Time Is Slow - Chapter 56
“It’s all in the past.”
Qiao Zhao leaned into Old Madam Deng’s embrace, a warmth rising in her heart.
Some things truly were in the past, some things never would be.
No matter what, the fact that she had awakened in the identity of Li Zhao was something she ought to be grateful for.
“Grandmother, I’m not afraid,” she said as she straightened up and smiled.
Being thirteen, despite the trace of innocence, she has started to bloom.
Old Madam Deng looked at her granddaughter’s serene smile from up close. For a moment, it seemed as if all those domineering, coarse, and sharp-tongued shadows had suddenly faded away.
She’d never really taken this child seriously before, yet she had never imagined that one day, the child would turn out so well.
Unexpectedly good.
Even if those noble ladies in prestigious families would never consider the child as their daughter-in-law because of the kidnapping incident, she still felt proud.
“Zhao Zhao, from now on you can go out again,” she said gently. “But don’t go back to the Eastern Residence’s girls’ academy.”
Qiao Zhao didn’t react strangely. She calmly replied, “Grandmother, I still wish to attend school.”
Old Madam Deng thought she didn’t understand, so she explained further.
“Today, though you brought great honor to yourself, Li Jiaoo ruined her reputation. If you go back to the academy, you’ll offend people just by showing up.”
Qiao Zhao smiled.
“I understand what Grandmother is saying. But I trust Xianjun is generous and won’t trouble a young girl like me.”
The Eastern Residence—she had to go.
Her maternal grandfather was the Minister of Justice. The old master of the Eastern Residence was the Vice Minister of Justice. In other words, the Li residence and the Kou family moved in the same social circles. If she wanted to naturally approach her mother’s side of the family and see her brother more often, she couldn’t sever ties with the Eastern Residence.
As long as she can attend the girls’ academy alongside her sisters from the Western Residence, whenever the Eastern Residence needed to bring the girls to banquets or events, they wouldn’t dare leave her behind.
What’s more, her elder cousin was currently in Jiafeng investigating the Qiao family fire. Once he returned, she very much wanted a chance to see him.
Qiao Zhao understood the Marchioness Dowager Jiang far too well.
That old woman… even if she suffers, she would only care about saving face.
Today, Li Jiaoo had made a complete fool of herself. Old Madam Jiang had also lost face. But no matter how much she blamed Qiao Zhao in her heart, as long as Qiao Zhao didn’t make a clear mistake, she wouldn’t dare publicly mistreat her.
Thinking of how those who disliked her would grit their teeth, wishing she would just disappear but would have no choice but to endure her presence every single day, Qiao Zhao found herself quite delighted.
“Xianjun is generous”?
Old Madam Deng’s mouth twitched.
This child is really sarcastic.
“Zhao Zhao, listen to your grandmother. I’ve seen how outstanding your calligraphy is, and you’re clearly not a fool. You really don’t need to go back to that academy.”
Qiao Zhao sighed.
Sometimes, even having a grandmother who genuinely cared for her could be difficult.
“But I really want to spend more time with my sisters. Once they marry and move out, we won’t have days like this again.”
Old Madam Deng opened her mouth, then finally nodded.
“Very well. If that’s your wish, then go.”
“Thank you, Grandmother.” Qiao Zhao smiled with closed lips.
She had figured it out: this grandmother’s weakness is being soft.
—
After a while, Li Jiao returned to the carriage.
Since Madam He did not come, the Western Residence only took two carriages: one for the second wife Madam Liu and her daughter, the other for Old Madam Deng and the two daughters of the main branch.
“Jiao’er, why are you back so soon?” Old Madam Deng asked, somewhat surprised.
“It feels eerie to see those coffins one after another. I figured I’d come back and spend more time with Grandmother,” Li Jiao said sweetly, somewhat surprised to find Qiao Zhao already there.
Qiao Zhao lowered her eyes, the corners of her mouth lifting ever so slightly.
This elder sister of hers always presented herself as wise and composed, playing the part of the dignified eldest daughter. But in certain matters, she was truly clueless.
The souls of fallen heroes were returning to rest in their homeland, and she called it eerie?
If Qiao Zhao had said something like that, her grandmother would’ve fixed her with a sharp look and made her sleep with a teacup balanced on her head.
And sure enough, Old Madam Deng’s face darkened.
“Don’t speak nonsense,” she scolded.
The old lady’s sudden change of expression stunned Li Jiao, and for a moment, she forgot even to voice her questions.
“Your grandmother is old now and prefers silence. There’s no need to rush back just to keep me company. But those fallen soldiers… even if this old body of mine went to see them off personally, it wouldn’t be too much.”
Li Jiao’s face flushed a deep red, and she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
She had once again embarrassed herself in front of Li Zhao!
More importantly, in the face of her grandmother’s rebuke, she had no way to refute her.
This grievance was hard to swallow, but she held it in and finally said, “It was my fault.”
How did Li Zhao answer when Grandmother asked her the same thing?
She really wanted to know.
Li Jiao had been raised to always keep up appearances, so when she admitted fault, she did it earnestly. Seeing this, Old Madam Deng did not press further and nodded slightly.
“As long as you truly understand what you did wrong, that’s enough.”
She turned to gaze out the window and sighed.
“If not for those soldiers who protect our nation with their lives, do you think you’d be living so comfortably?”
Then she looked back at Li Jiao and asked, “Jiao’er, do you know where our ancestral home is?”
“Yes, it’s in He Yu County,” Li Jiao replied.
As a girl, she’d never had the chance to go back with the elders for ancestral rites, but she remembered clearly where their family was from.
“Good,” Old Madam Deng nodded, then glanced at Qiao Zhao and said to both girls, “He Yu County is right next to Shanhai Pass. Decades ago, I was about your age when the pass was breached by the Tartars…”
“I had a bosom friend whose maternal family lived inside the pass. That year, she happened to be visiting with her mother, and they got caught in that catastrophe…”
“In the end, only one of her maids made it back to He Yu. To this day, I still remember that maid’s name. She was called Xiaodie.”
She paused.
“Do you girls know what happened to my bosom friend?”
Li Jiao hesitated, then shook her head.
Qiao Zhao, however, straightened her back and remained silent.
She knew. She had seen it.
Even when those Tartars knew she was Shao Mingyuan’s wife, they had still intended to violate her.
The harsh and barren northern lands bred fierce North Qi men, and women were scarce. So when they saw a young, elegant woman from Great Liang, reason meant nothing to them.
In the end, it had taken their commander executing two undisciplined soldiers on the spot to shock the others into backing down and temporarily preserve her dignity.
She could never forget how that commander laughed aloud and declared to his men:
“If that Shao bastard won’t retreat, I’ll give her to you right here on the wall. Let those damn rabbits of Great Liang watch as we take one of their own!”
Their god-like general’s own woman!
“Even if Yan City is taken back, this disgrace will be carved forever into the bones of Great Liang!”
Madam Deng withdrew her gaze and said slowly, “When those Tartars began wreaking havoc on the neighbors, she and her cousins hanged themselves on the trees in the backyard. Just like how every family in He Yu hangs cured fish in winter: one by one, they hang there.”