Chapter 374 Is Luo'er the only hope to save the Pei clan?
"ah!!"
The Pei family members cried out in surprise, startled by Li Qingluo's sudden appearance.
"Li Qingluo!? It's you? You, you, what do you want?"
Pei Liuniang recognized the person on the wall at a glance and was greatly surprised.
How did she grow up to be so radiant?
Her stunning beauty sent a shiver down the spines of the Pei family.
It wasn't just amazing, it was also astonishing and shocking.
The real Li Qingluo was actually superior to Liu Qingzhu, a pampered young lady who had been raised in a golden palace since childhood!
In just one year, that little weed, dark and thin, that had just returned to Jinling City had unknowingly grown into a peony in full bloom.
If she had been raised in Jinling since childhood, wouldn't she have already surpassed all others in Jinling?
This made Pei's daughter, who had always been very proud of herself, feel somewhat uncomfortable.
But so what if she's good-looking?
She was so arrogant and presumptuous to jump onto the wall and threaten people with a sword. How could she be expected to be a noble lady?
She's just a country bumpkin, so ill-mannered!
Li Qingluo ignored the Pei family members' rapidly changing glances.
He just kept sneering: "Of course it's me. Who else could it be?"
"Didn't your Pei family already know that my grandmother and I lived next door?"
"You all speak so rudely and unpleasantly without any restraint. What, you expect me to put up with it?"
"As for what I want to do, that depends on how clean your mouths are going to be. Why don't you give it a try, Sixth Miss?"
The Duchess pointed at Li Qingluo and said sternly, "How dare you!"
"This is a royal residence, and you, an ill-mannered person, are not allowed to act recklessly and presumptuously here."
"Such arrogance! What kind of behavior is this?!"
"Someone, hurry up and knock her down with this pole!"
After entering the palace, Pei Si Niang was promoted to the rank of Noble Lady within a few months, and is now the newly favored Noble Lady Jing.
After the affair between the old Duke Pei and the Pei family dungeon was exposed and spread, the Pei family's status in Jinling City plummeted. They were pointed at and gossiped about wherever they went, and could not hold their heads up.
If it weren't for Pei Zixuan bringing glory to the Pei family again, and the eldest son Pei Jingzhe gradually gaining a foothold in the Ministry of War, the Pei family would still be unable to hold their heads high.
As the birth mother of Consort Jing, the Duchess of the State was finally able to hold her head high again, so naturally she wouldn't allow a junior like Li Qingluo to act arrogantly in front of her.
Therefore, they didn't take Li Qingluo's threat seriously at all.
But before the Pei family servants could even reach Li Qingluo with the pole, the sparrows and orioles perched on the wall threw stones at them first.
"Ouch--"
The sparrows were incredibly accurate, and the servants, struck by the arrows, scattered and fled in panic.
The Pei family masters looked pale and also retreated in panic.
"Stop! Li Qingluo, you are utterly lawless and outrageous!"
"You are so arrogant and domineering! Today, I will definitely take this to the Empress and have you convicted of the heinous crime of insubordination and disrespect!"
"Quickly, get her down here! Beat her!"
A daring servant ran over carrying a stone on his head, and the stick almost poked Li Qingluo in the face.
Just as Sha Wu was about to make a move, Li Qingluo grabbed the end of the pole first.
She was very strong, and she snatched the pole away in one go.
Then he turned the stick around and struck the servant on the head—
"Ouch—" Another cry of pain rang out, and the servant crawled away on the ground in a sorry state.
Li Qingluo grinned mischievously, holding the pole, and raised her hand to poke it towards the Duchess again—
The Duchess never imagined that she would be so lawless and dare to act so arrogantly in the royal villa.
In a panic, unable to escape, all they could do was cover their heads and scream.
"ah!"
The old nannies pounced on them, and instantly the masters and servants were all thrown to the ground, a truly spectacular sight.
"Rebellion! Quickly, go and report to the Empress! This Li Qingluo is trying to kill someone!"
"Summon the Royal Guards and arrest this insolent bastard!"
"I will not let this matter rest!"
The Duchess's old face contorted with rage, but just then, a loud, mocking voice came from the courtyard gate: "The Duchess is certainly putting on quite a show these days!"
The speaker was none other than Madam Pei, who had come around.
Madam Pei spoke without any politeness: "As the birth mother of Consort Jing, the Duchess is now a member of the imperial family. How impressive!"
"Your Pei family is truly powerful these days, able to influence whether the Empress convicts someone and even issue orders to His Majesty's Imperial Guards! You've really got all the power in the world now, even making decisions for the royal family!"
In my opinion, it is you who are being presumptuous!
"Let's wait until these words reach Her Majesty the Empress's ears and see who is punished today!"
Madam Pei's words instantly turned everyone in the Pei family courtyard deathly pale.
Before the Duchess could react, the Duke, who had just arrived outside the courtyard, strode in with a pale face. He walked up to the Duchess and slapped her across the face.
"Foolish woman! What nonsense are you spouting here? Are you only satisfied when you've implicated the noble lady and her entire family, ensuring they can never recover?"
Pei Jingzhe, who had followed, first respectfully greeted Madam Pei before hurriedly catching up.
“Father! No matter how serious the mistake Mother made, you should not have embarrassed her in public.”
The Duchess covered her face and began to sob.
Where is even a trace of the arrogant demeanor he had just displayed?
Li Qingluo stood on the wall, continuing to watch the excitement with her arms crossed.
Those who want to bully the grandmother and granddaughter should first consider their own strength.
Although they were orphans and widows with no one to rely on, they only had themselves, so they were fearless.
Moreover, her grandmother harbored just as much resentment towards the Duke's mansion as she did towards her own.
Although he had provoked them, his words and actions left them with no room for criticism.
Moreover, she only jumped onto the wall; it was the Duke Pei's mansion that provoked and insulted her first, and they were the ones who first tried to hurt her with poles.
All of Li Qingluo's actions were merely acts of self-preservation and retaliation.
Naturally, they wouldn't be afraid of the Pei State Duke's mansion and would actually go to the Empress to reason with her.
“Aunt, this is all a misunderstanding. It was my fault for not disciplining my wife and the younger generation in the household properly. I sincerely apologize to you for this.”
"I hope you won't take it to heart. Your nephew will definitely discipline and punish them properly!"
"I hope you will be magnanimous and not spread this matter."
Li Qinglu thought she had misheard.
Is this Duke Pei?
How could his attitude towards his grandmother have changed so drastically?
He wasn't like this last time at the Pei family's house.
Even Madam Pei was somewhat surprised.
Pei Jingzhe stepped forward: "Grandma, I apologize on behalf of my mother. I hope you and my cousin will not be angry."
The saying goes, "You can't hit someone who's smiling at you."
What's more, they all share the surname Pei.
Duke Pei even took the initiative to call Old Madam Pei "aunt," does this mean he wants to continue recognizing relatives?
However, Madam Pei did not appreciate it.
She couldn't control her anger when she thought of how many wronged souls were still buried beneath the Duke Pei's mansion.
She opened her mouth and said coldly, "She called Luo'er an ill-mannered little beast. So am I an old beast? And what about the Pei family, who share the same roots?"
“If it weren’t for the young lady in your household who spoke hurtful words first, Luo’er wouldn’t have jumped over the wall to say a few words back.”
"In the end, my Xiuli General's Mansion is now just a bunch of widows, children and old people, while your Pei State Duke's Mansion has a noble person in the palace, so you are bullying the weak and trying to suppress us, the grandfather and grandson."
"If you look down on us, you can go to the Internal Affairs Department and make a fuss about changing your courtyard."
"Why bother shouting about filial piety and sins here!"
“Pei Bu, you know in your heart how many sins your Pei State Duke’s Mansion still has to commit!”
After saying this, Madam Pei turned and left with the help of Granny Zhang.
Duke Pei's face was extremely ugly.
Pei Jingzhe comforted her in a low voice, and then looked up at Li Qingluo on the wall.
He nodded slightly to show goodwill.
Li Qinglu narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself: Duke Pei's attitude has changed drastically, it must be related to this Pei Jingzhe!
He turned around and went back into the courtyard.
Li Qingluo walked towards Madam Pei: "Grandmother, calm down, Luo'er will make you rock sugar mung bean soup."
Madam Pei didn't blame her for standing up for herself today at all. She even smiled and tapped Li Qingluo's forehead: "Little monkey, after resting for a while, it's time to go to the main hall of Chang Le to pay respects to His Majesty and Empress."
"Let's save the rock sugar mung bean soup for when we get back tonight."
It was clear that Madam Pei felt much better after venting her frustrations.
While the grandfather and grandson were having a good time, the atmosphere in the Duke's mansion next door was oppressive and dark, as cold as ice.
The servants quickly withdrew.
Duke Pei glared angrily at Pei Liu Niang and Pei Shiniang, and whispered angrily, "Today's disaster is caused by you two troublemakers!"
"Guards, immediately send the Sixth Miss, the Tenth Miss, and the Madam back to Jinling City!"
"Make them stay inside and reflect on their mistakes. They are not allowed to leave their respective courtyards for a whole month!"
Upon hearing this, Lady Lü, the Duchess, rushed over and begged for forgiveness before she could even cry anymore: "My lord, I truly know I was wrong."
"I haven't even seen Xuan'er yet, how can I go back like this?"
"At least, at least let me see Xuan'er once before I leave!"
However, the Duke remained unmoved and made his decision with a cold expression.
Madam Lü: "Master, you are far too cruel!"
"A helpless old woman and a rebellious country girl who abandoned her parents, and now you're afraid of them too?"
"What exactly do they have against you that makes you disregard our marital bond?"
"And Xuan'er, she's now Consort Jing, she wants to see us, her parents, but you're completely disregarding that too?"
Pei Bu: "Shut up! What do you know?"
"All you do all day is put on airs as the Duchess of the State, unaware that the entire Duke's Mansion is already finished!"
"And that little beast you're talking about might be the only one who can save our family. How dare you offend her?!"
"If you dare utter another word of nonsense, I'll make sure you never see Xuan'er again in your entire life, you believe me?!"
Lady Lü was taken aback.
It was as if they didn't understand what Duke Pei was saying at all.
How could that wretched girl Li Qingluo be the only one who can save their Duke's mansion?
Isn't their Duke's mansion getting better and better these days?
Pei Jingzhe bent down and helped his mother up.
“Mother, Father was forced into this situation. In the future, please be careful with your words and actions when you encounter Miss Li and my great-aunt, and don’t offend them again.”
"If you still want my Pei family to have a way out, then listen to your son, okay?"
Only then did Madam Lü become a little nervous: "Eldest son, what exactly is going on?"
Pei Jingzhe sighed.
He rolled up his sleeves to show Madam Lü: "Mother. Do you remember Father also had this blue thread on him?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
