Chapter 93: Deadly Regret in My Heart

But now that the money she owed has been paid off, does that mean Qiao Shi will have plenty of silver from now on?

It's absurd—what does she need so much silver for? To raise other people's children?

The Qiao Family's behinds are like they have nails in them; the whole family can't sit still.

I hurriedly sneaked to the Town to inquire, and indeed it is so.

That shop is truly impressive; inside it even employs a Shopkeeper and assistants. Just by looking at the horse‑drawn carriages parked outside, you can tell the business is booming.

They are so envious; that silver should have belonged to the Qiao Family.

I regret it to death in my heart—why did I sever ties with her so nicely? If I endure the difficulty for a while, when she later becomes a money‑tree I can keep demanding money from her.

But now Qiao Shi holds the Divorce Document, and the household registration is a female household; they can't be involved at all, only watching anxiously.

In the Tian Family, Tian Yaozu's hand is disabled; when Mr. Lin learned of it, he was very angry. Raising a disciple is not easy, and just as the imperial exam was approaching, the disciple was harmed.

After visiting his home once, they realized that Tian Yaozu would never be able to study again; the effort was like beating a meat bun against a dog—no further result. It can be said that everything he had done for Tian Yaozu before was in vain.

Now he has dropped out of school and stays at home, unable to do anything; his living standards keep falling. Tian Laotou is determined to cultivate a scholar for the family to bring honor.

In the First Branch, aside from Tian Yaozu, no one else qualifies; the Second Branch also has a son, so Tian Laotou chose the Second Branch's Yaohui. Not long after the eldest grandson was injured, he sent him to the School in the Town.

Angered, Tian Yaozu wanted to smash the house, but now he is both willing and unable, and he's no fool; how could he dare to do that now?

Afraid the family would abandon him, they directly found an excuse to drive him out.

Putting that aside, the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone he used before were all given by Tian Laotou to Yaohui.

Now he needs someone to feed him; the Tian family has completely abandoned him.

Tian Yaozu, disheartened, after eating nothing more, walked to Tianhe Town, hoping to chat casually with those fox and dog friends.

But after arriving at Tianhe Town, no matter how he looked, he couldn't find them, and after inquiring at home he learned that…

The few ruffians in the town vanished overnight and have not been found to this day.

Tian Yaozu, being meticulous, noticed that the disappearance of those people coincided with the time of his injury.

He strained to recall what he had done before the five people disappeared.

Right, after those two came out of the Prison, he found them and harshly berated Qiao Shi in front of them.

He stirred up those two's hatred toward Qiao Shi, saying that after a few days they'd recruit more people and must deal with Qiao Shi.

Thinking of this, his complexion turned pale; if Qiao Shi could silently injure his hand, could it be said that those people's lives were already over?

Even if he were ruthless, he's still death‑afraid; he hurried back home, locked himself in his room, and for several days dared not leave the house.

The more he thought, the scarier it seemed—Qiao Shi had become a murderous demon—but after pondering, he found it impossible; if she could really kill, why hadn't she done so before? She was almost killed by her own family's bullying.

Could it be that after being premature she was possessed by an evil spirit? Thinking that, Tian Yaozu was so frightened he crawled into his blanket and dared not move.

Coward!

Moreover, the old pair from the Yuan Family, after hearing this, had dark faces; the fifth son being able to study in Fucheng must be related to that Qiao Niang.

She has silver in her hand, so the fifth son will surely rise to great success; having severed ties with him, she won't get any shine at all—what can she do?

After the New Year, the family's four sons bought land and built houses; in mid‑April, the day Qiao Mai opened her business, they all moved out of the old residence.

The two, bored out of their minds, sneaked to the front of Qiao Ji Snack Puzi and saw the business was truly good.

It was even better than when she set up a stall back then; the variety of goods was complete.

The two felt a sourness in their hearts, and after returning home they thought every day about having servant girls to attend them, becoming the wife of a senior official, the husband of a senior official, and so on.

But the dream woke; wealth, power, had nothing to do with them, how could they be content?

No matter what the three families think, Qiao Mai will live as she sees fit.

The Chen family next door, upon hearing that Qiao Shi was buying land and building houses, became extremely anxious.

Qiao Shi moving out doesn't matter to her, but when the Yuan Family eventually leaves here, meeting them again will truly be too difficult.

Putting that aside, Hao Er at the School in the Town is not studying well, still not as good as the period with the Yuan Family.

Hao Er is constantly criticized by Mr. Lin, while Yuan Jiaqi always encourages the child; the more he praises Hao Er's studies, the greater his momentum.

This comparison makes it clear who is good and who is bad.

Chen Shi harbored a little scheme; she wondered if she could have Hao Er follow Yuan Jiaqi and go together to Fucheng to study.

That way the child could study well, and also meet Yuan Jiaqi often, easing his longing.

Now Qiao Shi is getting better and better; if possible, she can continue to bask in the glory.

Chen Shi even thought that if it didn't work, she could have Hao Er recognize Qiao Shi as a godmother; after all, she has adopted several children and doesn't lack caring for her own son.

What the hell are these people? If Qiao Mai found out, she'd have to tear her face apart and slap her a few big slaps.

She climbs the ladder every day to spy on the Qiao Family; each time she sees several older women cleaning inside, and two servant girls watching Ling'er.

Qiao Shi wears a clean, proper outfit; on her head, ears, and hands she wears a full set of silver ornaments, sitting in the courtyard doing Embroidery Work, looking utterly relaxed.

Seeing this, she became extremely jealous and envious.

Today is the day the Yuan brothers and children return; Chen Shi opened the courtyard early, holding a piece of clothing at the doorway, sewing and waiting.

When Yuan Jiaqi and his group returned, their carriage passed by her house; she wanted to glance at him at the door and discuss whether she could bring her own son along to Fucheng.

In the end, she did see him, but just as she was about to bring up Hao Er, Yuan Jiaqi kept a far distance, maintaining a certain gap, and opened his mouth to say.

"You want to talk to Mr. Yuan about Hao Er's schooling, right? Actually Mr. Lin's School is quite good; let him study there properly."

"But the teacher at that School, for some reason…"

"Sorry, I also have to study; I truly have no time to teach him."

"Then could we go to Fucheng together and study under the elder teacher?"

Before Yuan Jiaqi could speak, Old Mr. Wang let out a cold snort from the carriage.

"Qiao Niang, you give this old man a thousand taels of silver annually as a stipend; if you…"

That sentence choked Chen Shi into silence; a thousand taels? Damn her, even the town's School she treats as a luxury, Yuan Jiaqi teaches for free, and she still wants to save the ceremonial gift—how could she possibly produce a thousand taels?

Seeing she remained silent, Old Mr. Wang let out another cold snort.

"You have no money yet still want to come along—are you trying to mooch off us? I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone as shameless as you. Coveting other people's Xianggong without even saying it, and still trying to take advantage of them—look at that look of yours, it's practically sticking to them. A woman of depraved conduct, why don't you get out of here right now!"

A single sentence almost shamed Chen Shi to death; she flushed, turned and ran back to the Yuanzi, slammed the door shut and went back into the house to cry.

After getting off the carriage, everyone entered the Yuanzi, and the driver hurried the carriage away.

When they first saw the old women and the servant girls in the Yuanzi, everyone was stunned—no one had been back for a month, how did the house suddenly have so many people?

Two servant girls, holding Ling'er, saw that Guye had returned, along with Guye's husband and the Young Master, and hurriedly performed the standard courtesy toward them.

"Yuehong, Yuexia, we have seen the old gentleman, we have seen Guye, we have seen the Young Master."

The other sweeping old women also offered the same courtesy and inquired after everyone's well‑being, and even the two Kitchen Wang Jiaru's Servant Girl in the Chufang came out to ask after them.

Having seen the world, Wang Lao Xiansheng hummed, "Go do whatever needs to be done."

"Yes, sir."

(End of chapter)