Chapter 472: A Shi Listens to Luoluo Talk About the Mother Consort!

Duan Rongshi: "These are not important."

"It just seems that my mother and the abbot of Jiaoguan really had a relationship."

Li Qingluo kept shaking her head: "No, Duan Rongshi."

"However, this really isn't a place to talk, so she could only explain in a few words: 'My mother never loved him.'"

"It's just that back then, my mother had no better choice."

"So when he sweetly said he wanted to be my mother's prince consort, and compared to all the other suitors around my mother, none were as good as the appearance that Xie Huaiyuan put on, my mother only then believed him."

"But over time, perhaps because jealousy turned to hatred, or perhaps because the Xie family got implicated in a corruption scandal back then, he ended up doing something that let down my mother."

"With no other recourse, my mother personally said she would go to DaLiang as a marriage-alliance princess."

"Li Qingluo recalled when my mother spoke of the past; although her expression was indifferent, as if she had let everything go, a faint sorrow still flowed uncontrollably in the depths of her eyes."

"In this world, countless people say they love her, Zongzheng Qingyue."

"But it is also these people who, with knives, have left her covered in wounds."

"Li Qingluo felt as if she were experiencing it herself, her heart aching."

"Duan Rongshi, we must avenge my mother!"

"She said this solemnly."

"Although Zongzheng Qingyue doesn't even want to see these people again, Li Qingluo, having been born into the mortal world and lived two lives as a human, must seek justice and avenge my mother!"

"Seeing her furious expression, Duan Rongshi felt a warmth in his heart."

"It seems you get along very well with my mother?"

"She... how does she appear?"

"The Underworld—I seem to have been there, in a daze. There, the atmosphere is heavy with death, and all around is gloom."

"My mother, why has she not yet been reincarnated?"

"Li Qingluo saw that he truly believed everything, and she couldn't help but feel excited."

"My mother is doing well."

"Duan Rongshi, she truly is a very, very good person."

"Every beautiful description of women in the world can apply to her."

"Perhaps because a Guanyin statue in her likeness was made here, she has also received immeasurable incense merit."

"And it is precisely because of this merit that she could defy fate and send me back to my previous life."

"Moreover, she resides in the Upper Realm of the Underworld, where birds sing and flowers fragrance, and it's spring all year round."

"My mother's palace is even more like a celestial palace—spacious and bright, yet cool and comfortable."

"Moreover, my mother no longer needs to undergo the suffering of reincarnation; she will leave the Underworld for the higher realm as soon as we settle on a result that satisfies her."

"However..."

"Li Qingluo looked somewhat troubled at Duan Rongshi, 'My mother once said before sending me back, if I saw the reason that caused her to receive endless incense merit, let me... destroy it for her.'"

"It seems Zongzheng Qingyue already knew what was going on in this Ningyuan Temple."

"But she couldn't say it to Li Qingluo."

"She perhaps knew that Li Qingluo would eventually come to Great Chu because of her, and would inevitably discover the truth of this Ningyuan Temple."

"So Zongzheng Qingyue wants Li Qingluo to destroy this Guanyin statue..."

"Duan Rongshi tightly grasped Li Qingluo's hand and agreed: 'Okay.'"

"Being able to hear these details about my mother, Duan Rongshi also felt greatly comforted and satisfied."

"Moreover, he believes every word Li Qingluo says, every sentence."

"As it turns out, my mother really went to a wonderful place."

"Then, the annual offerings I and the mute servants make for her—she should be able to clearly perceive them, right?"

"Upon thinking of this, his heart, which had been dark and damp for over twenty years, finally began to gradually become bright and warm."

"When he once wandered as a soul searching for Luoluo, the Underworld he had visited—turns out my mother was there."

"It's just a pity that my mother didn't come out to see him."

"Just as they finished speaking, Sha Yi threw a stone into the courtyard: 'Miss!'"

"After he shouted, Li Qingluo then let them enter the courtyard."

"Sha Yi: 'Miss, a mighty procession has come down the mountain.'"

"Sha Si had already gone to scout; it is exactly the Second Princess of the Great Chu state and her household, servants, numbering no less than a hundred."

"Li Qingluo: 'So many people?'"

"This Second Princess really does love grandeur."

"Li Qingluo looked at Duan Rongshi: 'Duan Rongshi, have you investigated what this Second Princess has done to my mother?'"

"Duan Rongshi: 'She stole the Chu Emperor's writings and secretly sent them to Empress Gao of DaLiang.'"

"So, my mother's death back then was caused by her secretly fanning the flames."

"Li Qingluo: 'That's not all!'"

"She is a maggot in a gutter, always resenting my mother's affection for the Chu Emperor, resenting my mother receiving the utmost honor as the legitimate princess, and resenting that everyone in Great Chu loves my mother."

"Especially Xie Huaiyuan—she had long admired him, which made her hate my mother even more."

"So back then she wanted to completely ruin my mother's reputation."

"In secret, she did many dark, sneaky evil deeds."

"She spread rumors that my mother and Xie Huaiyuan were no longer pure."

"She also said that my mother's palace kept dozens of male favorites, each extraordinarily handsome and unrestrained."

"At the grand ancestral worship ceremony, she also schemed to make my mother embarrass herself and lose propriety; if it weren't for the Chu Emperor truly favoring my mother, that mistake would have already stripped her of her princess title."

And yet, after the fact, they still couldn't find any trace of her framing.

Later, the mother consort's reputation in Great Chu kept worsening, and it was all her doing!

Today, I finally get to meet her properly!

Li Qingluo said, clenching her fists tightly, her joints emitting a 'Crack!' sound.

Duan Rongshi stood with his hands behind his back, listening, and also narrowed his eyes deeply.

Soon, the Second Princess of Great Chu and her entourage entered the mountain gate under the solemn welcome of the monks of Peaceful Distant Temple.

After completing the incense burning, worship, and sacrificial rites one by one according to old custom, the Second Princess and her party finally came, dragging their weary bodies, to the rear wing rooms, preparing to settle down.

But upon seeing the cramped little courtyards they were assigned—when in previous years even the servants could have spacious quarters—this year everyone came forward, complaining bitterly that there was simply no room to stay, and the Second Princess finally realized something was amiss.

Monk Jiechi, what on earth is going on?

I have never received such treatment in previous years.

Moreover, I donate at least a thousand taels of silver in incense every year—do you mean that in your Peaceful Distant Temple I can't even find a spacious place to stay?

Great Chu's Second Princess, Zongzheng Zhiyuan, glared with her icy, beautiful eyes at the fat monk Jiechi in anger.

Although she is already forty-four years old, thanks to good maintenance, her face hardly shows a single wrinkle.

Adorned with pearls and jade ornaments all over her head, she looks even more magnificent and noble than the bodhisattva in the hall.

Beside her, her young daughter, Princess Changning, quickly said: 'Mother, you're used to staying in the east wing rooms; although it's just barely enough to lodge there, it's still a bit more spacious than here, and the lighting is better.'

Just now my daughter inspected it—this room is moldy everywhere, not to mention there's a strange smell.

The Peaceful Distant Temple is increasingly disregarding us!