The moment Fang Ming said these four words, Qiao Mao could no longer remain calm, the expression on his face became extremely ugly, and his body was trembling slightly.
Even though Qiao Mao didn't respond, his expression had already let Zi Yu and others know that Qiao Mao was right by Fang Ming.
"Qiao Mao, what is going on? If you don't explain it clearly today, then you won't be able to leave."
Ye Mei hadn't spoken yet, but Ling Chuchu had given up. Her best friend's life was actually in danger. If she hadn't been able to defeat Qiao Mao, she would have rushed forward now.
"Qiao Mao, let me tell you, your Qiao family should not try to bully Ye Mei, otherwise don't blame us for being rude."
Zhang Shuchen also spoke. Although they were only women, this statement also represented the Ye family and the Zhang family.
"Tell me, I'm also very curious about the secret on that wedding dress." Fang Ming looked at Qiao Mao calmly, "You love Ye Mei, otherwise you wouldn't have deliberately pretended to hate Ye Mei.
Now you are about to get engaged to Ye Mei, but you still can't protect Ye Mei, are you going to watch Ye Mei become a victim of your Qiao family?"
Qiao Mao looked at Ye Mei. When he saw Ye Mei's dazed look, a look of guilt appeared on his face. After a while, he sighed and said: "Well, since you have said so much, even if I
There's no point in hiding it, I think you've probably guessed the truth."
Seeing Qiao Mao looking at him, Fang Ming didn't respond. He had a guess, but it was just a vague guess. Qiao Mao still had to tell him the details.
"Come to the study and I will tell you everything."
Qiao Mao walked towards the door, Fang Ming nodded and followed him. The group walked out of the secret room and returned to the study.
In the study, the bookshelf fell to the ground, but Qiao Mao ignored the chaos in the study, looking at the wedding dress hanging on the wall with a complicated look. After a while, he looked away, with a look of relief on his face, and said: "
Before I tell you the truth, let me tell you a story."
"All ears." Fang Ming replied with a smile.
"More than a hundred years ago, the feudal dynasty collapsed and entered a state of warlord chaos. The entire country's classes were reshuffled, and many traditional industries were also affected, and the tailoring industry was one of them."
In Qiao Mao's story, time is pulled back to that chaotic era.
At that time, the war was raging, but the Qiao family in the capital did not suffer much impact or damage, because the Qiao family's tailoring skills were famous, and no matter which warlord invaded the capital, they all needed to make clothes. The most famous one
The Qiao family is naturally the most popular.
The business of the Qiao family was very good, but at that time the head of the Qiao family did something big. Because they had made clothes for the royal family for many years, the Qiao family had deep-rooted feelings about imperial power. When the Forbidden City was occupied by Yuan Shikai,
A concubine from the palace hid in Qiao's house.
The last emperor of the Qing Dynasty was Puyi. It was rumored that he had no descendants. But in fact, the royal family had already received the news before Yuan Shikai wanted to force him to the throne. Puyi even favored five or six women in private, hoping that the blood of the royal family could be used.
Don't be controlled by traitors.
But at that time, the Forbidden City was already surrounded by Yuan Shikai's people, and ordinary people could not get out at all. Only the Qiao family could enter and exit the Forbidden City because they sewed clothes for the royal family. It was precisely because of this convenience that Puyi favored him.
Only a concubine could be secretly taken out of the palace.
Of course, this concubine is not a real concubine, but a palace maid. After all, Yuan Shikai knows very well about members of the royal family. If there is a missing concubine, he will inevitably be discovered. Only a palace maid can escape Yuan Shikai's eyes.
The palace maid came to the Qiao family with the royal seed and the imperial edict to be canonized as a concubine. This imperial edict was to prove the identity of the palace maid. If the palace maid really gave birth to royal blood, then with the imperial edict, she could call
Get up the remaining power of the royal family outside.
At that time, the royal family had not completely given up on its empire, and the Qiao family was one of the secret forces of the royal family.
In the end, the concubine was indeed pregnant, but she was pregnant with a girl, and the power of the royal family was slowly dissipating. Knowing that there was no hope of restoring the country, the concubine did not want her daughter to be in danger in the future for the sake of restoring the country.
Therefore, he did not tell his daughter about his royal status.
After all, this concubine was just a palace maid before and had little loyalty to the royal family. However, in order to thank the Qiao family for the adoption, she decided to let her daughter marry a young master of the Qiao family's generation.
At that time, the Qiao family had lost its previous glory, and was slightly better off than ordinary people. However, when the concubine left the palace, she brought many things from the palace, including a wedding dress. It is said that this wedding dress
It was originally prepared by the palace for the child in the concubine's belly. If it is a princess, it will be the wedding dress. If it is a boy, it will be worn by the concubine in the future.
The marriage was held in a low-key manner, but after marrying the Qiao family, the princess began to slowly help the Qiao family embark on the road to rejuvenation, and the Qiao family began to show its glory again in her hands.
"I believe you all know that the Qiao family in this story is my family, and the princess is the great-grandmother of my Qiao family."
Qiao Mao looked at everyone. This story was not very thrilling. The only highlight was the secret identity of Grandma Qiao's great ancestor: a descendant of the Qing Dynasty royal family.
"Qiao Mao, this is your Qiao family's business. What's the point of telling us this?"
The status of being a descendant of the Qing Dynasty royal family may have had some effect during the Republic of China, but in today's new society, imperial power has long since collapsed, and being a descendant of the royal family is nothing more than an ordinary status.
"Because that wedding dress is the one on the wall." Qiao Mao said slowly.
"What!"
Ling Chuchu and others had a look of shock on their faces. You must know that Qiao Mao's grandma Taizu was from the Republic of China, and this wedding dress was brought by the concubine from the palace. It has a longer history, but this one in front of her
The wedding dress is obviously a new dress, how could it be the same one?
"I know it's hard for you to believe it, but that's the truth. This wedding dress is the one worn by my Grandma Taizu. In addition, I can tell you that in addition to Grandma Taizu, this wedding dress is also worn by my grandma.
Pass through.”
Qiao Mao seemed to have completely let go and did not hide anything. Then he added meaningfully, "I'll tell you one more thing. My Qiao family's family fortune has fallen into decline twice, and the two times have been glorious.
It's in the hands of my great-grandmother and my grandma."
"this……"
Everyone present was not a fool, and they understood what Qiao Mao meant in his words, that is, this wedding dress was not simple.
"Wait, I still don't understand, but what does this have to do with Ye Mei's safety? Your grandma gave the wedding dress to Ye Mei, so according to what you said, the Qiao family will be in Ye Mei's hands again.
If you carry it forward, that’s a good thing.”
Ling Chuchu just felt that her brain was a little out of use, and the more she thought about it, the less she understood.
Qiao Mao had a bitter smile on his face. It was obvious that he didn't want to mention the following content, but at this time, he also knew that there was no point in hiding it anymore.
"Let me show you two pictures."
Qiao Mao picked up a book from the bookshelf, then opened the page and took out a key. Then he squatted down under the desk. After a while, Ling Chuchu and others heard the sound of the lock opening.
.
"Are you really..."
Thinking that Qiao Mao not only made a secret room, but also made a secret compartment under the desk, Ling Chuchu and others didn't know what to say. After a while, Qiao Mao stood up, holding a box in his hand.
When the box was opened, everyone's eyes immediately turned to it, only to find that there were only a few photos inside the box, a few yellowed black and white photos.
"It's just a few photos, do you want to hide them so secretly?" Chen Ze said with some disgust.
"Because you know what these photos mean, you wouldn't say that."
Qiao Mao glanced at Chen Ze and took out these photos. The first photo was a wedding photo, with only two people in the photo.
"This is the wedding photo of my Grandpa Taizu and Grandma Taizu."
After showing the photo to everyone, Qiao Mao took out a second photo, which was also a wedding photo. There was also a man and a woman in the photo, but judging from their clothes, the people in this photo were obviously
It's a little more fashionable than the previous photo.
"This is the wedding photo of my grandpa and grandma."
Ling Chuchu and others could not see any problems with the two wedding photos, but when Qiao Mao then took out two cropped photos, Ye Ziyu and the other girls screamed in surprise.
The photo is of two old people, wearing different clothes and from different eras. However, the faces of the two people in the photo are exactly the same, including their smiles and expressions.
"These two people are my grandma Taizu and my grandma." Qiao Mao said with a wry smile.
"This is impossible."
Ling Chuchu snatched the photo from Qiao Mao's hand, took out the two previous wedding photos, pointed at the two women on them and said: "Your grandma Taizu and your grandma look nothing alike, how can they be so old?"
Will it become the same?"
"Qiao Mao, you didn't deliberately take these photos to make up a story to deceive us." Zhang Shuchen also said with suspicious eyes.
"What's the point of me lying to you?" Qiao Mao shook his head and said: "Actually, I only discovered this photo by coincidence. I was no less shocked than you at the time. Besides, you know why I deliberately pretended to hate Ye Ye when I was a child.
What does Mei look like?"
Ling Chuchu and others shook their heads, but Fang Ming's eyes were fixed on Qiao Mao at this moment, waiting for his answer.
"Because my grandma told me since I was little that this wedding dress was for my wife, and I once saw my grandma put on this wedding dress and climb into the coffin of Grandma Taizu."