NFBE Chapter 84 Reunion
Chapter 84 Reunion
Lai Da hurriedly sighed in response.
"A report has been filed, and the authorities have investigated, but there has been no progress. It will probably drag on for a long time and be hastily concluded in the end."
Qiao Qingshu casually stood up, clapped her hands, and laughed.
"Then I'll do the government a favor and hand the murderer over to them."
Lai Da stared wide-eyed, puzzled, and asked...
"Does the young lady know who the murderer is?"
Qiao Qingshu smiled, stood up, and leaned closer to Lai Da, playfully laughing.
"If Steward Lai also wants to know, then invite the seller and the officials over. I'll treat Steward Lai to a show for free."
Xu Biyun lay reclining on the couch, drinking her medicine, and asked with some concern,
"It's too much trouble to ask your uncle to buy the land. He has to come all the way from out of town. Why don't we just buy it directly from Qiao Qingshu?"
Liu Wan'er clutched her handkerchief, gazing out the window with a furrowed brow.
"Since we are not well received by Qiao Qingshu now, she will most likely make things difficult for us and refuse to sell. It would be better if Uncle intervened."
"And my uncle can't reveal his real identity. I had him pretend to be a stranger who came to buy it."
Xu Biyun, leaning against the edge of the bed, rolled her eyes.
"Is it necessary to be so careful? They're just three pieces of wasteland."
Liu Wan'er harbored a great secret about the gold mine, and seeing her mother's carefree and unprepared demeanor, she was even more determined not to tell her the truth.
She planned in her heart that after her uncle bought those plots of land, she would keep them to herself and not tell anyone.
When the money is truly needed, these three estates will be taken out and mined.
Liu Wan'er knew that Qiao Qingshu had already reported the matter to the authorities, and she felt a vague worry that she would be investigated.
If the estate is sold quickly, the government will know that the bad land has been sold and will naturally not bother to investigate the case anymore, and will definitely close the case hastily.
That way, she won't be implicated even if she gets the estate.
But Liu Wan'er's thinking was far too idealistic; Qiao Qingshu would not let her off easily.
As Xu Yunlang sat in the main hall of the Qiao family, pondering how to bargain with the head of the family, he saw Butler Lai lead in a stunningly beautiful woman.
He stared at the beauty, momentarily stunned, his eyes wide and speechless.
Lai Da coughed lightly and said...
"Mr. Xu, this is the head of the Qiao family. You can talk to her about buying the land."
Xu Yunlang then came to his senses. In the years of correspondence between him and his younger sister Xu Biyun, Xu Biyun had mentioned the Bai family mother and daughter.
However, the letter portrays the Bai mother and daughter as arrogant, rude, and disdainful of others.
How come seeing you today is completely different from what I imagined?
Qiao Qingshu waved slightly to indicate where to take a seat, then sat down in the main seat of the hall with a smile and began to speak.
"This boss is also surnamed Xu. What a coincidence! One of my aunts is also surnamed Xu. She's from Ganzhou and was a relative of the former prefect Liu."
Xu Yunlang scratched the back of his head, chuckled sheepishly, and said...
"There are countless people in the world with the surname Xu, so it's normal for them to share the same surname. I don't know this concubine you're talking about."
Qiao Qingshu didn't refute, but simply nodded and smiled.
"That's true."
He then raised his hand and tilted his head towards the doorway.
"Bring tea and snacks."
Wanqiu, who was outside the door, immediately nodded and cleverly ran outside.
Zhou's mother was drawing water from the back well when Wanqiu pulled her away.
“Aunt Zhou, I have a stomachache and need to go to the toilet urgently. Could you please take these tea and snacks to the eldest daughter? She is currently entertaining guests and cannot be delayed.”
Mrs. Zhou was an honest and simple person. She wiped her hands, put down the bucket of water, and took the box of pastries.
"Please go ahead and use the restroom, young lady. I'll deliver it right away."
Zhou's mother came from Lanxiang Pavilion and went to the backyard to fetch water, as Xu Biyun had told her, to boil water for Xu Biyun's bath.
The water was almost ready, and I figured delivering some snacks would only take about 15 minutes and wouldn't cause any delay.
Without giving it much thought, Zhou's mother carried the food tray to the main hall where Qiao Qingshu was holding her meeting.
As I was about to leave after putting down the tea and snacks, I heard a familiar male voice.
"This plot of land is for my parents' burial, could you give me a discount..."
Unable to resist looking up, what she saw made her so surprised she slapped her thigh. Zhou's mother exclaimed with delight.
"Isn't this Lang-ge'er! When did you arrive? You must have come to see our aunt, right?"
Both Xu Biyun and Xu Yunlang were raised on Zhou Mama's milk!
Zhou's mother followed Xu Biyun into the Liu family of Ganzhou after she married into the family, while Xu Yunlang went to Huizhou to do business for many years.
It has been decades since we last met, but how could I mistake a child I nursed?
Mrs. Zhou stepped forward, grabbed Xu Yunlang's hand, and burst into tears.
"Quickly, let this old servant take a look. Lang Ge'er, why has the mole on your lip grown a bit bigger, and you've also gained some weight?"
Overjoyed at the reunion, Zhou's mother lost her manners and even began to introduce the couple to Qiao Qingshu with great delight.
"Young lady, this is Aunt Xu's own brother. He has been doing business in Huizhou for the past few years and often writes to our aunt to let her know he is safe. It has been many years since we last saw each other. What a wonderful day it is that we have met today!"
Qiao Qingshu smiled and nodded, thinking to herself, "Mother Zhou, you did a really great job."
This is exactly the effect I wanted!
Xu Yunlang looked extremely embarrassed and twisted his body to try to avoid Zhou's mother's pulling, but his hand was tightly held by Zhou's mother.
He frowned, seemingly at a loss for words, and refused to acknowledge her, but his tone was full of guilt.
"This...this mother must have mistaken me for someone else. I...I...I'm not..."
Zhou's mother, annoyed, slapped Zhou Yunlang's bottom hard, pretending to be angry, and said...
“When Lang Ge’er was little, I raised him by taking care of his every need! Now that he’s grown up, he doesn’t recognize me anymore. I’ll call your aunt over right now so you can acknowledge her.”
After saying that, Zhou's mother took off running outside, her joy completely undisguised, and she ran into Lanxiang Pavilion.
Xu Yunlang was unable to stop him from behind. He frowned, at a loss, and hurriedly said goodbye and left.
As soon as he stepped out of the main hall, he was surrounded by a group of Qiao family servants who wouldn't let him leave.
He turned to meet Qiao Qingshu's eyes, and heard her softly laugh.
“Since she is a relative of your aunt, how can you refuse to acknowledge her as a relative?”
When Liu Wan'er saw Zhou's mother rush into the house with a beaming smile and finish speaking, a chill ran down her spine.
If she had a knife in her hand at the time, she would definitely have wanted to stab Zhou's mother to death.
This is ruining her plans!
Liu Wan'er wanted to avoid seeing him, but Lai Da had already brought people to invite Xu Biyun.
Xu Biyun and Liu Wan'er, looking helpless, went with Zhou's mother to the main hall to meet their uncle.
Qiao Qingshu said with a smile,
"What a fine day! It turns out that my aunt's brother has come to buy land. I asked him first, 'Why does your brother claim he doesn't know you?'"
Xu Biyun lowered her head, frowned, and didn't know how to answer.
Liu Wan'er stepped forward and explained with a smile.
"My mother and uncle had not seen each other for many years, and my uncle did not know our residence in the capital, so it was possible that he did not recognize us at first."