Chapter 3 Her grandmother was her only support.

Zhang Mama's face flashed with surprise, "Miss...really? But weren't you in a hurry to go back to the manor to visit the General and Madam before? Why are you suddenly not in a hurry now?"

Li Qingluo had indeed seemed very eager to see her biological parents.

The sudden change in attitude does indeed raise suspicions.

Li Qingluo sighed and said, "To be honest, I just had a dream."

"In my dream, I seemed to see an old man with a white beard holding a whisk. He first scolded me, saying that I was an ungrateful and stupid person! Although I was able to clear my name and return to my family, I forgot the origin of all the credit."

"I am truly terrified. I am still shaken after just waking up... Granny, it is my fault for being so confused before. I was so eager to find out about my origins."

"But I really should have gone to visit my grandmother first. Without her, I would still be just a wild girl in the mountains, and I'm afraid that in two months they would have sold me off to a cripple or a blind man to live out my days! How could I be where I am today?"

Li Qingluo's words eventually moved Granny Zhang.

She smiled and nodded. "Qingsong Temple isn't far from here; it'll only take another hour or so. If you wish to go, young lady, how about this old servant takes you there to pay your respects? However, I can't guarantee whether the old lady will even see you."

Although the steward and servants had some objections, Zhang Mama's status was clearly not low, so they could only obey orders to turn the carriage around and temporarily change course towards the direction of Qingsong Temple.

It wasn't until the carriage stopped outside Qingsong Temple that Li Qing got off and looked at the Taoist temple in front of him, and finally had a real feeling in his heart.

This life, from this moment on, is no longer the same.

However, the old lady really refused to see her, which was something Li Qing had never expected.

“Miss, the old lady said that she knows you have been here, which is already a kind gesture. She asked this old servant to take you back to the Li family, to help you get to know your family, and to let you stay in the mansion for a while. I will come back when everything is going well.”

Li Qingluo was quite surprised when she heard this!

In her previous life, Granny Zhang didn't accompany her into the mansion!

Not to mention giving her any advice in the mansion, or saying something like, "Wait a while longer!"

I never expected that the old lady would be so kind to me when I had only come to the Taoist temple and hadn't even met her yet...

This old lady was indeed somewhat different from the rest of the Li family.

Since Li Qingluo was going to come, how could she give up so easily?

She immediately stated her position: "Granny Zhang, I will not go back. I have come to pay my respects to my grandmother in good faith. If she refuses to see me, then I will wait until the day she is willing to see me. Please help me make arrangements, Granny Zhang, as I will be staying at the Taoist temple for a while."

Li Qingluo turned to the side and bowed slightly to Zhang Mama. Although the gesture was hasty and sloppy, it conveyed the intended meaning.

This surprised Granny Zhang greatly.

This stubbornness and unwillingness to give up easily, coupled with her unconventional attitude, is somewhat reminiscent of the old lady in her youth...

I just don't know how many more days it can last.

After Li Qing settled down at the Taoist temple, the manager and the servant were clearly getting restless.

Early the next morning, the steward went back to Jinling first, saying he was going to report back, but left a servant behind to guard the place.

Li Qinglu sneered.

What, if she's not in a hurry to go back, the charade of Li Qingzhu's self-immolation can't continue?

In her previous life, Li Qingzhu left a final letter on this very day and then committed suicide by self-immolation.

The fire burned down more than a dozen houses belonging to the Li family, leaving behind several charred maids and her own 'body'...

The entire Li family was in unbearable pain and their lives were filled with unimaginable suffering.

In this life, Li Qingluo is not in a hurry to go back; she just wants to see if Li Qingzhu is still in a hurry to self-immolate.

Li Qingluo asked Cui'er to keep an eye on things in the city, and she would stay at the Taoist temple for the time being.

However, for three consecutive days, the old lady showed no intention of seeing her.

Moreover, the old lady's residence was located behind a quiet bamboo grove, with several old maids guarding the entrance, so Li Qingluo could not rashly barge in.

She had no such reckless intention.

Granny Zhang would come to see her once a day.

Li Qingluo borrowed some paper and pens, and every day she would force herself to sit quietly for an hour in her room, then practice calligraphy in a crooked and messy way.

Her handwriting is really awful.

Granny Zhang secretly hid one of the papers and took it back to show the old lady. After reading it, the old lady's brows furrowed deeply.

"Pfft—"

The maid Ying'er beside them laughed.

"Madam, the girl's handwriting really looks like a caterpillar. Look, there are big ones and small ones too."

The old lady angrily flipped the paper over and slammed it heavily onto the table.

"Don't laugh!"

Ying'er quickly lowered her head, not daring to make another sound.

But the page on the other side was even worse than a caterpillar...it was practically crawling like a dog!

The old lady couldn't help but twitch her lips.

Granny Zhang glared at Ying'er and said, "Get out! Why are you so talkative!"

"Madam, if you ask me, it's already very good that the girl has this kind of heart. She's never held a pen since she was little; all she's ever handled are fire pokers, hoes, sickles, and axes. You didn't see her hands; they're even worse than those of the kitchen helpers!"

"She's only sixteen this year."

"She should have been born a young lady, but now she can't even read a single word. This old servant saw her trying to write like those Taoist characters on the wall, and although her writing was... really ugly, she didn't feel ashamed at all. Isn't that what it means to be willing to risk everything?"

The old lady scoffed coldly, "You certainly know how to speak well of her. Whether you dare to take the plunge remains to be seen."

"However, her handwriting is so ugly it's unbearable to show to anyone! Go and take that calligraphy practice book from my cabinet to her. Don't let her waste any more paper."

Granny Zhang chuckled, "Yes. Madam, you're all talk and no action. You clearly love the younger generation and appreciate ambitious children. That calligraphy practice book was prepared for the General back then, wasn't it? It's a pity it wasn't used all those years ago..."

Seeing that the old lady's expression was not good, Zhang Mama stopped talking.

She took the calligraphy copybook and immediately delivered it to Li Qingluo.

Li Qinglu was flattered and overwhelmed.

After receiving it with both hands, I made a solemn promise to keep it safe and cherish it.

Seeing that she was becoming more and more sensible, Granny Zhang was not in a hurry to leave, but instead sighed deeply.

"Young lady, do you know... why the old lady has lived in Qingsong Temple for so many years, but never returned to the General's Mansion?"

In her previous life, Li Qingluo had heard some of the reasons in the General's Mansion, but she knew that those were not the whole story.

So, naturally, he shook his head, pretending he knew nothing.

Perhaps Zhang Mama had witnessed Li Qingluo's insistence on seeing the old lady these past few days, so she genuinely wanted to give her some guidance and personally recounted what had happened in the previous generation of the General's Mansion.

It turns out that the old lady was the daughter of the Pei family, a family of generals who founded the dynasty. Although she studied literature from a young age, she loved martial arts even more.

Thirty-seven years ago, after Pei married into the Li family, she gave birth to a son after ten months of pregnancy. This son was Li Qingluo's father, Li Chaojing.

But before the infant child could grow up, an urgent report came from the border, saying that Li Chaojing's father had been surrounded by enemy troops and his whereabouts and fate were unknown.

With her husband on her mind and in order to save the war, Lady Pei had no choice but to leave behind her eight-month-old child, don armor, and take command of the emperor to personally go to the border to support and save her husband.

Li Chaojing was then entrusted to the old lady of the Li family in the mansion, and was personally cared for by Deng, a concubine who was originally her husband's maid and was later brought up by Pei.

Little did they know that this departure would last for five years before they returned.

When he returned, Li Chaojing no longer recognized Pei as his biological mother; he only wanted Deng, and he was completely devoted to her.

Although no one could shake Pei's position, the fact that her only legitimate son had become estranged from her left Pei feeling uneasy.

She tried everything she could, but she couldn't win back her son's true feelings.

When he was sick, Li Chaojing would come to pay his respects and inquire after his health. But if Deng was sick, Li Chaojing would be busy serving her tea and water, personally taking care of her, visiting her eight hundred times a day, and even kneeling in the Buddhist hall to pray to the gods and Buddhas.

Such things naturally angered Pei.

She believed that it was Deng who interfered, which made Li Chaojing disown her as his biological mother and treat her, a concubine, as more important than his own mother!

Pei originally intended to personally send Deng away, whether she would spend her life in a Buddhist temple with only a dim lamp and a Buddhist shrine, or she would be sold off.

But Li Chaojing chose to resist with his death.

He even shouted, "If you dare to separate me from Aunt Deng alive, I will hate you for the rest of my life! Even if you die, I will never offer you a single stick of incense!"