"I didn't steal anything from you!"
"You didn't steal it, so why are these jewelry in your room?"
When Qi Chengxu and Jiang Fu arrived, Qi Baoxin was escorted to kneel on the open space in the inner courtyard, and many servants stood under the corridor to watch.
There was a bundle spread out on the round table beside Ji Shu, which was full of Baochai earrings.
"Baoxin!"
Qi Baoxin turned around and saw Jiang Fu and the two of them. She cried and broke away from Xitao and rushed towards them.
"Auntie! My mother wronged me! I didn't steal from my mother!"
Jiang Fu pushed her daughter behind her and looked at Ji Shu angrily.
"Ji Shu, the child is so young and has committed some heinous thing. You have to make her kneel down!"
"These jewelry are all gifts from the Queen Mother, and they add up to no less than a hundred gold. If this level of theft is reported to Dali Temple, it will be a punishment of exile."
Ji Shu nodded at the baggage at hand.
Jiang Fu's pupils shrank, and Qi Baoxin was so frightened that she hugged Jiang Fu's thigh tightly.
"Ji Shu, don't talk nonsense. Baoxin said she didn't steal it! She's only five years old, can she lie!"
Qi Chengxu had a righteous look on his face, which made Ji Shu laugh.
She raised her hand and said, "Tell me."
Xitao: "This slave has found a dozen servants and secretly gathered outside Madam's room. There is also a nurse on the roof, so they can see clearly!"
Qi Chengxu and Jiang Fu lost all expression on their faces.
"Yes, we all saw it. It was the room that Miss Bao entered and stole the hosta."
"She's familiar with the road. It's not the first time she's seen her. She even knows where the wife puts her dowry."
The maid who usually took care of Qi Baoxin knelt on the ground, feeling extremely guilty.
"Miss Bao has always wanted to eat some difficult snacks these days. Yesterday it was jujube cakes, today it is cassava balls. The slave can only go to the small kitchen to help her make it. I thought Miss Bao would be well-behaved and stay in the room honestly. , I didn’t expect that she deliberately sent the slaves away to steal things!”
Qi Chengxu looked at Qi Baoxin in shock, "Is what they said true?"
"Wow--"
Qi Baoxin had nothing to say, so he burst into tears and buried himself in Jiang Fu's arms.
"Xitao, bring Miss Bao here."
After Ji Shu gave an order, Xitao strode forward and dragged Qi Baoxin over.
Jiang Fu was heartbroken and immediately grabbed Qi Chengxu's sleeves.
Qi Chengxu strode forward and snatched Qi Baoxin back.
"Okay Ji Shu! What's the big deal! Baoxin is only five years old and is not sensible yet. Why are you holding on to the child! When did you become so petty?"
"If my child does something wrong, I, as a mother, will naturally have to discipline her. If I don't care, who will bear the responsibility if she makes a bigger mistake in the future?"
"I'll take the responsibility! Baoxin has always been sensible, she will never do it again!"
Qi Cheng's preface is conclusive.
This was what Ji Shu was waiting for. She shook her head and said, "Second Master doesn't want me to take care of it, so forget it. It's just that she stole my things and she needs to apologize to me."
"Ji Shu, you are too stingy!"
"Then let's report it to the officials and ask them to come and see who is responsible for my grievances."
"you!"
Qi Chengxu's face turned pale and he put Qi Baoxin down.
Qi Baoxin's eyes were red from crying and he looked at Ji Shu bitterly.
"sorry!"
Ji Shu nodded happily, "Very good, I hope you really remember it and don't do it again next time."
Qi Chengxu hugged Qi Baoxin and quickly left Changle Yuan with Jiang Fu.
Everyone in the courtyard had subtle expressions on their faces. Xitao waved her hands to them, and then everyone bowed and stepped back.
Xitao leaned close to Ji Shu's ear.
"Madam, did you let Qi Baoxin go so easily?"
"Just watch."
Ji Shu chuckled and asked Xitao to take the jewelry back to the room.
On the other side, Qi Chengxu and Jiang Fu took Qi Baoxin to find the old lady.
As soon as the matter was mentioned, the old lady immediately became angry and said, "This Ji Shu is getting even more shameless when he cares about a child."
"I think she planned it early on, pretending to adopt Jinxing and Baoxin, and then finding various reasons to tease them! After all, she is not her biological mother."
Qi Chengxu said angrily.
"If Fu'er hadn't told me in time, Baoxin would have suffered a lot."
The old lady's eyes softened when she looked at Jiang Fu.
Jiang Fu shyly avoided Qi Chengxu's gaze and said warmly:
"So Brother Xu and I want the old lady to keep Baoxin for a while, but we're afraid that Ji Shu will be angry and do harm to Baoxin again."
"It's okay, just leave it here with me."
The old lady found Mother Song and asked Jiang Fu to carry Qi Baoxin down.
After they left, the old lady asked about Qi Chengxu.
"By the way, what do you think of the errands of the Military and Horse Department? Are you satisfied?"
The old lady deliberately kept Qi Chengxu in the capital. The Beijing army was much more comfortable than fighting outside. It was enough for Qi Ye to charge into the battle outside.
Qi Chengxu was so angry.
"That's it. I patrol the streets all day and don't have anything else to do. It's very boring."
"The Military and Horse Department has a lot of affairs, a low official position, and slow promotion. It is indeed not a good place. Those people with no eyesight have arranged for you to be placed in a place like this!"
The old lady patted her knees angrily and suddenly remembered:
"By the way, I heard that as the end of the year is approaching, tributes from various places are being shipped to the capital one after another, and they are being counted. I have an old friend's son who is the commander of Habayashi Youwei, and he happens to be handling this matter. Let’s do it. I’ll send someone to tell you and tell you to follow suit. If you do it well, you can enter Yulin Right Guard.”
Qi Chengxu was very excited, "Grandma, don't worry, my grandson will do well!"
The old lady's connections were extremely useful. On the next day, the commander of Yulin Right Guards sent three large boxes of tribute to the Wuding Marquis Mansion.
"You don't need to do anything else. There is a booklet here. You just need to check the items and quantities on it with the items in the box, and then keep it safe. Wait until the father-in-law in the palace comes to pick it up, and that's it."
The commander patted Qi Chengxu on the shoulder, "These are sent directly to the emperor. If they are done well, there is hope for promotion."
"Thank you, sir! Meals have been prepared at home, please show your respect!"
Qi Chengxu entertained them with good wine and food, and personally escorted them out of the house.
He called for Chen Chen, his chief attendant, "Send all the things to the warehouse. I will start taking stock early tomorrow morning. Remember, no mistakes are allowed!"
"Yes, Second Master!"
Ji Shu came back from the granary and happened to bump into Chen Chen and his servants carrying boxes on the front porch.
Xitao was surprised, "Didn't the second master just accept the commission from the Military and Horse Division? What's the trouble?"
Ji Shu raised the corner of his mouth, motioned Xitao to come closer, and whispered a few instructions.
Xitao's expression was unpredictable and she nodded obediently.
"Don't worry, madam, I will take care of it right away."
