Chapter 4 The girl was tied up tightly.

Pei was greatly shocked and slapped Li Chaojing hard.

That's the eldest son of the Li family.

Even when the old general returned, he took his anger out on Pei.

“He’s just a child. Why are you taking your anger out on him? Over the years, Aunt Deng has indeed devoted herself to taking care of him. Jing’er is still young, so it’s understandable that he treats her like his own mother.”

Madam Pei stared at her husband in astonishment, feeling both disgusted and heartbroken as if she had been forced to swallow a fly.

Two years ago, she was wounded in the abdomen while saving his life on the battlefield, and now, even if she wanted another loving child, she could no longer have one.

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

But her son was not close to her, and her husband disliked the scars on her body. Disheartened, Pei could no longer bear to look at the disgusting things in the inner quarters, so she simply moved to Qingsong Temple to recuperate in peace.

And so, thirty years passed.

After listening to what Granny Zhang said, Li Qingluo looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Granny Zhang told her to speak freely, and Li Qingluo lowered her head, twisting her fingers and sighing, "Although I have never met my father, but... but there is one thing I must say. This is the Li family, and I am sorry to my grandmother..."

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

Li Qingluo's ears turned red, as if she were breaking free from some great disrespectful shackle, and it took a lot of effort for her to continue speaking in a low voice.

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

"It seems that the Li family allowed Aunt Deng and Father to be too close, not distinguishing between master and servant, so Father didn't know who was close and who was distant from him from a young age. Aunt Deng did a good job taking care of him, but we cannot erase the greatest contribution of Grandmother as his biological mother."

"Moreover, my grandmother abandoned my father for the sake of the Li family and my grandfather. It can be said that without my grandmother, there would be no Li family as we have today."

"Therefore, the Li family was unkind and unjust to Grandmother. And Father was disloyal and unfilial to Grandmother..."

After saying that, Li Qingluo covered her ears again, looking scared.

"These words reached my father's ears. Even if I were struck by lightning, it was my own words that made this. I am not lying."

Granny Zhang was thoroughly amused by her honest, simple, timid, and cowardly demeanor.

"Hahaha! Good girl, good girl! Don't be afraid, even if there's thunder in the sky, this old servant will protect you!"

After saying that, Granny Zhang left with a smile.

Li Qinglu watched her walk away and slowly lowered her hands from her ears.

She thought coldly to herself: So, the Li family's attitude towards their closest blood relatives is fundamentally distorted.

At that moment, she felt a sense of shared sorrow for the old lady.

Naturally, they became even more determined to win over the old lady.

After returning to Cuizhu Courtyard, Granny Zhang knelt down and recounted to Old Madam Pei the whole story she had told Li Qingluo, as well as what Li Qingluo had said afterward.

Although Madam Pei was annoyed that Li Qingluo had told her past to the younger generation, she was even more surprised by what Li Qingluo had said.

"She really... said that? That the Li family was unkind and unjust to me, and that her father was disloyal and unfilial to me?"

Granny Zhang nodded hurriedly: "Yes, Madam. The young lady was almost scared to death after she finished speaking. She also knew that she had said something outrageous."

A faint hint of anger flashed across Madam Pei's face: "How dare you! How could you utter such disobedient words so casually!"

Granny Zhang lowered her head in fear: "Madam, please don't be angry. I think the young lady is just too naive and hasn't received proper upbringing, which is why she said such things."

Madam Pei sighed softly.

"Why should I be angry? Everything she said was for my sake."

"I'm angry with her. If even a single word of these words gets back to the General's Mansion, how could she possibly survive?"

Madam Pei's gaze fell on Granny Zhang, her eyes carrying a warning and admonishing tone, which made Granny Zhang shiver involuntarily.

Sure enough, experience is the best teacher.

The old lady was thinking long-term for the young lady, unlike herself, who only took advantage of the moment to get these words out of her.

"This old servant knows he was wrong. This old servant promises that he will keep everything he said today to himself and will never utter a single word of it!"

Madam Pei nodded, no longer holding a grudge against Zhang Mama, who had served her for decades.

"Unexpectedly, she was the only one in the Li family who was not corrupted by her upbringing, despite being orphaned at a young age."

Granny Zhang asked, "Would the old lady be willing to see the young lady?"

Madam Pei still shook her head.

"Don't rush, let's observe further. I want to see if she's truly honest and kind, or if she's just putting on an act with me."

Li Qingluo was really not in a hurry.

Besides practicing calligraphy every day, she also went to the vegetable garden in the Taoist temple to help the Taoist priests hoe the ground and plant vegetables.

She was skilled at hoeing and planting vegetables, and could even discuss with the Taoist priest where the problem lay if the vegetables were infested with insects or the harvest was poor.

Some of her insights even helped the Taoist priests resolve some of their confusion.

After gaining the Taoist's trust, Li Qingluo even personally cooked several dishes in the kitchen.

She's been working in the kitchen since she was a child, so she's quite skilled.

If it was done well, she would personally deliver it to the outside of Cuizhu Courtyard and have Zhang Mama take it to Old Madam Pei to try.

At first, Madam Pei was unwilling to eat it, so she gave it to Zhang Mama and Ying'er.

Later, after hearing Granny Zhang and the others praising how delicious it was, I couldn't resist taking a few bites myself, and my eyes lit up too.

"I never expected this girl to have such skills."

However, she then remembered that this was something she had trained through hardship since childhood, and she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.

"I heard that she spends her days in this Taoist temple quite leisurely and contentedly?"

As Madam Pei was considering whether to summon Li Qingluo to pay her respects the next day, a servant rushed in to report: "Madam, something terrible has happened! A group of people from the General's Mansion have arrived and say they want to forcibly take the young lady down the mountain into the city!"

"The girl resisted fiercely and has been tied up!"