Chapter 216 The Liu Family Enters the Game, Luo'er Prepares to Kill
Before Li Qingluo could react, Sui'er pulled Wang Shi down.
"Mother, didn't we agree? My elder sister is now the eldest daughter of the General's Mansion, you can't call her by that name anymore!"
Granny Deng stepped forward with an angry expression and shouted, "How dare you!"
"What kind of grass!?"
"That should have been your biological daughter Liu Qingzhu's name. Now that everything has been restored, who are you calling by that name?!"
Wang looked flustered and looked at Li Qingluo with a wronged expression.
Li Qingluo only looked at Sui'er: "You betrayed me?"
Sui'er quickly explained, "Sister, I didn't! It was Mother. She talks about you every day at home and misses you more and more, so I... I just felt sorry for her and brought her here."
"But don't misunderstand, apart from my mother, no one in the family knows that I've come to see you today."
Madam Wang also explained softly, "Luo'er, ah... I, I really didn't mean any harm, I just wanted to take a look at you..."
Li Qingluo: "Why are you pretending to be a loving mother now? Tell me, what do you want?"
Wang's face turned bright red instantly after being ridiculed.
"Grass... Fallen, Fallen, is this how you think of me? I used to have some sincerity towards you..."
Li Qingluo: "Your true feelings? Your true feelings are letting that family bully me, going from only daring to secretly care for me, to completely ignoring me later?"
Before I knew my own background, I considered you the only person in that family who cared about me and was truly sincere.
"I thought I was a piece of your flesh, that you would feel some pain for me no matter what. I thought you were just a little weak, that you had no choice in the matter. But what about you?"
"They knew about my background all along, but like them, they only treated me as livestock and a bargaining chip."
“You and the entire Liu family are all birds of a feather. You miss me? You think I can give you any money right now?”
Wang could only silently shed tears after suffering these humiliations.
"Grass, I regret it..."
Li Qingluo walked to the table and sat down, completely ignoring Wang Shi's feigned innocence. She only asked, "Regret what? Regret not putting on an act and manipulating me as soon as you arrived in Jinling?"
"How much silver do you want? Fifty taels? One hundred taels?"
“When I was a baby, you breastfed me, and when I was a child, you fed me rice porridge. When I grew up, you secretly gave me bran cakes a few times.”
"Every grain of rice and every drop of water is a kindness. Even if it outweighs all the sins your Liu family committed against me, how much do I still owe you?"
"One hundred taels is more than enough; it's the maximum I can repay your kindness, isn't it?"
"However, how does your Liu family plan to settle accounts with me regarding Liu Qingzhu?"
"All the food, clothing, jewelry, and silks she's worn over the years have been taken from what I rightfully belong to. Shouldn't your Liu family compensate me with tens of thousands of taels of silver to make up the difference?!"
No sooner had Li Qing finished speaking than a shout came from outside: "Cao'er! Cao'er, I know you're in there—"
"I am your father. Cao'er, how can you only see your mother and not your father? Your father misses you too—"
Li Qingluo smiled and looked at Sui'er.
Sui'er's face turned completely pale.
"I...I really don't know...Sister, I really don't know...Mother! I trusted you so much, and you betrayed me?"
Li Qingluo stood up, no longer wanting to say a word.
She looked at Granny Deng, who had gone out for a while, and the noise outside quickly subsided.
Li Qinglu reached into her clothes and pulled out a one-hundred-tael silver note, which she then tossed lightly to Wang Shi.
"From this day forward, our debts are settled. If you ever appear before me again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
After saying that, Li Qingluo didn't give Liu Suier another chance and quickly left.
Wang quickly picked up the hundred-tael silver note from the ground, her face beaming with joy.
"That's great, at least I got a hundred taels. When I get back, your father and grandfather won't blame me."
"Sui'er, look how generous your sister Cao'er is these days! She just throws out a hundred taels of silver, a hundred taels of silver!!"
"If we go back to the countryside, wouldn't we never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of our lives?"
Liu Sui'er stomped her feet in anger and shouted, "Mother!! Have you been blinded by greed? You clearly miss my sister, why are you doing this?!"
"Do you know that my sister is the most intolerant person of any injustice? Now you've betrayed her along with me, what am I supposed to do?!"
"You're so selfish and self-centered, no wonder you gave birth to such a wicked child as Liu Qingzhu!"
Despite being verbally abused by her own daughter, Wang raised her head as if she hadn't heard a thing, her face streaked with tears.
"Sui'er, if your father and the others can listen to me, let's go back to the countryside... Cao'er won't be bothered anymore, right?"
Sui'er froze instantly.
"Mother?"
Wang cried and smiled bitterly, "Mother knows, it's all our Liu family's fault for her... Mother has known for a long time, and has regretted it for a long time. But... but what can I do?"
"If I don't do this, if I don't say this, your father and grandfather will beat me!"
Wang got up: "Sui'er, let's go back? Let's go back to our mountains and live a peaceful life."
"We can definitely start over, and our family will have a chance to live together harmoniously, like real human beings..."
"Don't bother the grass anymore, and don't disturb the pearl!"
Sui'er, however, was in a daze: "Mother, it's too late... My whole life has already been completely ruined by the Liu family..."
No sooner had Li Qinglu left through the back door of the Zhenxiu Restaurant than the servants of the General's Mansion came looking for him.
"Search! The general said we must find the thieves in the general's mansion today!"
Li Qingluo was already sitting in the carriage returning to Guiyuan when Granny Deng asked in confusion, "Miss, you knew that someone from the Liu family would come with Liu Sui'er, so why did you still insist on coming? Was it to completely sever your ties with that Wang woman?"
Li Qingluo: "How can we catch them all in one net if we don't throw them some bait?"
Granny Deng smiled and said, "It's good that you know what's going on, Miss. By the way, I've already sent a message to Green Firefly."
Li Qingluo: "Keep an eye on Li Kechuan. Act immediately if he makes a move. Also, inform Cui Jiuniang and tell her to make preparations."
Granny Deng: "Yes."
The next day, Granny Deng said that Liu Sui'er still wanted to see Li Qingluo.
Li Qingluo naturally declined.
Granny Deng: "I heard that when we got back yesterday, Liu Da beat Wang Shi up again, saying that she was incompetent and only asked for one hundred taels of silver."
"That Liu Da is really greedy. One hundred taels would be enough for his family to eat and drink for a lifetime if they went back to the mountains, yet he is still not satisfied!"
Li Qingluo: "Have someone lure him to the gambling den."
Does that mean we can't keep all 100 taels?
Granny Deng chuckled and said, "This old servant obeys your command."
"I heard they went to Prince Yun's mansion several more times, but they didn't even get a single tael of silver. They were even beaten up by Prince Yun's guards."
Li Qingluo: "The Liu family is still dreaming of being related to royalty. But Liu Qingzhu is in dire straits now, barely able to support herself, so how can she possibly bother to care about them?"
Sure enough, that very night Green Firefly sent a message saying that Liu Qingzhu would be going to Qingsong Temple in three days.
Moreover, Liu Qingzhu also sent a letter to the general's mansion and handed it to Li Kechuan.
"Green Firefly is quite capable. Girl, your opportunity has arrived!"
Li Qingluo: "Tell Liu Suier that her real chance for revenge has arrived. Tell her to seize this opportunity; if she makes another mistake, I will no longer care about her!"
Granny Deng: "Yes. But I have another question. It's clear that Madam Qu is the one who dotes on Liu Qingzhu the most. Every time I see her acting pretentious, she completely forgets about the young lady. Why doesn't she make an appointment with Madam Qu?"
Liu Qingzhu wanted money and a dowry.
Logically speaking, she might actually be able to extract some information from the Qu family.
But this time, she arranged to meet with Li Kechuan.
Li Qingluo: "Liu Qingzhu is a concubine, yet she can run around outside all day long. Do you really think it's because Prince Yun spoils her so much that she has completely lost her manners?"
“Last time she entered the palace, the Empress was already testing the General’s Mansion. The mother and son’s intention to win over the General’s Mansion was obvious. But Li Kechuan’s leg was cut off at the Prince Yun’s Mansion. Liu Qingzhu wants to break the ice with the General’s Mansion. Who do you think she should try to please first?”
Granny Deng suddenly realized: "Was it Prince Yun who instructed Liu Qingzhu behind the scenes?"
Li Qingluo: "We'll see."
Granny Deng felt that this matter was not simple.
"But now the General's Mansion is probably mired in trouble because of that Jiang family, and can hardly protect itself. How can it possibly care about the affairs of Prince Heyun's Mansion?"
Li Qingluo: "Perhaps this is also an opportunity for Li Chaojing to turn things around?"
Granny Deng slapped her thigh: "Oh, that's right! If he completely sides with Prince Yun, he might actually be able to save him this time!"
Li Qinglu snorted: "But would I let him have his way?"
“They all deserve to die for daring to murder my grandmother.”
Granny Deng sighed, then remembered something else: "Oh, right, Miss, we almost got caught by the people from the General's Mansion when we went to the Zhenxiu Restaurant this morning."
"When the servants went to cause trouble at the restaurant, Yang Qinwu happened to be there, which prevented Meishuang from getting into trouble."
Li Qingluo: "Yang Qinwu? Why is he coming to my restaurant every day? I have to see him again sometime!"
The matter between Pan Li and Princess Qinyu is shrouded in mystery.
Li Qingluo always felt that she might be involved in Nan Jia's affairs.
She wanted to know what had happened outside Zhaohua Palace that night.
Perhaps Yang Qinwu knows.
After that night when Prince Su played chess, he never came to Guiyuan again.
There were only mute servants in the mansion, Li Qingluo and a group of old women. They all got along very well every day, but the grandmother still hadn't woken up.
Three days later, at Qingsong Temple.
Several months later, Li Qingluo returned to Qingsong Temple, only to find everything changed.
However, she did not come here today to reminisce.
Li Qinglu put on a veil, and even Granny Deng, Granny Zhang, and Que'er and Ying'er covered their faces.
They requested a private room.
Granny Zhang also said that it would be nice if the old lady were here, so that she could rest in the old courtyard.
However, they cannot reveal their identities today, so even though they have the keys on them, they cannot go.
Li Qing had just sat down in the side room when Zheng Mama came to report, "Miss, they've all arrived; they're in the courtyard next door."
Li Qingluo took a sip of tea and immediately stood up: "Let's go, the show is about to begin again."
Under the tung tree.
Liu Qingzhu, dressed in white, was wringing a handkerchief in her hands. Her eyes were red and filled with tears, giving her a pitiful and fragile appearance. She gazed at Li Kechuan with a melancholy look.
"Brother, you've finally come..."
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