frightfiction Chapter 57 Killing Intent
Chapter 57 Killing Intent
Aunt He was kind-hearted, and murmured,
"But Aunt Xu has just miscarried and is very weak. If she's thrown out, she probably won't survive..."
Aunt Chen glared at Aunt He and said in a shrill voice,
"At this critical juncture, who cares whether she lives or dies! Logically speaking, dragging her out to fend for herself would be merciful; she should just be given a bowl of medicine to finish the job!"
Qiao Jizhou also had murderous intent.
However, as a government official, he couldn't openly talk about killing, and now that Aunt Chen had spoken, he had hit the nail on the head, so he echoed her words.
"I think Xiangyu has a point."
All of these words reached Liu Wan'er's ears outside the house, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
Liu Wan'er had no idea when her mother had been given the title of White Tiger Spirit, and the dead cat she gave birth to today seemed to confirm it.
Even if her mother wasn't an evil spirit, she is now!
She was so terrified that her scalp tingled and her body went numb.
She and her mother had been completely unaware that they had fallen into such a vulnerable and helpless situation.
A sudden chill ran down her back, as if Liu Wan'er's entire body had been immersed in icy water.
As soon as Madam Qiao looked up, she suddenly saw a thin figure trembling outside the house and quickly scolded,
"Who's outside?!"
Liu Wan'er walked in slowly, her face pale, her eyes fixed intently on Old Madam Qiao and Qiao Jizhou.
Liu Wan'er's expression was serious, and she spoke with a firm and resolute tone.
"Grandma, Second Master, I have something to say. Please clear out all the bystanders."
Old Madam Qiao was somewhat displeased and had lost patience with Liu Wan'er at this moment.
"We're all family, what's there to hide! Just say it."
Standing inside the room were none other than Qiao Jizhou, Qiao Qingshu, Aunt Chen, Aunt He, and Granny Zou, the personal servant of Old Madam Qiao.
Liu Wan'er glanced around, a nonchalant smile playing on her lips.
"Since neither the old lady nor the second master mind, I'll be frank. The story of my father's death..."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Jizhou quickly reached out to stop him and reprimanded him.
"Wait!"
He waved to the crowd and said,
"All of you, get out of here!"
Everyone started to walk outside.
Qiao Qingshu did not move, but stared quietly at Liu Wan'er.
Liu Wan'er walked up to Qiao Qingshu and said gently,
"Cousin, please move over as well."
Everyone was driven out, the door was closed, and only Old Madam Qiao, Qiao Jizhou, and Liu Wan'er remained in the room.
Aunt Chen peeked inside on tiptoe, muttering to herself.
"What's so secretive about that you have to keep it from everyone?"
He turned around and asked again,
"Young lady, do you know what this is about?"
Qiao Qingshu smiled faintly.
"If I knew, why would I have driven me out as well?"
Qiao Qingshu slowly walked down the steps, lost in thought.
Liu Wan'er must have something on the Qiao family!
Otherwise, Liu Wan'er's expression wouldn't have been so confident and assured just now.
What exactly is it about the Qiao family that she holds that has scared her father so much that his face turned pale?
inside the house.
Unlike usual, Liu Wan'er did not kneel obsequiously before Old Madam Qiao and Qiao Jizhou.
She tilted her head back and said coldly.
"Grandma, Second Master, we're all in the same boat. If you're going to cruelly throw us, a widow and her children, into the water, don't blame me, Liu Wan'er, for capsizing the boat. If we're going to die, we'll all die together!"
With a cold laugh, Liu Wan'er glanced at Qiao Jizhou and continued...
“If my father hadn’t taken the blame for the Second Master, he wouldn’t have ended up being beheaded in the street back then. Our family wouldn’t have been torn apart, and my mother and I wouldn’t be living under someone else’s roof.”
"Second Master, my mother has followed you for ten years. If she didn't truly love you, why would she have willingly followed you without any status, even getting pregnant and miscarrying? And now you believe the rumors and want to kill my mother. Aren't you being too heartless and ungrateful!"
Every word was like a knife to the heart, forcing Qiao Jizhou to retreat step by step, and he was beginning to lose his grip.
Decades ago, Qiao Jizhou went to Ganzhou on official business. Coincidentally, his cousin Xu Biyun married Liu Zhiyong, the prefect of Ganzhou, so he stayed at his house.
At that time, Qiao Jizhou was an official in the capital. Although it was not an important position, he had extensive connections. In his youth, he was bold and ambitious, and he had some connections. He wanted to join forces with Liu Zhiyong to smuggle government salt.
Liu Zhiyong was also a greedy man. Ganzhou was not a wealthy area, and he had not been able to make much money in his position as prefect for many years, which made him very anxious and angry.
Now that a noble person has come to the capital to offer him a way to make money, and since he is also a relative, he is naturally overjoyed, and the two hit it off immediately.
In the first few years, things went smoothly. The two colluded with businessmen and made a fortune. But then the court discovered their scheme, and the Grand Secretary personally sent his trusted confidants to investigate and capture Liu Zhiyong.
Qiao Jizhou was saved by the efforts of the Qiao and Bai families, who spent a lot of manpower, resources, and money, and managed to escape unscathed from this shocking case.
Liu Zhiyong was executed, and his entire family was exiled to a remote and desolate place. Xu Biyun escaped with Liu Wan'er, who was only five or six years old at the time, during the exile.
The two fled north and arrived in the capital, where they sought refuge at the Qiao family's residence.
At that time, Old Master Qiao was still alive. His attitude toward the matter was either to send the mother and daughter back to their place of exile, or to kill them.
Keeping this mother and daughter around is like keeping a ticking time bomb; they could implicate the Qiao family at any moment.
But at that time, Old Madam Qiao felt sorry for her own niece and couldn't bear to kill her.
Qiao Jizhou had already been having an affair with Xu Biyun while he was in Ganzhou, so he was even less willing to kill her.
Moreover, at that time, Old Master Qiao was seriously ill. Although he wanted to get rid of the mother and daughter, he was powerless to do so. Therefore, Xu Biyun and Liu Wan'er secretly stayed at the Qiao residence.
A few years ago, this mother and daughter were very low-key, cautious and humble in everything they did.
But after Old Master Qiao passed away, Old Madam Qiao took over the household, and Qiao Jizhou became the head of the family, the mother and daughter began to live more and more respectably and freely.
As time passed, everyone forgot about this incident.
Liu Wan'er's cold, icy series of questions pulled Qiao Jizhou and Old Madam Qiao back to several years ago, and their expressions involuntarily became wary.
Although this case has been closed for many years, if Liu Wan'er insists on pursuing the case, it's not impossible to overturn it, which would implicate the Marquis's mansion...
Old Madam Qiao's face tensed up, but she forced a gentle smile.
"Wan'er, why bring up these old stories out of the blue? You're just being paranoid. We're just discussing how to settle your mother, not about killing her."