Chapter 22: Held down before the spirit hall, kneeling to burn paper money

She finished speaking, turned around with her hands behind her back, and quickly left. When the Zhuang family's people came looking again, Zhuang Wei sat slumped against the water tank, like a stray dog.

At this moment, his mind was filled with that pair of overly bright black eyes.

He actually scolded him, calling him trash!?

Zhuang Wei had never suffered such insult in his life!

Li Qingluo finally arrived at West Market, walked around twice, then chose the smallest blacksmith shop and entered.

"Shopkeeper, I want to have a sample of this item made; I don't know if you can make it?"

Li Qingluo took out a sheet of paper from her sleeve and handed it to the blacksmith who came out.

The man had his upper body bare, oily and black-shiny; Li Qingluo did her best to keep her gaze on his face and steady her breathing, so he wouldn't notice any hint of her discomfort.

The drawing Li Qingluo made herself—she wanted a dagger for self-defense.

The dagger must not be too large, so it can be carried on one's person.

It also couldn't be just a dagger; she wanted a double-headed tool, one end a blade, the other a sharp iron pestle.

After her previous fight with Li Kechuan, Li Qingluo deeply realized that a mere pair of scissors could not protect her.

So, she came up with this idea overnight, and, relying on her imagination, drew this thing herself.

Originally she had no confidence, but unexpectedly, when the blacksmith saw the drawing, his eyes lit up.

"This item... where did you, young sir, get it from? It's really ingenious!"

Li Qingluo didn't expect that her casual thought would actually earn praise.

She didn't say it was her own drawing, only asking: "Can you make it?"

Blacksmith: "I can make it! Of course I can, but I need three days."

Li Qingluo was pleased: "Good! I'll come pick it up in three days. By the way, how much silver does it cost?"

Blacksmith: "Two taels of silver will do!"

Li Qingluo breathed a sigh of relief; although not cheap, it was far cheaper than she had imagined.

She readily paid one tael first, and would pay the remaining one tael upon delivery in three days.

With that settled, Li Qingluo lingered no longer and immediately returned to the Li Manor.

Three days later.

Li Qingluo arrived as promised, went to the blacksmith shop in West Market, and picked up the dagger she had commissioned.

The dagger is finely crafted; it looks like an ordinary small knife, but the hilt can be easily pushed open to reveal the iron pestle Li Qingluo wanted, equally sharp and usable as a weapon.

After paying, Li Qingluo was about to leave when the blacksmith suddenly said: "Young sir, may I buy the drawing of this small knife from you?"

Li Qingluo didn't know that this could also be sold for money.

She wanted to make money, so the drawing could naturally be sold.

The blacksmith gestured and said: "Young sir, if you're willing, please come inside."

Li Qingluo looked at the pitch-black interior, shook her head: "Never mind, we can talk here; I won't go in."

One cannot be without caution; though she didn't want to think ill of people, the world certainly isn't full of good people.

The blacksmith didn't insist, clasped his hands and said: "Our employer has taken a liking to this young sir's small dagger and wants to produce more in bulk. However, the employer said that since the young sir brought it, he must know who drew the design, and wishes to do business."

Li Qingluo: "I drew it myself; you can negotiate directly with me."

The blacksmith's gaze toward Li Qingluo gained a touch of admiration: "Young sir, you're truly inventive. This dagger, so finely made, looks like an ordinary dagger but is already a concealed weapon."

Li Qingluo: "Overpraise; it's just a self-defense trinket."

Blacksmith: "If so, I won't waste words. Young sir, our employer is willing to pay this amount to buy your drawing; do you agree?"

The blacksmith extended a palm; Li Qingluo secretly startled: Five taels of silver? That much?

Before she could respond, he added: "If fifty taels still don't satisfy you, young sir, we can still negotiate."

How much?

Five, fifty taels?

Not five taels, but fifty taels?

Back when I was at the Liu household, five taels of silver could support the entire Liu family for a year!

And in these past few days, she had already saved nearly a hundred taels!

Going out today, this was simply an unexpected joy.

Li Qingluo immediately agreed.

One hand exchanged the drawing, the other received a bulging sack of silver, and she quickly left.

The blacksmith held the drawing, returned indoors, went to a dark corner, and presented it to a tall, thin black-clad figure.

"Young master, that young sir who took the money has already left."

The black figure lifted his head; shadows covered half his face.

But the exposed skin was deathly pale, like a corpse, and his lips had no color at all.

Though it was midsummer, the black figure was still warming himself by the furnace, yet his whole body would occasionally shudder involuntarily.

He took the paper depicting the dagger, glanced at it, then tossed it into the nearby furnace.

"Young master! This..."

This is fifty taels of silver!

But the black figure replied: "Could it be that you don't even remember how this thing is made?"

The blacksmith lowered his head: "I naturally remember it."

He simply couldn't understand why the young master would give that young sir fifty taels of silver.

Even if we secretly made a thousand of these little items, that young sir might not know.

Moreover, given how many coincidences exist in the world, even if that young sir noticed, he'd have nowhere to seek redress.

The black shadow only said: "This person is greedy for wealth, but not greedy-hearted. So, he will surely come again. Perhaps he will bring me some surprise... cough, cough, cough..."

Li Qingluo, upon returning to the Jiangjun Fu, first hid these fifty taels of silver.

And now, sitting in the room, she pressed her still-pounding chest, and her mind indeed became lively because of this.

Who would have thought that a single sheet of a self-defense weapon's drawing could be exchanged for fifty taels of silver!

Moreover, the blacksmith's intention originally allowed for a higher price to be negotiated.

But she did not want to reveal her nervousness, so she took the money and left after being satisfied.

But what if... she drew more of these drawings?

Could these drawings still be sold for money?

Perhaps, it is to let the other party feel satisfied and yet have never seen such a weapon.

Li Qingluo wanted to go to her grandmother's place to borrow a book on weapons and take a look.

Just as she had this thought, Cui Er came to knock on the door: "Miss, the Old Lady summons you."

Li Qingluo hastily washed her face, changed clothes, and went out.

"Luo'er pays respects to grandmother."

Li Qingluo paid respects to Pei Lao Furen, saw Qu Shi sitting to the side, and then called out: "Greetings, Mother."

This was the first time since Pei Lao Furen returned that Qu Shi came to pay respects to her mother-in-law.

Unlike in her previous life, Li Qingzhu's false corpse did not remain in the Jiangjun Fu for long, and was buried yesterday.

Under Pei Lao Furen's protection, Li Qingluo also did not, as in her previous life, have Li Kechuan press her daily to kneel before the spirit hall and burn paper money.

Even yesterday's burial, Pei Lao Furen did not appear, and no one dared to disturb the entire Jingci Tang; naturally, Li Qingluo also enjoyed some peace.

However, she knew that Li Kechuan would certainly not let it go like that.

In her previous life, Li Qingluo was forced to guard the spirit before Li Qingzhu's spirit for seven full days, but on the day Li Qingzhu was buried, Li Kechuan continued to punish her by making her kneel before the spirit hall from which the coffin had already been taken.

He demanded that Li Qingluo again recite sutras for Li Qingzhu for seven days.

"Zhu'er's soul cannot find peace, and all this is your doing! Li Qingluo, you must recite sutras to liberate Zhu'er for seven days! If after seven days she still does not rest, you must then recite for another seven times seven, forty-nine days."