After she said this, the man's body stiffened as if he suddenly remembered something.
"So you actually wronged the eldest young master?"
Before hearing her words, the man still held a glimmer of hope in his heart. Now that the matter was confirmed, he suddenly didn't know how to make sense of it all.
Seeing him slowly withdraw his hand, Qiao Meng seemed extremely nervous and suddenly hugged his waist.
"I did all this just to stay by brother's side. If even brother doesn't care about me, I'll have no relatives in this world. There's no point in living."
In the end, when facing this girl he had owed so much, the man softened his heart.
"I'm sorry for you. I should have come to save you earlier. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone through so much and become like this. Well, no matter what, I'll handle this matter for you."
After getting his definite answer, Qiao Meng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
On the other side, when Shi An knew that the little princess he had doted on had actually knelt down for someone else, he couldn't wait to come back.
He rushed into the room and saw the dust on Shi Muyuan's clothes. He was furious.
"Good! They dared to bully you while I was away. Don't worry, big brother will definitely get justice for you."
Saying that, he was about to rush out, but just as he got halfway, he was stopped by Shi Muyuan.
"Big brother is still so impatient. Where has that calmness and poise gone? Or is it that big brother always loses his last bit of rationality when it comes to me?"
"Of course. You're the precious one in big brother's heart. How could you kneel down to such a person? It's simply beneath your dignity."
"It's okay. There's no need to dwell on such a trivial matter. Besides, this may not necessarily be a bad thing. I have other plans. By the way, did big brother gain anything from this trip?"
Speaking of this, Qin Feng became even more interested.
"Speaking of which, you'll definitely be interested in the information we found."
"Oh? It seems there's something fishy about this. Otherwise, General Qin wouldn't have said so."
"Right. This Miss Qiao fled to the Western Regions before. According to what we've found out, she was raised by two old people on the border of the Western Regions. Not long ago, the two old people passed away one after another, and then she came here to start anew."
On the surface, everything seemed to be perfectly logical, but anyone a bit smarter could see the problems, just like them.
"Where was Qiao Meng last seen after she came back?"
"Yuncheng."
These simple words made Shi Muyuan even more certain in her heart.
There was a hint of mockery on her lips. "Yuncheng is not a place that can be reached in just a few days and nights, but she managed to show up in Jincheng just in time. There must be some reasons behind this that need to be explored. By the way, did you find out anything else?"
"Yes. It's said that Qiao Meng seemed to have associated with some people from the Jianghu a few days ago. Those people have disappeared without a trace recently. We've ransacked the whole city but still haven't found them."
"Try to find those people as soon as possible. If this is true, then this Miss Qiao has an unknown background. She might be plotting something else behind the scenes."
"Okay."
Just like this, Shi Muyuan decided to hide their tracks and see if they could find any important clues first.
After the matter was settled, she began to decline visitors, claiming that she was not feeling well.
At this time, rumors spread outside.
"Have you heard? The empress dowager actually knelt down to Miss Qiao in public to get people to forgive her elder brother."
"I've never heard of such a thing. Since the founding of the country for so many years, it's the first time I've heard that the high - ranking empress dowager actually knelt down to someone else."
"Not only you, but I haven't heard of it either. It's unheard of. However, there seems to be other inside information about this matter."
"What do you mean?"
"Previously, Young Master Shi always suspected that this Miss Qiao had an unknown background, so he tried to test her. Finally, he angered her, and that's how this incident happened."
It seemed that there was a big secret behind all this. However, they all naturally sided with Shi Muyuan.
This was only natural. She was the empress dowager, and it was said that she had done a lot for the Great Liang. Now that she had finally come to their Jincheng, such a thing had happened.
The common people were afraid that the empress dowager would never come to their Jincheng again. One by one, they began to gather in front of the government office. All the ladies who had connections with Lord Huang's family flocked to Lady Huang.
"Lady Huang, you know that no one of high status has ever come to our Jincheng. We don't know how much good fortune we've accumulated to have the empress dowager come here. If we let the empress dowager leave disappointed, I'm afraid no one will ever visit our Jincheng again."
"Yes, Lady Huang. Now the empress dowager and several lords are staying at Lord Huang's place. Why don't you go and persuade Miss Qiao? Let her know what's good for her. It's already a great blessing that the empress dowager has taken a step back."
"Sigh, I know what you're thinking. Alright, I'll go as you said. But I can't guarantee the result. Miss Qiao seems to be a difficult person to get along with."
Her hesitant look caught the ladies' eyes and made them excited.
"As long as you're willing to go, we'll be relieved. If Miss Qiao is really ungrateful, then we'll make other plans."
"Okay."
Lady Huang dressed up in grand style and then went to find Qiao Meng. When she saw Lady Huang coming, the people in the room were still in a daze.
"I'm sorry to bother Miss Qiao's good mood by coming here unannounced."
When facing a person with an unknown background, Qiao Meng always remained on guard.
"I don't know who you are. What do you want from me?"
"I haven't visited Miss Qiao for so long. It's my fault as the mistress of the house. Please forgive me, Miss Qiao."
Her natural words made Qiao Meng lower her guard.
"So it's Lady Huang. I've been bothering you and Lord Huang for so long, and I haven't even had the chance to come and apologize. Come in quickly."
"I thought Miss Qiao would be difficult to talk to. It seems those are just rumors outside. I'll give those gossips a good lesson when I get back."
Saying that, Lady Huang walked into the room cheerfully. Seeing that there was no one else inside, she breathed a sigh of relief slightly.
This observing action was noticed by Qiao Meng beside her. She felt a bit uncomfortable and stepped forward to block Lady Huang's sight.
"Lady Huang, you don't need to go to so much trouble. The innocent will prove their innocence. I never listen to what others say. I just need to be myself."
"Miss Qiao is really insightful. Since you don't care, I'll be relieved."