Chapter 267 The young lady is already the apple of His Highness's eye!
The two looked at each other for a moment.
Duan Rongshi: ...
Li Qingluo: ……
They both saw the word 'speechless' in each other's eyes.
Behind him, Zhui Yu frowned and hissed, "Where did this ugly thing come from? Get down here right now!"
"How dare you present such a description here? Do you know what punishment is inflicted upon such a distinguished guest?!"
Zhuiyu roared and was about to step forward to draw his sword, but Lengdian quickly pulled him away.
Leng Dian glanced at Prince Su, who was standing at the front, and said with cold sweat on his forehead, "Is your butt all healed? Why don't you hurry up and see who's following behind her?"
Only then did Zhuiyu notice that standing behind the ugly woman was the little girl named Que'er.
There was also a group of old women who came forward to watch the excitement.
The ugly woman showed no fear at his low shout, and even had a barely suppressed smile on her face.
Then Zhuiyu realized that, apart from the young lady, there seemed to be no other woman in the world who, upon seeing their prince's eyes, would dare to meet his gaze without flinching...
Zhuiyu's heart skipped a beat.
He then shuddered all over.
Heavenly Bodhisattva, this...this ugly...ugly woman...could she be...a girl?!?
Zhuiyu roared inwardly, but before he could even go crazy, Prince Su had already turned his head slightly to look at him.
Zhuiyu was startled. It's over...
Li Qingluo chuckled: "It seems that I am dressed up so perfectly today that even Lord Zhuiyu doesn't recognize me."
"This humble woman, Li Qingluo, greets Your Highness."
The crowd behind him then followed suit and paid their respects to Prince Su.
Because this was on the estate, they didn't dare to make too much of a fuss, so everyone behind them just knelt down and called out "Your Highness".
Zhuiyu almost cried.
But Prince Su completely ignored him.
He just looked at Li Qinglu with an expression that was hard to describe.
He asked her to do a makeup look that no one would recognize, but she went to great lengths to make herself look ugly.
If it were in the past, such an ugly thing would have been crushed to ashes long ago if it dared to come near him.
That is, her… Prince Su couldn’t help but shake his head.
"Indeed, it's ugly."
After he finished speaking, he stepped into the courtyard.
Li Qingluo, however, looked smug.
"However, Your Highness, how did you recognize me? You seemed to recognize me at a glance, did you really not have any doubts at all?"
Duan Rongshi did not answer.
Li Qingluo pressed on, saying, "Your Highness, you look so beautiful today, while I am terribly ugly. It's so unfair."
Duan Rongshi involuntarily curled his palms, and his thumbs even rubbed against his palms.
Leng Dian watched as His Highness's brows gradually relaxed, a hint of joy hidden in his eyes.
Tsk...
Leng Dian thought to himself: His Highness is becoming more and more expressive these days. The girl only said "beautiful" and he was so happy.
It seems that, just as that guy Zhuiyu said, the girl is now the apple of His Highness's eye.
It's a pity... His Highness is in a difficult situation now, and given the young lady's current family background and circumstances, she is clearly not qualified to be their Prince Su's consort.
If it's just about being a concubine... that's not a difficult thing.
Zhuiyu caught up, looking miserable: "Thank goodness for that comment you made earlier, otherwise I would have lost my butt again, waaaah..."
Leng Dian glanced sideways at Zhui Yu: "I need to stay away from you. Next time, you can team up with Po Feng."
Zhuiyu was shocked: "Why? Xiaodian, are you also disgusted with him? Waaaaah..."
Leng Dian looked up at the sky speechlessly: "Who told you to be a dog that drags people down with you?"
Zhuiyu retorted angrily, "You're the dog! Only by following me will you have a place to eat in the future, don't you understand?"
Leng Dian: "What do you understand?"
Zhuiyu chuckled, "You were clearly trying to exonerate me just now. When you become a princess, I'll be your closest guard by His Highness's side. Won't I get to sit at the table and enjoy a meal myself? Hehehe..."
Leng Dian: "You're dreaming."
Without waiting for Zhuiyu to nag any further, he quickly chased after her.
Zhuiyu: "Tch, what do you know?"
As everyone walked inside, they finally got a clear view of the entire courtyard.
Not only is everything well-organized, but it is also exquisite and elegant, so clean that it feels like a paradise.
Although Madam Pei did not personally manage the estate in the suburbs, it was managed by the son of one of her close nannies.
In the past, when she got tired of living at Qingsong Temple, Madam Pei would come here to stay for a year or two.
Over time, the place was renovated into an increasingly luxurious place.
However, due to neglect in management over the past year, the vegetables on the estate had a problem last time, which gave the Qu family an opportunity to tamper with the vegetables and meat that Old Madam Pei ate every day.
After Madam Pei and Li Qingluo left the Li family, Madam Pei was still unconscious when the old nanny dragged her son to Guiyuan to apologize.
“Young lady, no matter how you punish this beast today, even if it means taking his life, this old servant will accept the punishment.”
It turns out that the manager of this estate used to be the old woman's husband. After he died, his youngest son, Gu Qingcai, who had just turned nineteen, took over as manager.
It is said that a family of refugees suddenly arrived in the village before the New Year. This family had fled from the east and consisted of a couple, a newly widowed daughter-in-law, and their grandson.
The old man was a skilled carpenter, so when they pleaded to stay and settle down on the estate, the steward, Gu Qing, agreed without much thought.
The young widow was beautiful and knew how to get along with people, and her parents-in-law were kind and gentle.
It wasn't long before the family became familiar with the people on the estate, and the young widow and Gu Qing even developed a flirtatious relationship over time.
Perhaps Gu Qing was too young; even such a major incident on the estate did not attract his attention.
Overnight, fruits, vegetables, chickens, ducks, fish, and geese were all destroyed.
Later, after they were identified as thieves and bandits, all that was done was to send someone to the government to report the case. After that, only a small amount of food from the estate was sent to the General's Mansion each day as a special supply for Old Madam Pei.
Originally, they thought their own estate was the cleanest, so even Li Qingluo ate ingredients sent from the Li family estate during the Spring Festival.
Unexpectedly, Madam Pei was poisoned instead.
After the matter was exposed, Gu Qing conducted a thorough investigation from the beginning, which led him to the young widow.
The young widow and her family originally wanted to escape, but Gu Qing wasn't really stupid. He immediately became sober and led his men to block the young widow and her family of four at their doorstep in the middle of the night.
After learning the truth, Li Qingluo asked Gu Qing, "Have you found out who they are and why they poisoned Grandmother?"
Gu Qing was filled with deep regret.
Although he was already nineteen, he had not yet gotten married due to some hidden health problems.
Little did he know that he had only just tasted the sweetness of being a man with this young widow when she turned around and tricked him.
He said tearfully, "Young lady, they did indeed come from the east, and they are definitely a family. But I've just found out that they aren't refugees at all; they deliberately infiltrated our village to cause trouble..."
"I used some tricks to get them to confess that they were distant relatives of Minister Qu in the court."
"The Qu family wanted them to act as informants at the old lady's estate, so that they could do something when the time was right."
"It's all my fault for being blinded by lust! I was wrong!"
"I will never dare to take in people of unknown origin again."
"Please punish me, young lady. Even if it means I have to pay for the old lady's life, I will accept it..."
Li Qingluo: "If my grandmother's life were truly in danger this time, I would never forgive you. But since my grandmother has been saved, I will spare your life for now, so that you can work even harder for my grandmother in the future. Otherwise, what will your mother do?"
"She will never be able to hold her head up in front of her grandmother again."
As she spoke, Li Qingluo glanced at the old woman.
The old woman's eyes were filled with tears.
“Young lady, this old servant…this old servant truly only has this one son.”
Li Qingluo: "What happened?"
The old woman, surnamed Chen, said with tears streaming down her face, "My husband, my eldest son and my second son... they are both... dead!"
Granny Zhang explained, "Miss, the three of them, father and sons, were transporting goods for the old lady to Fujian last year when they were killed by bandits on the way..."
"Although the criminals have all been apprehended and beheaded, in the end... the person is gone, alas."
"Now Gu Qing lives on the estate with her two older brothers' widows and children. It's hard work for her to take care of both her brothers' families."
Li Qingluo felt a heavy weight in her heart upon hearing this.
"Get up."
"If that's the case, why doesn't Granny Chen go live on the estate?"
Granny Chen: "It's because this old servant doesn't want to leave the old lady. After this... this old servant will have no face left... It was Gu Qing who did something wrong and almost killed the old lady. This old servant... this old servant will... sigh!"
Li Qingluo comforted her, "It's alright. Your grandmother knows your loyalty. Even if Gu Qing was used this time, she'll learn from it. It won't happen again, right, Gu Qing?"
Gu Qing knelt on the ground, utterly ashamed.
"Young lady, if I offend again, I will commit suicide to atone for my sins!"
Li Qingluo: "Grandmother knows about the sacrifices your family has made. Since that's the case, Granny Chen, I'll punish you by sending you to the estate to keep an eye on Gu Qing from now on. Are you willing?"
Is this a lenient decision to spare Gu Qing's life?
How could Granny Chen be unwilling?
She quickly knelt down to express her gratitude, "Thank you, Miss. Waaah... When the old lady wakes up, this old servant will bring Gu Qing to the old lady's side again to confess my sins!"
Li Qingluo knew she didn't want to leave.
But there was no other way; this was already the lightest punishment imaginable.
Moreover, letting her go to the estate to be with her sons and grandsons is also a way of providing for her retirement.
Li Qingluo: "Gu Qing, if you lock that family up, the Qu family should already be aware of it. Even if we go to court to confront them, the Qu family won't admit it. Besides, the Qu family won't leave any evidence in their hands."
Gu Qing was distressed: "Then what should we do? Are we just going to accept this loss? They're trying to poison the old lady!"
Li Qingluo: "Of course we can't admit it! Lock up the whole family of four for now. As for the rest, make them work day and night."
"If the Qu family can't hold back any longer, they might send someone to look for us. We'll arrest them all then."
"If the Qu family ignores the matter, wouldn't this family of their own be anxious and distressed?"
"When the time is right, I will also give the Qu family a fatal counterattack!"
The Qu family's blatant audacity is not due to their stupidity.
Rather, they have something to rely on: absolute malice.
Moreover, they thought that Li Qingluo and Madam Pei, this widowed grandmother and granddaughter, had no one to rely on in Jinling City, so they were easy to manipulate.
They thought that Madam Pei was old and had been out of the court and battlefield for more than 30 years. Her family didn't want her and she had no status in her husband's family. So even if she died, who would care?
That's why they dared to even try to kill a former female general.
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