flstandardbreds Chapter 764 The Story of the Real and Fake Gao Menjin
Chapter 764 The Story of the Real and Fake Gao Menjin
This situation was heartbreaking, and Xiao Lan's eyes welled up with tears.
The woman first took a good look at Xiao Lan. Seeing that she was unharmed and her skin was even more radiant and fair, as if she had not suffered any hardship, she had a look of relief on her face.
She looked at Qiao Lian'er again, and was stunned by the rare air about her.
It seems that this girl holds many things in her hands, things that are unimaginable and unattainable.
But the girl had a detached demeanor, completely lacking the arrogance that a young man should have.
She seemed genuinely protective of Ye Qiao, but one can never be too careful, and the woman remained vigilant.
"There are chairs in the room, please make yourself at home," the woman said.
Qiao Lian'er sat down.
"What illness has afflicted Auntie? Has the doctor made a diagnosis?"
The woman shook her head with a bitter smile: "My lungs are weak. I developed a cough early on, and I've worked hard all my life. I'm just old and my life is coming to an end. There's no cure."
“I can tell that you are a capable person. I am very grateful to you for protecting my daughter and bringing her back.”
"Miss Ye and I are friends, so please don't stand on ceremony with me, Auntie."
Xiao Lan sat down by the bed, held her mother's hand, and said guiltily.
"With my mother like this, I shouldn't have left home."
"Nonsense." The woman said unhappily, "I told you long ago that if you don't go to the capital, you'll never have a future. That's where you belong."
She hesitated for a moment, as if she wanted to say something.
Seeing this, Qiao Lian'er got up and said she was going outside for some fresh air.
She only came in to see what Xiao Lan's mother looked like, to exchange a brief glance. If she stayed in the room, there were some things the woman couldn't say.
"The villagers are a bit tough, so it's best if our distinguished guests stay in the courtyard and don't go out," the woman kindly advised.
Qiao Lian'er came out of her room, making an excuse to go to the outhouse, and Ye Liang pointed her in a direction in the yard.
She went into the outhouse, locked the door, and then used her stealth to locate the room.
"Xiao Lan, the guest you brought back doesn't seem like a simple person. Is he from the Jiang family?"
“Mother, her surname is Qiao, and she comes from a prominent family in the capital.”
"If you're not a member of the Jiang family, why did you go to the capital and come back with the Qiao family?" the woman asked in surprise.
"I got to know the Qiao family because of some things, and they have taken good care of me. Don't worry, Mom, the Qiao family is very kind."
"I can also tell that Miss Qiao is a good person." The woman asked somewhat eagerly, "How is the situation at the Jiang family? Have you and Madam reunited? Has Madam accepted you?"
The woman felt uneasy. If she accepted the daughter, why would it be someone else accompanying her back instead of a special escort team from the Chiang family?
As Qiao Lian'er instructed, Xiao Lan was to remain silent or use ambiguous language to elicit answers to questions she didn't know how to answer.
"Madam, she—I'm worried—"
"That's your own mother, how could she not recognize you? What are you worried about?" The woman's emotions were stirred, and she coughed while pressing her chest, her face flushing an unhealthy red.
It turns out that this woman was not Xiao Lan's biological mother; her real mother was in the Jiang family in the capital.
Not only was Qiao Lian'er surprised, but Xiao Lan's eyes also widened.
It seems that her trip to the capital had more than just a simple reason behind it.
Qiao Lian'er knew of the Jiang family's existence. With six generations of high-ranking officials and five dukes, the family was powerful and influential, ranking among the top five noble families in the capital, second only to royalty.
However, there are many other Jiang families, large and small, and it's unclear whether the Jiang family the woman was talking about was the same one she was thinking of.
The woman grew increasingly agitated: "I'm in this state, not far from death. All I want is for you to have a good place to settle down and go back to where you belong. I told you, the situation in the capital only requires a letter to travel back and forth. Now you haven't recognized your own identity and have run back. Aren't you trying to make me die with regrets?"
Xiao Lan quickly patted the woman's back. She looked around and found only an empty medicine bowl.
"Mother, I was wrong. Please don't get agitated. I was just worried about you, so I came back to see you before heading to the capital."
“All the money in the house has been used for your travel expenses and the trip to the capital. Where can we possibly come up with any more? No matter how kind Miss Qiao is, we can’t trouble her.” The woman felt very guilty: “Miss Qiao has paid for all the expenses along the way, hasn’t she?”
“You should have seized the opportunity when you went to the capital last time. Now that all the money in the family has been squandered, how will you ever be able to reconnect with your relatives?”
The woman was very annoyed: "It's also my fault. If I had been in good health, I would have accompanied you to the capital and explained everything clearly, so that you, a woman, wouldn't be left to wander alone outside."
She finally sighed, "Well, on the bright side, it's good that you're safe and sound. Your mother was at home, and I was always worried that something might happen to you."
“Mother, I will go again. Miss Qiao is willing to help me. I will pay back the debt to their family slowly in the future.”
The woman's previous statement was a test, and hearing this reassured him.
It's not that she's selfish; it's just that in her current situation, her daughter really needs someone who can help her.
If Ye Liang stays at home, the villagers in this village are like wolves and tigers. If he leaves, this house and a few plots of land will be lost. What will he do then?
"If Miss Qiao helps you, you must remember it. Your identity is not simple to begin with. Once you get what is rightfully yours, you must repay her tenfold or a hundredfold," the woman solemnly instructed.
"But Mother, what you told me back then confused me a bit. I was afraid of making a mistake, so I didn't dare to go and acknowledge you. I want to know more clearly."
As Xiao Lan spoke, she lowered her head.
The woman looked at Xiao Lan without saying a word for a long time, a speechless expression on her face.
She reached out her finger and poked Xiao Lan's forehead.
"So that's what you're like. You never learn your lesson and have forgotten what your mother said."
"I was just trying to be on the safe side. The Jiang family is a large and powerful family, and they will definitely be very wary of things like recognizing relatives."
Xiao Lan deduced from the woman's words about repaying tenfold or a hundredfold that the Jiang family was very wealthy.
The woman took a deep breath, straightened her posture a little more, and gazed into the void, as if she had pierced through distant time and returned to a situation from long ago.
"At that time, your father, Jiang Zhongmao, had a wife and a concubine. The wife was a princess of the Prince Lu's mansion, and the concubine was also a daughter of a powerful marquis family."
"The Madam and the Concubine entered the household at the same time. The Concubine was the beloved of Master Jiang, so Master Jiang naturally treated her better. However, the Concubine's ambition to become the official wife grew stronger from the first day she entered the household. She always made things difficult for the Madam and tripped her up. The Madam was tolerant and never really held a grudge against her."
"The two ladies were pregnant and gave birth at the same time. The concubine had wicked thoughts and wanted her daughter to be the legitimate daughter, so she secretly had her daughter and the lady's daughter switched. Then she ordered that the lady's daughter be sent to a remote countryside to fend for herself."
"I'm the one in charge of doing this."