Chapter 273 Take the child away from me!

Yao Qingling looked over sarcastically: "No need for Minister Zhan's kindness, Zhao'er and I are both fine."

Zhan Xingzhuo looked up at the sky in anger. Looking at the dirty walls, he wondered how many people had died here, and felt a pang of unease.

"Yao Qingling, what am I supposed to say to you? Why are you so stubborn!"

Qingling said, "From the day I divorced you, I never thought of going back. You've always known that. Whether I am rich and powerful or poor and sick, I don't want anything to do with you. Even if I die, I don't want to be with you."

Such harsh words… Zhan Xingzhuo stared at her blankly: “You hate me that much?”

Qingling did not answer him.

Zhan Xingzhuo let out a heavy sigh: "You're stubborn and won't give up until you hit a brick wall. The Marquis of Zhongyong's actions are beyond redemption. Even if the Emperor shows mercy and spares his life, the Marquis's mansion can never return to what it was before. And your status will be reduced to that of a slave..."

He spoke clearly, word by word, about the future of the Yao family.

Compared to the Zhou family of the past, no one in the Yao family wanted to protect them, and no one cared about the future of a declining noble family. After this purge, new powerful figures would rise to power.

That spacious mansion will also have a new owner.

Zhan Xingzhuo felt that Yao Qingling was too optimistic, to the point that she still couldn't see things clearly and felt that she still had room to turn the situation around.

She has only accomplished a few minor things and has made no contribution to the court. Based on her father's past military achievements, can he still protect her now?

General Mingwei died in battle, and the late emperor had already offered condolences. Yao Qingling did not receive a pardon.

He wanted to save her, why couldn't she understand?

“Yao Qingling, I know you mind Zhi Ning. I promise you this time that Zhi Ning will not interfere with you and Zhao'er, and she will not bully you.”

At this point, instead of begging him, she took the initiative to soften her tone. Zhan Xingzhuo felt that he had truly done everything he could for her.

"Stop throwing a tantrum, save your own life first."

Yao Qingling was coaxing Zhao'er, too lazy to even give a reply.

No matter what she said, Zhan Xingzhuo always naively believed that she wanted to come back to him.

Regardless of whether she has any way to turn the situation around, even if she were to face death, she would not want to turn back.

Being afraid and weak for a moment will only put you in a situation where you can be manipulated and tormented by others.

Zhan Xingzhuo looked at her, his chest heaving, waiting for her reply for a long time.

He was in despair, looking at her with heartbreaking pain.

"Yao Qingling, your pride will ultimately destroy you. Why can't you learn from Zhi Ning? When the Zhou family faced a great calamity, she married Wang Xuan to extricate herself from the situation. Only by preserving her own life could she have a chance to turn things around and save her family."

"But what about you? You actually want your newborn child to die with you! How could you be so selfish!"

Qing Ling paused, her cold eyes seeming to have been tempered in ice water, her gaze revealing a sharp, icy glint.

"Learn from Zhou Zhining? Strip naked, climb into a man's bed, extricate yourself from the case to escape responsibility, and then pretend to be innocent and pitiful, expecting the whole world to sympathize with you. She destroys other people's families, uses tears to gain sympathy, usurps others' nests, and bullies others. Anyone who says what she did was not right is considered unkind, vicious, selfish, and jealous."

"You want me to learn from her? I wouldn't stoop to that." Yao Qingling's tone shifted from indignation to calmness, and the final word "stoop to that" was a complete rejection of Zhou Zhining, a disdain for her as a person and for her despicable actions.

"You and she are indeed the same kind of people, mistaking shamelessness for nobility."

Zhan Xingzhuo was so angry that his face turned red, and he almost stormed off.

That ungrateful wretch dared to insult him!

Having endured this long, Zhan Xingzhuo could no longer maintain his good temper.

"Yao Qingling, you're only relying on the lingering affection I still have for you as husband and wife. Now, even that affection will vanish!" The man suddenly stood up. "Give me Zhao'er. I won't stand by and watch my child go to her death with you!"

Yao Qingling hugged the child tightly, looking at him warily.

If the soft approach doesn't work, then the hard approach will.

His purpose was never to save her, but only for his bloodline.

But……

“Zhao’er is my son, and I have already registered him in the government. His surname is Yao.”

Zhan Xingzhu sneered: "What surname the child takes, whose surname he takes, do you think that's a difficult thing for me?"

He wanted his child to have the surname Zhan; it was just a matter of a word.

He didn't even need to go to the government office. His servant could simply go to the yamen and the clerk would kowtow and do it for him, then turn around and respectfully say, "Congratulations, Your Excellency, on this joyous occasion."

Yao Qingling pursed her lips and stared coldly at the man: "In short, Zhao'er will not leave my side."

"Yao Qingling!" Zhan Xingzhuo shouted sharply, "If this child doesn't come with me, he won't live past tonight. Don't you even know where you are?!"

He stopped arguing with her and called Minglu in: "Take the child away from me."

Minglu responded and walked towards Qingling.

Minglu, mindful of the child, dared not lay a heavy hand on Yao Qingling, and the two played a cat-and-mouse game. Yao Qingling was forced to walk along the wall in the small room, dodging left and right, barely managing to protect the child.

Zhan Xingzhuo stared at the two of them, his eyes scanning the room, his chest heaving violently. Finally, he roared, "Minglu, what are you doing!"

Will you play games with her?

Minglu glanced at Zhan Xingzhuo with a wronged expression, but then changed her gaze when she turned back.

Like a wolf, it is fierce and determined to strike with certainty.

Yao Qingling pressed herself tightly against the wall, her pupils constricted, silently counting one, two, three...

If this continues, the child will not only be snatched away, but may also be injured.

Yao Qingling shouted, "Zhan Xingzhuo, it's no use taking Zhao'er away. Zhao'er and I are both infected with the Mother-Child Gu, didn't the Grand Princess Deyang tell you that?"

Zhan Xingzhuo was taken aback.

It seems there was such a thing, which is why the Grand Princess never forcibly took the child back to the Duke's mansion.

However, Zhan Xingzhuo did not believe in this.

"Whether there's a mother-child Gu or not, we'll find out by trying."

"If that mother-child Gu poison really exists, I will find a way to prolong the day you are beheaded and send someone to the southwest to find the best Gu master to remove the Gu from the child."

With a single glance from the man, Minglu walked towards the child again: "Young Madam, stop struggling. Second Master is only doing this for the child's sake. You should think about the young master's future, if not your own."

"Don't worry, Minglu will protect the young master and will never let anyone bully him."

Each syllable of the deer's cry sounds like advice, yet it's gloomy and makes one wonder.

As long as Zhou Zhining exists, Zhao'er will have a good life in her hands.

Yao Qingling was already furious at the thought of Zhao'er being bullied every day under Zhou Zhining's "care," not having enough to eat or wear, and being abused by her son.

Zhou Zhining had deliberately brought Xiao'er along to watch her walk by on the street today, and that vicious look in her eyes was now vivid in her mind's eye.

She knew that Zhan Xingzhuo would definitely come to the prison and take the child away!

“Zhan Xingzhuo…” Yao Qingling looked at him.

Looking at the woman whose eyes were filled with sadness and pleading, Zhan Xingzhuo curled his lips and said slowly, "It's still valid for you to beg me now. I can take you away."

Just then, the jailer's voice came from outside: "Minister Zhan, there is an order from above that neither Yao Qingling nor her son are allowed to leave the prison."