NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6: Paying Respects to Grandmother
Chapter 6: Paying Respects to Grandmother
That night, Qiao Nian lay awake until dawn.
She didn’t know why.
Perhaps the room’s brazier was burning too brightly, unlike the drafty, damp, and cold wooden hut she had slept in for three years.
Or maybe it was because the bedding was dry, soft, and warm against her body.
In any case, everything felt so wonderful that Qiao Nian felt as if she were in a different world, utterly unreal.
She had thought she would spend the rest of her life in the laundry bureau.
It wasn’t until the warm morning sun shone into the room the next day that she realized, as if waking from a dream, that she had truly returned.
Madam Lin had prepared new clothes for her, likely bought from a ready-made clothing shop. They still didn’t fit perfectly, but at least the sleeves could cover the wounds on her arms.
Thus, she went to the Old Madam’s courtyard early in the morning.
At this hour, the Old Madam was paying homage to Buddha. Qiao Nian obediently stood outside the door, not intending to disturb her.
However, as if sensing something, the Old Madam suddenly turned her head to look, and her eyes immediately reddened.
“You’re back?”
Those three soft words conveyed endless sorrow.
Qiao Nian couldn’t help but tear up as well. She entered the room and knelt down, “Unfilial granddaughter Qiao Nian pays respects to Grandmother.”
“Come here quickly, let Grandmother have a good look at you!” The Old Madam, still kneeling in prayer, kept beckoning to Qiao Nian.
Qiao Nian crawled on her knees to the Old Madam’s side, allowing her to see her clearly.
The Old Madam’s withered hand trembled slightly as she slowly caressed Qiao Nian’s cheek. “You’ve gotten thinner.”
Those two short words made Qiao Nian’s tears fall uncontrollably. She threw herself into the Old Madam’s arms, calling out “Grandmother” repeatedly, causing all the surrounding maids to quietly wipe their eyes.
Three years ago, when Lin Yuan returned, almost everyone in the Marquis’s household had overnight taken Lin Yuan’s side. They sympathized with Lin Yuan’s experience, cared about her emotions, and comforted her, saying that from now on, they would all love her.
Only the Old Madam had noticed Qiao Nian standing in the corner, not knowing how to behave. The Old Madam told her that no matter what happened, she would always be her most obedient and lovable granddaughter.
After being punished and sent to the laundry bureau, she once heard the palace maids say that the Old Madam had personally gone to the palace to plead with the Empress for her sake, but before she could even see the Empress, she was humiliated by the Princess and driven out of the palace.
The palace maids mocked the Old Madam for trying to use her age as leverage, not knowing her place.
Qiao Nian had become furious and beaten those gossipy palace maids.
It was also that time when she was almost beaten to death by the matron in charge.
But she didn’t regret it one bit, because after that, no one dared to speak ill of the Old Madam in front of her again.
The grandmother and granddaughter embraced and cried for quite a while before gradually calming down.
The Old Madam looked at her adoringly, “It’s good that you’re home. From now on, with Grandmother by your side, no one will be able to bully you!”
The same words, when spoken by Madam Lin, Qiao Nian hadn’t taken to heart at all.
But now, coming from the Old Madam’s mouth, Qiao Nian felt as if her heart, frozen for three years, finally had a hint of warmth.
She nodded heavily, looking at the Old Madam’s wrinkled face, a surge of heartache rising to her nose.
“Then Grandmother must live to be a hundred years old, always accompanying Nian Nian.”
“Good!” The Old Madam smiled through her tears.
By the time Madam Lin brought Lin Yuan to pay respects to the Old Madam, Qiao Nian had already finished breakfast with her.
Seeing the grandmother and granddaughter sitting close together, so intimate, Madam Lin was also quite moved. She said to the Old Madam, “Mother, now that Nian Nian is back, can we finalize the marriage with the Xiao family?”
Qiao Nian was sitting with half her body turned towards the Old Madam, never once looking at Madam Lin. Hearing these words, she showed no reaction.
In her heart, however, she was puzzled. What did Lin Yuan’s marriage to the Xiao family have to do with whether she was back or not?
Unexpectedly, the Old Madam patted her hand and asked in an extremely gentle tone, “Nian Nian, tell Grandmother, do you still like Xiao Heng?”
Qiao Nian was stunned and instinctively looked at Lin Yuan.
She saw that the latter looked nervous, but as soon as she met Qiao Nian’s gaze, she lowered her head, looking like a bullied young wife.
Madam Lin also instinctively grasped Lin Yuan’s hand, leaning slightly towards her, as if afraid she might be bullied by Qiao Nian.
Qiao Nian felt a pain in her eyes.
She used to be the one Madam Lin protected in the palm of her hand…
Qiao Nian withdrew her gaze. To say there wasn’t a bit of heartache would certainly be a lie.
But it didn’t matter anymore.
She also understood the current situation clearly.
The person engaged to Xiao Heng was still Lin Yuan, but the Old Madam sympathized with her, knowing that she had once passionately admired Xiao Heng. So if she spoke up about this marriage, the Old Madam would certainly fight for it on her behalf.
The reason Lin Yuan and Madam Lin were so nervous now was that they were worried Qiao Nian might say “yes.”
But obviously, their worries were unnecessary.
Qiao Nian smiled gently at the Old Madam, “Grandmother, I stopped liking General Xiao long ago.”
Outside the door, a foot about to step onto the stairs suddenly stopped.
Inside the room, the Old Madam’s voice could be heard, “Really? But you used to like that Xiao boy so much…”
“That was just youthful ignorance,” Qiao Nian interrupted the Old Madam. “Moreover, the engagement between the Xiao family’s eldest son and the Lin family’s eldest daughter has nothing to do with me, no matter how you look at it. Grandmother, my surname is Qiao.”
Qiao Nian had already told the Old Madam about changing her surname.
But hearing it now, the Old Madam still felt a pang in her heart. She hugged Qiao Nian and nodded repeatedly, “Alright, Qiao is good, Qiao is just fine.”
After all, no matter what her surname was, she was still Grandmother’s most obedient granddaughter!
As they spoke, two figures entered the room one after another.
It was Lin Ye and Xiao Heng.
Since seeing Qiao Nian yesterday, Lin Ye seemed to have never smiled. Now, hearing the conversation between the grandmother and granddaughter, Lin Ye’s face turned ashen. He stepped forward and paid his respects, “Ye’er pays respects to Grandmother.”
Without waiting for the Old Madam’s response, Lin Ye immediately snapped at Qiao Nian, “The family genealogy hasn’t been changed, what surname are you randomly giving yourself!”
Lin Ye knew that Qiao Nian’s birth father’s surname was Qiao, but she was raised as a daughter of his marquis’s household. Why should she suddenly take that man’s surname?
She was clearly still the eldest young lady of the marquis’s household!
Seeing Lin Ye about to lose his temper for unknown reasons again, Madam Lin frowned and scolded in a low voice, “Ye’er! Mind your words!”
Only then did Lin Ye glance at the Old Madam. Seeing the Old Madam’s displeased expression, the anger on his face slightly subsided.
Then Qiao Nian’s cool and calm voice rang out, like a small but sharp dagger, gradually cutting through the hypocritical facade of this manor.
“On the second day after I entered the laundry bureau three years ago, the Marquis personally told His Majesty that my surname was Qiao. If the family genealogy hasn’t been changed, I’m afraid the Marquis has committed the crime of deceiving the emperor.”