Chapter 59 Yao Qingling, I'm giving you a chance!

Princess Deyang slowly sipped her tea.

Yao Qingling said nothing more and turned her head to look at the painting of "Maitreya's Descent to Earth".

Her face was calm, but her heart was filled with countless sorrows.

She knew that the Grand Princess was only using kinship to bind her, making her the rope to tie Zhan Xingzhuo down and the cover between him and Zhou Zhining; Qingling still valued this princess mother-in-law and continued to endure.

Until she was mistakenly reported as "dead," they didn't even investigate and simply assumed she was dead—at that moment, Qingling felt like she was nothing more than a dog in the Duke's mansion.

There's no need to grieve when a dog dies; there's no need to spend time and energy investigating.

They preferred to hold a grand funeral to express their grief over her "death," and to invite monks to chant sutras for her soul—these were all superficial gestures for outsiders to see, while their hearts remained completely unmoved.

It's just a dog that died; if this dog dies, we'll just get another obedient one.

Yao Qingling has seen through everything and has come to terms with it.

Since they don't care about her, why should she be so attached to the "family ties" of the Duke's mansion?

She had originally planned to wait until Zhan Xingxiang and the heir of the Xincheng Marquis's mansion were engaged before bringing up divorce, but now that was no longer necessary.

She wanted to seize the moment when they were in the wrong and quickly get a divorce!

Princess Deyang put down her teacup and said, "Qingling, if you die, you will be buried in the Duke's ancestral graveyard, and your spirit tablet will be placed in the ancestral hall, where you will enjoy the incense offerings of the Zhan family's descendants for generations. But if you do not die, you will still be the Zhan family's daughter-in-law and continue to contribute to the Zhan family."

"Since it's a misunderstanding, I'll throw you a celebratory banquet to clarify things publicly. In addition, I'll compensate you with 10,000 taels of silver, 1,000 taels of gold, two sets of ruby ​​headdresses, a pair of jade ruyi scepters, and a set of Ru ware porcelain to calm your nerves."

As she spoke, she turned her head slightly and gave Granny Jia a wink.

Granny Jia took a few steps and said "Come in" to the maids waiting outside. The maids came in carrying heavy trays, each covered with a red cloth embroidered with golden peonies.

Presumably, they had already prepared these "heavy compensations" and were just waiting for Yao Qingling to come to their door.

Yao Qingling glanced indifferently at the expensive "compensation" and gently curled the corners of her lips.

Those things were more than ordinary people could use up in several lifetimes, and even wealthy merchants and minor officials would be drooling with envy.

Putting aside gold and silver, the fact that Ru ware porcelain was only used by high-ranking officials and nobles was an unparalleled honor.

Qingling lowered her eyelids, her face devoid of any look of surprise, joy, or greed. She said calmly, "Over the years, my mother-in-law has given me many things. But what I want is not gold, silver, or precious jade."

"Mother-in-law, please grant my request."

She remained unmoved and insisted on leaving.

Princess Deyang showed no anger at being rejected, but every word she spoke conveyed the crushing oppression of those in power over those in power.

Do you think divorce is something that can be done with just a few words?

She held Xue'er in her arms, gently stroking its soft, snow-white fur, and said softly, "Is the Duke's mansion a place you can come and go as you please?"

The Grand Princess raised her eyelids, and her serene and kind eyes held an irresistible pressure.

Yao Qingling knew that this princess mother-in-law wouldn't give in easily, and her heart felt heavy and uneasy.

She clenched her fingers.

But she was also prepared.

Therefore, she was able to maintain a calm and composed demeanor instead of painfully accepting coercion.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Since I entered the Duke's mansion, my mother-in-law has never mistreated me, and I am grateful to her for treating me like her own daughter. If my mother-in-law agrees to let me go, we can be mother and daughter from now on and visit each other again; if my mother-in-law does not agree, Qingling will not compromise."

After saying that, she stood up.

Princess Deyang looked at her in astonishment.

How could her usually obedient and quiet daughter-in-law talk back to her like this?

She doesn't care about wealth and status at all?

...

Zhan Xingzhu urged the coachman to hurry up and move the carriage.

Inside the carriage, the man still doubted the sincerity of Yao Qingling's insistence on divorce.

Minglu suddenly spoke up, as if remembering something: "Master, do you remember the last time you confined the young mistress to the storeroom and took the storeroom key to get the silver notes?"

Zhan Xingzhuo's brows furrowed so tightly they almost knotted together. He said impatiently, "Say what you have to say!"

At that moment, he had no mind to think about anything else.

Minglu said, "That day in the storeroom, I felt something was strange. The shelves were empty, but there were several large boxes piled up against the wall. Now that I think about it, the young mistress had already organized all her dowry, just waiting to take all those things with her when she got divorced."

Once Zhan Xingzhuo signs the divorce papers, Yao Qingling will take the divorce papers to the government office to finalize the divorce and take away all of her dowry.

Zhan Xingzhuo was stunned for a moment, then kicked Minglu: "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Minglu said, feeling wronged, "I just remembered it now."

He paused for a moment, then carefully observed his master's expression.

On the night Yongning Temple was attacked by refugees, the master wanted to go to rescue people, but was persuaded to turn back by Miss Zhou; this is just a divorce, not a matter of life and death, so why is the master so restless? He can't even care about Miss Zhou anymore?

Zhan Xingzhuo urged the coachman to hurry up.

Even through the curtain, you could hear the sound of the whip whistling through the air and cracking as it struck the horse.

Minglu said cautiously, "Master, if we get a divorce, won't you be able to be with Miss Zhou?"

He felt that his master must not yet realize that Miss Zhou had been divorced.

"...She is no longer a member of the Wang family."

If the young mistress wants to leave, then there will be no obstacle between them.

Zhan Xingzhuo frowned, and was stunned for a moment.

He has always loved Zhou Zhining; it was admiration before, and now it's affection. He has never thought of letting her go.

However, what he was thinking about at that moment was not her identity as a remnant of the criminal gang, nor that he needed Yao Qingling to cover for them, but rather...

Instead, Yao Qingling wanted to leave him!

He disagrees!

At this moment, he was extremely flustered, worried that his mother would be swayed by Yao Qingling...

Zhan Xingzhu glared at Minglu and retorted defiantly, "What do you know! The rumors outside are already detrimental to Zhi Ning. If Yao Qingling gets a divorce, what will become of Zhi Ning and me?"

At this moment, he needs Yao Qingling even more.

He told Minglu, and he was also trying to convince himself, that Yao Qingling's importance to him was nothing more than that.

Upon arriving at the Duke's mansion, Zhan Xingzhuo jumped down from the carriage before it even stopped and rushed inside.

I saw Yao Qingling sitting face to face with Princess Deyang, talking, and then I saw Yao Qingling stand up.

Both of them looked calm, and Zhan Xingzhuo couldn't guess how their conversation was going.

He calmly walked over and said, "Mother."

He then turned to Qingling and said, "If we have anything to say, my husband and I can talk it out in the manor. Don't disturb Mother."

As he spoke, he reached out to take Yao Qingling's hand and lead her back.

On the way, he had already decided that no matter what the outside world thought, he would lock her up when he got back; he would say that although the young mistress had returned safely, she was seriously injured and needed to rest.

He firmly stated that he would not divorce, so what could Yao Qingling do about it?

Yao Qingling took a step back, dodging his outstretched hand, and looked at him coldly: "Doctor Zhan, have you already signed the divorce papers?"

Zhan Xingzhuo clenched his fists, his teeth clenched, and he forced out the words through gritted teeth: "Yao Qingling, I'm giving you a chance!"