FID – Chapter 1029

 Chapter 1029: You Blind Old Woman, Are You Crazy?

  Grandma Liu said, “By now they should have reached the northwest, right? I wonder if they’ve met up with Qinglian yet.”

  “They definitely have,” Grandpa Liu said, trying to reassure her. “These young ones have their own ways of keeping in touch. It’s just that we don’t understand it.”

  Qin Xiao nodded in agreement with them.

  “Meeting up isn’t the hard part. The difficult thing is finding Miaojiang. The outside world knows very little about it. Even with the map given by a descendant of Miaojiang, locating it in the northwest in a short time isn’t easy. Besides, it’s near Xiliang, and Feng Qingbai’s identity is too sensitive. Who knows if he might encounter obstacles along the way?”

  “Difficult as it may be, they have to find it,” Grandma Liu sighed, worry creasing her face. “If they can’t, what will happen to Qinglian?”

  At this, Grandma Liu slapped her thigh hard in fury. “It’s all that uncle’s fault! Completely inhumane! Qinglian is such a good young man, and he did so much for him. And yet, when his ambitions failed, he even placed the Life Link Gu on Qinglian! How could someone do such a thing? People like that will surely face retribution!”

  “Alright, scold him all you want, but why slam your thigh so hard? If you slapped that heartless wretch, that would be fine. But you slap yourself—doesn’t it hurt?” Grandpa Liu, hearing the loud thwack, couldn’t focus on anything else and only felt pain in his own flesh.

  Grandma Liu was good in every way, except that whether she was happy or angry, she always liked to slap her thigh. It was a bad habit. If she really liked slapping, there were so many people around her, so why couldn’t she hit someone else?

Liu Zhiqiu was very sensitive. Noticing his grandfather’s gaze lingering on him, he immediately felt a pang of anxiety and quietly shifted back. His grandfather was definitely hoping that the previous slap had landed on him. At times like this, he felt he wasn’t really part of the family.

  The Empress Dowager, on the other hand, was accustomed to Grandma Liu’s loud, boisterous temperament. She cast her a glance and said, “What’s there to be angry about? That Xue Zhong has already received his retribution. Now he’s locked up in the King’s Manor, half-dead and lying in bed, unable to move. His life will be like that from now on.”

  After what had happened, even if Xue Qinglian remained filial, once he had been hurt so completely, he would likely never want anything to do with that uncle again.

  Betrayed by all and abandoned by kin, for Xue Zhong, that was the greatest punishment.

  Hearing the Empress Dowager’s words, Grandma Liu finally felt a bit relieved, but she didn’t forget to remind the two of them, “Right now, Axiu and Nannan aren’t in the capital, and who knows what’s going on in the King’s Manor. When you get back to the capital, check in there occasionally. Don’t let that scoundrel escape. With his temper, if he runs off, he’ll surely cause more trouble, and who knows what kind of Gu he might use to control Qinglian.”

  “Feng Qingbai has already made arrangements for those matters. You don’t need to worry so much. Just stay here in Xinghua Village, tend your fields, and if you have free time, chat under the big pagoda tree while waiting for them to return.”

  “Her Majesty is right. Grandma, don’t you know what kind of person Feng Qingbai is? Anything he sets up will have no loopholes. Even if he and Nannan aren’t at the manor now, that Xue Zhong scoundrel won’t be able to escape. His life will be like that from now on. If you really can’t have peace of mind, you can take a boat to the capital and see Xue Zhong’s pitiful state in the manor. It’ll definitely lift your spirits for a whole year.”

  Grandma Liu was amused by Liu Zhiqiu. “Alright, then just as you say. If I’m in a bad mood, I’ll go to the capital!”

  Her mood, which came on quickly, also dissipated quickly. Feeling much lighter, she enjoyed her meal heartily.

  After eating and drinking their fill, while everyone sat around to digest and rest for a bit, Grandma Liu turned her head and happened to see through the window a small stall diagonally across from the restaurant, selling the local specialty snack, mugwort rice cakes.

  “While we have a bit of time, I’ll go get you some mugwort rice cakes,” she said to the Empress Dowager. “It’s a specialty and seasonal snack from Yunzhou. After the tomb sweeping day, you won’t be able to get it until next spring, around March or April. It’s really fragrant.” With that, she hurried downstairs so fast that no one could stop her.

  Grandpa Liu laughed. “Let her go. If we held her back, she’d be in a foul mood for days. Besides, mugwort rice cake really is delicious. They probably don’t have this in the palace, right? You can just try some on the way.”

  Hearing this, the Empress Dowager let it be. Fine, let her buy it. After all, it was just across the street, and these street snacks weren’t worth much anyway. What mattered was her thoughtfulness.

  While they continued chatting, Liu Zhiqiu leaned on the window of the private room, watching his grandma tiptoe across the street to the rice cake stall. He didn’t know what she said to the vendor, but she was smiling brightly.

  Liu Zhiqiu couldn’t help but curl his lips.

  He loved seeing his grandma so cheerful.

  Since his grandparents were out, they were supposed to ride in the carriage from his eldest brother’s residence. But he didn’t feel comfortable leaving them unattended, so he took over the driver’s position to ensure they were looked after.

  Whenever they were outside Xinghua Village, he always worried that Grandpa and Grandma wouldn’t understand how complex the world was and might be taken advantage of. Just imagining that scene hurt more than a knife being stabbed directly into him.

  Because he stayed so close to them, his companions often teased him for not having ‘weaned’ even at his age.

  Let them tease—he didn’t mind at all.

  Supporting his chin with one hand, Liu Zhiqiu’s eyes never left his grandma while she bought the snack.

  He watched as the vendor wrapped a small portion of mugwort rice cakes, paid, and handed over the paper package. She leaned in to smell the unique fragrance of mugwort leaves.

  It was especially fresh and fragrant, mingled with the aroma of peanuts and sesame inside the cakes. Just smelling it made one’s mouth water.

  This snack was a local specialty, homemade by ordinary people. Compared to the delicately crafted, thumb-sized pastries in the palace, this was incomparable in refinement.

  Its strength lay in its flavor.

  Something the palace could never offer.

  Judging by the Empress Dowager’s tastes, she would probably like it. She smiled, walking toward the restaurant across the street. Just as she turned, she collided head-on with someone.

  “Sorry, sorry, I—did I bump into you?…” Grandma Liu instinctively began to apologize, but before she could look up at the person’s face, she was met with a torrent of scolding.

  “You blind old woman?! Not watching where you’re going! Don’t you know who you just ran into? If my mistress got hurt because of you, you couldn’t even compensate your whole family if you sold them! Useless fool, get out of my sight!”

  The sharp scolding made Grandma Liu stop mid-apology. She looked up and came face to face with a sharp, mean-looking woman. From her attire, she seemed to be a palace maid, but her aura was far inferior to the attendants who served the Empress Dowager.

TL Note: ⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨🎄 Happy Holidays Everyone! 🎄୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ May the New Year bring you happiness, good health and joy! And more novels to read! Stay warm (づ๑•ᴗ•๑)づ♡ 𐙚˙⋆🎄🧣☃️.˚ ❆