Chapter 110 Love Me, Love My Dog

Zhou Zhining lay on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

She felt both pain and hatred.

Now, Zhan Xingzhuo is no longer there to rescue her or take her out to recover from her injuries.

"Zhan Xingzhuo, did you receive my letter...?"

She lay on the ground crying, but dared not cry loudly, for fear that those people would return and see her crying, which would only make them more smug.

When Zhou Zhining entered the Sinong Temple, she secretly brought in a carrier pigeon.

With someone looking after you, it's not a big deal to hide some personal belongings.

This is where the servants live. They can't even see a drop of lard. Even a little bit of meat can make them green with envy.

Her carrier pigeons were discovered, their feathers plucked, and they were used to make soup.

Zhou Zhining could only send messages through ordinary post stations.

From the capital to Luoyang, unless it was an urgent letter, a round trip would take a month.

Why haven't they come to rescue her yet?

The dual torment of physical and psychological suffering brought her to the brink of collapse.

However, she could only endure the pain all over her body and get up to clean the bathroom.

—This washroom is reserved for high-ranking female officials. They allow her to use it, but if it becomes filthy, they will not allow her to come.

After a few more days of this, Tao Weixian arrived.

He bought Zhou Zhining and took her away from here.

Seeing Zhou Zhining's injuries, he frowned slightly: "How did you get like this? Didn't I tell those people to take care of you?"

Zhou Zhining sniffed, shook her head gently, but tears flowed silently.

It's heartbreaking to see.

Tao Weixian was furious and summoned the manager to demand accountability. Zhou Zhining remained silent, tears streaming down her face as she watched the manager stammer an explanation.

The person in charge couldn't afford to offend him, so he became ruthless and brought out all the women who had bullied Zhou Zhining.

In front of Tao Weixian, those government slaves were beaten to death.

Tao Weixian was finally satisfied and asked Zhou Zhining, "Does that make you feel better?"

Zhou Zhining's eyes were red. She wiped away her tears, forced a smile, and said, "Wei Xian, how could you kill them all? Their families would be heartbroken if they knew."

"They did something wrong, and Granny Jin was just disciplining them. It's their fault for being so pampered and having such weak bodies. Isn't that right, Granny Jin?"

Tao Weixian glanced coldly at the head maid and handed her a purse.

The old woman took the purse, weighed it in her hand, stuffed it into her sleeve, and said with a smile, "Fifth Young Master is right."

She tucked the purse into her sleeve.

Tao Weixian curled his lip in disdain. This kind of greedy old servant was the easiest to deal with.

He took Zhou Zhining's arm in his large hand and walked out.

In his hand was a woman's slender, boneless wrist, with delicate and warm skin, like holding a piece of fine, warm jade, which made Tao Weixian's heart flutter.

He thought to himself: Zhou Zhining did not reject his touch.

You should know that in the past, Zhou Zhining was aloof and proud, and no one could touch her except Zhan Xingzhuo.

Even with Wang Xuan, Zhou Zhining was only willing to let him touch her because the Wang family could save her.

He showed himself to Zhou Zhining, protected her, and avenged her. She should have a little place for him in her heart now, right?

They also brought out Xiao'er, along with her two maids, Zhiyun and Zhiyue.

In this way, they can be considered reunited.

Zhou Zhining held the child and cried for a while, then thanked Tao Weixian: "Weixian, I'm so lucky to have your help now, otherwise, Xiao'er and I might have died here."

Tao Weixian glanced at Xiao'er, who had grown quite a bit, smiled, but a hint of disgust flashed in his eyes.

He didn't like Xiao'er.

This child is Wang Xuan's, I don't know how Zhan Xingzhuo could possibly like him.

It's probably a case of loving the house because of its owner.

But he couldn't do it.

Tao Weixian frowned slightly, forcing out a hint of guilt: "I should have come earlier. But it's just for show for the court and the people, so I can only ask you to put up with this for a while. But it will be fine afterward, and no one will say anything about you anymore."

Zhou Zhining has already been punished. She is a slave, so the court officials and common people can't say anything more to her.

He helped Zhou Zhining into the carriage; inside the carriage were maids who had already prepared clean clothes and medicine for her wounds.

The maid first roughly wiped Zhou Zhining's body, applied medicine, and then changed her into clean clothes.

"Miss, the carriage is simple, please make do for now. You can take a proper bath when we get to Hengwu Villa. The young master has introduced hot spring water into the villa, which can moisturize your skin. Before long, you will be as good as before."

Zhou Zhining nodded, feeling much more comfortable and less tense. She relaxed her limbs, leaned against the carriage, and closed her eyes to rest.

It felt like returning from hell to the human world.

She no longer has to live in fear or suffer.

Little did people know that what she suffered was hardly any hardship; even while serving as a slave, she lived a better life than ordinary people.

After the maid finished serving him, she carried the dirty things off the carriage, and Tao Weixian went up to her.

He saw the child nestled in Zhou Zhining's arms, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and he called a maid to carry the child to another carriage.

Under Zhou Zhining's puzzled gaze, Tao Weixian explained, "I have something to tell you. The child is tired, so tell him to get a good night's sleep."

The carriage began to move.

Tao Weixian stood alone with Zhou Zhining, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Zhou Zhining frowned slightly, feeling offended by Tao Weixian's gaze.

But now she is Tao Weixian's servant, so she has no choice but to endure it.

She asked, "How is Brother Xingzhuo doing now?"

Tao Weixian then recounted what Zhan Xingzhuo had done in Luozhou.

He originally intended to conceal the news that Zhan Xingzhuo was about to return to the capital, but with Prince Xin around, even if he didn't say it, Prince Xin would bring it up anyway.

Zhou Zhining was overjoyed after hearing this.

That's great. As long as Zhan Xingzhuo can come back, she feels that nothing else matters.

They can be reunited.

"I hope Brother Xingzhuo will return to Beijing soon."

"...Yao Qingling opened a shop selling goods from both the north and south of China, which is now a well-known place in the capital."

Zhou Zhining's smile vanished instantly: "She opened a shop?"

His fingers dug tightly into his palms, wishing he could strangle Yao Qingling.

She became like this entirely because of that vile woman!

How could she possibly be doing better than her!

Tao Weixian looked at the hatred in Zhou Zhining's eyes, took a sip of tea slowly, and said, "Don't be so angry. There will be plenty of opportunities to get revenge later."

He added, "I'm also planning to open a shop selling goods from both the north and south of China, and I'll leave it to you to manage."

In this way, Zhou Zhining is not only his servant, but also has an open and legitimate identity to walk in the world, and can also suppress Yao Qingling, which makes Zhou Zhining feel better.

Zhou Zhining was quite surprised: "You want me to be the shop owner?"

The powerful and wealthy do not need to be personally involved in their businesses; instead, they delegate their operations to highly capable servants.

Because royalty and nobility held power, there were some businesses that ordinary merchants simply could not obtain the right to operate.

The Duke of Shen is the King of Zhao's money bag, so the more shops he opens, the better.

Tao Weixian said, "What's the big deal? Back then, you were the most talented woman in Shengjing. How could you be outdone by Yao Qingling in business? Zhining, I believe in you."

Zhou Zhining did not refuse again.

In addition to being proficient in the Six Arts, daughters of officials are also considered skilled in reading account books and managing household affairs.

What's so difficult about managing a store?

Yao Qingling is just from a fallen noble family, yet she can still open a shop. She will definitely do better than her and drive her out of the capital!