Chapter 4

Pei Lao Furen suffered a heavy blow, and she fiercely slapped Li Chao Jing.

That is the Li family's eldest legitimate son.

Even if the old general returned, he would still take out his anger on Pei Lao Furen.

"He is still just a child; why take out your anger on him? Over these years, Aunt Deng has indeed devoted all her heart and blood to caring for him. Jing'er is still young, so it's only natural for him to regard her as his mother."

Pei Lao Furen stared at her husband with a face full of shock, as if forced to swallow a fly, feeling both nauseated and heartbroken.

Two years ago, she was wounded in the abdomen on the battlefield while saving his life; now, even if she wished for another affectionate child, she could no longer have one.

Thus, the Li family is destined to have only this one legitimate son!

But her son was not close to her, and her husband despised the scars on her body; Pei Lao Furen grew disheartened and weary of the disgust within the inner residence, so she simply moved to this Qingpine Temple to seek peace and recuperation.

Thus, it has been thirty years.

After hearing what Zhang Mama said, Li Qingluo appeared as if she wanted to speak but held back.

Zhang Mama encouraged her to speak if she had something to say; Li Qingluo lowered her head, twisted her fingers, and sighed, "Although I have never seen my father, … but there is something I must say: this is the Li family, I am sorry to the Old Lady …"

Zhang Mama's eyes lit up slightly. "Oh? What does the young lady say?"

Li Qingluo's ears turned red, as if she were struggling to break free from a most disrespectful shackle, and she had to exert great effort to continue speaking softly.

"Although I have never seen the world, I did occasionally hear people talk about some of the customs of wealthy families when I was in the countryside."

"It seems that the Li family initially allowed Aunt Deng and my father to be overly familiar, blurring the master-servant distinction, so my father grew up not knowing who was close and who was distant. Aunt Deng's care for him is meritorious, but it cannot erase the greatest merit of the Old Lady as his birth mother."

"Furthermore, the Old Lady's abandonment of my father back then was for the sake of the Li family and Grandfather; one could say that without the Old Lady, there would be no later Li family at all."

"Therefore, the Li family is unkind and unjust toward the Old Lady. And my father toward the Old Lady is disloyal and unfilial …"

After saying that, Li Qingluo again covered her ears with a fearful expression.

"If these words reach my father's ears, then even if I were struck by heavenly thunder, it would still be what I said, without falsehood."

Zhang Mama was completely amused by her honest, simple, yet timid and fearful demeanor.

"Hahaha! Good young lady, good young lady! Don't be afraid; even if thunder rolls in the heavens, this old servant will protect you!"

Having said that, Zhang Mama walked away smiling with narrowed eyes.

Li Qingluo watched her go, then slowly lowered her hands from covering her ears.

She coldly remarked in her heart: "As it turns out, the Li family's attitude toward close blood relations is twisted at its root."

At this moment, she actually felt a sense of shared suffering toward the Old Lady.

Thus, her resolve to win over the Old Lady's heart naturally became even more determined.

After returning to Cui Zhu Courtyard, Zhang Mama knelt and recounted to Pei Lao Furen once again the whole story of what she and Li Qingluo had just discussed, as well as Li Qingluo's subsequent words.

Although Pei Lao Furen was annoyed that she had told her past affairs to the younger generation, she was even more shocked by the words Li Qingluo had spoken.

"Did she really … say such things? Saying that the Li family is unkind and unjust toward me, and that her father is disloyal and unfilial toward me?"

Zhang Mama hastily nodded: "Yes, Old Lady; after the young lady finished speaking, she almost frightened herself to death, and she knew she had spoken words of great impiety."

Pei Lao Furen's face quickly flashed a thin trace of anger: "Truly audacious! To dare utter such rebellious words so casually!"

Zhang Mama lowered her head in trepidation: "Old Lady, please don't be angry; I see that the young lady's thoughts are overly simple, and she has not received proper etiquette instruction, which is why she spoke these words."

Pei Lao Furen let out a deep sigh.

"What am I angry about? Her words are all for my sake."

"I am angry with her; if even a single word of these were to reach the Jiangjun Fu, how could she possibly still have a chance to live?"

Pei Lao Furen's gaze fell upon Zhao Mama, her eyes containing a warning admonition that made Zhang Mama shudder all over.

Indeed, the old ginger is still spicy.

The Old Lady considers the young lady's long-term welfare, unlike myself, who merely seized the moment to utter these words.

"This old servant knows I was wrong. I guarantee that today's words, I will rot them in my belly and never leak even half a character!"

Only then did Pei Lao Furen nod slightly, no longer quarreling with Zhang Mama, who had served her closely for decades.

"I never expected that, despite having been cast out since childhood, she is still the Li family's sole member whose heart has not been warped."

Zhang Mama asked: "Old Lady, would you be willing to see the young lady?"

Pei Lao Furen, however, still shook her head.

"Don't rush; let's look again. I want to see whether she is genuinely honest and simple, or merely putting on a show for me."

Li Qingluo is indeed not in a hurry.

Each day, besides practicing calligraphy, she goes to the vegetable garden of the Daoist temple to help the Daoists hoe and plant vegetables.

Her hoeing and planting are proper; she can also discuss with the Daoists what the problem is when vegetables suffer pests or poor harvest.

Some of her insights have even genuinely helped the Daoists resolve some of their confusions.

Having earned the Daoists' trust, Li Qingluo even personally went to the back kitchen to cook a few times.

She has been stirring pots since childhood, so she is quite skilled.

When she cooks well, she personally brings it to the outside of Cui Zhu Courtyard, letting Zhang Mama take it in for Pei Lao Furen to taste.

At first, Pei Lao Furen was unwilling to eat it, so she rewarded it to Zhang Mama and Ying'er and the others.

Later, upon hearing Zhang Mama and the others praise its deliciousness, she could not help but eat a few bites, and as a result her eyes also brightened.

"I never expected that this girl would have such culinary skill."

But then I immediately thought that this skill came from her childhood hardships, and my heart inevitably felt a pang of pity.

"I hear that she spends each day in this Daoist temple living very leisurely and contentedly, enjoying herself?"

Pei Lao Furen was considering whether to summon Li Qingluo tomorrow to have her pay her respects, when a servant hurriedly reported: "Old Lady, something terrible! A group from the Jiangjun Fu has arrived, saying they will forcibly take the young lady down the mountain into the city!"

"The young lady has sworn to resist, but she has already been trussed up tightly!"