Chapter 8 Compared to Zhou Zhining, she is living in heaven!

Zhou Zhining's face turned pale, and tears quickly welled up in her eyes.

She took a step back, holding the child, and stood behind Zhan Xingzhuo, feeling wronged and sad. She didn't say anything and gently rested her head on the child's thin shoulder.

His expression clearly showed extreme grievance, yet he dared not utter a word.

Yao Qingling had long been tired of seeing her pitiful appearance and didn't want to look at her anymore.

She glanced indifferently at the maids and servants who were still kneeling on the ground.

The person primarily responsible isn't being held accountable; the maids and servants have been punished, and now they want to blame her?

Don't think that this pitiful appearance can evoke any more sympathy from her.

If her tolerance only leads to others taking advantage of her, then she will not give an inch!

The air was cold and still, the atmosphere extremely tense.

Zhou Zhining glanced at Zhan Xingzhuo's upright figure, pursed her lips, lowered her eyelashes, and murmured softly, "I'm sorry, I talked too much."

Her cautious manner reminded Zhan Xingzhuo of her humbleness.

He looked at the woman whose face still bore faint scars, then glanced at the wound on the child's forehead. The pitiful state of the mother and child filled him with heartache and shame.

In particular, Xiao'er was injured in his mansion.

Yao Qingling, how dare she? How could she bear to be so sharp-tongued and mean to Zhou Zhining!

Does she even have any compassion?

"Yao Qingling!" Zhan Xingzhu shouted, glaring at her. "Zhi Ning kindly spoke up for you, and you not only refuse to admit your mistake, but you also have the nerve to criticize her?"

"I've entrusted this home to you. As the lady of the house, you have a responsibility to manage it well. Am I wrong about you?"

Tao Ye was so angry that she trembled all over.

They've all kept their distance, but this mother and son are like bedbugs, sticking to everyone. Whenever they smell something bad, they blame their young lady.

She turned to look at Qingling, feeling both angry and aggrieved, and seemed to understand why her mistress had decided to divorce.

Let's get a divorce. Who wants to put up with this?

Tao Ye couldn't help but speak up for her mistress, but Qing Ling stepped forward and blocked her behind him.

Faced with Zhan Xingzhuo's fury, Yao Qingling remained calm and composed, neither crying and admitting her mistake nor showing any sign of softening her stance.

Since she was already disappointed, she could calmly accept any further outrageous remarks he might make.

She loosened her fingers, her expression aloof, and said calmly, "My lord, two years ago you insisted on moving out of the Duke's mansion. At the time, you were in a hurry and bought an old house without looking closely."

“The Duke’s Mansion never said it would split up. The money to buy the house was your private money. At the time, we didn’t have enough money, so I added my dowry to make up for it.”

“After that, we hired people to repair the house, which cost a lot of money. Last summer was hotter than usual, and you said that there might be heavy snow in winter, so you asked me to reinforce the roof. By then, we had almost run out of money.”

"Now you say you're going to build roads, but where's the money?"

Yao Qingling held her bare hand upwards, her palm empty.

She was being very polite, not even factoring in the expenses Zhou Zhining and her son in in the mansion.

At this moment, she no longer cared about the unity of husband and wife. Since he didn't give her any dignity, she didn't need to either.

Moreover, since they are getting a divorce, their money should be used separately.

Zhan Xingzhuo never expected that Yao Qingling would actually ask him for money, especially in front of Zhou Zhining.

He stared in disbelief, speechless for a long time.

She actually trampled on his dignity!

Zhan Xingzhuo was so angry he almost had a heart attack.

Zhou Zhining glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but didn't dare to say anything.

The monthly allowance given to her by the Wang family was withheld by the madam, so she saved every penny and used the remaining money to support her family who were far away in exile.

Yao Qingling kept her hands outstretched, never putting them down.

Xiao'er's fall served as a reminder to her. The ground was uneven and it was easy to trip, and she should be especially careful as she was pregnant.

We must build the road!

Zhan Xingzhuo recovered, his face darkened, and he walked down the steps, pulling a piece of jade from his waist: "Is that enough!"

Yao Qingling took the jade and touched it with her fingertips. The texture was delicate and smooth, pure white with a touch of red in the middle, and the carving was extremely exquisite.

When Zhan Xingzhuo was nineteen, he passed the imperial examination with the rank of Tan Hua (third-place scholar). Princess Deyang gave him many congratulatory gifts, and this piece of jade was one of them. Zhan Xingzhuo liked it very much and carried it with him every day.

But now it has to be sold.

Yao Qingling withdrew her palm, accepted the jade, and held it tightly in her hand.

The cold, hard jade pressed against the bones of my palm, causing a slight stinging sensation.

Haha, it's not like she's selling her stuff, she doesn't care.

Yao Qingling sneered, took the jade and turned to leave, but as she left, she caught a glimpse of the maids and servants kneeling on the ground.

They were in so much pain that they couldn't kneel down and their bodies swayed; two of them had blood on their knees.

After all, she was the one who chose them to enter the household. They were just living at her mercy, and their devoted service only brought them disaster.

Yao Qingling said calmly, "You may all get up as well."

The maids and servants quickly thanked them, limping and helping each other to their feet. They hurriedly retreated, fearing that the master would turn on them and punish them again.

Yao Qingling left with his jade. She was kind to the maids and servants, but she didn't say a kind word to him or even glance at him.

Zhan Xingzhuo gazed at the woman's straight back, his chest heaving violently.

I was so angry with her.

She actually dared to accept it!

He spoiled him rotten!

When she was bullied by her sisters, she took her side and protected her, which spoiled her into being so arrogant and unable to tolerate even the slightest anger.

Hmph, what are her little hardships compared to Zhou Zhining's? She's living in heaven!

Zhan Xingzhuo thought silently, this can't go on anymore. I can't spoil her anymore.

But he never expected that Yao Qingling's parents had died in battle when she was eight years old. When she returned to the capital, she was once again living under someone else's roof.

At that time, she was facing an unfamiliar environment; she had relatives around her, but they were all strangers.

No one really cares how she got through those years, whether she suffered any hardships.

Zhou Zhining leaned over to comfort Zhan Xingzhuo, stroking his back with her small hand, and said weakly, "Brother Xingzhuo, don't be angry... If I argued with her for my sake, I would really deserve to die."

As she spoke, she wiped away her tears again, "I should have gone back to the Wang family and not caused them any trouble."

"Nonsense, how are you troublesome?" Zhan Xingzhuo looked at the courtyard gate where the figure had disappeared, still feeling uneasy.

Yao Qingling had never offended him like this before.

She was gentle and obedient. After marrying him, she always put him first in everything. Even when she got angry, she would just glare at him, say a few cold words, and then it would all be over after a good night's sleep.

When she looked at him, her eyes were bright and alert.

But just now, when she spoke those sharp words, her face was so calm, and her eyes were so dark and unfathomable…

Seeing him staring blankly at the empty courtyard gate, Zhou Zhining's eyes flickered slightly, and her voice softened even more: "Brother Xingzhuo, let me help you into the house for a cup of tea."

Zhan Xingzhuo's thoughts were interrupted. He glanced at her and nodded, "Mm."

Once inside, Zhou Zhining made tea and poured water, placing the teacup in front of the man.

Zhan Xingzhuo gently blew on the tea; it wasn't hot, so he drank it in one gulp.

Zhou Zhining then poured him more tea, her quiet and obedient demeanor, her careful and ingratiating manner, was heartbreaking to see.

“Zhi Ning, you don’t need to pay attention to Yao Qingling’s words. Wang Xuan doesn’t even have Xiao’er as his son. If it weren’t for you, who knows what Xiao’er would be like. You’ve done a great job as a mother.”

Zhou Zhining forced a smile: "I gave birth to him, how can I not care about him? It's just..." She bit her lip lightly, feeling ashamed and guilty, "and you still have to ask Xingzhuo to take care of one more. He and I have become a burden to you."

Zhan Xingzhuo admires Zhou Zhining's wholehearted devotion to her family. For her family, she is willing to give up her dignity and give up everything.

"Fool, I said I would take care of you and your child, and I will do so to the very end..."

As the two were talking, Zhan Xingzhuo had completely forgotten about Yao Qingling. He only remembered that he had spoiled her too much, which had made her so disrespectful and lacking in manners.

Zhou Zhining devoted herself wholeheartedly to her family; Yao Qingling, on the other hand, did not. He gave her all his salary, yet she still asked him for money and haggled over it with him.

She is so selfish and heartless.

After that day, Zhan Xingzhuo did not go to talk to Yao Qingling and decided not to coax her.

This time, he wanted her to figure out for herself whether she had done anything wrong!

We can't spoil them anymore!

...

Yao Qingling turned around and took the jade pendant to a pawnshop to get money to find craftsmen to repair the road.

All the old blue bricks in the new mansion were replaced in just three days, which was very quick.

As fast as the road construction started, so did the gossip about the new government building.

Almost everyone in Shengjing knew that Lord Zhan and his wife had a fierce argument, probably because they were broke; or perhaps because of the daughter of that disgraced official.

The pawnshop accepted the jade, and not long after, it was delivered to the Grand Princess of Deyang.

The Grand Princess looked at Yu, her brows furrowed, her face grim.

She called over the maidservant beside her: "Go and tell the second young mistress to come over."