Chapter 22 Pressed to kneel before the mourning hall to burn paper money
She said all she had to say, then turned and quickly left with her hands behind her back. When the Zhuang family came looking for her again, Zhuang Wei sat dejectedly by the water vat, like a lost dog.
At this moment, all he could think about were those overly bright black eyes.
He actually called him a piece of trash!?
Zhuang Wei had never suffered such an insult in his entire life!
Li Qingluo finally arrived at the West Market. After wandering around twice, she chose the smallest blacksmith shop and went inside.
"Shopkeeper, I'd like to have a sample of this item made. I wonder if you can produce it?"
Li Qingluo took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to the burly blacksmith who came out.
The man's upper body was bare and shiny with oil. Li Qingluo tried her best to keep her gaze on the man's face and to steady her breathing so that he would not notice any discomfort.
Li Qinglu drew the picture herself; she wanted a dagger for self-defense.
The dagger shouldn't be too big; it should be portable.
It couldn't just be a dagger; she wanted a double-headed weapon, one end a knife, the other a sharp iron pestle.
After her previous confrontation with Li Kechuan, Li Qingluo knew all too well that a pair of scissors was not enough to protect her.
So she came up with the idea overnight and drew it out based on her imagination.
She was initially unsure, but to her surprise, the blacksmith's eyes lit up when he saw the blueprints.
"Where did you get this, young master? It's quite ingenious!"
Li Qingluo never expected that her casual thought would earn her praise.
She didn't say that she drew it herself, she just wanted to know: "Can you do that?"
Blacksmith: "I can do it! Of course I can do it, but you'll need three days."
Li Qingluo was delighted. "Great! I'll come back in three days to collect it. By the way, how much will it cost?"
Blacksmith: "Two taels of silver will do!"
Li Qinglu breathed a sigh of relief. Although it wasn't cheap, it was still much cheaper than she had expected.
She readily paid one tael upfront, promising to pay the remaining tael three days later upon delivery.
With that settled, Li Qingluo did not linger any longer and immediately returned to the Li residence.
Three days later.
Li Qingluo arrived as promised and went to the blacksmith shop in the West Market to pick up the dagger she had ordered.
The dagger was finely crafted and looked like an ordinary knife, but the handle could be easily pushed open to reveal the iron pestle that Li Qingluo wanted—sharp enough to be used as a weapon.
After paying, Li Qingluo was about to leave when the blacksmith suddenly spoke up, "Young master, would you be willing to sell me the blueprints for this knife?"
Li Qingluo had no idea that this could actually be sold for money.
She wanted to make money, so naturally she could sell the blueprints.
The blacksmith gestured and said, "Young master, if you'd like, please come inside."
Li Qingluo looked at the dark room and shook her head: "Never mind, let's just talk here. I won't go in."
One should always be wary of others. Although she didn't want to think too badly of people, there were certainly not that many good people in the world.
The blacksmith didn't press the matter, and cupped his hands, saying, "Our master has taken a liking to this young master's knife, so he wants to make more in bulk. However, the master said that since it was brought by the young master, he must know who drew the blueprints, so he wants to do business with him."
Li Qingluo: "I drew it myself. You can discuss it directly with me."
The blacksmith looked at Li Qingluo with more admiration: "Young master, you have a truly ingenious idea. This dagger is so exquisite. It looks like an ordinary dagger, but it can already be considered a concealed weapon."
Li Qingluo: "You flatter me, it's just a self-defense gadget."
Blacksmith: "In that case, I won't waste any more time. Young master, our master is willing to pay this price to buy your blueprints. Would you be willing?"
The blacksmith held out his hand, and Li Qinglu was secretly shocked: Five taels of silver? That much?
Before she could respond, the other party continued, "If it's fifty taels and the young master is still not satisfied, then this matter can be discussed."
How many?
Five or fifty taels?
Not five taels, but fifty taels?
Back when we were in the Liu family, five taels of silver was enough for the entire Liu family to live on for a year!
In the past few days, she has saved up almost a hundred taels!
Going out today was a wonderful surprise.
Li Qingluo immediately agreed.
He handed over the blueprints with one hand, took the bulging silver bag with the other, and quickly left.
The blacksmith carried the blueprints back into the house, walked into the darkness, and presented them to a tall, thin figure wearing a black cloak.
"Young master, that young man has already left with the money."
The dark figure looked up, the shadow obscuring most of his face.
But the exposed skin was deathly pale, like a corpse, and the corners of the lips were completely colorless.
It was summer, yet the shadowy figure was still warming himself by the fire, though he couldn't help but shiver occasionally.
He took the piece of paper with the dagger drawn on it, glanced at it, and then threw it into the stove next to him.
"Young Master! This..."
That's fifty taels of silver!
The dark figure replied, "Could it be that you don't remember how this thing was made?"
The blacksmith bowed his head: "I will remember that."
He just didn't understand why the young master would give that young man fifty taels of silver.
Even if you secretly make a thousand of these little things, the young master might not know.
Besides, there are so many coincidences in the world that even if the young man discovered it, he wouldn't be able to find a way to reason with him.
The shadowy figure simply said, "This man is greedy for money, but not greedy in spirit. Therefore, he will surely come again. Perhaps, he will bring me some surprise... cough, cough cough cough..."
As soon as Li Qingluo returned to the general's mansion, she hid the fifty taels of silver.
Sitting in the room, she pressed her still-pounding chest, and her mind was indeed racing because of the incident.
Unexpectedly, a blueprint for a self-defense weapon could be exchanged for fifty taels of silver!
Moreover, the blacksmith originally intended to negotiate an even higher price.
But she didn't want to reveal her nervousness, so she took the money and left.
But what if...she draws even more blueprints?
Can these blueprints still be sold for money?
Perhaps it's a weapon that will satisfy the other party and that they've never seen before.
Li Qingluo wanted to go to her grandmother's place to borrow a book on weaponry to take a look at.
Just as she had this thought, Cui'er knocked on the door: "Miss, the old lady wants you to come over."
Li Qingluo quickly washed her face, changed her clothes, and went out.
"Luo'er greets her grandmother."
Li Qingluo paid her respects to Madam Pei, and upon seeing Madam Qu sitting to the side, she called out again, "Greetings, Mother."
This was the first time that Madam Qu had come to pay her respects to her mother-in-law since Madam Pei returned.
Unlike her previous life, Li Qingzhu's fake body did not remain in the General's Mansion for long and was buried yesterday.
Under Madam Pei's protection, Li Qing was no longer forced to kneel and burn paper money in front of the mourning hall every day, unlike in her previous life.
Even at yesterday's burial, Old Madam Pei did not show up, and no one in the entire Jingci Hall dared to disturb her, so Li Qingluo was able to have some peace and quiet.
However, she knew that Li Kechuan would not let it go so easily.
In her previous life, Li Qingluo was forced to keep vigil before Li Qingzhu's coffin for seven days. However, on the day of Li Qingzhu's burial, Li Qingluo was still forced to kneel in front of the mourning hall where the coffin had already been taken, by Li Kechuan.
He wanted Li Qingluo to recite scriptures for Li Qingzhu for another seven days.
"Zhu'er's soul is restless, and all of this is your fault! Li Qingluo, you must chant sutras for Zhu'er for seven days to help her pass on to the afterlife! If she is still not at peace after seven days, you must chant for another forty-nine days."
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