Chapter 15

Li Qingluo could not explain.

Say she is reborn?

Because she had died once, she only then knew Li Qingzhu's schemes.

She took this step today, using grandmother's people; indeed, it was not only to have a strong witness for future accusation and exposure of Li Qingzhu, but also because she truly had no one else she could use!

As for the matter of rebirth, she naturally could not tell anyone in the world.

After all, it is too fantastical, absurd and against the divine.

So, facing grandmother's precarious trust, Li Qingluo turned and slowly knelt before Pei Lao Furen.

She could only say: "Grandmother, earlier when we encountered the bandits' ambush, Luo'er already had doubts in her heart."

"Luo'er, let me be honest with you: Luo'er suspects it was Elder Brother's doing."

Pei Lao Furen made no sound.

Obviously, she also suspected the same in her heart!

Li Qingluo continued: "Elder Brother, even before he saw me, had already taken a dislike to me due to his preconceived notions about Li Qingzhu. He probably thinks my appearance and demeanor are too inadequate, that I am unworthy to be a daughter of the Li family, his sister, so he wanted to simply destroy me first!"

Pei Lao Furen: "Perhaps there is some misunderstanding in this?"

Although Pei Lao Furen also does not hold Li Kechuan's demeanor and temper in high regard, he is nevertheless the Li family's sole legitimate son, of her own bloodline.

Therefore, she does not wish for these blood siblings to become completely estranged and turn into enemies.

Li Qingluo followed Pei Lao Furen's words: "Yes, if Elder Brother is also being bewitched by someone? Luo'er truly does not want to think of Elder Brother as so vicious. So, Luo'er wanted to have someone return to keep watch on the Jiangjun Fu, hoping to find some clues."

"Moreover, since the bandits did not succeed, Luo'er wondered whether the person behind them might still act; unexpectedly, it turned out to wait until Li Qingzhu's self-immolation..."

Pei Lao Furen did not necessarily believe all of Li Qingluo's words.

But besides this explanation, she herself could not say otherwise; could it be that she truly possesses foreknowledge?

Perhaps, all this is truly a coincidence?

She merely had a somewhat more meticulous mind, which is why she happened to let Deng Mama encounter the rear-corner gate affair.

Pei Lao Furen then asked Li Qingluo to speak about her thoughts on the rear-corner gate matter.

Li Qingluo: "That maid's identity is doubtful, so we need to investigate covertly. As for the rest, Luo'er cannot say for sure now and dares not make random guesses."

Pei Lao Furen nodded and gave Li Qingluo a deep look.

"You have clearly never lived in the inner quarters, yet you are not stupid. I will have people continue investigating this matter; you just don't need to worry about it for now."

Li Qingluo wanted to worry, but lacking the manpower, she obediently agreed straightforwardly.

After Li Qingluo left, Pei Lao Furen had Zhang Mama speak her inner opinion on the matter.

Zhang Mama: "Old Lady, may this old servant dare to speak?"

Pei Lao Furen: "Speak, there will be no punishment."

Zhang Mama: "You say, that maid, could she be that little wild bastard...?"

Pei Lao Furen gave Zhang Mama a sideways glance, as if saying: "You really dare to think that?"

Zhang Mama wiped the sweat from her forehead, chuckled: "You said there would be no punishment."

Pei Lao Furen: "Then go on and say."

Zhang Mama: "This old servant is merely guessing wildly. Didn't Deng Mama say she was escorted by several guards, and even covered her face inside and out with two layers, so affected and trying to hide—could there be something in this manor even more unsightly than her?"

"Besides, this old servant does not believe she could commit such a resolute act of self-immolation! If one truly wanted to die, a rope hanging would be easier; burning to death is so painful."

"However, only burning to death, burning the face beyond recognition, can conceal one's identity."

Pei Lao Furen: "Thus, this is too fantastical! You say, if she really faked her death, what exactly is she plotting?"

Zhang Mama: "What else could it be? To let our legitimate daughter be hated by the whole family! You also saw today, General, Madam, and the eldest son—they all look at the maiden with eyes that wish to devour her alive."

"Obviously, they already all hate her."

Pei Lao Furen's eyes flashed with a hint of ruthlessness: "If that is the case, this little bastard's mind is far too vicious!"

Zhang Mama sighed: "Poor our Miss Luo, encountering such a hateful plot, truly she is mired in a quagmire from which it is hard to escape. Her days ahead in this household..."

Pei Lao Furen: "How? After I have returned, could they still skin her alive?"

"According to me, if someone wants to make this family's blood relatives turn against each other, they would rather go against that villain's intentions!"

"If Luo'er is clever, she should instead win over the hearts of her parents and elder brother, let the family live in harmony, so that when that little bastard finds out, he will regret his actions!"

Zhang Mama echoed with a nod.

But in her heart she thought: "Old Lady, you also know that this family are all hearts of stone and heads of wood. Otherwise, you would not have been forced into despair and left, going to the QingSong Guan!"

"And once you left, it was thirty years!"

Pei Lao Furen sighed deeply again: "However, these are merely us master and servant guessing wildly here; that maid's true identity, and whether Li Qingzhu really died, have not yet been definitively concluded."

Zhang Mama: "Old Lady is right. These are all this old servant's wild guesses. I dare not utter another word of them; if the General and others hear them, I fear I would also have to lose a layer of skin."

Pei Lao Furen: "You have Deng Mama continue to watch that residence, to confirm whose it is. Also, the identities of those guards—are they from the Jiangjun Fu or from that residence?"

Zhang Mama agreed, turned and hurried off to carry out the assignment.

Li Qingluo returned to her room, sat down, drank a sip of water, then began to recall today's events.

Li Qingzhu escaped through the rear-corner gate; indeed she chose an excellent moment.

Today, grandmother and she returned home; almost all of the Li family's servants were in the front courtyard to greet them, except for a very few who were busy inside the residence.

And Li Qingzhu's planning of this must have been long in the making, so she could divert the remaining few gazes, achieving a complete cicada's shedding.

The one who died in her place was her personal maid of over ten years, Bi'er.

And the guards who met her outside to facilitate her departure must be Prince Yun's men.

This Li Qingzhu must have long been secretly colluding with Prince Yun.

As for whether their relationship is private affection or purely transactional, it remains unknown.

Moreover, this Li family surely has at least one more person who is in league with Li Qingzhu, inside and outside, to pull off this affair!

This person, who could it be?