Chapter 233 He knew all too well the destructive power of that look on a man.

Zhou Zhining sat in the chair, her face ashen.

She stopped crying and used a handkerchief to wipe away the tears from her face.

"I was willing to give Tao Weixian a chance back then because Zhan Xingzhuo was unfaithful to me. He always had Yao Qingling in his heart. I hate that he was fickle towards me."

"But I also know that Tao Weixian's true feelings for me are limited. He can accept me, but he won't want my Xiao'er, much less make me his legal wife. He won't fight against anyone for me, nor will he save my family. Hengwu Villa is just a gilded cage he gave me."

“Zhan Xingzhuo treats Xiao’er like his own son, puts me first, and has never looked down on the Zhou family’s situation. Even if the new mansion is small, I am the mistress of the house. I know what to choose.”

"So when I learned that Zhan Xingzhuo was coming back, I was willing to move out of Hengwu Villa in advance and return to the new mansion, even if there were not so many people to serve me and no gorgeous decorations. I just hoped that Xingzhuo could see that I was always waiting for him."

Prince Xin curled his lips in disdain.

To put it nicely, it's nothing more than loving one man's power while wanting another man's money.

This woman's sincerity is poisonous.

Zhou Zhining gave him a long, quiet look: "They all have wronged me in some way, so why should I be devoted to them?"

Prince Xin was stumped by this question.

But as he looked at Zhou Zhining, Yao Qingling's face came to mind.

Zhan Xingzhuo has wronged Yao Qingling. She's determined to leave, even if it means tearing off all pretenses. She won't even consider the position of the legal wife and won't put up with that nonsense.

She would rather be a merchant's wife than flaunt her beauty to serve men.

She was no longer the young mistress of the Duke's mansion, but more and more people surrounded her.

More and more people are no longer concerned about her divorce and are willing to think more highly of her.

Recently, there have been rumors that she is rich and powerful, yet handsome men are serving her.

She seemed to have gained the power and money of men.

So, what is Yao Qingling's true feeling?

While Prince Xin was distracted, he heard Zhou Zhining say, "Until just now, the way Zhan Xingzhuo looked at me, I was scared... I was afraid he would leave me. I really love him..."

Prince Xin glanced at her indifferently, showing no extra sympathy for her sadness and said calmly, "Don't tell me how much you love Zhan Xingzhuo, it has nothing to do with me."

Zhou Zhining: "..."

It was as if she was talking to a brick wall; no matter her tears, her words, or her beauty, the man remained unmoved.

Aren't they allies?

However, what Zhou Zhining saw was that this man only treated her as a servant who could do things for him, no different from his other servants who did things for him.

She couldn't help but wonder if he would kill her if he knew what she had done.

He was, after all, a prince, a member of the royal family; he didn't need to hesitate to kill.

Zhou Zhining felt a heavy weight in her heart. She bit her lip and stopped talking.

Seeing her silence, Prince Xin assumed she was too devastated and corrected her, "It's not entirely unrelated to me. Zhan Xingzhuo is very important to me. You need to keep him tied down for you to be of use to me. Only then can we have the conditions to continue cooperating."

When raising a dog, you need to give it meat as encouragement so that it will be motivated to do things it wants.

Zhou Zhining took a deep breath: "I know. I love him and I won't give up on him."

Zhou Zhining is gone.

After that, Zhou Zhining spent every day in the kitchen, carefully preparing meals, waiting for Zhan Xingzhuo to return home so they could eat together.

But Zhan Xingzhuo was away every day, either eating and drinking with his colleagues in taverns or listening to music in brothels. He would come back drunk every day, supported by Minglu, and fall asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

He didn't even glance at her.

Zhou Zhining wanted to personally serve Zhan Xingzhuo in taking off his clothes, but she was not allowed to enter his room.

Zhou Zhining was blocked outside the door, tears welling up in her eyes: "Brother Xingzhuo, even if you don't want to see me, don't you want to see Xiao'er either?"

The child called out "Daddy" in a babyish voice.

Zhan Xingzhuo wasn't actually very drunk. Hearing the child's voice, he frowned, turned to face the window, and ignored it.

Zhou Zhining's fickleness is tantamount to betrayal.

He knew that Zhou Zhining loved him; otherwise, she wouldn't have refused to have sex with Wang Xuan, and wouldn't have compromised even after being beaten so badly by him.

He also knew that Zhou Zhining didn't have feelings for Tao Weixian; she only needed Tao Weixian's money to satisfy her needs.

But he abandoned his own home for her, and his parents had several falling out because of their lingering relationship. Couldn't she see that?

His promises to her will always stand, so why can't she trust him?

The man turned around again, and Yao Qingling's image appeared in his mind.

If he treated Yao Qingling half as well as he treated Zhou Zhining, Yao Qingling would definitely be satisfied.

Yao Qingling, she will only support him, look forward to him, and wait for him.

If he hadn't broken her heart, she wouldn't have been so disappointed in him...

At this moment, Zhan Xingzhuo truly felt the difference and realized that he wasn't as good to Yao Qingling as he had imagined.

Yao Qingling was actually very content. All she ever wanted was for him to protect her more. When they first got married, he stood in front of her family and shielded her from their bullying. Her eyes shone with light when she looked at him.

She didn't ask for much.

Moreover, she is actually capable of handling those people on her own.

She simply liked the way he stood by her side and spoke up for her.

But when comparing her to Zhou Zhining, he always chose Zhou Zhining, stopped speaking up for her, and even became like those people from the Ma family...

Zhan Xingzhuo's gaze dimmed.

Why is it only when I'm drunk that I realize changes I've never noticed before?

The man sat up irritably.

Outside the door, Zhou Zhining's sobs continued intermittently. He glanced indifferently at the frail figure outside the door, but did not go out to comfort her or forgive her as he had done before.

He thought he had always known about his favoritism.

He favored Zhou Zhining and thought that giving Yao Qingling a home and making her the mistress of the house was compensation for her. He believed that his protection of her had never diminished because of Zhou Zhining.

He told her to stop making trouble, to behave herself, to be obedient, and not to make things difficult for Zhou Zhining.

However, Zhou Zhining, who received his most favoritism, was never satisfied and drove Yao Qingling away.

She kept pressuring him to move the Zhou family back from the North, ignoring his hard work and the suffering he had endured.

Her betrayal dealt Zhan Xingzhuo a heavy blow.

He could never forget the image of Tao Weixian holding Zhou Zhining's hand and pressing it against his chest; nor could he forget the way Zhou Zhining looked at Tao Weixian with teary eyes, so pitiful and seemingly both rejecting and welcoming.

He knew all too well the devastating power that look could have on a man.

No man can escape that kind of gaze—it makes him unable to resist forgiving everything she does, and willing to give his heart and soul for her.

So, did Tao Weixian seduce Zhou Zhining with countless gold and silver treasures? Or did Zhou Zhining entice him with her pitiful appearance?

Zhan Xingzhuo thought about the hardships he had endured in Luozhou, and wondered if she had been bullied in the capital and whether she was doing well. He also thought about the letters, one after another, urging his best friend to take good care of Zhou Zhining and her child and not let them suffer. He felt a sense of irony.

He even thought that if he wasn't there, Yao Qingling would definitely bully Zhou Zhining and take advantage of her misfortune. So he told Prince Xin and Tao Weixian to tell Zhou Zhining to stay behind the scenes and not appear in public to avoid Yao Qingling's sharp edge.

He thought of so much for her and did so much for her, yet she was secretly flirting with his best friend behind his back.