Chapter 24 She remained chaste for him?

Unbeknownst to her, Qingling walked to the side gate. She composed herself and looked indifferently at Lin Qiao, who was standing at the door with her head hanging low, admitting her mistake.

It seems that Taoye has already reprimanded her.

Yao Qingling said calmly, "I hired you as a guard, paid you a monthly salary, and gave you a place to stay, yet you put your master in danger. Do you think you did the right thing?"

She didn't ask her why she came here. Lin Qiao had a bellyful of reasons but nowhere to say them. The fact that someone asked made her feel like she deserved to die. Lin Qiao bit her lip, steeled her heart, and knelt down on one knee: "I was wrong."

She reached into her bosom, took out the reward money she had just received, stuffed it into Yao Qingling's hand, and then stood up: "I have not fulfilled your request, so I will no longer be a member of your household."

He paid back the money and turned to leave.

Peach Leaf glared at her small figure and hissed, "Hey, you've got quite a temper."

She looked at Qingling: "Miss, aren't you going to call her back?"

Although Tao Ye complained about the amount of money her mistress gave the maid, the maid was quite clever. If she hadn't spread the secret between Jin Kui and Zhou Zhi Ning so quickly and effectively, the owner of Fang Man Yuan wouldn't have been pressured to go to the authorities to clear his name, and Zhou Zhi Ning wouldn't have been taken back to the Wang family in such a disgraceful manner.

That girl is so young, with no one to take care of her. She's exposed to the elements, sometimes hungry, sometimes full, and she's constantly being bullied.

Taoye has also endured hardship; she hopes the little girl will have someone to take care of her, a place to stay, and enough to eat.

Yao Qingling glanced at the silver in her hand and handed it to Taoye: "Go give it to her and tell her that we parted amicably. This is a reward for her."

She won't call him back.

That girl has her own things to do, and we're not on the same page, so let's not interfere with each other.

Tao Ye took the silver and quickly caught up with Lin Qiao, giving her the silver.

Lin Qiao was stunned as she held the silver. Tao Ye relayed the message and then left.

Lin Qiao looked in the direction of the Duke's mansion, clutched the silver tightly, and had tears welling up in her eyes.

Why don't you ask her?

She just wanted to save her brother; she wanted to find out what was happening to him.

She hoped to have the opportunity to meet the high-ranking officials in the capital and speak on behalf of her brother in court.

My brother is a great hero, but all the bad guys talk badly about him.

She didn't know that the lady would also come to the Duke's mansion...

Lin Qiao lowered her head in frustration and walked heavily forward. After a few steps, she looked up in confusion.

She has no home again...

...

Left Censor-in-Chief's Office.

Zhou Zhining was rescued, but a deep purple mark was left on her neck from being strangled.

When Zhan Xingzhuo arrived, the doctor was giving her acupuncture. She had just woken up and was lifeless with despair, like a wooden doll.

Zhan Xingzhuo was heartbroken.

"Zhi Ning?" He walked in.

Wang Xuan saw him, sneered, and mocked, "Don't worry, he won't die. Didn't we save him again?"

Actually, he wished the woman were dead.

She's dead, and he can marry a virtuous wife; his future won't be hindered by her.

Hmph, if it weren't for Wang Zheng keeping things under control, he would have divorced this woman long ago.

Wang Xuan flicked his sleeves and left, not even glancing at Zhou Zhining again, clearly disgusted.

Zhan Xingzhuo was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged.

Zhou Zhining should never have married such a bastard back then!

Zhou Zhining coughed twice, too weak to straighten up, but still struggled to reach out to him.

“Brother Xingzhuo…”

Her face was ashen, tears streamed down her face, and her desperate eyes were heartbreaking to see.

"Zhining, don't move!"

There were maids guarding the room. Zhan Xingzhuo was so anxious that he subconsciously reached out to help her up, but he did not do anything inappropriate.

He was heartbroken: "No matter how sad you are, how could you commit suicide? Don't you think of Xiao'er?"

Zhou Zhining shook her head in anguish, her tears flowing even faster.

Zhan Xingzhuo asked the maidservant in a cold voice, "What happened? Are you trying to force her to her death?"

His gaze was cold and sharp, his eyes filled with a chilling intensity.

The maid wasn't afraid of Zhou Zhining, but she was somewhat wary of Zhan Xingzhuo. She said, "No one wants to force her to her death; she's just fragile. The young master only wants to consummate the marriage with her. She has the title of his legal wife, so why can't she?"

The maid's eyes held contempt and disdain.

She was the one who seduced the young master back then, making him infatuated with her, but now she's pretending to be virtuous.

Zhou Zhining's voice was hoarse and barely audible: "In broad daylight, he... he was doing that kind of thing with that woman, and I just happened to be passing by when he dragged me into the room..."

Zhou Zhining was too distressed to continue.

Zhan Xingzhuo's face turned ashen, and he clenched his fists, wishing he could grab Wang Xuan and beat him up.

This happened just because he went back to the Duke's mansion today.

He shouldn't have gone!

Zhan Xingzhuo angrily said, "Wang Xuan is licentious and shameless, how dare he humiliate his wife like this!"

The maidservant, sharp-tongued, said, "Young master, this is the Wang family home, the home of the young mistress. You yourself said she is his first wife. You are in the prime of your life, but you don't have many children. The young mistress has been married for five years and only has one son, Xiao'er. It's good for her to have more children to secure the favor of the family."

Zhan Xingzhuo was so angry that his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and he punched the door behind the maid.

"My sister will not tolerate your humiliation. Get out!"

The maid turned her head and saw that a hole had been punched in the door behind her.

She was so frightened that she trembled and ran away immediately.

Zhan Xingzhuo walked up to Zhou Zhining, and Zhou Zhining could no longer hold back, throwing herself into the man's arms and bursting into tears.

Zhan Xingzhuo held her, so heartbroken he couldn't say a word, he could only pat her back to comfort her.

Thankfully she was alright; if she had died… he felt a wave of fear wash over him.

"Zhi Ning, no matter what happens, you shouldn't think about death..."

“Brother Xingzhuo… he didn’t succeed.” Zhou Zhining hugged his neck, her tears flowing down his neck, burning the man’s heart.

“You—” He gently grasped Zhou Zhining’s arm and pushed her up, looking closely at her face.

Zhou Zhining seemed shy, her long eyelashes drooping: "We haven't had sex in a long time..."

These words seemed to be telling the man something, and Zhan Xingzhuo's body trembled slightly, his eyes widening.

She remained chaste for him?

Zhou Zhining seemed unable to bear his burning gaze, and hugged his neck again, sobbing as she said, "But I'm in the manor, I can't hide from him at all. Just thinking about being with him... I really want to die."

The two hugged each other again.

After a long while, Zhan Xingzhuo spoke: "Don't be afraid, I'll take you away."

This Left Censor-in-Chief's residence is Zhou Zhining's hell!

He could no longer ask her to stay here.

Where to?

"The new government building."

Zhou Zhining got up from his embrace, wiping away her tears, hesitant to speak.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to go?" Zhan Xingzhuo lowered his head and asked her what she thought.

Zhou Zhining bit her lip and hesitated before speaking, "It's not that I don't want to, Brother Xingzhuo, but Qingling doesn't like me... If I go back to the new mansion, it will only cause you trouble, and Qingling won't be happy either. I don't want her to be so sad."

Zhan Xingzhuo thought of Yao Qingling's petty nature—she would definitely force Zhi Ning away again.

The man thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry, I have other ways."

...

The banquet lasted until evening before all the guests left.

Princess Deyang already knew about Zhou Zhining's suicide by hanging, and also knew that Zhan Xingzhuo had abandoned Yao Qingling to search for her.

Although the matter did not spread during the banquet, by this time, the other prefectures should have already learned about it.

They're probably all laughing at them.

Princess Deyang got a headache from the thought of this.

How could she have given birth to such a son? Whenever Zhou Zhining is mentioned, he acts as if he's been bewitched, ignoring everything else.

Fortunately, it was just a matter of leaving the banquet. The sworn sister committed suicide, and it was nothing serious for the sworn brother to go and check on her.

It will not affect the marriage alliance between Xingxiang and Xiang.

Princess Deyang could only console herself with this thought.

Sitting below, Yao Qingling lowered her eyes and, sensing the Grand Princess's gaze, looked up.