Eldest Son was the lineal son and she relied on him, so she valued him the most. Second Son was obedient and had a bad health when he was young, so she spent a lot of efforts to take care of him, so the mother and the son had a very deep relationship.
Her Eldest Son was the lineal elder son, and she had to take care of her Second Son, so her Third Son was neglected. She had intended to let her Second Son become successful in his studies, but her Second Son failed and her Third Son became an Advanced Scholar, which made Madame Lady Qiao feel very annoyed.
It was as if she had proved that she had bad taste.
Also, County Magistrate Qiao spent most of his time as an officer, so Madame Lady Qiao and her family became even more distant.
When County Magistrate Qiao was seeking to return to the capital, his two brothers cheated him of money. Madame Lady Qiao knew about this, but pretended not to know.