Chapter 14

Upon seeing his daughter’s serious expression, the Duke of Yan couldn’t help but furrow his brow. “What’s wrong, did Zhongguo’s son upset you?”

Mrs. Qiao couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “How dare he? Father, what I want to discuss with you is about my brother and sister-in-law.”

The Duke of Yan leaned back in his chair, his face showing some distress. “That useless brother of yours has been drifting through life, and I’ve long stopped expecting anything from him. As long as he doesn’t cause trouble, that’s all I ask for.”

However, Mrs. Qiao looked solemn. “Father, if you don’t want Brother to cause trouble, you’ll have to keep a closer eye on him. You see, Brother actually… actually wants to take Diyi to those kinds of places with fireworks!”

“What!”

The Duke of Yan, known for his volatile temper, punched the armrest of the chair, shattering it.

“That damn fool!”

Mrs. Qiao, seeing her father’s furious expression, couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.

Although this incident hadn’t happened yet, since Jiaojiao had mentioned it, it must be true!

This was a good excuse to make Father pay more attention to Brother. 

Father wouldn’t disclose such embarrassing matters when lecturing Brother.

“No, I must go and drag him back right now and give him a good beating!”

The Duke of Yan was about to leave in a rage, but Mrs. Qiao quickly grabbed hold of him.

“Father, wait! There’s something else I need to tell you.”

The Duke of Yan’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me that scoundrel is up to even more mischief? He’ll be punished doubly!”

Mrs. Qiao: “…”

“Father, please don’t get too worked up when you go back. It’s one thing to break his arms and legs, but don’t hurt his brain.”

The Duke of Yan: “…”

Who was getting worked up now?

Seeing her father’s stunned expression, Mrs. Qiao couldn’t help but smile and compose herself.

“Father, what I wanted to tell you is about Sister-in-law.”

The Duke of Yan furrowed his brow. “What’s wrong with your sister-in-law?”

He wasn’t entirely satisfied with this daughter-in-law; she was too calculating and petty.

Of course, it was also his own son’s fault for not settling down.

So over the years, he had never given his daughter-in-law a hard time. He had basically handed over the household affairs of the Duke of Yan’s residence to her, giving her face.

Mrs. Qiao’s expression turned somewhat ugly as she lowered her voice. “A while ago, Sister-in-law mentioned wanting to further the relationship between Tianjing and Ning’er. I refused, and she seemed to be angry with me. She didn’t even attend Jiaojiao’s full moon banquet today.”

“Also, today at the banquet, I heard something that involves the reputation of our Duke of Yan’s residence. So, I thought I should bring it up to you.”

The Duke of Yan’s brow furrowed tightly. “What happened?”

Mrs. Qiao seemed hesitant to speak, but after a moment of deliberation, she said, “Father, this is something that shouldn’t be discussed in front of you, but since Mother passed away early, only you can make decisions.”

“I heard that Sister-in-law had a childhood sweetheart who was very close to her. Recently, there have been some rumors circulating.”

“Do you think we should investigate it?”

After careful consideration, Mrs. Qiao still didn’t want to reveal the secret about Jiaojiao’s ability to hear thoughts.

She was afraid. If someone with ill intentions found out about Jiaojiao’s ability to foresee the future, it would be disastrous.

But in doing so, she wouldn’t be able to explain how she knew about Sister-in-law’s childhood sweetheart. So she had to come up with a lie and hope Father could investigate it thoroughly.

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Yan’s brows furrowed even tighter.

“Your sister-in-law doesn’t seem like that kind of person. How about this, I’ll send someone to investigate thoroughly when I get back.”

Mrs. Qiao looked somewhat guilty as she glanced at her father. This time, in order to be prepared for the future, she had resorted to some questionable means.

At this moment, Qiao Zhongguo saw off the guests at the front and hurried to meet his father-in-law.

The Duke of Yan had something on his mind. After exchanging a few words with Qiao Zhongguo, he hurriedly left.

At night, after a busy day, the Qiao residence finally returned to tranquility.

Qiao Zhongguo sat solemnly in his study, without lighting any candles. Only the moonlight coming in through the open window illuminated the room.

“How’s the situation in the Northern Kingdom?” Qiao Zhongguo asked in a low voice.

“General, the situation with the Northern Kingdom’s crown prince is still undecided. It seems that internal turmoil is brewing,” a hoarse voice suddenly sounded, revealing a figure kneeling in the shadows in front of Qiao Zhongguo.

Qiao Zhongguo looked pensive, then calmly instructed, “Send a few men to guard the city gate. If anyone resembling the Northern Kingdom’s crown prince is spotted, keep a close eye on them. If anything suspicious happens, apprehend them immediately.”

“And also, have a few men watch over the Second Prince from a distance. See if there are any suspicious individuals around him.”

The figure in black didn’t inquire about the reasons, but firmly and respectfully acknowledged the orders. When he leaped out of the window, he disappeared like a shadow.

Qiao Zhongguo stood up slowly, walked to the window, and looked up at the full moon in the sky. He sighed inwardly:

“Jiaojiao, I’ve arranged everything according to what you foresaw. I hope to preserve the hard-won peace of the Great Yong Dynasty and change the fate of our Qiao family.”

With these thoughts, he suddenly missed his gentle wife and obedient daughter. So he turned around, pushed open the door of the study, and walked towards the main house.

—

Outside the Qiao residence, on Chengtian Street, there was an inconspicuous carriage parked at the corner.

Next to the carriage stood a coachman, slightly hunched, looking quite old.

But if you looked closely, you would notice that the coachman’s eyes were bright, his chin was clean, and his temples were slightly protruding, indicating that he was a middle-aged martial arts expert.

“Master, it’s late. We should go back,” the coachman’s voice was hoarse, easily dissipating in the night breeze.

“Just a little longer,” came a clear and elegant voice from inside the carriage. If Jiaojiao could see this person, she would surely be astonished.

Because the person guarding here was none other than the current Second Prince, the male lead, Shen Yuanbai!

The coachman looked puzzled. “Master, who… who are you waiting for, after all?”

With these words, Shen Yuanbai also showed a hint of confusion on his face.

In fact, even he himself didn’t know who he was waiting for.

He just had a strong premonition before coming to the Qiao residence today, a premonition that he would meet someone very important to him today.

As for whether this person was male or female, tall or short, fat or thin, he had no idea.

This premonition was so strong, but when he arrived at the Qiao residence and the banquet dispersed, the destined encounter didn’t happen at all.

After about half an hour, there were no more people on Chengtian Street, and it would be too conspicuous to stay any longer.

Thinking of this, Shen Yuanbai waved his hand helplessly and said, “Asheng, let’s go.”

“Yes, Master.”

The coachman leaped lightly onto the carriage and drove the horse away steadily.

Leaning against the carriage wall, Shen Yuanbai’s originally cold eyes showed a hint of gloom, and his brows furrowed tightly.

He always felt like he had lost something important today.