Chapter 679 Qingyangzi was already terminally ill.

Li Chaojing died on the battlefield.

With Xi Yue's help, Madam Pei was out of danger.

At the same time, Po Feng arrived with 30,000 troops and annihilated the small country in one fell swoop.

Three months later, Madam Pei returned to Jinling, exhausted.

Li Qingluo had already heard about Li Chaojing's death. She wasn't particularly moved by her father's death, but felt that he had died a worthy death for his grandmother.

However, she was very worried about her grandmother.

Sure enough, when Li Qingluo picked up her grandmother and saw that her grandmother's hair was almost completely white, she couldn't stop her tears from falling.

"grandmother!"

Li Qingluo hugged Madam Pei and comforted her, "What can I do to make you happy?"

Madam Pei let out a long sigh.

“Child, your grandmother doesn’t need your comfort.”

"Grandmother, I've already let it go."

“Your father… he has regained his senses at some point. But he has been pretending to be insane and staying by your grandmother’s side.”

"In the past few years, my son and I have made up for the regrets we had before."

"But... he still gave me his life back."

"He has done many wrong things."

"But in the end, it's all in the past..."

"In his next life, I hope he never has a mother like me again. And I, I don't want to be anyone's mother again."

As more and more of her loved ones passed away, Madam Pei was increasingly devastated.

After Li Chaojing died, she aged considerably overnight.

Luo Fan shook his head at Li Qingluo: "Your grandmother wants to stay at Qingsong Temple for a while."

Li Qingluo: "That's fine too. As long as Grandmother is happy, she can go anywhere."

"I will have someone arrange this matter immediately."

Qingsong Temple remains the same as before, with the Qingsong Courtyard and the courtyard behind Qingsong Mountain still being places for distinguished guests.

Back at the usual spot, Madam Pei completely disappeared into the courtyard, seemingly unwilling to come out again.

Li Qingluo sent people to report on Madam Pei's condition every day.

When she learned that her grandmother was depressed and that she no longer ate her favorite salted duck, she was extremely worried.

So he couldn't stay any longer and wanted to move to Qingsong Mountain to spend some time with his grandmother.

Although Duan Rongshi was reluctant to hear her decision, he was afraid that the Empress would suffer from internal ailments due to pent-up emotions, so he had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

So, Li Qingluo and her entourage moved to Qingsong Mountain in a grand procession.

For the Empress's safety, the Northern Army dispatched 5,000 troops to secretly surround the entire Qingsong Mountain, inside and out.

Now not even a pheasant can fly away.

Not even a mosquito can fly in.

This really worried Qingyangzi.

After the Emperor personally exonerated the Chen family from their past injustices, he refused to return to secular life and become an official. After everything settled down, he went to Qingsong Temple to become its abbot.

He was overjoyed when he learned that Madam Pei, this great philanthropist, had returned and was going to stay for an extended period.

After all, who wouldn't want that pile of hard-earned money?

Moreover, Madam Pei's status is different now than before; she is now the Empress's own grandmother!

Therefore, Qingsong Temple should also worship Madam Pei as if she were a deity!

However, his Qingsong Temple could not accommodate such a noble person as the Empress.

With the arrival of the Empress, the incense offerings at Qingsong Temple were completely cut off.

No one is allowed to approach Qingsong Mountain again. Without the incense offerings of the common people and nobles, what kind of Taoist temple is Qingsong Temple?

Qingyangzi was so anxious that he couldn't sleep for several nights.

Finally, they wrote a long, tearful letter to the emperor, begging him to remove the empress, this great Buddha, because their Taoist temple couldn't accommodate her!

The letter even cried out: "Your Majesty, please give this loyal Taoist priest a way to live, please give our Qingsong Temple a way to live!!"

A day later, Duan Rongshi changed into his private clothes and came to Qingsong Temple in person.

"Luo'er, if you don't go back with me, Qingyangzi will come running to your feet and kneel down crying."

Li Qingluo was utterly astonished: "Why?"

"Didn't I donate a thousand taels of silver to him as soon as I arrived?"

"Isn't this enough to cover the expenses of Qingsong Temple for several years?"

"Is this a Taoist temple or a money exchange? Why is he coming to you to complain about being poor?"

Li Qingluo felt that Qingyangzi, this Taoist priest, had forgotten his roots.

I'm really curious to see what kind of treasure trove is hidden in the secret passage of his Green Pine Temple.

Duan Rongshi dismissed everyone around him.

Then he pulled Li Qingluo aside and told her the truth.

"Qingyangzi was already terminally ill."

"He has helped me with a lot over the years, and I don't want to see him die young. Is Luo'er helping her husband out?"

Li Qingluo couldn't understand.

"Is he terminally ill?"

"Wasn't he perfectly fine? How did he suddenly become so critically ill?"

“My grandfather happens to be at Qingsong Temple. Why don’t we hurry up and have him treat him?”

She didn't understand.

Qingyangzi is often not serious.

So I don't understand why he got sick.

Duan Rongshi then said something truly shocking: "He's mentally ill."

Li Qingluo: ……

Duan Rongshi: "Ever since Pei's twelfth daughter was brutally dismembered and murdered, he has never been able to recover completely."

"Otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen to return to this Taoist temple after helping me achieve great things."

“Luo’er, he could have restored the glory of the Chen family, or he could have chosen to become an official in the court.”

"Qingyangzi's wisdom is no less than Zhang Tingjiu's."

"He also contributed to the rise of the new emperor, how could I treat him unfairly?"

"Back then, the Chen family was plotted against by the Qu family. In order to save his life and to ensure that there was still one living member of the Chen family, his parents and brothers forcibly sent him to a Taoist temple to become a monk, disregarding his wishes."

"After Chen Jiameng suffered a great calamity, he was filled with thoughts of revenge. Therefore, he secretly formed an alliance with me and worked for me."

"His marriage to Pei Shierniang has always been his last hope in his heart."

He thought that if he delayed, Twelfth Sister would wait for him, and that he could rekindle his marriage with her after he had avenged himself and returned to secular life.

"This is also my fault."

"Back then, in order to find out the source of the poison in the Western Regions, I had Qingyangzi play along with the plan after that bitter forsythia got entangled with him."

"Unexpectedly, it ended up involving the life of the twelfth daughter of the Pei family."

"Luo'er, I feel guilty towards Qingyangzi for this matter."

"After the death of Twelfth Sister, although Zuliya and Ku Lianqiao had already paid with their lives, Qingyangzi's heart did not feel better because of it."

"He may look carefree and smiling, but his heart is full of holes. If it weren't for his Taoist identity which could make him somewhat detached, and if it weren't for the important matter I was planning that kept him involved, I think he would have gone with that Twelfth Sister long ago."

"Now everything has returned to normal. Although he seems no different from before when he returned to the Taoist temple, if it weren't for the constant flow of incense and people keeping him busy..."

There was no need to say anything more; Li Qingluo already understood.

Qingyangzi never let go of Nanjia's death.

But in reality, Nan Jia isn't really dead!

Although the body is dead, the soul has not yet perished.

In reality, Nan Jia had already focused her attention on another person.

However, Li Qingluo could no longer speak the truth.

Because Pan Li has now begun her new life, getting married, having children, and has even completely let go of Qingyangzi.

When they met again at the border, Li Qingluo had already subtly inquired about her past. She knew that Qingyangzi hadn't revealed any flaws to her along the way, which meant that she had truly let go of the past completely.

If we were to tell Qingyangzi the truth... how unfair would that be to Nanjia?