She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 680 - 678: The Interrogator

Chapter 680: Chapter 678: The Interrogator

Maternal Aunt Zhao had seen Ye Yuan fall down several times and felt both distressed and pleased. She was pleased that the young lady and Young Master Qi did not mind Yuan’s young age, and that they could let Young Master Qi patiently play with him and treat him like a younger brother.

She also felt sorry for her own son. Such a small child, let alone in Duke An’s Mansion, even in a smaller household like their Zhao Family, at his age, would be carried around by maids and old woman servants, and would never roll around every corner of the mansion during the winter season, getting covered in dust and with his nose and cheeks turning red from the cold.

But seeing the smiling Qi Jiaer helping him up, dusting him off, and comforting him, and then looking at the thick clothing that firmly wrapped his ears and head in a fuzzy tiger-headed hat, and the gloves that nearly hid the shape of his palms, she felt relieved. For a child who would inherit Duke An’s Mansion, it was probably such resilience to bumps and bruises that was the appropriate way for him to grow.

For someone of Qi Younian’s age, the new year brought little feeling. No, that’s not quite right – if there was any feeling, it was of having aged another year. However, seeing his grandson dressed in festive attire, happily playing every day, the older generation felt pleased as well.

Qi Jiaer and Qi Sanshun had been playing like crazy these past couple of days. Apart from spending half an hour each morning practicing in the courtyard, they hardly stayed at home for the rest of the time. Even when they did come back, it was just to pick up something, quickly shout a greeting to Grandfather and Great-Uncle, and then they were gone in an instant.

Qi Younian, seeing such vigor, was naturally joyful and just looked on with a happy demeanor, not stopping them. The elderly have their own ways of spending time. These days, besides bringing his own tea, he liked to sit with old neighbor Li for a chat over a cup of tea or to have a little drink with the craftsmen who came from Qingyuan County at his own place.

Of course, Wong Qiao was among those having drinks. According to Wong Qiao’s plans, he and Lady Zhao would set out on their journey back to their hometown on the tenth day of the first month. Most of the craftsmen who drank together knew about Wong Qiao’s family situation, and while they expressed their sympathy, they didn’t say much more. Their conversation intentionally or unintentionally always skirted around the topic of Wong Qiao’s impending departure from the capital.

As time passed day by day, Wong Qiao’s mood became increasingly heavy, and his reluctance to leave grew.

He had only come to the capital twice, and the sum of both visits was less than half a year. His reluctance was not because of the capital’s prosperity but rather because of parting from the Qi family with whom he had lived for four years.

Before going to Clear Water Village, he was just a competent young craftsman. It was not until he came to the Qi family that he underwent a fundamental change, receiving guidance and inspiration which gave him much greater room to grow and completely refreshed his perspective on mechanical craftsmanship. He also learned that, with ingenious design and a clear direction, many seemingly impossible devices could be created.

Yet now, all of this was about to be out of his reach. How could he not feel reluctant to leave?

He had no heart to pack his belongings. There were only four of them – his mother, Xiuqin, Xiao Cui, and himself. He would ride a horse and only needed two horse-drawn carriages. They did not need much; anything lacking could be acquired along the way. The seven thousand taels of silver that his granduncle had given him would be enough for an average family to live comfortably for a lifetime, and if his mother could live a modest and poor life as before, even his children and grandchildren would have some security.

Furthermore, Jiang Yifan told him that he had arranged for four guards to escort them back to Hezhou. With this added security, there was even less to worry about. Thus, these days, Wong Qiao was somewhat listless.

On the fifth day of the new year, Lady Zhao had planned to go to Great Awakening Temple to pray for a safe journey back to their hometown.

On this day, before dawn, the Zhao family of four had already prepared everything. Wong Qiao rode a horse while Lady Zhao, Xiuqin, and Xiao Cui took the horse-drawn carriage. The group of four set out for the Great Awakening Temple.

To demonstrate their devotion to the Buddha, naturally the earlier they could go, the better, and it would be even better to offer the first stick of incense. Therefore, Lady Zhao and her party set out early, and when they arrived at the Great Awakening Temple, the mountain gate had just opened. There weren’t many pilgrims waiting outside the gate, just two carriages and a sparse few pedestrians.

Lady Zhao’s hands weren’t exactly short on money these days, yet ever since she learned that Wong Qiao would no longer bring in significant income, her once-loosening grip had tightened again.

Walking towards the inner area, Lady Zhao offered not much money for the oil in each hall’s lamps. Although it wasn’t much, her prostrations showed utmost sincerity. With almost every step, she chanted the Buddha’s name, and upon entering the main hall, she showed further respect with prostrations so deep that she touched the ground with her forehead, praying for the Buddha’s blessing.

Not only for their journey to be safe, but also for her son’s Construction Industry business to run smoothly, without longing for great wealth or becoming the target of evil people.

After such exertions, by the time Lady Zhao finished paying respects in the front hall, back hall, and the side halls with the various arhats, it was nearly Noon. By then, the number of pilgrims at the Great Awakening Temple had steadily increased, yet despite the comings and goings, everyone was solemn without any clamor.

Wong Qiao stood on the open ground outside the main hall, looked at the sky, and said to Lady Zhao, "It’s getting late, I’m afraid we’ll miss lunch if we rush back. Why not have a vegetarian meal here in the temple? What do you think?"

As soon as Lady Zhao heard about eating out, she felt pained, "Let’s just go back. That way, we won’t need Nanny Liu to arrange a separate meal. We can just make do with some refreshments and tea."

Wong Qiao hesitated a bit, "Your appetite has just improved these past two days, I’m not sure if just eating refreshments will be easily digestible for you."

Lady Zhao waved her hand, "No problem, I’ll eat less and move around more afterward. Just now, I heard from two pilgrims in the main hall that the vegetarian meals here are quite expensive. We are not as well-off as before, we should save where we can."

Xiuqin, standing nearby, found this very hard to swallow. They were living comfortably, but her aunt didn’t know how to enjoy life and had squandered it away with her meddling.

Thinking about this, Xiuqin felt very disheartened. Once they left the Qi family, it was unlikely they would have such days again. Her aunt thought it was simple, but sustaining a business was not easy at all. Her cousin used to be like that, focusing solely on work while others handled everything else, just working and earning Silver, how wonderful that was.

Although Lady Zhao had lived in the Qi family for over a year, she did not venture out much due to her status as the chief manager’s mother, and therefore, she rarely spoke to other people. Xiuqin, on the other hand, interacted frequently as part of her duties; she knew that besides craftsmen, the Qi family employed many for miscellaneous tasks, like Song Ping and Yuan Shang, who assigned daily duties and were so busy that they barely touched the ground.

Xiuqin felt that if she had to do those mundane tasks, she would be so overwhelmed that she couldn’t tell Northwest from Southeast. Yet, for some reason, her aunt, a rather astute person, stubbornly believed it to be simple, leading to their current difficult predicament.

Before Wong Qiao could respond to Lady Zhao’s words, two women of similar age to Lady Zhao, dressed quite well and followed by an old woman servant, seemed to overhear her. They leaned over and asked Lady Zhao, "Excuse me, elder sister, do you know where the dining hall for pilgrims is in the Great Awakening Temple? Is it really that expensive?"

Lady Zhao blinked and quickly smiled, "I’m sorry, it’s our first time here too. We only heard about the vegetarian meal from others, we haven’t been there ourselves, I’m truly sorry."