Chapter 22 Zhou Zhining commits suicide by throwing herself into a silk ribbon.

Yao Qingling pressed her lips together, shaking her head as she suppressed the churning in her stomach: "It's nothing, I just suddenly feel dizzy."

"My lord, I must go now."

Zhan Xingzhuo noticed that she was pale and remembered that Taoye had said her periods were irregular, probably because she was bleeding too much.

He immediately felt bored, gave a faint "hmm," instructed Taoye, who was following behind, to take good care of her, and then left.

Tao Ye supported Qing Ling and, seeing that her face looked terrible, asked with concern, "Miss, are you alright?"

Yao Qingling took a deep breath, took out a sour plum and put it in her mouth.

The sweet and sour taste dispelled much of her discomfort.

"Let's go."

When Yao Qingling found Cui, she was admiring flowers and chatting with several noblewomen.

When Cui saw Qingling, she smiled and waved to her: "Qingling, come here."

Then, Madam Cui introduced Qingling to the noble ladies, and then introduced Qingling to the noble ladies.

Every year in the capital, officials are promoted and demoted. Yao Qingling has not been in the Duke's mansion for two years, and many people have only heard of Yao but have never seen her; Yao Qingling also does not know much about them.

For many years, Cui assisted the Grand Princess of Deyang in managing the household affairs, and she controlled most of the internal affairs of the Duke's mansion. The ladies of the powerful and noble families all gave her face.

They flattered Cui, but because of Zhou Zhining, the ladies were polite to Yao Qingling on the surface, but looked down on her in their hearts and were not very warm when they spoke to her.

At this moment, Cui felt a strange sense of superiority. She found an excuse and took Qingling to a secluded corridor on the other side, where she introduced the noble ladies in the garden in detail.

There was a hint of smugness in Cui's expression, which Yao Qingling noticed, but pretended not to notice.

She's about to get a divorce, so what do these aristocratic families have to do with her?

What they valued was the plaque in the Duke's mansion, not the people inside.

Yao Qingling perked up and, upon hearing from Cui that a theatrical troupe had been hired, went to the stage to watch a play together.

Suddenly Zhan Xingxiang ran over: "Second Sister-in-law—"

The two young mistresses looked at her. Madam Cui was somewhat dissatisfied with Zhan Xingxiang calling him Qingling and said, "You're about to get engaged, why are you being so reckless? If those young masters see this, let's see who would dare to marry you."

Zhan Xingxiang playfully stuck out her tongue.

Those young men didn't like her, and she didn't like them either.

Yao Qingling smiled slightly: "You're sweating from running so fast."

She took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, remembering that the handkerchief had just been used to wipe his hands—hands that Zhan Xingzhuo had held.

Yao Qingling immediately felt that she had to pass on Zhan Xingzhuo's bad luck to Xingxiang, so she threw away the handkerchief and took one from Taoye to wipe her face.

Watching from the side, Cui felt something was amiss. She picked up the handkerchief and examined it; it was neither dirty nor torn. "Why did you throw it away when it was perfectly fine?"

Qingling couldn't reveal the real reason, so she made up a story on the spot: "I've wiped away the sweat, and Xingxiang wants to smell nice."

Cui muttered, "But we can't just throw it away like that. The embroidery is quite good."

She glanced at Yao Qingling and thought to herself, "Didn't you say you were broke? Did you just throw all your money away like that?"

Zhan Xingxiang didn't care what Cui Shi thought. She stood with Qing Ling and took her hand, saying, "Second sister-in-law, I've brought a surprise. Come with me to see it."

He then pulled Qingling away.

Singing took place on the inner courtyard stage, while acrobatics were performed on the front garden stage.

Zhan Xingxiang excitedly asked Qingling, "Second sister-in-law, do you remember who she is?"

Yao Qingling looked at Lin Qiao, who was performing with a spear on the stage, and forced a smile, suppressing her astonishment: "I remember, she's the one who performs in the bustling city. How did you manage to invite her here?"

Zhan Xingxiang said, "I don't think the opera troupe that my sister-in-law invited is interesting. Besides, this young girl doesn't earn much money by setting up a stall outside. I invited her to perform and give her money to earn. I'm doing a good deed."

Yao Qingling stared at Lin Qiao on the stage, thinking that she wanted Lin Qiao to leave as soon as possible.

If the people in the manor find out that she has a connection with Lin Qiao, there may be trouble in the future.

If it is discovered that she instructed Lin Qiao to reveal Jin Kui's affairs, things will change.

Not far away, Zhan Xingzhuo was talking to the heir of the Xincheng Marquis's family when he glanced over and saw Yao Qingling staring intently at the performance on stage.

She actually enjoys wielding swords and spears?

"...Second Young Master, what are your thoughts on the matter of General Lin?"

Zhan Xingzhuo snapped out of his daze, instinctively feeling disgusted with military officers, and said in a low voice, "Lin Shiyuan disregarded orders from his superiors and killed five thousand prisoners. No matter how great his achievements are, killing surrendered soldiers is a major taboo and will be criticized by others."

"The two countries could have stopped fighting, but because of his killing, the peace talks were postponed and the flames of war broke out on the front lines again. This man is warlike and a deadly weapon."

The Crown Prince, however, said, “Although the peace talks between the two countries have been postponed, Lin Shiyuan’s execution has intimidated the other side. Their morale is low, and they won’t be able to hold out for long. This will actually be more advantageous for us during the peace talks. In addition, the Ying Kingdom burned and massacred several of our towns. Almost no one survived in the places they passed through; it was all scorched earth. Lin Shiyuan witnessed the horrors of those places with his own eyes…”

The two were talking on one end.

Yao Qingling said, "This performance is no good. It's okay for street performances, but it won't catch the eye of those young masters from noble families. They'll say in private that the Duke's Mansion lacks taste."

She sent someone to stop the performance, just as Lin Qiao finished a section of marksmanship and stepped off the stage to rest.

Lin Qiao stepped off the stage and immediately spotted Yao Qingling. She walked towards her with a gun in her hand.

Yao Qingling immediately tensed up, slightly clenching her handkerchief. Lin Qiao approached, not looking at Qingling, and said to Zhan Xingxiang, "Miss, my performance wasn't good enough, and no one applauded."

She was young and her marksmanship was not yet mature, so not many people watched her perform.

But her intention was not to show off her marksmanship, but to find an opportunity to inquire about news from the imperial court.

But she didn't expect to meet her master here, and dared not look her in the eye.

She glanced at Zhan Xingxiang and silently thought to herself: Her master had told her to pretend she didn't know her.

Zhan Xingxiang told the maid behind her to give her a reward, and said arrogantly, "I invited you here, so just give me a performance."

Lin Qiao accepted the silver, thanked the man, and was led away.

Yao Qingling glanced at her, remaining expressionless.

She looked at the young men sitting and drinking, watching the play, or chatting, and asked Zhan Xingxiang with a smile if there was anyone he liked.

Zhan Xingxiang blushed and was too embarrassed to speak, but she glanced at the young master of the Xincheng Marquis's family in the distance.

Yao Qingling glanced at him. The man had a heroic face and looked upright. She remembered that Cui Shi had said that he was a man of both literary and martial talents.

If it's him, that wouldn't be bad.

But Yao Qingling still reminded Xing Xiang: "Remember to find out if he has someone he likes."

Just as Zhan Xingxiang was feeling happy, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, and his enthusiasm vanished instantly.

She looked at Qingling, and although Qingling was smiling, she felt that there was a deep sorrow in her eyes, as if they were covered with a layer of gray.

"Second sister-in-law, is it because of second brother..." She pursed her lips, glanced at Qingling's arm, and gently touched it, "Is everything alright?"

Qingling smiled and said, "It's alright now."

"Second sister-in-law, I will listen to you. But second sister-in-law, brother..."

Zhan Xingxiang looked at the heir of the Xincheng Marquis's mansion in the distance, and her gaze inevitably fell on Zhan Xingzhuo beside her. She wanted to say a few words for her brother, but before she could finish speaking, her expression suddenly changed, and she was interrupted.

Yao Qingling also saw the commotion over there.

Minglu led a young maid to Zhan Xingzhuo and said something, her expression tense and fearful.

—That maid was neither from the Duke's mansion nor from the new mansion.

Zhan Xingzhuo's expression changed drastically. Ignoring the guests he was entertaining, he got up and hurriedly ran away.

The heir of the Marquis of Xincheng shook his head, picked up his teacup and took a sip, seemingly regretting something.

A moment later, Taoye also came to speak to Qingling. Her expression was solemn, and she lowered her voice, saying, "Not long ago, Zhou Zhining attempted suicide by hanging herself at the Wang family's residence, but she was discovered and rescued..."