Chapter 7: The Power Over Life and Death Should Be in Your Hands

Pei Lao Furen seemed to have heard incorrectly.

"What did you say—?"

She couldn't help but be amused by Li Qingluo's fanciful notion.

"You want me to return to the Li family with you? Girl, do you know I've been secluded at Qing Song Temple for thirty years? I have long ceased to set foot in the worldly turmoil!?"

Li Qingluo looked up at her, "Grandmother, are you truly willing? Back then, just because the Deng family employed a small scheme, you were abandoned by your son, cold‑treated by your husband, and burdened by the entire Li family."

"You fought on the battlefield, saved your husband, slew enemies, earning all the fame, honors, gold, silver and treasures, yet all of it was given to others to enjoy."

"And you, because of a fleeting temperament, because you grew weary of competition, because you saw through worldly ties, blood relations, even marital bonds, you willingly left, confining yourself to this small corner, spending a bleak life. But on what grounds?"

"It should have been yours, so why let others take it?"

"Even if you don't want it, it is still yours. The Li family's glory, its authority, everything, the power over life and death, should be in your hands."

"Even if grandmother refuses, it cannot be left to someone she dislikes to enjoy; would that truly satisfy her heart?"

Li Qingluo's gaze sincerely met Pei Lao Furen.

Pei Lao Furen said nothing, merely quietly looking back at Li Qingluo.

Li Qingluo knew she had overstepped, perhaps grandmother now deeply regretted having retrieved her from the mountain hollow and found such a meddlesome person.

But this was also her only chance!

If she could not move grandmother, she would remain in a passive position, returning to the Li family with no backing, no power or money, and any action would be a victim's role.

Pei Lao Furen stayed silent, and Li Qingluo continued.

"Grandmother, granddaughter knows she overstepped. But granddaughter truly has no way out, which is why she disturbs you. With no support, if she returns to the Li family now, she will certainly be unwelcome."

Pei Lao Furen slightly frowned, then asked, "You have some misunderstanding with your brother, yet how dare you speak like this without ever having met your biological parents?"

Li Qingluo gave a lonely, bitter smile, "Grandmother, although granddaughter grew up in the mountains and never saw the world, she understands well. I heard that father and mother adopted Liu family's biological daughter."

"Although the Li family publicly claimed they gave birth to twin daughters, and I was kept in Jiangnan due to frailty, now returning to the capital because my health improved, this shows father and mother did not hold any grudge against the Liu family or even Li Qingzhu, and even feared rumors harming her, so they gave her a respectable lineage, making her the true legitimate eldest daughter of the Li family."

"My legitimate elder brother is the same; even those who have never seen me already treat me like a runaway slave. What hope can I have?"

"They cherish Li Qingzhu as if she were a precious gem; if I return, how could I not feel estranged from them?"

"When faced with injustice, grandmother, do you think they would side with the daughter they have loved for sixteen years, or with me, a latecomer with no bond?"

"Grandmother, they seem not to value blood ties. Otherwise, they wouldn't have treated you that way back then."

"To them, perhaps only those who earn their genuine hearts can establish themselves in the Li family. Yet their sincerity is so rare—cannot be achieved day after day."

Pei Lao Furen's expression relaxed.

Indeed.

She never received her son's true heart back then; perhaps she had her husband's, but later, wasn't it simply thrown away?

This made her truly recall her own situation back then.

But she ultimately said nothing else, only letting Li Qingluo go first, as she needed to think over this matter.

After Li Qingluo left, Pei Lao Furen summoned Zhang Mama.

"She knows the situation of Jiangjun Fu so clearly; did you tell her?"

Zhang Mama: "I have mentioned a few words to the young lady... Old Lady, what's wrong? The young lady is completely frightened, right? The eldest son's deeds are indeed out of line..."

Pei Lao Furen stared at the old servant who had followed her for decades, sighed, and shook her head.

"You, you really are an old simpleton! All these years have been wasted. What have you become after being deceived by that girl?"

What simple honesty, naive innocence—she clearly sees that girl as very shrewd!

However, she ultimately did not continue to pretend before me; the candid words she confessed felt more like a surrender.

"Mama, tell me... if I return to Jinling Jiangjun Fu now, what will happen?"

Zhang Mama's mouth widened in astonishment.

Pei Lao Furen saw this and grinned.

Heh, that's interesting.

The next day.

Li Qingluo didn't know what decision Pei Lao Furen would make, so she grew a bit restless.

After patiently writing for an hour, she went wandering in the vegetable garden.

The Taoist priests were digging sweet potatoes today.

Li Qingluo went to help, her hands getting covered in mud.

The Taoists laughed at her, yet liked her unpretentious, unbothered attitude toward dirty work.

Soon, Li Qingluo opened the conversation, naturally steering it toward the esteemed person of Cang Song Back Mountain.

Ling Fengzi glared at her: "Shh! I advise you not to inquire further about that esteemed person. Otherwise, your life won't be safe."

Ling Fengzi made a motion of wiping his neck.

Li Qingluo quickly raised her arm to protect herself.

Whether Zhang Mama or the Taoists, they all seemed to avoid mentioning the person from Cang Song Back Mountain.

It seems indeed not something she can inquire about.

Li Qingluo was sensible and knew her own weight; she was merely a tiny ant now, so aware of the danger, she no longer wished to meddle.

She stopped, and raised the bunch of sweet potatoes in her hand, laughing, "All the Taoist masters, would you like a sweet potato feast?"

When Li Qingluo was seven, she was sold to a wealthy household at the foot of the mountain, working in the kitchen for two years as a general helper.

Those were the most relaxed two years of her rural life.

Later, the wealthy family got into trouble; a kind Old Lady, before the officials arrived, released their servants, and Li Qingluo was then taken back by Liu family's 'father'.

She has always had some culinary talent; having seen many cooking methods in the back kitchen, she knew how to make sweet potatoes tasty.

In no time, she prepared several sweet potato dishes in the kitchen.

Fried sweet potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes boiled in sugar water, steamed sweet‑potato puree, candied sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes stir‑fried with cured meat, sweet potatoes in soup…

The dishes made Ling Fengzi and the others stare in amazement.

Li Qingluo took a portion herself, personally delivered it to the Emerald Bamboo Courtyard, and left the rest for the Taoist priests.

That night, the small courtyard behind the Azure Pine Mountain also received several plates of fresh dishes.

The Taoist delivering the food handed the basket into the courtyard; though he shouldn't have been looking around, he accidentally caught sight of patches of red on the ground and a number of bodies already cold to the touch.