Chapter 33 His authority as a man was repeatedly challenged, and he could not tolerate it.

Zhan Xingzhuo felt as if he had been hit on the head with a club, but the blow hadn't knocked him unconscious. He felt a little dazed and confused.

"What did you say?"

Facing him, Qingling firmly repeated, "I want a divorce."

It's not just thinking, it's wanting.

But to Zhan Xingzhuo, her determination was like a joke, like a woman throwing a tantrum because she hadn't had enough, being unreasonable and making a scene.

Divorce?

Can she live without him?

Zhan Xingzhuo put down his teacup, beckoned to Qing Ling, and said in a gentle tone, as if coaxing her, "Come here."

He thought that Yao Qingling was still throwing a tantrum when she said she wanted a divorce.

After making a scene for so long without gaining his attention, she felt she couldn't compete with Zhou Zhining, so she resorted to a strategic retreat, devising a plan to divorce him and force him to choose between the two options.

Women are just that naive and short-sighted.

Qingling looked at him, but took a step back, keeping a greater distance from him.

Zhan Xingzhuo looked at the distance of about five or six steps between the two of them and gently stroked the still warm teacup with his fingers.

He tilted his head slightly and looked at Qingling: "Do you feel wronged because I took Zhining out and kept you locked up in the mansion?"

Qing Ling was taken aback.

She didn't know about this, but it was somewhat unexpected.

He actually took Zhou Zhining out to meet guests?

The idea of ​​a sworn sister is already controversial, but now they've actually taken her out in public—they're fearless!

Qing Ling was slightly lost in thought.

She thought she no longer felt anything for him or Zhou Zhining, but a corner of her heart still ached.

For the past three years, he had been reluctant to let her meet his friends.

He meant that women in the inner quarters should avoid the area. Qingling naively thought that he was probably afraid that others would mention Zhou Zhining in front of her and make her jealous.

—When they were at Qingshan Academy, they were often said to be a perfect couple; they were also engaged, leaving behind countless beautiful stories.

Later, when Qingling associated with other officials' wives, someone hinted to her that Zhan Xingzhuo didn't like to introduce her to Prince Xin and his group because he felt she was Princess Deyang's person and was wary of her.

For three years, he was wary of her; while she, because of his relationship with Zhou Zhining, suffered pressure from the Duke's mansion, was ridiculed by others, and had to bear the unpredictable future.

At that time, because she loved him, Qingling was willing to endure all of this, thinking that slowly, he would also open his heart to her, stop guarding against her, and leave a place for her in his heart.

But it was in this "slow" process that she found her lost heart again.

Yao Qingling stared at him quietly, her gaze unchanged, as calm as if she were looking at a stranger.

There was no love, no longing, no expectation, only calmness, like a stagnant pool.

Zhan Xingzhuo felt a sudden pang of discomfort in his heart, his eyes flickered slightly, but then anger followed.

He grabbed the teacup and threw it at Qingling's feet.

With a "crack," the teacup shattered into pieces, the fragments flying up and tearing Qingling's silk skirt.

Qingling didn't even flinch.

Zhan Xingzhuo stared at her, his chest heaving, his eyes gradually turning red.

He could not tolerate the repeated challenges to his authority.

That's enough! Even if you're jealous, there should be limits!

Do we really have to force him to back down?

The man suddenly stood up, strode up to Qingling, looked down at her, and said angrily, "Yao Qingling, if you want to compete with someone, you should look at what you've done. Do you even deserve to be compared to Zhining?"

"If you want to keep your position as the young mistress of the Duke's mansion, you should learn how to please me. Don't even think about climbing over me or trying to control me. Divorce? Do you think you can leave me?"

"Your method is really not clever at all!"

Zhan Xingzhuo stormed off.

He raised an orphan girl from a noble family to have such an arrogant and unyielding personality. He really spoiled her so much that she didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth!

Minglu quickly followed.

"Master, please calm down. The young mistress has been confined to the manor these past few days, and she said such things out of anger. You even said that you took Miss Zhi Ning out. Isn't that just adding fuel to the fire?"

"You don't know, ever since the young mistress was forbidden from leaving the manor, she hasn't even gone out of the inner courtyard. She just stays cooped up in her room every day. I heard from the maid that she's even fallen ill from anger."

"When Doctor He came to the manor, he took her pulse and prescribed several doses of medicine. She has to take the medicine three times a day, and she vomits after eating anything. How can she be in a good mood?"

Zhan Xingzhuo paused, looking at Minglu with a puzzled expression: "Is she sick?"

Thinking about it carefully, Yao Qingling seemed to have lost weight, and her face was pale.

It seems she's been taking medicine for quite a while now, is she still not better?

"That kind of menstrual irregularity?"

Minglu stammered, "Master, how would I know?"

He asked Taoye, but Taoye only said it was a woman's illness and told him to mind his own business.

Ever since the young mistress and the master started their war, Taoye has found him utterly displeasing. Sometimes, if they see each other on the same road, Taoye will immediately turn around and leave.

Zhan Xingzhu frowned; his anger had subsided somewhat, but not completely.

Even if she's angry, she shouldn't have mentioned divorce.

Minglu looked at him and said, "Master, the young mistress seems a bit down. Why don't you take her out for a walk to cheer her up? Maybe that will make her feel better. Women need to be coaxed."

Zhan Xingzhuo said gruffly, "I tried to coax her, but she just won't listen. She won't go."

He walked outside to find Zhou Zhining.

At this moment, all I want is gentle, tender comfort.

Yao Qingling's coldness only makes Zhou Zhining's gentleness all the more precious.

Minglu followed behind him with a forced smile, still trying to persuade him: "Master, if you don't coax her, and the young mistress complains to the Grand Princess, you won't get any good word from her. There are some things in the future that we'll need the Grand Princess's help with."

He implied that if he angered the Grand Princess, and the Duke severed their father-son relationship in a fit of rage, no one would stop him.

Zhan Xingzhu frowned and remained silent for a while before turning around and saying, "Go and make preparations. The day after tomorrow is a day off, and there's a market there too. I'll take her out for a walk to clear her head."

"Okay, sure." Minglu immediately went to make the arrangements.

...

Meanwhile, Taoye prepared medicine for Qingling to drink.

Qingling drank the bitter medicine in one gulp, and Taoye quickly handed her water to rinse her mouth and then gave her some candied fruit to suck on.

“Miss, you’re getting better and better at taking your medicine now. You weren’t this quick with it before,” Tao Ye said, trying to cheer her up, but she was actually a little sad inside.

Miss used to be rarely sick and had hardly ever taken medicine.

Dr. He said her pregnancy was unstable and advised her to keep her emotions stable and think about happy things.

How can the son-in-law maintain emotional stability and be happy when he's like this?

Miss has been suffering from severe morning sickness these past few days and can barely eat a few bites of food. Taoye tried to get the kitchen to prepare more new dishes, and today she only ate a small bowl.

Qingling gave her a playful glare: "You're such a sweet talker. By the way, what's with that nursery rhyme outside?"

Taoye said, "I don't know either. It just started spreading suddenly and has been going on for several days."

What are they singing?

Taoye then sang the nursery rhyme in the house. It wasn't very pleasant to listen to, but the insults were really satisfying.

Yao Qingling thought that now that she was no longer under house arrest, she would go out tomorrow to find out what was going on.

Whoever composed that song, it ultimately helped her.

However, Yao Qingling was unable to leave the mansion the next day.