Chapter 299

You think?

Li Qingluo almost let out a cold laugh.

This is truly the funniest joke she has heard in her two lifetimes combined!

Li Qingluo and Pei Lao Furen both ignored Qu Shi, who awkwardly wiped her tears and led everyone to rise.

「Mother, should the daughter-in-law help you home? 」

Qu Shi eagerly stepped forward, wanting to support her mother-in-law.

Pei Lao Furen flung her away.

She had no pleasant expression.

「Enough! What act are you putting on? 」

「How did I leave this family back then? You forgot, and pretend I could forget too, as if nothing ever happened? 」

「Qu Shi, your cheek is the thickest I have ever seen! Even a city wall turned corner isn't as thick as you. 」

Pei Lao Furen's few words gave Qu Shi, the mistress, no face at all.

Qu Shi's embarrassment could no longer be held back; she looked tearfully at Pei Lao Furen and Li Qingluo.

「Mother, Luo'er…… Do you have some misunderstanding about me…… I, I really……」

Pei Lao Furen snorted coldly: "Misunderstanding? Rest assured, if there is no solid evidence, I will not wrong you! 」

Pei Lao Furen said, then, supported by Li Qingluo, strode into the Jiangjun Fu.

The people of the second and third branches all looked at each other, not daring to say a word.

Since the Jiangjun Fu's reputation fell, they now dare not go out under its banner when leaving home, for doing so would only invite contempt.

It would be better to have the status of an ordinary commoner.

Now, in the eyes of the world, their Jiangjun Fu is nothing but a joke.

The people of the second and third branches all felt humiliated, and after being given a beating by the old lady of the Qu family, Lady You, they all felt they were better off living on the estate as before.

Moreover, Qu Shi manages the household in a terribly confused way!

Not only does the Qu family meddle in the Jiangjun Fu as they please, but she can't even tell right from wrong.

They guard against the people of the second and third branches as if they were thieves.

Really stupid through and through.

Compared to the Qu family, who actually hopes more for the Jiangjun Fu to prosper?

Everyone in the second and third branches lives feeling stifled.

Now the old lady has returned, the second and third branches finally see a glimmer of hope again.

The old lady should be able to revive the Jiangjun Fu's former prestige and reputation, right?

Moreover, I heard the old lady has plenty of money, while the household is now struggling; the monthly stipend keeps being cut, and sometimes it isn't even paid out.

The third branch is selling off some jewelry; only by exchanging it for silver can the madam and the young ladies afford bird's nest, and the young boys can afford schooling.

However, the old lady's attitude just now has made everyone's hearts beat with anxiety again.

Li Chao An whispered to Li Chao Huai: "Second brother, you say the old lady has come back; she won't be coming to settle scores with the main branch, will she?"

Li Chao Huai crossed his arms and gave a cold, indifferent smile: "What does their pettiness have to do with us? Just watch the spectacle; let's go."

Li Qing Ya looked with some worry at Li Qingluo's back.

Originally, upon returning to the Jiangjun Fu, I thought I would get along very well with this elder sister.

Who would have thought fate would toy with people; in her heart, she has never had any feelings for the second and third branches, has she?

Before they had even reached the front hall of the main house, a sudden cry rang out from the courtyard.

"Master—Master! Master, don't run, Master—"

A servant chased after the disheveled, filthy Li Chao Jing, who came running out.

Li Chao Jing dodged left and right, but was finally surrounded by two servants who had come running from the other side, and they shoved him to the ground in one push.

Seeing this, Qu Shi immediately glanced anxiously at Pei Lao Furen; seeing that her expression was unchanged, she then put on a stern face and scolded.

"Nonsense! How are you taking care of the master? Weren't you supposed to look after him properly in the main house?"

"How did he end up like this again?"

Qu Shi said, hurrying forward to grab Li Chao Jing, her eyes red as she coaxed: "Master, don't be afraid. Those damned servants—I'll punish them later and see to it that you're taken care of properly."

"Master, look at you—you've dirtied your clothes again. I just combed your hair this morning, and now it's a mess……"

Qu Shi said, and also wiped her eyes, feeling wronged.

"When exactly will you get better……"

"Mother-in-law, look—now the master is like this, the whole household is panicked, and the home is unsettled……"

"Those tasked with caring for the master have been changed eight or nine times already."

"Yet not a single one of them can look after him properly; the master never stops, spending all day either tearing down the house or trying to dismantle tables and chairs, and sometimes we don't even know what he's looking for……"

"Mother-in-law, I am truly incapable; please come back and take charge of the situation."

"If you can't clean up this mess or care for a mad husband, are you going to rely on the grandmother?"

"When she poisoned the grandmother, how could she not have imagined this day would come?"

Li Qingluo stared coldly at Qu Shi, and when their eyes met, Qu Shi also flinched away, a little flustered.

But then Qu Shi thought: As her mother, how could she be afraid of her?

Besides, she hasn't even blamed her for her older brother's affair, so how dare she turn her face away first?

As her mother, the moment she sees her, she softens her voice and says she misses her, yet she has never once called her "mother"!

Qu Shi's heart felt bitter, yet she grew even angrier and more furious.

She knows that with the Old Lady backing her, Luo'er is increasingly not putting her own birth mother in her eyes!

Thinking of this, Qu Shi couldn't help but summon her courage and look back at Li Qingluo.

But unexpectedly, Li Qingluo's gaze had already turned away, and she was looking at Li Chao Jing sitting foolishly on the ground.

Li Chao Jing sat on the ground, foolishly gazing at Pei Lao Furen, when suddenly he cried out, "Mother?"

After recognizing Pei Lao Furen, Li Chao Jing sprang up and flung himself onto her legs, clutching them: "Mother——! Where have you gone? I miss you so much I can't sleep day or night, waa—waa—waa……"

He truly burst into tears like a child.

Li Qingluo firmly supported Pei Lao Furen, preventing her from being knocked backward by the impact.

"You!"

She had intended to scold him, but seeing Li Chao Jing's current state, she couldn't utter a single word of blame.

Although he is utterly hateful, his fate now is utterly deserved, yet he stubbornly clung to his grandmother!

Li Qingluo truly feared that her grandmother would soften……

After all, back then her heart was utterly broken by Li Chao Jing, her only son, which is why she angrily left home.

Over these years, Li Chao Jing has been nothing but a knot in her heart.

Li Chao Jing continued to sob: "Mother, did you go off to the battlefield again?"

"The wooden horse you gave me, I can't find it."

"Mother, I want to make a new one myself, so when you return you won't be angry with me…… but, but I'm too clumsy; I've taken apart so much furniture and still can't make one, waa—waa……"

He was like a young child, innocently yearning for his mother's pity and love.

Pei Lao Furen extended her slightly trembling hand, but in the end she let it drop again.

Her sharp and icy gaze swept over Qu Shi: "You summoned me back so urgently—is it just to look at these?"

"To see how you mistreat my husband, how you throw the household into chaos, how you put on an act to trick me into returning?"

"Qu Shi, today I too must ask you properly—what good deeds have you actually done?"

"Someone, take the head of the household to the front hall!"

Having said that, Pei Lao Furen hurriedly brought Li Qingluo to the front hall, while Qu Shi anxiously wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

No, how could the mother-in-law possibly discover the truth?

Back then, even if she had suspected it, she would surely have been unable to obtain any evidence……

I must not let myself fall into disorder first.

There's still time for all of this, as long as Luoluo is still willing to marry into the Qu family.

As long as the mother-in-law can still return home.

Their Jiangjun Fu will absolutely not collapse!

Qu Shi held Chang Mama's hand and followed behind, but when Pei Lao Furen arrived at the front hall, turned, and sat down, she immediately ordered Zhang Mama and the others to seize Qu Shi first.

"Seize this vicious woman who harms the clan's offspring and has done every wicked deed!"

Qu Shi was immediately pressed to the ground.

Chang Mama shouted in panic: "Old, Old Lady, what are you doing, Old Lady! This is the mistress of the Jiangjun Fu, and also your daughter-in-law—how could you treat the lady like this——"

"Madam!!"

Qu Shi also looked horrified: "Mother, what are you doing? What exactly has the daughter-in-law done——"

Li Qingluo: "Don't rush. Whatever you did, today everything will be revealed in full detail."

Upon hearing her speak, Qu Shi immediately shouted: "Luoluo, I am your mother after all—are you really going to watch your grandmother treat me like this?"

"Luoluo——"

"Luoluo, I am truly your birth mother!"

Li Qingluo looked at her expressionlessly: "Birth mother?"

"Yes, birth mother, she constantly says I can never compare to your Zhu'er."

"Birth mother, she constantly says she would rather die than that it be you, not your precious darling."

"Birth mother, you colluded with your son to deceive me into your room, then knocked me out and brought me to the fake grave of Liu Qingzhu, demanding that I, your biological daughter, atone for your beloved adopted daughter!!"

"Birth mother, you just stood by and watched your own son hate me, persecute me time and again, even covering up his crimes for him."

"Even thinking that my wearing mourning clothes for Liu Qingzhu and keeping vigil at the spirit hall is not absurd or laughable?"

"Birth mother, time and again you threw away the meals I personally cooked, disliked my presence as a nuisance, gave me jewelry rotted into scrap metal, and clothes that never fit me at all."

"Are you fit to be a mother? Are you still my birth mother?"

"Birth mother, you conspired with the doctor and your son's poisonous scheme, wanting my flesh and blood to be used as medicine to cure your eye ailment caused by the adopted daughter's fake death?"

"Birth mother, therefore on the cliff you chose Liu Qingzhu, fearing the bandits would tear her apart, not even daring to tell Grandmother a word, preferring to miss the chance to save me rather than fail to save your adopted daughter!"

"You really are my wonderful birth mother!"

Li Qingluo, for the first time, laid bare the brutal truth of how Qu Shi had treated her, causing everyone present to stare at Qu Shi in disbelief, looking her over and over.

Especially the people from the second and third branches couldn't help but whisper to each other.

"How can the eldest sister-in-law be so vicious?"

"Yes, no matter how close the adopted daughter is, Luoluo is the birth child. I've long heard she played favorites and even mistreated Luoluo, but I never imagined she could be so vicious……"

"Hah, it's not just viciousness—it's outright stupidity and poison."

"There actually exists such a mother in the world—pfui!"

Indignant are Jiang Shi and Tan Shi, who likewise are mothers of the second and third branches; after all, no matter how they treat their own flesh and blood, they could never do such things, so at this moment Qu Shi's actions are utterly incomprehensible to them.

But Tan Shi suddenly shifted her tone and said: "But you say she loves Liu Qingzhu—how then does she still let Liu Qingzhu suffer like this?"