Afterward, Leng Ruo Li and Ling Er left the Yichun Tower with grace.
On the way, Leng Ruo Li presented Ling Er with her deed of sale.
Unexpectedly, Ling Er did not take it but knelt before her.
"Eldest Miss, you saved me from the fire pit. From now on, Ling Er wishes to serve you like a bull or a horse."
Having said that, she kowtowed to Leng Ruo Li.
Leng Ruo Li quickly helped her up and said with a smile, "I don't need you to serve me like a bull or a horse. If you truly wish to follow me, then follow me, but you must be loyal to me."
"Since you don't want this deed of sale, I shall tear it up. From now on, you are no one's servant. If you ever wish to leave me, just tell me, and you may go."
With her words, Leng Ruo Li immediately tore up Ling Er's deed of sale in front of her.
Ling Er's eyes instantly welled up with tears of gratitude.
She recalled that when she was six years old, her parents passed away from illness, leaving her to depend on her grandmother. She was often bullied, which made her see the ugliness of the world. Only her grandmother loved her dearly.
However, half a year ago, her grandmother suddenly fell gravely ill, causing her to lose her sight. Ling Er was then forced to sell herself into servitude to exchange for two taels of silver to treat her grandmother's illness. In the end, she could not cure her grandmother, and she herself fell into the fire pit.
Leng Ruo Li looked at the tearful Ling Er, her heart aching, not knowing what sad memories she was recalling.
So she asked again, "Are you going back to the General's Mansion with me now, or would you like to go home first? I heard from Xing'er that you still have a sick, blind grandmother at home. Why don't I accompany you home to see her? Perhaps I can help your grandmother with her illness."
Ling Er nodded with red eyes and led Leng Ruo Li to a small village in the southern part of the city.
This small village was truly impoverished, so poor that it was beyond imagination. Few people here could afford brick and tile houses; most lived in thatched cottages, and even those were low and dilapidated. Such houses could not shield them from the wind and rain. If winter arrived, the biting cold wind would surely make it as frigid as an ice cellar.
"Alas..."
Leng Ruo Li felt a blockage in her heart and sighed.
The moonlight that night was not very bright, and the path Ling Er led her through the village was very difficult. After navigating several filthy, smelly ditches, they arrived at Ling Er's doorstep.
However, before Ling Er could step into her house, she was stunned.
It was late at night, yet her doorstep was crowded with neighbors. She didn't know what they were doing there.
Immediately, Ling Er's face turned pale. She became like a madwoman, pushing through the crowd and rushing into the thatched cottage. Stumbling, she reached the bedside. Leng Ruo Li followed closely behind her and squeezed into the house.
"Ah..."
Then, Ling Er, filled with disbelief, collapsed onto her grandmother's body and cried out loudly.
"Wuwu... Grandma, wake up, wake up. How could you leave Ling Er behind? Wuwu..."
Regrettably, her grandmother could no longer be awakened. The two were now separated by life and death.
"Wuwu... Grandma, it's all Ling Er's fault for not taking good care of you. If I had come back sooner to see you, you wouldn't have..."
Ling Er cried until she was completely broken, as if her sky had caved in. It was truly moving.
But unfortunately, someone so inconsiderate chose to disturb her.
A stout, broad-waisted, big-headed, big-eared woman with a face like a roasted bun rushed to Ling Er's side, grabbed her hair, and slapped her across the face. She roared:
"You little slut, you still know how to come back? Knowing your grandmother was blind, you were out gallivanting for so many days without coming home, and you wanted to starve your grandmother to death at home."
The onlookers were confused by the woman's inexplicable actions.
What was going on?
Was this woman crazy? The girl's grandmother had just died, and she was in extreme distress. Out of nowhere, her hair was grabbed and she was slapped.
Leng Ruo Li was also petrified, not understanding the situation.
Ling Er cried even more sorrowfully, her heart filled with self-reproach.
After a moment of silence, an elder who knew the truth finally came to his senses and reprimanded the plump woman:
"Zhang Cuihua, don't go too far. Ling Er's grandmother just passed away. Can't you be a little quieter?"
But who was this woman? She was the notorious shrew of the village and immediately retorted:
"Headman Qiao, this is an internal family matter of our Deng clan. It has nothing to do with you." The woman, Zhang Cuihua, argued with wide eyes.
Headman Qiao was angered by Zhang Cuihua's words. His expression immediately turned cold, and he said impolitely:
"I am the headman of this village. How can something that happens in my village not concern me?"
Zhang Cuihua was speechless.
At this moment, Zhang Cuihua's husband timidly stepped forward, apologizing to the headman on behalf of his wife.
Although the headman was a minor official, if the matter were to escalate to the county yamen, they, as commoners, would not be able to handle it.
"Headman Qiao, my wife is just a woman. Please don't take it to heart with her," Zhang Cuihua's husband explained on her behalf.
"Deng Youcai, you don't need to defend her. I've long heard how you and your wife have bullied Ling Er and her grandmother in private, but some matters are inconvenient to interfere with. Now that Ling Er's grandmother has just passed away, you are so eager to oppress Ling Er and want to seize the thatched cottage of their grandmother and granddaughter. Your intentions are known to all."
Upon having their thoughts exposed, Zhang Cuihua and Deng Youcai no longer concealed their intentions.
"Headman Qiao, how are we seizing it? Old Mrs. Deng (Ling Er's grandmother) is dead. According to the Deng clan's regulations, women cannot inherit houses or land. Deng Youcai is her nephew and is the rightful heir to Old Mrs. Deng's property."
"Heh heh!" Headman Qiao sneered. "So this is your motive."
After listening to the conversation of the three, Leng Ruo Li finally understood the woman's intention. She likely wanted to force Ling Er away and then seize Ling Er's family's thatched cottage.
Leng Ruo Li glanced around the thatched cottage with the faint firelight. There was nothing valuable in the room except a stove, a dark pot, a small bed, and a dilapidated small table. It was so poor, yet someone was coveting this house, which made Leng Ruo Li find it incredible.
At this moment, the heartbroken Ling Er suddenly stood up. The timid and meek girl she once was now stared at Zhang Cuihua with eyes wide with fury.
"Aunt Zhang, my grandmother treated you well in the past and even saved your life many times. Not only are you not repaying her kindness, but you have also harbored ill intentions, coveting our grandmother and granddaughter's thatched cottage. Do you think Grandma and I didn't know?"
With that, Ling Er casually slapped Zhang Cuihua across the face.
Zhang Cuihua, caught off guard, was stunned by Ling Er's sudden slap and stumbled back two steps.
A moment later, Zhang Cuihua recovered and revealed a ferocious expression, pouncing on Ling Er like a madwoman. The two began to fight.
Ling Er glared at Zhang Cuihua, hatred surging in her heart. Her veins bulged, and she clenched her fists, striking Zhang Cuihua's face, leaving her bruised and swollen.
The onlookers did not intervene, allowing the two to fight.
After a few exchanges with Zhang Cuihua, Ling Er began to lose strength.
Leng Ruo Li took out two silver needles from her system space and flicked her fingers. Two silver needles flew from her fingertips, piercing Zhang Cuihua's calves and embedding themselves in her flesh.
She thought to herself, "Alas, I didn't expect to use the set of silver needles I just obtained from the Leng King's Mansion as hidden weapons."
"Ah... It hurts so much!"
Zhang Cuihua cried out in pain and collapsed onto the ground.
"Who? Who used needles to prick me?"
Zhang Cuihua roared at the crowd.
The onlookers had no idea what had happened to her. They all stepped back, trying to distance themselves from her, looking at her as if she were crazy.
Privately, two women whispered that the ghost of Ling Er's grandmother was angry at Zhang Cuihua for bullying Ling Er and had come to teach her a lesson.
This scared Zhang Cuihua and those who had bullied Ling Er and her grandmother. Their faces turned pale, and they turned to leave Ling Er's house.
A moment later, Headman Qiao also sent the remaining onlookers away, allowing Ling Er to spend her last night with her grandmother in peace.
Leng Ruo Li then stepped forward to examine Ling Er's grandmother, confirming her death. She sighed and left the space for the grandmother and granddaughter.
The next day, the sky was a hazy gray. Leng Ruo Li saw Headman Qiao arrive early to help Ling Er bury her grandmother, which touched Leng Ruo Li.
However, Ling Er remained in low spirits. Leng Ruo Li decided for her, taking out ten taels of silver from herself and giving it to Headman Qiao to help arrange Ling Er's grandmother's funeral, as Leng Ruo Li was unfamiliar with such matters.
After Ling Er's grandmother was buried, Leng Ruo Li immediately took Ling Er away from the place that brought her so much sorrow.