Chapter 327: Got The Keepsakes 2
“Okay, okay. I’ll go pack my bags.”
Qingzhu had been dazzled by the series of scenes and after coming back to her senses, she rushed to the servants’ quarters in a hurry.
Jiang Siliu was furious at Qi Qingyao’s stuck-up attitude and deliberately asked for the steward to bring over Qi Qingzhu’s contract. Jiang Siliu raised the contract and rushed toward Qi Qingyao as if making a show of her advantage.
She said, “Even if you take Qi Qingzhu away, I still have her contract. As long as I don’t willingly let her go, she can never leave.”
If she left, she would just be caught and dragged back!
Or could be reported to the government office and get arrested by the authorities!
Jiang Siliu smiled smugly with her teeth showing.
In one swift step, Si Jin appeared beside Jiang Siliu and snatched the contract in her hand. He was so fast that Jiang Siting was stunned when he saw this. Only when Si Jin passed the contract to Qi Qingyao did Jiang Siliu return to her senses. She looked at Qi Qingyao with an indignant and vexed look. She really wanted to burst out in a rage, but considering Lu Yan’ presence, she could only keep silent.
Jiang Siliu looked at Jiang Siting pleadingly, wanting her brother to uphold justice.
However, Jiang Siting only gave her a calm look, leaving Jiang Siliu with no option but to endure it.
…
Once Qi Qingzhu returned after packing her luggage, Qi Qingyao handed the contract over to Qingzhu. After shortly saying ‘let’s go home’, she turned around and walked out.
Si Jin immediately followed behind.
Lu Yan and Dong Jing also walked out.
Qi Qingzhu was a little hesitant. She glanced at Jiang Siliu. Bowing slightly, she uttered her apologies and then hurriedly scuttled to keep up with Qi Qingyao’s shadow.
After the group left the Jiang residence safely, Qi Qingyao heaved a sigh of relief.
She quickly got onto the carriage. Qingzhu followed behind her, getting inside as well. She was carrying a large bundle in her arms and after getting into the carriage, Qi Qingzhu rigidly sized up the luxurious carriage. This was the first time in her life she was sitting in such a luxurious carriage. She recalled that a few of the maids in the lady’s compound who had higher ranks could leave the Jiang residence with Jiang Siliu sometimes; unlike her who was just a cleaning maid. She would spend most of her time in the compound, helping the lady wash her clothes, sweep floors, or run other errands.
After Si Jin had boarded the carriage and sat down next to Qi Qingyao as usual, the carriage departed.
Qi Qingyao watched Qi Qingzhu silently for a beat, before she spoke up.
“Don’t you have something to pass to me?”
She knew?
How did she know?
Qi Qingzhu was shocked but also excited. She hurriedly searched through her bundle before flipping out a small handkerchief. There seemed to be something wrapped inside the handkerchief as she held it out to Qi Qingyao with both hands. “For you.”
After Qi Qingyao accepted the handkerchief, she unfolded it. At a glance, the first item looked like a palm-sized jade pendant? Or more precisely, a jadeite amulet. There was a phoenix totem embossed on the front and four words on the back. She… could not actually decipher what was written on it. The font was strange, similar to that of seal script, but it was not seal script either. As for the white jade ring, there was also a circle embossed on it. It was not so much a snake than it was a wandering dragon.
Qi Qingyao stuffed the amulet and the ring casually into her bosom.
Qingzhu was afraid that her little sister might think that she had intended to keep the items and hurriedly explained, “I previously went to the Lord Heir’s residence to look for you but they said I was a liar and chased me away.”
Qi Qingyao merely gave a “hmm”.
She scratched her head and said, “These objects, and this matter, don’t make it public. Just pretend as if it never happened. You get what I mean?”
“…”
Qi Qingzhu still understood this at least.
The trinkets were obviously very valuable—if the word was spread out indiscriminately, something adverse might happen.
Qi Qingzhu nodded blankly.
Qi Qingyao looked at the elder sister of the original Qi Qingyao who was honest, albeit a little simple. In all honesty, this was the first time since her rebirth that she saw the elder sister of the original Qi Qingyao.
If she was told to hold hands and exchange pleasantries with Qingzhu right now, she would not be able to do it.
The two did not have anything to say to each other either.
However, from her memory, the elder sister had been kind to the original Qi Qingyao. So, Qi Qingyao took out two pieces of banknotes from her bosom and pressed them into Qingzhu’s hand.
“Take this money and go home. Go start a small business in town.”
“I, I don’t want money.” Qi Qingzhu was aware that her little sister had recently gotten famous in Qingzhou City.
“Even if you don’t want it, I have to give it to you. I don’t want my elder sister to be this poor.” Qi Qingyao laughed and stuffed the money into her hands. “For good measure, however, do not use this money until after a few months.”
Qi Qingzhu, “…”
Qi Qingyao sighed. She said sadly, “Qingzhou City will soon become extremely chaotic. I already find it a little difficult to protect myself now. I might also leave Qingzhou City after the Lantern Festival and go back to town.”
Qi Qingzhu said quizzically, “Chaotic?”
Qi Qingyao nodded slightly. “Because of the incident with the Lingyun Restaurant massacre, several figures of the grand master level will gather in Qingzhou City. It just so happens that many powerful figures from the nation of Eastern Ling are now in Qingzhou City. They’re here to offer worship at the Koi Temple and will not be leaving any time soon. Basically, this place will soon be as chaotic as a pot of porridge. You should take the money, go home, and save it for crucial moments.”
“…” Her little sister sure knew a lot.
Qi Qingzhu inexplicably felt great adoration for Qi Qingyao.
She smiled, her eyes forming crescents, and complimented, “Little sis, you look really good now.”
“…”
Qi Qingyao was dumbfounded for a moment. She laughed then rubbed Qingzhu’s head.
Qi Qingzhu was a little stunned at this.
She only had one thought.
Her little sister felt like a completely different person now. She felt that her sister had become really calm, and much more well-mannered than the lady of the Jiangs.
She looked like a powerful figure.
…
Jiang Residence.
After Qi Qingyao and her group left, Jiang Siting returned to the study. He stood behind the study desk, his expression reticent. He did not take a seat but simply just paced to and fro.
Jiang Siliu was starting to feel dizzy at her brother’s pacing. She went up to him and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to stop before questioning him.
“Brother, you didn’t help me at all.”
“It’s not a matter of us helping each other.” Jiang Siting was finally willing to speak.
Jiang Siliu said derisively, “Sometimes I wonder if I’m actually your younger sister.”
“You saw it yourself, Lu Yan was there. I couldn’t risk offending Lu Yan to help you.” Jiang Siting admonished his little sister. “That said, you already lost so you shouldn’t be challenging Qi Qingyao over a maid either.”
Jiang Siliu was utterly dispirited.
She sat down, sulking.
Jiang Siting patted her head. “Silly little sis, it’s not that I didn’t want to help you. It’s that I couldn’t.”
“…” Jiang Siliu looked up, still glaring at Jiang Siting, as if he owed her money and had not returned it.
Jiang Siting began to explain, “You saw it, didn’t you? How that young man snatched the contract from your hand.”
“Yeah.” So what about that?
“Do you know what his skills are?” he asked.
“I don’t.” She shook her head.
Jiang Siting went on, “The day she won Lu Yan’s mansion… That night, plenty of people had sent assassins to that mansion to get rid of her. In the end, none of them came back. You know about this, yes?”
“I do…” This matter was also quite well-known among the upper circles.
The corner of Jiang Siting’s lips hooked into a frosty smile. “Then, did you know that, according to the corpse collector, she only had two people in her forces, one who guarded the front gate and another who guarded the back gate?”
“??” How could that be possible? Two people killing so many?
Jiang Siting narrowed his eyes as if he were relaying some story.
“One of them wore an ox-head mask while the other, a horse-head mask. They’re very mysterious. But after that…”
‘But what?’
“The ox-head and horse-face have disappeared, and only the young man is left.”
Ah!
“I noted his body movements just now and I believe that the young man was either the ox-head or horse-face. But where did the other go?”
“…” Jiang Siliu heard this and gulped inexplicably.
Jiang Siting continued, “Or, we could disregard where the other one went and simply consider that this youth has excellent martial arts skills. “According to the corpse collector, he was able to return unscathed that night. At the very least… his skills must be rank-nine and above!”
“You mean to say that the young man has rank-nine skills and higher?” That frail and elegant-looking young man? How was that possible? Jiang Siliu did not want to believe it.
She muttered, “How could a widow gather rank-nine or higher experts at her side? Not to mention, two of them… How is this possible?”
“Could it be because she’s connected to the Master Architect Li Qinglian and Su Hexiao?” Jiang Siting thought for a bit before suggesting.
“This still seems too far-fetched.” She did not think so.
Jiang Siting sighed. “Let’s not first discuss whether it is far-fetched or not. If we simply considered what happened just now, if he really were rank nine and we made a move against someone like him, a bloodbath would be inevitable. I don’t see what we could have gained.”
“Even so, you can’t…” He had not helped at all, he just watched her get bullied. Jiang Siliu still felt aggrieved.
Jiang Siting reminded her, “It was not worth it for me to stop her over a maid.”
Jiang Siliu went silent.
Thinking about it, that was also true.
If they offended brother Lu over a maid and suffered at Qi Qingyao’s hand again, it definitely would not be worth it…
…
The fact that Qi Qingyao had broken into the Jiang residence once again was very quickly noted by some spies who then reported this matter to Jiang Yeqian.
Jiang Yeqian was frowning when he heard the report till the end. Combined with what Bai Mei had reported…
He thought.
Qi Boli and Madam Wu had first made a trip to her home. With the old lady taking the lead, they made a mess at her place. After she chased them away, she went to the Jiang residence to buy her sister back the first chance she had?
Why had she not gone to buy Qingzhu’s freedom before?
Especially with this timing.
There was another matter.
He learned something from Xiao Wuji and Gu Cheng.
Qi Qingyao apparently was the spitting image of one of the profligate children of a rich family in Eastern Ling.
It was said they resembled each other just like a matching pair.
This planted some suspicion in Jiang Yeqian’s mind.
Could it be that… Qi Qingyao was not their biological child?
He could not restrain this thought the moment it came to his mind.
That was because he had seen everyone from the old Qi family before. They all had more or less similar appearances, except for Qi Qingyao. Her features simply did not fit with the majority of the old Qi family.
The more Jiang Yeqian thought about this, the more it did not seem right. He called for Bai Mei.
“I want you to help me look into the incident 19 years ago!”
“Master, please elaborate.”
“Regarding the year Qi Qingyao was born…”