If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1072 The Xianyang Incident, the Empress Dowager's Death

Xiaoyu heard Li's prayer, but did not immediately go to see Li in her true form. Only after it got dark and Li fell asleep did she spare a thought to "build a bridge" and float into Li's dream.

"Mom, I've finally seen you again, sob sob~~~"

Li was so excited that she cried in her dream and even wanted to hug her legs and cry.

Xiao Yu gently dodged away and said calmly, "Now that we've dealt with the mess with the Water Element Pearl, we probably won't see each other again. You must be strong and take good care of yourself, so that you can repay your mother for saving you!"

"Yes, I will definitely take good care of myself." Li was both saddened and moved.

Xiao Yu didn't waste any words with her and said directly, "The Water Element Pearl falling into your hands is your opportunity!"

You can swallow it yourself; there's no need to worry about not being able to enjoy it.

'Fortune' can be either innate or acquired.

You are not endowed with the necessary innate talents, so you are indeed unable to absorb the power of the Water Element Pearl.

However, if one has the opportunity and obtains the right cultivation method, one can also refine the spirit pearl into one's own.

I guarantee that you will be able to fully absorb the spiritual energy in the Spirit Pearl, transforming you from an ordinary woman into a powerful immortal within two months.

With the power of a celestial being, you no longer need to be a sheltered housewife.

You can roam the world with your sword, and even take advantage of the chaos to build a great career.

Madam Li quickly replied, "Thank you for your kindness, Mother, but this Water Element Pearl is someone else's destined treasure, and I cannot accept it."

Xiaoyu said, "There's no such thing as a preordained fate. It's just a matter of how deep or shallow the connection is."

Even Sun Dalang has a connection with the Water Pearl.

If it weren't meant to be, it wouldn't have fallen into his hands.

It can only be said that the connection between him and the Water Element Pearl was not the deepest, and he suffered great harm from it.

Now that the Spirit Pearl is in your hands, I can make it your destiny; you need not worry.

Li hesitated for a moment, then said, "I will always remember my mother's kindness. But I have never dreamed of becoming a wandering knight-errant."

I prayed to my mother, just so that I could properly dispose of the Water Elemental Pearl.

"To entrust it to a virtuous person who is fortunate enough to benefit from it, and to use the power of the Water Element Pearl to bring blessings to the world, would be my greatest merit."

Xiaoyu nodded slightly and said, "This is easy. Your family lives by the Tuo River."

Now that you've returned home, you still often go to the river to do things like washing clothes, rinsing yarn, and bleaching cotton.

Make a net to hold the water pearl, then hang it on your waist as an accessory.

When going to the river to wash yarn and clothes, wear the accessories.

About half a month later, a servant boy passed by the river.

He first asked you for water.

Once he gets close to you, he'll subtly inquire about the origin of the Spirit Pearl.

Tell him the truth: you are waiting for a good person who is fortunate enough to be with you.

After leaving behind these words, Xiaoyu vanished from her dream without a trace.

When Li woke up the next day, she felt excited, confused, and very disappointed.

I was so excited that I dreamt of my mother, the old woman of Qiushan, and even received some inspiration from her.

But her mother's revelation was unclear and ambiguous, leaving her with many doubts.
The sense of loss came from remembering her mother's words: once the mess left by the spirit pearl was dealt with, they would never see each other again.

Despite her disappointment and doubts, Li knelt outside the house with great reverence, bowing to heaven and earth to thank her mother for her guidance, and obediently followed her mother's instructions.

She used a dark blue rope to make a knot, tightly binding the spirit pearl inside.

Although the Water Element Pearl is a spiritual treasure, it is inherently obscure and does not shimmer with brilliant spiritual light.

She hung the net around her waist as an accessory, which did not attract the attention of her family and neighbors.

Her parents, however, felt sorry for her situation but also disliked that she was an old maid staying at her parents' home. The next day, they started arranging to find her a new husband.

Li felt depressed, but she had no say in her own fate and could only silently help with the housework.

It was about ten days after I returned to my parents' home.

On her fourth trip to the Tuo River to wash the gauze, Li encountered an old man in his fifties.

The old man carried a package, his eyes were bright, his appearance was dignified, and his legs were nimble, but his face was weathered and he looked older than his actual age.

The two passed each other without Li noticing, but the old man suddenly stopped, turned around in surprise and looked at the tassel on her waist again and again.

"Young lady, I am from Ji County. I have walked dozens of miles and my mouth is very dry. May I borrow your earthenware pot to have a drink of water?"

At this time, Li was similar to the washerwoman in Huaiyin, both bringing food and water to the river to wash yarn.

Even when they were tired or hungry, they wouldn't go home. They would just eat whatever they could find, rest for a while, and then continue working.

After all, the riverside isn't right in front of your house.

Dozens of kilograms of gauze, a round trip of two or three miles, it's exhausting and a waste of time.

Li also brought dried flatbread and a small earthenware pot filled with rice water. She worked in the morning, ate a little something for lunch, continued washing in the afternoon, and returned home in the evening carrying a large bundle of clean yarn.

Li hadn't even realized what was happening when the old man asked for water.

Because at this moment, we are not by the river, but on our way to the river.

She hesitated for a moment, but still handed over her earthenware pot.

The old man drank while chatting with her, and as they talked, they came to talk about the beads on Li's waist.

Even if Li was slow to react, she realized at this moment that the servant her mother had mentioned had indeed arrived.

She was a little excited, but not foolish enough to shout, "I've been waiting for you for so long!"

She still followed her mother's instructions and answered the old man's questions honestly.

Finally, she explained why she hung the beads around her waist: "My mother instructed me to wait for a good person with enough good fortune."

The old man was filled with doubt and suspicion, yet also seemed to be deep in thought.

To Li's surprise, the old man drank half of the rice soup in her earthenware pot, said "thank you" and then took his leave.

Throughout the entire ordeal, the old man never revealed any intention to ask for the spirit pearl.

In a daze, without understanding what was happening, Li washed the silk gauze and returned to the Li family home in the evening.

Then her mother excitedly told her, "My daughter, you're so lucky! You don't have to marry that cripple Zhang anymore. Today, Matchmaker Song came to our house to propose marriage. Master Lü from Ji County has taken a liking to you and wants you to be his son's wife!"

Well, originally, Li's parents planned to marry their daughter to Zhang the Cripple.

You can tell from his name that he's a cripple.

But being a cripple has its advantages; at least he doesn't have to worry about being conscripted by the court to build the Great Wall or imperial tombs, leaving his wife alone at home to live a life of widowhood.

"Who is Master Lü? I've never heard of him before," Madam Li asked.

Her mother looked puzzled and said, "I don't know either, but he has already given ten ingots of gold as a betrothal gift, ten large silver ingots, each worth five taels."

Clearly, the Lü family is no ordinary family, and they certainly wouldn't mistreat you.

Li wanted to ask more questions, but when she heard her mother say that the Li family had even accepted other people's betrothal gifts, she was filled with mixed feelings and could only stare blankly.

Fortunately, the Lü family did indeed value this marriage, with all the necessary arrangements made, including matchmakers, a grand wedding procession, and a sedan chair carried by eight men.

Before the formal marriage, Lu Chen, the son of the Lu family, also visited his future father-in-law's family with a wild goose.

Not only did Old Man Li and the Li brothers accompany their future son-in-law for meals, drinks, and chats, but they also learned about his family's basic situation.

Li herself hid in the shadows and secretly glanced at Lü Chen.

It was much better than she had expected.

Lu Chen was tall and strong, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. Although her appearance was not as good as her predecessor, Sun Dalang, her temperament and demeanor were more than ten times better.

He is polite and well-mannered in his dealings with others.

All of Li's resentment vanished, and she obediently stayed home to prepare her dowry for her second marriage.

There were no problems with the wedding process.

She met her new father-in-law the next morning.

"Oh, old man, it's you?!"

Her father-in-law turned out to be the old servant who had asked her for water that day and inquired about the origin of the Water Pearl but had not asked for anything in return.

"Child, do not doubt. You and Chen'er are destined by heaven!" The old man's expression was complicated as he gestured for his son and daughter-in-law to sit beside him.

He slowly explained, "That Water Element Pearl was originally a family heirloom of my Lü family."

My great-grandfather, Lü Chong, once saved a red carp that was going through a "loss of fortune" when he was a boy.

'Lost' is one of the three calamities and five tribulations of the demon race, and it is even more terrifying than the heavenly tribulation.

Demons who enter the Tribulation of Loss will suddenly lose all their magic and supernatural powers, and even lose most of their wisdom, leaving only instinct.

That red carp was once the Dragon Mother of the Wo River, a female dragon lord who had cultivated for ten thousand years.

But after she fell into a state of confusion, she actually went to the riverbank like a real red carp, swallowed the bait of the old fisherman, and was then caught and brought ashore.

It has neither magic nor wisdom.

If nothing unexpected happens, she will definitely not survive this ordeal and will be sold or eaten by the old man.

The old patriarch Lü Chong loved the bright colors of red carp, so he bought some and released them into the small lake in his backyard.

This saved the Dragon King's life.

After the Dragon King overcame the tribulation of being lost and returned to the Wo River, he gave Lü Chong three precious pearls as a thank-you gift.

There is a luminous pearl the size of a cup, a mirage pearl that creates various illusions, and a water-repelling pearl.

The water elemental bead in your hand is the same one that used to be a luminous bead.

Adding a luminous pearl to a thousand-year-old ginseng wine can increase the wine's spiritual energy tenfold.

From then on, the ancestor Lü Chong achieved great success in his martial arts and rose to prominence, making the Lü family a prominent clan in Chen County.

The blessings bestowed by a virtuous person will be exhausted after three generations.

By the time of my grandfather's generation, the Emperor Zheng destroyed the six kingdoms and unified the world.

My Lü family were nobles of the former Chu state, and we were also relocated to Xianyang.

The family declined from then on, and the Water-Avoiding Pearl and the Mirage Pearl fell into the hands of a powerful nobleman in Xianyang, leaving only a luminous pearl that had exhausted its spiritual energy.

It no longer shines; it can no longer be as radiant and dazzling as it once was, brighter than a beacon.

On the surface, it looks like an ordinary glass bead, but only a tiny bit of spiritual energy is hidden away, turning it into a 'water element bead'.

In the end, my father was swindled out of his money by a merchant surnamed Luo.

The man surnamed Luo said that the Water Spirit Orb was completely useless and had no further purpose.

It can barely be considered a medicinal ingredient for refining 'Superior Qi-Boosting Pill'.

That merchant surnamed Luo was a friend of my father and also a fellow townsman of the State of Chu.

My father believed him and gave him the spirit pearl directly.

At this point, Old Man Lü's face showed a mixture of regret and relief.

"The man surnamed Luo is clearly an expert; he knows a lot about Water Element Pearls."

This is why he was able to steal the Water Element Pearl, and also why the Water Element Pearl has been preserved to this day.

He knew how powerful the Water Element Pearl was, and he also knew that his son lacked the necessary talent.

That's why he buried the Water Spirit Orb next to his grave after his death.

They planned to wait until a martial arts genius emerged in the family before digging out the Water Spirit Orb and consuming it.

Unexpectedly, through a series of twists and turns, the Spirit Pearl ended up in your hands.

Li listened intently to the story of the Lü family. After a while, she murmured, "Why didn't you ask me for it back then, old man? If you had told me the story of the spirit pearl, I would definitely have given it to you."

Old Man Lü sighed and said, "Although the man surnamed Luo deceived my father, my father did indeed give the Spirit Pearl to him."

Once the opportunity is given away, it will no longer be an opportunity for my Lü family.

By a stroke of luck, you obtained the Spirit Pearl; it was your destiny.

Li quickly replied, "I was already planning to give it away anyway."

“I understand. Your mother is giving you a message, telling you to wait for a good person with enough good fortune.”

Old Man Lü smiled and gestured with his chin toward his son, Lü Chen, "The person I'm referring to is probably your husband."

"My son has good talent; he should be able to digest the spiritual energy within the spirit pearl."

Li's expression changed several times. "The Lü family married me for the Spirit Pearl? There's absolutely no need for that."

"No, child, you misunderstand. Just as I said, you and I are destined by heaven. The Old Mother of Qiushan had already foreseen everything, which is why she made you wait for me by the river."

—Waiting for a good person with enough good fortune—for an unmarried young woman like you, a "good person" is also a "good man"!

Old Man Lü said solemnly, "I inquired about you carefully later. Even without the Spirit Pearl, it is a blessing for my son and the Lü family that he was able to marry you."

He probably meant half the truth in what he said.

He did indeed inquire carefully about the affairs of the Li family and the Sun family in the neighboring Sanhe Village.

Li was not some extraordinary woman who appeared only once in a thousand years, but she was indeed a qualified wife.

Sun Dalang's affair with another woman led to his own death and the misfortune of his family. Li Shi was still willing to step forward and do her best to save her husband and family.

You can rest assured if you marry a woman like this.

In addition, she was blessed with good fortune: she caught the eye of the Old Mother of the Hills.

He is a perfect match for the young master of the once-prosperous Lü family.

Li was a woman who lacked strong opinions.

She believed her father-in-law's words and lived a quiet and diligent life as a wife of the Lü family.

The Water Element Pearl was naturally swallowed by Lü Chen.

Another half month passed, and Old Man Lü asked solemnly, "Child, do you know King Chen Sheng?"

Li nodded and said, "Who within hundreds of miles doesn't know King Chen Sheng? I even saw him at the City God's Office!"

"Do you know the identities of your husband and your father-in-law?" Old Man Lü asked again.

Li asked doubtfully, "Our family runs a silk shop in Ji County, doesn't it?"

Old Man Lü shook his head and said, "My name is Lü Qing, and I am a servant of King Chen Sheng."

My son and I left Tianzhu Peak and settled down in Ji County, actually to guard Ji County for Your Majesty.

Originally, I was the only one in Ji County.

Your subject is the captain of the King's personal guard and has always been by Your Majesty's side.

"The King has sent him to Ji County to cooperate with me. When the King launches his uprising, he will immediately take Ji County."

Li stared blankly at him, "Father-in-law, is the King about to start a rebellion?"

Lü Qing asked, "Have you heard any news from Xianyang? The Regent Empress Dowager is dead? Marquis Lieyang killed Lao Ai and Empress Dowager Zhao?"

"Ah, the Empress Dowager was killed. I didn't know. I only heard that the Empress Dowager Zhao summoned Marquis Lieyang to Guanzhong in order to eliminate King Chen Sheng."

Why didn't Marquis Lieyang come to Dazexiang, but instead killed Empress Dowager Zhao? Li was both shocked and puzzled.

Lü Qing sighed, "The situation in Xianyang is very complicated, and I don't know much about it either."

A few days ago, upon learning of the upheaval in the Xianyang court, the king planned to immediately launch an uprising.

But now a great immortal has advised the king, saying that the upheaval in Xianyang is not over, but only just beginning.

There may be even greater turmoil to come; at this time, it is better to remain calm and not take any action.

"Then what can I do?" Li asked blankly.

Lu Qing carefully observed her daughter-in-law's eyes and expression, and found nothing unusual except for a look of bewilderment.

"You don't need to do anything. It's just that the start of the uprising has been postponed. I will probably have to return to Tianzhu Peak to await Your Majesty's new arrangements."

You are his wife, and you should go to Tianzhu Peak with him.

I'm informing you in advance so you can be mentally prepared.

“Oh, I’ll pack your luggage for my husband,” said Madam Li.

Lü Qing was speechless. "I told you to be prepared. Your husband is a traitor, yet you're helping him pack his bags."
However, Li's "calm" demeanor completely put his mind at ease.

Regardless of whether Li can become a virtuous wife, at least she won't let domestic affairs hold Chen'er back.

(End of this chapter)