vstars Chapter 24 The greatest sorrow is a broken heart
Chapter 24 The greatest sorrow is a broken heart
When Old Madam Bai heard Huan'er call her name, her eyes welled up with tears. She took Qiao Qingshu's hand and hurried inside.
A figure in pure white suddenly appeared at the doorway, and upon seeing the newcomer, immediately hurried forward to greet them.
"Mother, Shu'er, Zhi Ning and Wen Ying, you've come."
His voice was choked with sobs.
Seeing how much thinner her sister had become, and remembering the simple funeral the Qiao family had held, Bai Zhining felt a pang of heartache and tenderly pulled Bai Chanzi close, saying...
"My dear sister, I'm so sorry to have put you through this."
Everyone was so moved that tears welled up in their eyes.
After a long while, when everyone had calmed down a bit, Qiao Qingshu recounted the whole story to them.
She couldn't say that she had been reborn and knew everything. She only said that she had accidentally stumbled upon the affair between her aunt and father, and discovered that her mother's daily medicine soup had been poisoned. She took it to a doctor for examination and found out that it had been poisoned.
The dosage of this poison was small and precise, so that an ordinary person would never notice it. Over time, the mother would silently exhaust her energy and slowly die, her appearance withered and emaciated.
Qiao Qingshu secretly stopped her mother's medication, but fearing that the villains might come up with other ways to harm her mother, she decided to fake her death. She wanted her mother to escape the Qiao family's hellhole as soon as possible, which would also make it easier for Qiao Qingshu to carry out her subsequent plans without implicating her mother.
Bai Chanzi had no attachment to the Qiao family and agreed to Qiao Qingshu's suggestion almost without hesitation, then faked her death and left the Qiao residence.
As for the subsequent reclaiming of the dowry, the extinguishing of Qiao Jizhou's hopes for promotion, and the destruction of Xu Biyun's position as the principal wife, Bai Chanzi had heard Qiao Qingshu mention them all. She felt no unease, only that Shu'er could do whatever she wanted, and she didn't care.
Bai Chanzi wore a white silk jacket with plum blossom patterns from Suzhou and Hangzhou, and no hairpins or ornaments on her head, making her extremely simple and plain.
She sat in the armchair with an indifferent expression, her face pale and thin, her eyes filled with a melancholy that had lingered for many years, and she even had an air of otherworldly indifference.
Upon hearing Qiao Qingshu's words, Old Madam Bai burst into tears. Over the years, Bai Chanzi had never uttered a single bad word about the Yongchang Marquis's mansion since her return to her parents' home.
The only time Bai Chanzi returned home to cry was when her legitimate son was lost. She cried until she fainted at the Bai family home. After that, she never said a bad word about the Marquis's mansion when she returned home. Little did she know that Bai Chanzi's life in the Marquis's mansion would be so miserable that she almost lost her life.
Since losing her legitimate son, Bai Chanzi seems to have become a different person. She is extremely indifferent to people and things, and her expression is gloomy and sullen, as if her soul has been taken away.
The Bai family even alarmed the government and local Bai clan members to search for their eldest son, but still found nothing. This matter was later forbidden to be mentioned, for fear of stirring up Bai Chanzi's sadness again.
Old Madam Bai gripped Bai Chanzi's hand tightly, saying with heartache,
"My son, you have suffered so much injustice all these years. Why don't you come back and tell your mother? I will definitely get justice for you!"
Bai Zhining, who was listening nearby and gritting her teeth, also frowned and said...
"Sister, if Shu'er hadn't discovered it in time, you might have lost your life in the Marquis's mansion. As the mistress of the household, you almost lost your life to a mistress. How could you be so careless?"
Bai Chanzi's face remained expressionless; she simply smiled faintly.
"It's better that I'm dead, so I can go and join my Anlan."
There was still no sign of life in his eyes.
Qiao Qingshu, who was watching from the side, sighed inwardly. Her mother's heart was broken.
th.
When my mother was tricked into marrying into the Marquis's mansion, she was heartbroken once. Later, when my uncle from the Qiao family became a monk, she was heartbroken again. When she discovered that my father was a womanizer and had plotted against her, she was heartbroken once more. When her legitimate son was kidnapped, my mother's heart was completely dead.
When Qiao Qingshu told her mother in a hurry that her aunt from the Xu family had drugged her, Bai Chanzi picked up the medicine bowl and continued to drink it without changing her expression. Qiao Qingshu knew that her mother was not unaware that she had been drugged; she was just determined to die!
At that moment, Qiao Qingshu's heart clenched painfully. She knew that if she couldn't find her brother's whereabouts, her mother would probably continue to live a life worse than death.
At that moment, she secretly made up her mind that in this life she would definitely get clues from Aunt Xu and Aunt Chen to find out where her brother was and fulfill her mother's lifelong hope.
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Bai wiped away her tears, and after a long while, she finally spoke.
"Chanzi, come home with your mother. The Bai family is powerful and wealthy, and they will surely protect you for the rest of your life."
Bai Zhining also said.
"Yes, sister, go home. Once things have calmed down, you can find another husband. As a close relative of the Duke's family, you can remarry without any problems."
Bai Chanzi smiled faintly, lost in thought.
"I will not remarry. I just want to be alone."
He slowly raised his eyes and scanned the room, a faint light gleaming in them.
“I think this place is nice, so I’ll stay here. The second wife of the Qiao family is dead, and the eldest daughter of the Duke’s mansion is gone. I’m really tired of these years. Let me stay in this bamboo forest and live out the rest of my life in peace.”
A moment of silence fell over everyone. After a while, Old Mrs. Bai nodded somewhat helplessly.
"Whatever you want, as long as you're safe, everything is up to you."
On the carriage back to the manor, the old lady of the Bai family was somewhat unable to control her emotions. She dared not be too emotional in front of her daughter, but now, sitting in the sedan chair, she couldn't help but cover her face with her handkerchief and weep bitterly.
"My Chanzi, you've been reduced to this state of a walking corpse by the Marquis's mansion. It breaks my heart! This marriage should never have been arranged in the first place!"
Aunt Shen Wenying gently patted Old Madam Bai's back to comfort her.
“Mother, don’t be too sad. Chanzi has suffered so much these years, and her heart is broken. Give her some time to heal. Zhi Ning and I will come to see her often, talk to her, and cheer her up. Perhaps she will get better in time.”
Qiao Qingshu also said,
“Grandmother, Mother’s illness is a psychological one. A psychological illness requires a psychological cure. Don’t worry, I will make Mother better. It just takes time.”
Old Madam Bai raised her head from under her handkerchief and looked at Qiao Qingshu. She didn't know when her granddaughter had shed her naivety; her every move and word exuded elegance and maturity.
Her demeanor didn't resemble that of a fallen noblewoman; she looked more like the legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion.
Seeing that her words were incisive and hit the nail on the head, he nodded approvingly.
Old Madam Bai took Qiao Qingshu's hand.
“Good child, if anything happens to you, you must tell your grandmother. Your grandmother will definitely help you solve it. You must not be like your mother, who keeps nothing to herself and just swallows it down. That would truly make me suffer.”
Qiao Qingshu nodded obediently.
"Shu'er understands."
Bai Zhining spoke at this moment
“Mother, I see that my sister’s place is too simple, with only Huan’er serving her. I will send some people over tomorrow so that my sister can stay more comfortably.”