bayedsolid Chapter 152 Extreme Cold Weather
Chapter 152 Extreme Cold Weather
“Young lady, you were absolutely right to let Xia Zhi and me go with you! Wan Qiu was furious and was about to hit Liu San. All that fawning and flattery Liu San used to show for Wan Qiu was just a lie! He threw Wan Qiu to the ground and hurled insults at her, saying that Wan Qiu wasn’t good enough for him!”
Lin Dong became more and more excited as he spoke, spitting as he spoke and gesturing wildly with his hands and feet.
"That shameless Liu San even tried to hit Wanqiu. How could we just stand by and do nothing? Xia Zhi grabbed Liu San'er by the collar and threw him down the stairs from the second floor. His nose and mouth were covered in blood! We brought Wanqiu back, and she's been crying in the house for several hours now. I don't know if she's asleep yet."
Qiao Qingshu nodded and said,
"Let's go see her, lest Wanqiu cry too much."
The master and servant arrived at Zhuqing Pavilion while they were talking. Instead of entering the main house, they went directly to Wanqiu's room.
Lin Dong pushed open the door and saw that the food on the table was untouched, and Wan Qiu was sobbing on Xia Zhi's shoulder.
There were several wet silk cloths on the ground, and Xia Zhi looked exhausted, indicating that she had already finished crying.
Qiao Qingshu stepped forward, took Wanqiu's hand, and said...
"Late Autumn, do you still want to marry Liu San?"
Wanqiu had already cried herself out, her eyes swollen like peaches. When Qiao Qingshu asked her this, she was shocked.
He immediately shouted at the top of his lungs,
"I won't marry him! I won't marry him! I'd rather die than marry this heartless man!"
She grabbed Qiao Qingshu's hand and tears started falling in large drops again.
"Young lady, I saw it with my own eyes! Liu San was doing *that* with a prostitute! Liu San even called her 'Bao'er,' sob sob sob. Liu San also insulted me, saying I wasn't as pretty or rich as that prostitute, that I wasn't good enough for her, and that Yan Yun was his darling, sob sob sob..."
When she got to the sad parts, Wanqiu cried so hard she almost passed out.
Qiao Qingshu patted her back and then asked Lin Dong to give her a bowl of calming and nourishing soup before she slowly fell asleep.
After we finished doing all that, a deafening sound of firecrackers suddenly erupted outside.
Qiao Qingshu looked up at the half of the sky that was brilliantly illuminated, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
The next day, almost everyone in the Qiao family, except for Qiao Qingshu, was awakened by the cold.
On the first day of the new year, the temperature was close to minus ten degrees Celsius.
Qingqiao and Qingle were so cold that they didn't want to get out of bed; they were shivering even just putting on clothes.
Qiao Qingshu, on the other hand, had prepared warm clothes several months in advance and was not affected by the cold at all.
She had been burning walnut charcoal all night, and after sleeping through the night, she didn't feel cold at all; in fact, she was sweating a little.
After getting up, Qiao Qingshu went to Fushou Hall to offer New Year's greetings.
His father and grandmother had practically dug out all their most treasured clothes, but even wrapped around themselves, they were still shivering.
They were all a little envious when they saw Qiao Qingshu, who was all warm and cozy.
Qiao Jizhou's voice trembled as he spoke.
"Shu'er, you're so clever. Your new clothes are so thick, you won't be afraid of the cold. I should have made a thick coat for you too."
Old Madam Qiao, however, was unimpressed, wiping her snot and saying dismissively,
"How cold can it get? It'll warm up in a day or two at most. I don't think I can wear these thick clothes for more than a few days. There's no point in making them!"
Qiao Qingshu smiled and nodded, but inwardly she thought,
Grandmother, you're wrong. This year's cold isn't just a matter of a day or two. Today is actually the warmest day of the next three months.
Temperatures will continue to drop, and eventually, the streets will be filled with people freezing to death; it will be a truly extreme cold snap.
At that moment, Qiao Qingqiao and Qingle, both dressed in plump clothes, came in to offer their New Year's greetings.
Seeing that her two younger sisters were dressed in bulky clothes, Qiao Qingshu spoke up.
"Little sister, do you want me to buy you two thick cotton coats? It's so cold here."
Qiao Qingle shook her head, unwilling.
“Grandmother is right! This cold weather won’t last long; it will definitely warm up in a few days. I think it’s really unnecessary.”
After looking Qiao Qingshu over again, he tilted his head and smiled.
"Big sister, this outfit doesn't look like it'll last more than a few days. All that money spent on these clothes will just end up at the bottom of your trunk!"
Qiao Qingshu gave a faint smile and shook her head slightly.
"Qiao Qingle, I was not speaking to you. Whether you make clothes or not is none of my business. I was asking about my second sister."
Realizing she had been presumptuous, Qiao Qingle stomped her foot in anger, walked to the table, grabbed a piece of pastry, and stuffed it into her mouth.
At this moment, seeing this, Old Madam Qiao also said,
"I think it's a waste of money, there's no need to do it!"
These words were meant for Qiao Qingqiao to hear, meaning she shouldn't agree to do it.
Qiao Qingshu looked at her second younger sister encouragingly and said,
"Qiao'er, tell me yourself."
Qiao Qingqiao looked at her grandmother, then at her eldest sister, hesitating for a moment, but then said firmly,
“I’ll listen to my older sister; I also want to make something to keep warm.”
When Madam Qiao saw that Qingqiao didn't agree with her, her face immediately fell and she shouted,
"I'm not doing it! Your father won't do it either! Your third sister won't do it either!"
"You two sisters are the only ones in the family who make these clothes, and you only wear them for a few days. It's such a waste of money! I can't stand looking at them, I feel like you should get out!"
After saying that, he waved for Qiao Qingshu and Qingqiao to leave.
Qiao Qingle sat at the table, a piece of pastry stuffed in her mouth, and raised her eyebrows with a smug smile.
Qiao Qingshu wasn't angry; she simply took her second sister's hand and left Fushou Hall.
Qiao Qingqiao was still a little scared, but after being comforted by Qiao Qingshu, she no longer hesitated.
Qiao Qingshu immediately asked a tailor to make her an extremely warm winter coat overnight.
This one dress cost nearly a hundred taels of silver, and Qiao Qingqiao felt a pang of regret and embarrassed.
But Qiao Qingshu told her that if she didn't spend money to make an excellent one, she would still have to endure the cold.
Although Qiao Qingqiao didn't understand why her older sister was so worried about the cold weather, she still gladly accepted the clothes and immediately put them on.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the weather was a bit colder than the day before.
Qiao Qingshu sat in the carriage returning to the Bai family of another ethnic group. She lifted the curtain and looked out. There were very few pedestrians on the road.
The coachman, his nose red from the cold, said...
"Young lady, you don't know, it's been unusually cold these past two days. Even those who usually visit relatives haven't done so. Today, Lin'an Street is unusually quiet. In previous years, the second day of the Lunar New Year was packed with people!"
Thus, Qiao Qingshu's carriage arrived at her maternal grandfather's Bai family without any hindrance.
When Qiao Qingshu alighted from the sedan chair, her aunt Shen Wenying stepped forward and took her hand.
"Qingshu, you've finally arrived! I have something important to tell you!"