Ms. Lu was watching with her eyes wide open.
The townspeople did not speak much either. They only walked to Xie Qiao and left her after they had placed the things down.
The two pieces of stone sent earlier were even more eye-catching.
She had seen it early in the market that morning. This piece of stone was actually priced at 80 taels of silver. It had even been numbered. She wanted to buy it, but now that she had lost her money, she could not.
And now it was in this brat's hands?!
Ms.. Lu's heart clenched again. She was so mad she could barely breathe properly.
At that moment, a pair walked over, an old woman in her forties and a girl who looked like she was 15 or 16 years old.
They made a dash toward Xie Qiao, then they said, "Ms. Xie, let us accompany you. "
"Alright, let's tidy up the things here and move them to the carriage." Xie Qiao promptly nodded and started to order them around.
Ms. Lu was even more shocked. "One moment."
"Is there anything, Mom?" Xie Qiao's tone was mild.
"These... These are all gifts from others. Why are they giving you gifts? Could you have been using your father's good name to rob the townspeople here?" Ms. Lu spoke her mind.
However else would it be? She was just a 16-year-old brat. How else would she be so well received and garner so many favors?
"Pfft—" Xie Qiao could not help but accidentally let out a scoff.
"The imperial city is a long way from here, way too far from this place. If my father's name had traveled all the way here, would you still have been robbed this morning?" Xie Qiao laughed. "These are just from some small favors that I have done for them in the past. Now that they heard that I'm leaving, they are just sending some things as a token of appreciation."
"Xie Qiao, this jade too? If we were to add these two pieces up, it would be worth 160 taels of silver. How could the regular townspeople afford it?" Pei Wanyue asked.
"Oh, those. Indeed, those are not gifts." Xie Qiao glanced over the stone. "The shop owner owes me money, and he doesn't have the cash to pay me back. Now that I'm rushing off, he's using these as mortgage."
"Xie Qiao, you are too much. Are you trying to be a loan shark? Creating personal mortgages could land you in court. You have to understand that clearly," Pei Wanyue blurted out. As soon as she said her piece, she dipped her head down and shot a glance at Ms. Lu.
Ms. Lu's gaze was burning with rage.
Xie Qiao let out a light sigh.
"I don't need to explain all of my actions to you. It would be too much of a hassle." Xie Qiao frowned.
They were going home together today. So she would not want the conflict with her stepmother and her stepsister to continue.
Even if she were to explain, they would have other questions coming in waves, one after another. There would be no end to them.
"You… Do you still consider me as your mother? I'm doing all this out of concern for you!" Ms. Lu raised her voice as she pointed to the stone and said, "You have lived in the Taoist temple since you were young, and your father never paid any attention to you. Where did you get the money to lend to others?! You will explain this clearly to me. Otherwise, don't you think of coming back to the imperial city with us. Our family does not have anyone as embarrassing as this."
Xie Qiao's chopsticks halted mid-air.
The inn went quiet immediately.
Pei Wanyue's eyes gleamed. All the things that had happened along this journey would definitely make their way to Uncle Xie's ears. Then when the time came...
"This lady must be Ms. Xie's stepmother, right?" The counter attendant suddenly walked over. "You two seem like it. After all, if you were her own mother, then you could've just asked her in private. There wouldn't be a need for such a loud interrogation."
Ms. Lu's face reflected her embarrassment, but she stood her ground. "This is all for her own good. In fact, she has done wrong this time."
"Madam, what you said earlier didn't really need Ms. Xie's explanation. If she had to speak for everything, her opinions would no longer be as precious as gold?" The counter attendant scoffed. "It is but only two pieces of stones. They are gifts from the Zhang Family Jade shop, right? The son and his mother nearly died a few years ago, but they were saved when they were sent to the Water Moon Temple. Ms. Xie had also sent them two roots of premium ginseng. He didn't have the money at the time, so they kept a loan tab on it. Everyone knows about this."