kingnovel Chapter 288 Accident
Chapter 288 Accident
The person who prompted Li Xiaonuan to formally seek a family connection was Qi Ji's grandfather, Old Master Qi.
Li Xiaonuan looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old man with gray hair being supported by a boy of about 18 years old and a girl of about 11 or 12 years old, walking slowly over.
Li Xiaonuan knew the little boy; he was Qi Ji's cousin and also the fourth young lady's younger brother.
Just now, that child was standing behind the Fourth Miss and trying to persuade her to keep quiet.
It is clear that Old Master Qi was the savior brought in by this young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes.
When they say "savior," they're obviously referring to Li Xiaonuan.
Previously, when Xiao Gang was studying with Qi Ji at the Qi family mansion, Li Xiaonuan had vaguely heard about this boy named Qi Zhi.
From Xiao Gang's beaming face, Li Xiaonuan knew that Xiao Gang really liked this child.
After today's events, Li Xiaonuan understood why Xiaogang liked this child so much.
Seeing the displeasure on Old Master Qi's face, Li Xiaonuan thought: It's better to avoid trouble. Anyway, they're going back to the village soon, so why create discord within their own family?
"Grandpa, I was just joking. Please don't take it seriously. Besides, our Xiaogang paid respects at the Qi Clan Ancestral Hall today, so we're all family now. There's no need for us to claim kinship." Li Xiaonuan greeted him with a smile, bowed, and then said with a smile.
Upon hearing Li Xiaonuan's words, Old Master Qi smiled. He stroked his beard and told the many younger members not to stand on ceremony.
"Look at this child, he speaks so well, I love to hear it." The old man didn't need anyone to offer him a seat; he sat down in the pavilion himself.
The fourth young lady objected when she saw Old Master Qi praising Li Xiaonuan.
The fourth young lady pouted, stomped her foot, and, wringing her handkerchief in her little hands, called out in a coquettish voice, "Grandpa~"
This sound not only gave Li Xiaonuan goosebumps, but also froze Old Master Qi's smile on his face.
"Can't you speak properly? How old are you? Still acting like an infant. Aren't you ashamed? Humph, I think we should hire a governess. Otherwise, you children don't know any manners at all." Old Master Qi's mustache twitched as he spoke, which was quite amusing.
Li Xiaonuan's previous words were intended to divert the old man's attention. Unexpectedly, the fourth young lady ended up walking right into the line of fire.
Seeing that her efforts had been in vain, Li Xiaonuan decided not to take any more action.
Old Master Qi has returned, and presumably he has already paid his respects at the ancestral hall. Now is the perfect time to resign.
After all, the family is going back to the village the day after tomorrow, and they have a lot of things to do.
To be honest, they were supposed to have a meal at the Qi residence today. However, Li Xiaonuan wasn't going to continue enduring their disdain here.
Before coming, Li Xiaonuan had already booked a banquet at Taibai Tower, which would be delivered soon.
“Grandpa, my sisters were just joking with me, how could they take it seriously? I see it's getting late, we should take our leave. Grandpa, we have to set off back to the village the day after tomorrow, we still have many things to do. Let Xiaogang stay here and get acquainted with people. My parents and I need to go back and make some preparations later.” Li Xiaonuan said apologetically.
It's not that Li Xiaonuan intentionally embarrassed the Fourth Miss in front of others; it's just that Li Xiaonuan simply didn't want to deal with it.
Might as well just leave.
This was something that had been discussed before coming to the Qi residence, and Qi Ji and Madam Qi were aware of it.
It's Old Master Qi. Xiao Gang must have explained it to him before.
Therefore, when Li Xiaonuan resigned, apart from the incredulous expressions of the young ladies, Old Master Qi only sighed slightly.
"Hey, you should go back early. Originally, you should have stayed for a drink, but since you're busy, we won't insist." After saying this, the old man stood up and told Qi Zhi to go to the front yard to inform Li's father to wait for Su Shi and Li Xiaonuan at the door.
Li Xiaonuan smiled knowingly and bowed again to thank the old man. Afterwards, Li Xiaonuan bid farewell to the young ladies one by one.
Although many of the young ladies still clearly showed their mockery and disdain, with the old master present, they refrained from saying anything further difficult.
However, the fourth young lady said as Li Xiaonuan was about to leave: "Remember what you said today, and don't turn around and start clinging to my second brother again."
Li Xiaonuan smiled faintly. It seemed all her words had been wasted.
Indeed, those rich young ladies all love to indulge in wild fantasies.
"Don't worry, Fourth Miss, I would never stoop so low as to cling to a family that looks down on me. Even if I were to marry again in this life, I would insist that the entire family welcome me. Otherwise, I would never consider such a marriage." While Old Master Qi was glaring at her, Li Xiaonuan quietly slipped away.
Just now, Old Master Qi actually wanted to reprimand those noble ladies. However, these aristocratic families were too bound by rules and etiquette.
The responsibility of disciplining those noble ladies rested with their mothers. And the only people who could directly give these orders to their mothers were their mothers-in-law, brothers and sisters-in-law, or husbands.
As the eldest man in the family, the old man couldn't possibly condescend to discipline his ignorant granddaughter.
Of course, if that person were Old Madam Qi, the situation would be different.
Unfortunately, Madam Qi passed away many years ago.
Li Xiaonuan chose to avoid it simply because she didn't want to put Old Master Qi in a difficult position.
At that time, if Old Master Qi hadn't reprimanded the Fourth Miss, it would have seemed like he was neglecting Li Xiaonuan.
However, if he were to scold or berate the Fourth Miss, it would be against the rules of etiquette.
Li Xiaonuan planned to go back to Nuange to find Madam Su. However, Madam Su was currently strolling in the garden.
Therefore, Li Xiaonuan had just turned through the moon gate when she saw Su Shi.
However, the Su family's current situation is very bad.
"Mother, Mother, are you alright?" Li Xiaonuan ran over and helped Su Shi up, who had been knocked to the ground.
Beside Su was an old woman carrying a kettle. Steam was rising slowly from the spout of the kettle.
There was also a large water stain on Su's left thigh, which was steaming at the moment.
Looking at Su's pained face, Li Xiaonuan knew that she had been burned.
Even in this winter, Mrs. Su was dressed quite warmly. Underneath her cotton skirt, she wore cotton trousers.
Even so, the water was so hot that it scalded her pants, which shows how deliberately the water was poured on Su Shi.
Li Xiaonuan vaguely remembered that when she turned the doorway just now, the water in the kettle was still being poured out.
It was only after Li Xiaonuan called out "Mother" that the old woman straightened the kettle.
Li Xiaonuan couldn't help but think of a possibility, and suddenly felt a chill run through her body, her eyes blazing with anger.
The consequences of Li Xiaonuan's anger are very serious. Because she is a very impulsive person, she always handles things on a whim.
This is why Li Xiaonuan got involved in the coup.
But Li Xiaonuan is not one to learn from mistakes. Even though she regretted her impulsiveness that caused trouble for her family before, she is still unwilling to tolerate it at all.
"You wretched old woman, how dare you scheme against my mother! I'll kill you!" After cursing, Li Xiaonuan snatched the old woman's water jug, kicked her to the ground, and was about to pour the water jug on the old woman's face.
"Stop! Stop right now! Who do you think you are, daring to hurt people in our Qi family mansion?"