Chapter 144 - Qiao Lu Is Missing
Chapter 144 Qiao Lu Is Missing
Qiao Jinniang walked to the door and saw that Fulu and Qin Miaomiao were both there. And when she turned to leave, she was stopped by Qiao Lu.
“Sister!”
Qiao Lu walked to Qiao Jinniang.
Qiao Jinniang didn’t recognize the woman in front of her all of a sudden. After all, when she came back to Chang’an, she had met Qiao Lu less than five times.
Fulu grabbed Qiao Lu’s hand and said, “Hey, you! What’s wrong with me? Why do you want to choose Qin Miaomiao?”
Qiao Lu tugged at Qiao Jinniang’s sleeve and said, “Sister, save me.”
Qiao Jinniang gently pulled away Qiao Lu’s hand and smiled. “Young lady, I don’t know you.”
Qiao Lu: “…”
Qin Miaomiao said to Fulu, “Don’t bully her. She is Young Master Qiao’s maid.” Fulu snorted. “So what? Jinniang has promised to let me be her sister-in-law. If I marry Young Master Qiao, she will be my maid too. Dear sister, I advise you to figure out who is your master.”
Qiao Lu blushed and said, “Young Master Qiao won’t marry you! Qiao Jinniang, how can you, how can you decide your brother’s future wife at will?!”
Qiao Jinniang said to Fulu with an innocent face, “It’s up to my parents. I don’t have any say about this…”
Fulu said, “I don’t care. I’ve decided that Qiao Lu will be my future husband.”
Qiao Lu said anxiously, “You are shameless.”
Seeing the blushed and embarrassed face of the little girl, Fulu was amused. She was only joking when she said she wanted to marry Qiao
Lu.
As the only daughter of Princess Shoulan, she was completely qualified to marry the son of Duke Anyuan.
But she clearly understood that the next Duchess Anyuan had to be as dignified and graceful as Qin Miaomiao, who could well manage the future Duke Anyuan. Not someone like her who would fool around all day long. But it was so much fun to tease this little girl.
Fulu put two fingers under Qiao Lu’s chin.
“Sister, I’m really angry that you betrayed me and defected to Qin Miaomiao. Just because of you, I must become your young master’s wife!”
Qiao Lu almost cried. He even disguised himself as a woman! Why was he still snatched by a princess?!
…
When Qiao Jinniang returned to her house, she saw Zheng Xiao waiting at the door. She went over and asked, “Mother, why are you standing at the door on such a cold day?”
“The concierge of the Duke Mansion came to report that Lu’er has come back, but he hasn’t come over yet.
“When he was young, every time he didn’t behave himself, I would frighten him that princesses would snatch him away. Does he not dare to come over because many princesses are living on this street?”
Qiao Jinniang tittered. “Mother, Lu’er will be the next Duke Anyuan, and he is almost seventeen years old. How can he be afraid of princesses?”
Zheng Xiao said in a low voice, “In previous dynasties, it was true that princesses would forcibly take home any good-looking men they saw.
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“So when children are not well behaved, the people of Chang’an will say that the princesses will take them away in order to frighten them into obedience.”
Qiao Jinniang: “…”
Did Xi’er’s aunts know that they had this function?
Zheng Xiao stuck her head out and looked outside. Qiao Lu hadn’t come back yet, and she quickly became anxious. When Qiao Lu’s servant said that he didn’t see Qiao Lu either, she began to panic.
Qiao Jinniang tried to pacify Zheng Xiao. “I heard that Lu’er knows some martial arts, and many people know that he is Father’s son, so I’m sure nothing will happen to him in a bustling place like Chang’an.
“Perhaps he went to visit his friends. Let’s just send a few servants to look for him.
“Mother, let’s get inside the house.”
Zheng Xiao sighed and entered the room.
Qiao Jinniang ordered her servants to look for Qiao Lu. Qiao Lu was not a child anymore, so she was not worried at all.
Even if he didn’t dare to come here, he should be able to go back to the Duke Mansion. Maybe he was somewhere playing.
However, at night, even after Duke Anyuan returned from his office, Qiao Lu still wasn’t found, so the entire Qiao family became anxious.
Zheng Xiao couldn’t help scolding Duke Anyuan, “It’s all your fault. When Lu’er went to school, I said he should take a few more servants. The servant he took this time is simply useless!” Duke Anyuan didn’t refute. “Lu’er is good at martial arts, and he grew up in the military. He’s not a physically weak scholar.
“Don’t worry too much. Take care of the child in your belly.”
In the end, Duke Anyuan turned to Imperial Guards for help, asking them to help find Qiao Lu.
Qiao Jinniang remembered the maid she had seen in the tailor shop and said, “Oh, the maid next to Fulu probably knows the whereabouts of Brother.”
“Maid? Luler didn’t take any maids with him.” Zheng Xiao said.
The rules of Qiao Lu’s school were very strict. Each student was only allowed to take a servant and not allowed to take any maids.
Qiao Lu had been studying outside for three years and barely returned to the Duke Mansion, so his maids in the Duke Mansion had been transferred to other courtyards.
Qiao Jinniang said, “That maid looks pretty. She has a red mole between her eyebrows.”
Zheng Xiao said, “I have never seen a maid with a red mole between her eyebrows in the Duke Mansion, but your brother has a red mole between his eyebrows. He is afraid that others will laugh at him, so he often uses paint to cover up the red mole.” Qiao Lu was young and good-looking. If people found he had a red mole between his eyebrows, he might be laughed at in the military.
Although his father was a duke, people would only say that he was just lucky to have a good dad and laugh at his feminine appearance.
Qiao Jinniang suddenly remembered that the “maid” called her Sister and asked for her help. After thinking about this, she immediately went to Princess Shoulan’s mansion on the opposite side.
In the Princess Mansion.
Qiao Lu looked at the Qiao Mansion just a short distance away and sighed.
Princess Shoulan tapped Fulu’s head. “Why did you bring back Young Master Qiao’s maid?
“Don’t mess around with him, okay? His father is Duke Anyuan, and his sister is going to be the crown princess.”
Fulu pouted in displeasure. “Mother, am I that bad in your eyes?”
Princess Shoulan said, “My daughter is certainly not bad, but he is not suitable for you.
“Most importantly, although it is peaceful now, if there is a border dispute or something, the Qiao family will be the first to go to the battlefield. “The men of the Qiao family all died on the battlefield, and Old Madam Qiao was widowed when she was only thirty!
“I only wish you and your husband to have a safe and happy life.”
Qiao Lu: “…”
Should he be happy or angry at Princess Shou’an’s words?
He didn’t want to marry Fulu. Why did Princess Shou’an curse him to die on the battlefield?
Humph!
Fulu was immediately scared. “Then I don’t want to marry Qiao Lu. I don’t want to be a widow.”
Qiao Lu snorted in his heart: Didn’t you just say that you only want to marry me? You changed your mind really quickly, humph!
Qiao Jinniang came in a hurry, saluted Princess Shou’an and said, “Princess.”
Princess Shoulan said, “No need to be too polite.”
Qiao Jinniang grabbed Qiao Lu’s sleeve and said, “I just forgot to bring back my brother’s maid in the tailor’s shop. Sorry for disturbing
you.”
Fulu said, “This little sister is quite fun. I wonder if Young Master Qiao is willing to sell her to me? Just name the price.”
Qiao Jinniang said, “This is my brother’s maid. I’ll have to ask my brother if he wants to sell her.”
Qiao Lu snorted. “Young Master will not sell me to you!”
Qiao Jinniang glared at Qiao Lu, took him back to the Qiao Mansion, closed the door and asked, “Brother, is it fun to disguise as a woman?”