Chapter 154 Only by living can one suffer a fate worse than death.
Li Qingluo accompanied her grandmother back to Jingci Hall.
After sitting down, Madam Pei asked her, "Tell me quickly, did Grandmother's punishment of the two of them meet your expectations?"
Li Qinglu smiled and grasped her grandmother's hand tightly: "Yes! You are wise and insightful, you know your granddaughter's thoughts very well."
Madam Pei raised her head haughtily: "How could I not know you? You little devil, you clearly wanted to hide in the back at first, but then you suddenly became interested. Isn't it because they have something you care about!"
"Therefore, Grandmother cannot cut off all their paths!"
Li Qingluo explained to Madam Pei, "Grandmother, Aunt Deng and Li Yunchu must both have secrets."
Madam Pei: "Tell me about it."
Li Qingluo: "Old Aunt Deng has been used to being the matriarch on the estate. Would she be so willing and obedient as to agree to go to the temple for spiritual practice?"
"She dares not shout anymore, which means she must have a bigger secret that we don't know about and needs to hide!"
"As for Li Yunchu, she dared to confess that Prince Yun was the mastermind behind the bandits, but she glossed over the process of escaping from the Lotus Sect without daring to go into details. That's why my granddaughter has some doubts and concerns."
"Grandmother, please send someone to keep an eye on those two again. Otherwise, if we fail to detect and prevent it in time, I fear it will bring disaster to the entire clan!"
Madam Pei was immediately startled: "Is it that serious?"
What Li Qingluo fears is that the secret behind Li Yunchu is related to the Lotus Sect!
Even if we kill her now, it might not only eliminate future troubles, but also cause the Lotus Sect to hold a grudge against us.
Then their general's mansion will be in even more trouble.
She didn't care about anyone else in the general's mansion.
But what about Grandma?
Her grandmother protected her, loved her, cherished her, knew her and understood her. There was no one in the world who treated her better than her grandmother.
Her grandmother is now the person she cares about most in this world.
She also had to protect her grandmother!
Moreover, she also has to support and care for her grandmother until she is a hundred years old!
And then there's Huan Jie'er. Since returning to Jinling, I've personally taught her to write, and now we've developed some affection for each other.
With feelings come bonds.
Li Qingluo had no choice but to be careful and cautious.
In her previous life, she did not survive this winter.
Therefore, we know very little about the present world.
They had absolutely no clue about the Lotus Sect's movements...
Thinking of this, Li Qinglu felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
I really wasted my life in my previous life!
However, Li Qingluo understood one thing in her heart.
They absolutely must not get involved with the Lotus Sect!
The imperial court has been cracking down on and eliminating the Lotus Sect. If Prince Su suddenly goes completely mad and decides to eradicate it, and the General's Mansion gets involved with the Lotus Sect, things could get complicated.
Li Qingluo didn't want her grandmother to know these things, nor did she want her to worry.
She simply smiled and said, "Grandmother, perhaps Luo'er is just worrying unnecessarily. It's always better to be prepared than to be completely unaware."
Seeing how serious she was, Madam Pei agreed.
"Alright. Leave her outside the mansion gate. If someone cares about her, they will come and pick her up. Let's keep an eye on her and send someone to follow her to find out what's really going on with her!"
Li Qinglu nodded repeatedly.
That's exactly what she meant!
She wanted to test whether there were other forces behind Li Yunchu.
Li Qingluo: "Grandmother, you did the right thing today. Especially Aunt Deng, if it weren't for her causing trouble back then, you wouldn't have suffered so much. If you really only let her become a nun, it would be too good for her."
"Granddaughter, wait until she spills all her secrets, then I'll definitely teach her a lesson and avenge you!"
Madam Pei smiled and said, "Why would I bother with a lowly maid like her? Luo'er, you don't understand. Back then, she alone was enough to keep me from leaving."
"It's still your grandfather, he's a complete scoundrel. How could he have fathered four illegitimate sons and daughters with Aunt Deng if he hadn't wronged me?"
“Without his indulgence, his mother would not have valued a concubine more than me, her legal wife.”
"And your father, who was also your grandfather's son, suffered all these hardships because he looked so much like me."
"In short, it's all your grandfather's fault!"
"However, you really stood up for your grandmother today! I thank you for thinking of her and standing up for her."
Li Qingluo: "Grandmother, this is what I should do, and it's the smallest way I can repay you. Please don't be so polite to me in the future, okay?"
Madam Pei smiled gently as she stroked Li Qingluo's hair, letting out a long sigh: "Good!"
Then he asked her, "Do you have any opinions about Li Qingzhu?"
"Tomorrow, do you want to give her a cup of poisoned wine, or a white silk ribbon? Or do you plan to give her some other way to die?"
Li Qingluo: "Grandmother, regarding Li Qingzhu, could you spare her life for now?"
Madam Pei paused, a look of surprise and confusion on her face: "Luo'er?"
"You...do you know what you're saying? You're so kind; you might end up hurting yourself!"
Li Qingluo: "Grandmother, I am not being kind. I have other considerations."
Madam Pei suppressed her emotions, "Then tell me, what other considerations do you have? She's just a bastard, enjoying the glory, wealth, and favor of a military family for so many years! Now, because of her, the reputation of the entire General's Mansion has been completely ruined, and the General's Mansion has been put on the spot. The only way for her to atone for her sins is to commit suicide!"
Li Qingluo: "But Grandmother, you also said that she is not a blood relative of our General's Mansion!"
Madam Pei paused: "What do you mean by that?"
Li Qingluo then said, "Grandmother, if Li Qingzhu dies in the General's Mansion, to put it nicely, it would be considered suicide out of fear of punishment; to put it bluntly... wouldn't it be considered that we forced her to her death?"
"If the Liu family spreads these words again, will our General's Mansion be implicated?"
Madam Pei sneered, "The Liu family wouldn't dare! Back then, the General's Mansion didn't hold them accountable for the baby swap because of your muddle-headed parents. Do you think they would dare to come to Jinling City and cause trouble?"
Li Qingluo: "Grandmother, if the itinerary is correct, they should all be arriving in Jinling in the next two days."
Madam Pei's eyes widened instantly.
"It's...you?"
Li Qingluo nodded slowly: "Yes. It was my granddaughter who secretly sent people to lure them to Jinling City."
Li Qingluo didn't hide anything from Madam Pei and told her everything she was thinking.
"If Li Qingzhu wants to be Prince Yun's favorite concubine, then let her be. The higher one climbs, the harder one falls; the more prosperous one becomes, the more one declines."
"She got her wish and went to Prince Yun's residence, but she will only be a concubine. No matter how much she is favored, she will only ever be a concubine."
"She lost the General's Mansion as her backing, and her future is hopeless."
"What she desires in her heart, she will inevitably never obtain in this lifetime."
"Moreover, Prince Yun is greedy and frivolous. Although he is cunning, he is shallow in ability. He is arrogant and conceited. Although he holds a high position, he is far too mediocre compared to the other princes."
"My granddaughter is gambling, betting that he won't amount to anything, betting that Li Qingzhu's gamble will result in a complete loss!"
In her previous life, she fell into Li Qingzhu's trap because of her ambition.
Li Qingluo's death was so insignificant in her previous life.
They wouldn't even become a stepping stone for Li Qingzhu.
So in this life, how could Li Qingzhu so easily die and find liberation?
Li Qingluo was going to make her watch helplessly as she risked everything to gain something, only to see how it ultimately led to her own destruction.
Only by living can one experience a fate worse than death.
Only by staying alive can Li Qingluo's revenge be more satisfying!
Therefore, Li Qingluo had no intention of letting Li Qingzhu die now.
Madam Pei: "But what if you lose the bet? Luo'er, what if Prince Yun comes into the future..."
Li Qingluo: "Grandmother, if we really lose, I will accept it."
Moreover, Li Qingluo did not believe that Prince Nayun would ascend to a high position in the future.
There is still a Prince Su in this world!
For some reason, she just felt that if Prince Su was around, Prince Yun would not be able to cause any trouble, let alone ascend to that position.
Of course, if all of this is truly lost, and if Li Qingzhu can still turn the tide, then I will accept my fate.
They might even be willing to die.
Madam Pei: "But are you so sure that the Liu family would dare to cause trouble?"
"After all, if they dare to come again now, I will not forgive them for their crime of swapping women back then!"
"And your father, I think he'd kill his adopted daughter tonight. If you spare Li Qingzhu, do you think he'll let it go?"
Li Qingluo: "Grandmother, if the Liu family goes to Jinling, at worst they'll lose that old woman's life. As long as they insist that it was that old woman Liu who did the evil thing of swapping girls, and that they knew nothing about it, the whole family can be exonerated."
"But what they got in return was the status of a concubine's family to a prince. It fulfilled the purpose of the Liu family's girl swap back then. Wasn't their audacity back then all for the chance to elevate their entire family to wealth and glory one day?"
"If they knew that Li Qingzhu had climbed up to Prince Yun, they would cling to her like leeches and never let go."
"And no matter how unwilling Li Qingzhu was before, she now only has two choices: one is to commit suicide in the General's Mansion out of fear of punishment, and the other is to return to the Liu family and have a chance to live to go to the Prince Yun's Mansion."
"Grandmother, what do you think she will choose?"
Li Qingzhu would inevitably choose to live and then become a concubine in Prince Yun's mansion.
She had no other chance of survival.
Li Qingluo continued, "As for my father, he is a man who values the family's reputation. Now that Li Qingzhu has been separated from the status of the eldest daughter of the Li family, the whole family can then publicly declare the truth about the girl swap back then. Li Qingzhu will no longer be considered a member of the Li family. From then on, they will be separated, and the reputation of the General's Mansion will naturally be restored to some extent."
"This way, the Liu family will be less of a nuisance, and we can sever ties with Li Qingzhu from now on. He won't disagree."
She believed that her biological father couldn't possibly be unaware of which option was the best choice for the General's Mansion.
Besides, whether Li Qingzhu lives or dies is a troublesome matter for him.
Seeing Li Qingluo's resolute attitude, Madam Pei could only sigh.
"You! You seem calm and composed, but in reality, you're more cunning than a fox, and your opinions are bigger than the sky!"
"But Luo'er, you are so sensitive and thoughtful, so prone to melancholy... What have you suffered, what grievances have you felt, that you would scheme like this?"
Li Qingluo pursed her lips nervously and looked at Madam Pei: "Grandmother, do you think Luo'er is malicious and terrifying?"
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