in, we found this letter inside the quilts. We were just curious, so we took it to look at it.”
This is clearly a love letter, but it doesn't include a name at the end; it only has a drawing of a pine tree.
The letter was full of affection and its content was both sincere and bold, making the reader blush.
Just then, Lin Dong, who had just returned from shopping, was carrying some things back to the courtyard. Seeing everyone gathered together, she curiously stepped forward and asked,
"Madam, what are you all doing, all gathered together?"
All eyes turned to Lin Dong, who was still puzzled. After looking around, she noticed the letter that Qiao Qingshu was holding.
Her scalp tingled instantly, and she knelt down in front of Qiao Qingshu with a thud, her body trembling.
"Madam, spare me! I...I...I..."
Qiao Qingshu, holding the letter between her fingers, asked calmly,
"Who?"
Lin Dong swallowed hard, but remained silent for a long time, not wanting him to be punished.
At that moment, Late Autumn stepped forward and gave Winter a push.
"Silly Dong'er, tell me, Madam won't harm you."
Lin Dong seemed to have made up his mind, and still refused to speak, only kneeling with his back straight.
Qiao Qingshu smiled and said slowly,
"Xia Zhi, go to the steward in the front yard and ask him for a riding whip. Tell him I'm going to use it to discipline the maid."
Upon hearing this, the three girls standing there were stunned.
Qiao Qingshu never punished them. Even if they broke a plate or dropped a fan, she would only say a few words and never physically punish them.
Today marks the first time Qiao Qingshu has threatened to fight.
In late autumn, Xia Zhi and Cui Mei knelt down with a thud to help Lin Dong beg for mercy.
Wanqiu even regretted that she had gone to read the letter. If she had put the letter back untouched, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
She threw herself onto Lin Dong's body and said...
"Madam, hit me instead."
Qiao Qingshu ignored them, only glaring at Xia Zhi and scolding her.
"Hurry up and go!"
Although Xia Zhi was unwilling, she dared not disobey her mistress and had no choice but to go to the front yard to fetch the things from the steward.
It was dinnertime, and all the servants in the front yard were gathered together to eat. Steward Zou was also holding his bowl, ready to eat.
When the summer solstice came and asked for whips, everyone stopped to listen to the commotion. Asking for whips for no reason meant someone was going to be punished!
Everyone was curious about this, and a few bolder ones even went up to ask.
"Miss Xiazhi, who in your courtyard has made a mistake? Your mistress has never punished anyone before. What mistake did they make today?"
Xia Zhi had a bitter face. She was a simple-minded person, and someone could easily get a lot out of her with just a few words.
Although Xia Zhi did not name anyone, after ruling out possibilities and thinking carefully, it became clear who was being punished.
While the people eating in the courtyard were still making a fuss, Xia Zhi was already walking back with a wry smile, whip in hand.
The servant boy, Qingsong, put down his chopsticks and bowl and silently followed them out.
Xia Zhi retrieved the whip, and Qiao Qingshu lashed it a few times in the air.
Then a man rushed in, threw himself to Lin Dong's side, and shielded Lin Dong with his broad body.
Wanqiu, who was kneeling to the side, was so frightened that she quickly stood up and moved behind Qiao Qingshu. Xia Zhi and Cui Mei also hid next to Qiao Qingshu.
A servant boy suddenly rushed into the inner courtyard, which frightened the maids there.
Everyone looked at the man protecting Lin Dong and whispered among themselves.
Wanqiu pointed at him and said,
"Aren't you the evergreen pine tree in the front yard storeroom?!"
Because they had seen this man before when they went to the accounting office to withdraw silver, and because Qingsong had a handsome appearance, everyone would talk about him whenever he returned.