He was murdered after his family was wiped out and left with no descendants; his whole family knelt

Chapter 100 Meeting

Seeing that she was really anxious, Gu Rong shrugged and stopped joking, then walked away with a grin.

Madam Su pulled Qiao Qingshu into the inner courtyard. Just as they found a round table in a hall to sit down, Madam Xing came in with a cold face and told them to leave.

"This is where you sit! Didn't you see this is where we're setting out birthday gifts for the old lady?"

"Move aside."

Mrs. Su did not argue, but simply smiled and apologized.

"Sister-in-law, I didn't know, I'm leaving now."

As he spoke, he led Qiao Qingshu to another place, and Qiao Qingshu turned her head and glared at Madam Xing.

She knew that Madam Xing was deliberately picking a fight.

But Madam Su didn't make a fuss, and as a guest, she couldn't cause a scene.

The two then walked into the garden and found a pavilion to sit down.

Su Yunzhen went to get some snacks, while Qiao Qingshu sat alone in the pavilion waiting.

Qiao Qingshu sat quietly when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw Xiao Chengyan and her two younger sisters.

Xiao Chengyan's eyes were cold, and he deliberately kept his gaze slightly aloft, showing no intention of greeting Qiao Qingshu.

It was Xiao Qianqian behind him who spoke first.

"Oh my, isn't this Qiao Qingshu, the second wife's daughter-in-law, our future sister-in-law?"

Xiao Qianqian and Xiao Yirou are both younger than Xiao Zhijie. When they enter the manor in the future, they will still call Qiao Qingshu "sister-in-law".

Xiao Yirou gave Qiao Qingshu a disdainful look and sneered.

"I always said she wasn't good enough for my brother; she was only fit to marry that illegitimate son from the second wife's side!"

Qiao Qingshu stared coldly at the two of them, showing no anger.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

"Yes, it won't be long before I enter the manor, and my two younger sisters will serve me tea."

There is an order of seniority. Even though he was born out of wedlock, Xiao Zhijie was still their elder brother, and they still had to fulfill the proper etiquette.

Qiao Qingshu's smile seemed particularly glaring to Xiao Chengyan.

She was still smiling, as if she was very satisfied with the marriage.

Qiao Qingshu was still as beautiful as ever, but she no longer belonged to Xiao Chengyan.

He even regretted that he had been too proper in the past, never even holding Qiao Qingshu's hand or kissing her. It was such a waste.

Such a stunning beauty had slipped through Xiao Chengyan's fingers just as he was about to win her over, and he was furious just thinking about it.

Seeing that Qiao Qingshu was not at all the aggrieved and dissatisfied he had imagined, but was actually very happy, he became even angrier.

With a narrowed eye and a cold snort, Xiao Chengyan began to mock.

“We’ve been childhood sweethearts for years, everyone knows that. Even if my third brother marries you, he probably won’t be able to accept it. There will be plenty of people laughing at him when he goes out, he’ll have a hard time.”

"I don't know if marrying you, Qiao Qingshu, will be a blessing or a curse."

"Naturally, it is a blessing."

A clear, melodious voice came from afar, and everyone turned to look back.

Xiao Zhijie, dressed in a light blue robe, walked slowly towards them, a long sword at his waist with its tassel swaying in the wind. From a distance, he looked quite dashing and handsome.

Qiao Qingshu was taken aback. This guy seemed to have grown taller again, and was now a head taller than Xiao Chengyan.

Qiao Qingshu involuntarily stood up as well, watching the young man walk to her side and protect her behind him.

Xiao Zhijie said firmly,

"I am thrice blessed to marry her."

As Qiao Qingshu watched his retreating figure, she felt inexplicably at peace.

The two of them standing together looked quite well-matched.

Xiao Chengyan was furious. He said coldly,

"Good, good, you're so lucky!"

After saying that, she angrily turned and walked away, with Xiao Qianqian and Xiao Yirou following closely behind.

After the three walked away, Qiao Qingshu turned to look at Xiao Zhijie.

He seemed to have dressed up specially today.

Her face was as clean as jade, her jet-black hair was gathered in a green jade crown, her clothes were brand new, her shoes were new, and she was neat and tidy.

Qiao Qingshu looked him up and down, then chuckled and joked.

"What a handsome young man!"

Xiao Zhijie glanced away, his ears inexplicably turning red.

Seeing his shyness, Qiao Qingshu found it even more amusing and said,

"What's there to be shy about? In three months we'll be a proper married couple."

Xiao Zhijie's face flushed red instantly, and he turned away, not daring to look at her.

Qiao Qingshu chuckled. Although she had met him a few times in her previous life, she had never spoken to him like that.

My impression of him from my past life was limited to the few times we met before he went to war; each time he was silent and quiet.

The Xiao Zhijie before her was so vivid and real, every move he made exuded the aura of a young man.

Qiao Qingshu's smile suddenly froze. The thought that this young man would die soon made her unable to smile.

She paused for a moment, thinking that perhaps she shouldn't get too close to him.

If they were too familiar, how could she so calmly let him go to his death?

Seeing Qiao Qingshu's face freeze and her smile abruptly stop, Xiao Zhijie turned to look at her again.

Xiao Zhijie scratched his head and whispered,

"Um...would you like to go to the library to see that An'er?"

"There's still some time before lunch, and I've already made arrangements."

He came to find her for this very reason.

In the past few days, he had been corresponding with Qiao Qingshu and learned that Qiao Qingshu wanted to take this opportunity to see An'er. Xiao Zhijie made special arrangements for her.

Everything was prepared, and all that was left was to wait for Qiao Qingshu to arrive.

Qiao Qingshu's dim eyes lit up again in an instant.

She suddenly looked up and grabbed his sleeve.

"Okay! Then take me there quickly!"

She hadn't forgotten that this was her main purpose in coming to the Xiao family today.

Xiao Zhijie led her down a side path and gave her instructions.

“We won’t go in through the old lady’s courtyard. That library is rather secluded, right next to the south wall of the withered lotus courtyard.”

“We can climb over the south wall of the Kuhe Courtyard. No one goes there on weekdays, so you can go in and look for someone without being discovered. I will also keep watch at the entrance for you.”

Qiao Qingshu followed him quickly, obediently nodding repeatedly.

The Kuhe Courtyard was originally inhabited by an unfavored concubine. After the concubine died suddenly, rumors spread that the courtyard was haunted.

The Kuhe Courtyard has always been empty, uninhabited and unmaintained, and is quite desolate.

The two walked briskly along the path and saw a maidservant not far away going around the corridor to the front courtyard.

Qiao Qingshu suddenly recognized the maid as Qiu Rui.

In her past life, Qiu Rui saved Consort Xiande and became her adopted daughter. In this life, however, Qiao Qingshu inexplicably took advantage of her.

She felt a pang of guilt as she watched the departing figure, thinking to herself that she should give Qiu Rui a bright future.

We cannot take someone else's name or enjoy their good fortune for nothing.

She pointed to Qiu Rui's figure and asked,

"Whose courtyard does that maid belong to?"

Xiao Zhijie looked in the direction indicated.

"Oh, she's a maid from my mother's room, her name is Qiu Rui."

Qiao Qingshu thought to herself that this would make things much easier. Since she was from the second wife's family, it would be much more convenient to help her make plans after she married into the family.

As we walked, we arrived at the withered lotus courtyard.

Xiao Zhijie turned around, went inside, opened the door, and let Qiao Qingshu in. The two of them went to the south wall.

Staring at the high wall, Qiao Qingshu was dumbfounded.

"It's so high, I can't climb up."

Before she could finish speaking, a gust of wind blew past her ear, and Qiao Qingshu was lifted into the air.

When she opened her eyes again, she was already on the second floor of the library.

Xiao Zhijie whispered to her,

"He's inside; he's the only one on duty today."

"You must come out within fifteen minutes. I'll stand guard at the door for you."