Chapter 19: Grandmother Rules; Otherwise No Funeral

Several grandmothers knelt silently in the corridor.

Li Qingluo also knelt among them, and the gruesome scar on her neck made Pei Lao Furen feel a pang of pain when she saw it.

She was indeed bold, daring to face her brother with scissors; that was some nerve.

"Luo'er, get up quickly! In this matter, you are truly not at fault."

Zhang Mama stepped forward to help Li Qingluo, but Li Qingluo refused to rise.

She looked up, her face anxious as she stared at Pei Lao Furen and voiced her plea.

"Grandmother, although Cui Er is not my person, she has at least served and cared for me these past days; today she was angered by the eldest son because of my involvement."

"But she was previously a person by my mother's side, yet she was only a third‑rank maid, so no one would care about her life or death. Still, Grandmother, please help Luo'er and at least spare Cui Er's life!"

Li Qingluo's sincere desire to save a maid moved Zhang Mama and the others.

In this world, can there still be a master willing to kneel and plead for such cheap lives as theirs?

And they, master and servants, have only been together for a few days.

If one speaks of deep affection, there is none.

This shows how sentimental and righteous Li Qingluo is.

Everyone's eyes reddened as they looked at Pei Lao Furen, waiting for her decision.

Pei Lao Furen is not that cold‑hearted and ruthless, is she?

What she values most has always been loyalty and righteousness.

She had Zhang Mama pull Li Qingluo up first, and then she instructed another grandmother, holding her Token, to go to Li Kechuan's courtyard and bring Cui Er back.

"Don't worry, although your father said to drop this matter, Grandmother will certainly decide for you!"

Pei Lao Furen wanted to back Li Qingluo in this, and besides Li Kechuan's truly vicious act, he even dared to cause trouble in her own courtyard, completely disrespecting her as Grandmother, which made Pei Lao Furen extremely angry!

In this household, truly no one regards her!

Pei Lao Furen dropped the harsh words, saying that if, regarding today's matter, Li Kechuan does not show an attitude, then Li Qingzhu's funeral need not be held any longer.

When those words were spoken, although the whole family was angry, they still had to compromise.

Li Qingzhu is the jewel of the entire Jiangjun Fu, but in Pei Lao Furen's eyes, she is just a little wild seed.

Although Pei Lao Furen has just returned and has not overseen Jiangjun Fu for thirty years, it is clear that Li Chao Jing and his wife cannot defy filial propriety, so they can only order Li Kechuan to promptly hand the person over.

That evening, Cui Er was sent back to Jingci Tang.

Although she suffered a few flesh wounds, fortunately her life was not in danger.

Moreover, Qu Shi allowed, to show a bit of sincerity, that Cui Er's personal contract was also sent to Jingci Tang.

"The lady said that these past two days the mansion has been chaotic, and she truly cannot find the energy to arrange matters for the second miss, so we kindly ask the Old Lady to watch over and help settle things."

"These are the two bolts of cloth the lady had the maid bring, along with some jewelry, all prepared long ago to give to the second miss."

"The rest will be arranged for the second miss after this period passes."

After speaking, the people of Qu Shi hurried away, leaving two dark‑colored, ordinary fabrics that even Pei Lao Furen would not look at, plus a small box.

Pei Lao Furen opened the small box; inside were only two or three pieces of jewelry, their styles old and obviously worthless.

Pei Lao Furen's complexion grew so grim it seemed it could drip ice.

"Even if it's to send away a beggar, it shouldn't be this stingy!" Zhang Mama muttered softly beside her.

Pei Lao Furen hummed, picked up the examined items in her hand, and threw them back.

"What a clueless fool! Jiangjun Fu lacks only that little thing? And this is her own blood! In over ten years she hasn't been cared for, yet only this shameful paltry offering was prepared—how disgraceful!"

Pei Lao Furen originally intended to discard everything, but Li Qingluo stopped her.

"Luo'er doesn't find it shameful; these are already the best things Luo'er has ever seen. Grandmother, just leave them to Luo'er."

Li Qingluo was not lying.

She had previously been at the Liu family, wearing tattered, rough hemp garments patched all over her body.

In the cold winter months and scorching summer days, she wore those same two outfits; ever wanting a seasonal or intact set was always a luxury.

Now the two clean, simple outfits she wears were the ones Zhang Mama originally prepared to give her, and they are the finest clothes Li Qingluo has ever worn.

Zhang Mama originally thought the journey was long, so she chose simple attire so as not to attract attention.

But she didn't expect that upon arrival it would be delayed so long, and to this day she still hasn't provided a new set.

Pei Lao Furen watched, feeling a pang of sorrow.

However, she thought she could not let this develop further; if the girl filled her heart with resentment toward her parents, it would be of no benefit to her!

"Your father and mother... they probably haven't yet awakened from the sorrow of Li Qingzhu's tragic death, so... don't blame them. When your mother has mourned enough, she will see you and think of you. Then, whatever good she has, won't she cling to you? She only has you as her own daughter."

Li Qingluo lowered her head and answered affirmatively, but no ripple stirred in her heart.

Grandmother, that won't happen.

Even if Li Qingluo dies, her own father, mother, and brother would not feel sorrow for her, let alone spare another glance.

These careless attitudes now have long been anticipated and even previously experienced by her.

In this life, at least Jingci Tang offers her shelter from wind and rain; the previous life's misery... need not be mentioned.

Li Kechuan perhaps feared that Li Qingzhu's funeral would truly be blocked by Pei Lao Furen, and worried that any mishap would keep his beloved little sister from peace, so he gritted his teeth and brought out some items as compensation for Li Qingluo.

His items turned out to be better than those given by Qu Shi.

It was a box of pearls of rather poor quality.

"These things, even when ground for a facial mask, are already somewhat inferior."

Zhang Mama sighed with compassion, knowing this family was thoroughly perfunctory about the matter, and her gaze toward Li Qingluo was even more pained.

Li Qingluo, however, did not mind.

In the previous life she never obtained any of these; in this life, this already counts as a good start.

Moreover, keeping these items, she will have her own use for them.

Li Qingluo thanked Pei Lao Furen and Zhang Mama, then took the items and went back to her room.

Pei Lao Furen, seeing her leave, only then asked Zhang Mama to arrange buying some fresh, bright fine fabrics, and any head flowers or pearl hairpins must be the styles that the young girls of Jinling City currently love the most.

"By the way, you should go to Fragrant Hall yourself tomorrow, buy a few boxes of Snow Skin Pills and Frost Skin Ointment, then give them to her for use!"