Chapter 330 Just someone else's next-door neighbor

Granny Sun spoke earnestly.

Zhan Xingzhuo frowned, his expression serious.

Zhou Zhining watched as Zhan Xingzhuo calmed down. She hung on the white silk, neither up nor down, and no one paid any attention to her even if she cried.

"Brother Xingzhuo..." she called out plaintively, trying to wake the man.

Zhan Xingzhuo turned to look at Zhou Zhining, and then Granny Sun said, "Second Master, the Grand Princess is very ill. Otherwise, it wouldn't be this old servant who came today, but the Grand Princess herself."

Zhan Xingzhuo's body trembled slightly: "What...what illness does she have?"

Granny Sun sighed: "She was already overly worried. In the spring, there was a cold snap, and she caught a chill. She took a lot of medicine, but it didn't help."

She added, "The Grand Princess is getting old; she has worked so hard over the years."

"If you still have even a little bit of affection for your mother, Second Master, go and see her. Do you want to end up like her, with a lifetime of regret?"

Zhan Xingzhuo was startled, his mind replaying various events from the past.

Zhou Zhining had been standing on the stool for too long, and she was swaying unsteadily, on the verge of giving way.

The censor's wife exclaimed, "Hey, she's going to fall!"

As soon as she finished speaking, there was a loud thud, and Zhou Zhining fell off the stool.

"Ah!" She clutched her stomach and writhed in pain. "Brother Xingzhuo, it hurts so much!"

Zhan Xingzhuo snapped out of his daze, only to see that Zhou Zhining's lower garment was stained red with blood.

"Blood! Blood!" Zhiyue screamed, but she was too busy screaming to know what to do.

"What are you standing there for? Go get a doctor!" Zhan Xingzhuo picked up Zhou Zhining and quickly took her to her room to lie down. Zhiyue snapped out of her daze and hurriedly ran out to find a doctor, while Zhiyun also rushed into the room to take care of her.

Leaving Granny Sun behind, she glanced back at the medicine that had long since gone cold, walked over, and called over a young maid in a yellow dress.

“The fetus cannot be saved. Heating this bowl of medicine can help her expel the stillborn fetus.”

In other words, if Zhou Zhining loses her child because of this fall, that would be the best outcome; but if the fetus stubbornly survives, then this bowl of medicine still needs to be given to her.

“You seem like a promising child. Why don’t you go work for the Duke’s mansion in the future?”

Granny Sun left after saying a few words.

The censor's wife stared at the wall for a long time, noticing a strange smell.

"Oh, my fish!" She nimbly climbed down the ladder with her plump body, but it was too late.

The fish was burnt.

The censor's wife shook her head at the burnt fish: "We watched a good show, but lost a fish. What a pity."

She didn't throw away the grilled fish; instead, she put it in a food box and then called a carriage to go to the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence.

At this moment, Yao had just returned from the Prince's mansion and changed his clothes.

"Why did Madam send Miss a burnt fish?" Lou Yue asked, puzzled.

The censor's wife took a big gulp of tea and, with spittle flying, recounted Zhou Zhining's story of crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide.

"...It's tragic, she bled a lot. But I just can't feel sorry for her. Qingling, tell me, am I being too cold-blooded?"

Yao Qingling glanced at the Censor's wife, her face saying, "Do you think I believe you?"

None of them could possibly sympathize with Zhou Zhining.

None of them are bodhisattvas.

"The child is her weapon to try and bind Zhan Xingzhuo. The Grand Princess sees this clearly and doesn't want Zhan Xingzhuo's life to be ruined by her, so she'd rather be the villain herself."

“The Grand Princess is, after all, his mother, and she is always thinking of him… but what she did…”

Yao Qingling didn't know whether the Grand Princess was right or wrong, so she didn't comment.

The Censor's wife said, "I think it's better that the child is gone. He can be reborn into a better family. He doesn't need wealth and luxury, just a simple and peaceful life. If the child had really been born, with a mother like Zhou Zhining, I wonder what kind of person he would have become."

"You have no idea how difficult life was for Xiao'er in the Zhan family's clan school. He was born into the Wang family, but no one in the Imperial Censor's family acknowledged him; they called him a bastard. Once the gossip spread, the children in the Zhan clan looked down on him even more and always bullied him."

“Zhou Zhining always taught him to remember the Zhou family in the Northern Border. That child didn’t even know what his maternal grandparents, uncles… looked like, yet he carried such a heavy burden. That was bad enough, but she also forced the child to seek revenge…”

The censor's wife glanced at Yao Qingling and said no more.

It's obvious without needing to elaborate that, given Zhou Zhining's narrow-mindedness, she would inevitably extend her revenge to her child, making the child inherit her hatred.

"How old is the child?" The censor's wife pursed her lips and said, "Zhan Xingzhuo treats him like his own son, and Xiao'er is close to him, but he has become distant from Zhou Zhining."

"Just because of this, Zhou Zhining felt that the child was of the Wang family's kind, and since the child wasn't good, she wanted to have a child of Zhan Xingzhuo's. This woman is insane."

Yao Qingling listened to the censor's wife gossip and chatter, while glancing at the grilled fish that had died unjustly.

She said, "Zhou Zhining is somewhat similar to this fish. She moved Zhan Xingzhuo with her strong family ties, thinking that this fish was in her hands and could be slaughtered at will. She thought that the fish was delicious and could be eaten no matter how it was cooked, but she neglected her cooking skills and in the end, she couldn't eat the fish."

The censor's wife didn't understand: "Are you saying my cooking skills are terrible?"

Yao Qingling smiled and told Lou Yue to prepare dinner.

Then, she recounted the kindness Princess Chen had shown her: "I feel much better now."

Princess Chen and Yao Qingling showed their closeness, setting an example for the other noble ladies and young ladies, and that matter was considered closed.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" The Imperial Censor's wife rubbed her hands together happily. If she weren't unfamiliar with Princess Chen, she would have liked to bring gifts to thank her in person.

"No need for that. We just need to remember Princess Chen's kindness. As long as Hui Bafang is still around, there will always be a chance to repay her."

Prince Chen was lame and neglected state affairs. He was essentially a member of the royal family without real power. After one, two, or three generations, the dynasty would eventually decline. Prince Chen and his wife cultivated many good relationships, hoping that if their descendants faced hardship in the future, someone would be willing to help them.

The Censor's wife nodded: "That's definitely something to remember... Hey, from what you're saying, Hui Ba Fang can open for business now?"

Qingling smiled and said, "Now that our confidence is back, of course we need to open for business and make money. Otherwise, how are we going to survive this year?"

"Censor Cao still needs the money his wife earns to buy medicine to nourish his body!" In a better mood, she had the leisure to tease the censor's wife.

After dinner, Qingling saw off Madam Cao, the Imperial Censor, and returned to her room to find Lin Shiyuan standing with his hands behind his back, looking down at the gruesome-looking grilled fish.

"It was sent by the Censor's wife; she told me about the Zhan family next door."

To Yao Qingling, Zhan Xingzhuo is now just someone else's neighbor.

Lin Shiyuan nodded and looked at her: "You were in a good mood after going to the Prince's Mansion?"

Qingling hummed in agreement: "But it's not exactly great either."

I just don't care about it as much anymore.

She frowned slightly: "Prince Xin is pressing us relentlessly. If this continues, I'm afraid things won't be peaceful for long."

She didn't think Prince Xin was a patient person.

This person's destructive power will only be greater than Zhou Zhining's.

Lin Shiyuan said meaningfully, "There's no need to be afraid of him all the time."

Yao Qingling's eyes lit up: "You have a way to deal with him?"