Chapter 116: Drawing the bow and shooting out of the courtyard!
Zhuang Wei stormed off, leaving Li Qingzhu behind. Watching his retreating figure, Li Qingzhu wiped away her tears expressionlessly.
This winter banquet at the Princess's residence is her chance to meet His Highness Prince Yun.
So, she absolutely has to go!
Even if it means fighting, we must get Li Qingluo's post!
Li Qingzhu thought fiercely: Li Qingluo, since you're so disrespectful to me, then don't blame me for dealing with you!
Before long, both the Qu family and Li Kechuan knew about this.
Madam Qu wanted to say a few more words of advice, "Zhu'er, did Luo'er originally intend to inform you about this matter tomorrow? Why don't we talk about it again tomorrow..."
Li Kechuan said coldly, "Mother, your heart has become biased. It's one thing for Father to be like this; it's my useless and crippled body that has caused him to lose hope, which is why he's acting so madly. How can you be like this too? Every word you utter is in defense of Li Qingluo!"
"After all, it was Pearl who grew up by your side since childhood!"
"Does Mother now value blood ties more?"
After being rebuked by her son, Madam Qu stared at them speechlessly.
With red eyes, Li Qingzhu came to Qu's side and took her arm.
"Brother, what are you saying?! You mustn't treat Mother like that! No matter what, Mother is still Luo'er's biological mother. Luo'er has never received Mother's favor all these years. It's only right that Mother shows her some favoritism now."
After saying that, Li Qingzhu looked up at Madam Qu with tears in her eyes, and forced a smile.
“Mother, Zhu’er is alright, you don’t need to worry about her. It was my brother who insisted on standing up for her, but actually, Zhu’er doesn’t care about that invitation at all, she’s just embarrassed…”
"Forget it, I've already lost all face anyway. After causing a self-immolation incident, how could I possibly show my face at those banquets again?"
Li Kechuan pulled Li Qingzhu back to his side.
He gripped Li Qingzhu's wrist tightly with his large hand: "Zhu'er, but that honor should have been yours. If this invitation isn't given to the eldest daughter of the General's Mansion, should it be given to her? Even though she saved Princess Nanping, it's not acceptable!"
"She's so ignorant, doing such disgraceful things, your brother will take care of her for you!"
"Come on, brother will accompany you to the Red Maple Pavilion to get the invitation!"
Watching the brother and sister walk away, Qu felt that strange feeling rise in her heart again for no apparent reason.
Moreover, these are becoming increasingly difficult to suppress and are constantly emerging.
Why, why are they able to say these things so confidently?
Although Pearl said she didn't care, every word she said actually meant that she did care!
Qu suddenly felt a chill run down her spine when she thought of her previous attitude towards Luo'er.
No... was she like this before?
They believe that Luo'er should always give in to Zhu'er, and that Luo'er owes Zhu'er something.
But ever since Luo'er fell off the cliff... it's as if Madam Qu suddenly woke up!
Deep down, she didn't want to lose Luo'er!
Moreover, Qu suddenly felt a great deal of shame and indebtedness towards Luo'er.
Sometimes, even in her dreams, Qu would see Luo'er hanging from a cliff, calling out, "Mother... why don't you love Luo'er more? Mother... please love me too... Mother, I want to be held by you..."
But in reality, Luo'er treats her with indifference and distance, like a complete stranger.
If it weren't for what Luo'er said on the cliff that day, Qu Shi would never have known that Luo'er also longed for her love!
Qu woke up crying several times.
She didn't know what was wrong with her.
Clearly, Pearl is innocent too; clearly, she loves Pearl more!
Qu suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and chased after the two siblings.
No, she couldn't let Chuan'er bully Luo'er anymore!
When Qu rushed to the Red Maple Courtyard, she saw a scene of chaos and disorder at the entrance of the Red Maple Pavilion.
It turned out to be Zhuang Sanlang. He hadn't even gotten inside the Red Maple Pavilion before Li Qinglu shot him out with an arrow!
At this moment, Li Qingluo, dressed in a pale yellow winter dress, held a longbow in her hand, nocked an arrow and drew the bow with her other hand, once again aiming at Zhuang Sanlang, who looked pale and sickly, outside the courtyard gate.
The entrance to the Red Maple Pavilion was crowded with nannies and maids.
They all glared menacingly at the uninvited guests outside the door, as if they were facing a group of enemies.
Not only that, but when Qu saw that the second and third wives, who had only returned today, were now surrounded by people watching the excitement!
Qu felt a sudden darkness before her eyes.
He rushed over immediately: "Luo'er! What are you doing?! Put it down right now!"
Qu Shi trembled and whispered, standing in front of Zhuang Sanlang and Li Qingzhu.
She never expected that Luo'er would be so bold as to attempt to harm someone at home!
Has she gone mad?!
When Li Qingluo saw that Qu Shi had arrived, she showed no inclination to put away her arrows.
Zhuang Sanlang sneered, "Second Miss Li, you're really quite arrogant! I merely wanted to borrow your invitation to see if it was true or not. After all, there's never been any talk of a winter banquet at the Princess's residence before, so how come you received it? Not only did you refuse to give it to me, but you also humiliated Zhu'er!"
"I will never allow anyone in this world to humiliate her—"
Li Qing turned the arrow around, and with a 'whoosh,' the arrow pierced through the gap in the crowd and shot straight at a crooked willow tree.
A gasp rippled through the crowd.
Zhuang Sanlang's face also turned pale.
He had just tried to barge into the Red Maple Pavilion to reason with her, but she was practicing archery in the courtyard. Upon seeing him, she immediately fired two arrows at once, pinning them directly to his feet.
Zhuang Wei then withdrew.
He thought those two arrows were just her luck!
But with so many people around, how can she shoot wherever she wants?
Wasn't she a girl from the mountains?
How can your archery skills be so amazing?
That day on the street, she personally apprehended the woman.
How come she's completely different from the rumors?
Unlike the noble ladies of Jinling City, she was not the vulgar village girl one might imagine.
Li Qingluo sneered, "So what if I humiliate her? What are you going to do about it?"
"You want to reason with me? What is the relationship between Young Master Zhuang and Sister Zhu'er?! Oh, I forgot. You two are engaged."
"However, there's no reason in this world to force someone or shamelessly snatch their invitation, is there?!"
As she spoke, Li Qingluo turned to look at Li Kechuan and Li Qingzhu.
Their faces were naturally very grim.
Li Qingluo: "Want an invitation? You think you can do that? But as long as I'm here today, let's see who dares to trespass on my Red Maple Pavilion!"
As Li Qingluo spoke, she gripped her longbow tightly, as if she would show no mercy to anyone who dared to step forward.
Li Qingzhu was secretly sweating profusely with anxiety.
With so many people here, how could she spout nonsense about a marriage agreement?
She immediately disregarded Zhuang Sanlang and said, "Sister Luo'er, please don't scare us. Sanlang didn't mean any harm. I just felt ashamed, which is why I acted so rashly!"
"He shouldn't have trespassed into your yard, but Sanlang and I are now completely innocent, so please don't misunderstand. The one he was betrothed to since childhood was you!"
As soon as Li Qingzhu said this, Zhuang Wei turned his head and stared at her with disbelief.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
