Yining didn't sleep well that night.

Summer was about to arrive, and in the early morning a rainstorm arrived. The strong wind swayed the crowns of the trees in the yard, and the rain was mixed with rolling thunder. She was awakened by the thunder.

Songzhi had come in to put out a candle, but she saw Yining's eyes were still open. She was startled and asked, "Miss, why are you awake?"

Yi Ning asked her to keep the candle on, as she couldn't sleep anyway. She put on a coat and looked down to see the obvious red marks on her wrists... Her skin was too delicate, and even the slightest pressure would leave marks.

Songzhi went out to pass the message, and Qingqu came in with the medicine. When she came in, she saw Yining leaning against the window, staring blankly at the heavy rain outside. In the still-bright sky, the courtyard was filled with broken branches and leaves blown down by the rain. Her small face was like a shimmering white jade, a faint glow shining through the gray sky.

Qingqu recalled the first time she'd laid eyes on her. She'd never seen such a delicate and pretty child before, completely unlike the children on the farm. She'd wanted to tease her, to get close to her, but she was told she was the Seventh Young Lady and couldn't be touched. That pink little girl had grown up, clearly meant to be pampered, yet she was being bullied by that bastard... It was so pitiful.

She put down the medicine bowl and whispered to Yi Ning, "If the Duke's punch didn't cripple him, I would have helped you cripple him..."

Yi Ning finally came to her senses. Any woman would be afraid if faced with something like this, and she was certainly afraid, but she had been through so much before and had recovered. She smiled and asked, "How are you going to destroy him?"

Qingqu added, "Wait until he walks into the alley, then put a sack on him and give him a beating. Not to mention crippling him, at least crippling him! The Duke is only going to cripple his offspring, so I think he's getting away with it."

In fact, this was just Wei Ling's concern. If Shen Yu's life was really harmed, the matter would be exposed. So Wei Ling would definitely not kill Shen Yu for the sake of her reputation...Yining understood Wei Ling's thoughts, and she even understood why Mrs. Wei defended Zhao Mingzhu. But she still couldn't help but feel tired of Zhao Mingzhu.

She looked up and suddenly found that Pearl was not in the house: "Pearl didn't come back last night?"

Songzhi and Qingqu looked at each other and shook their heads.

The heavy rain outside the window never stopped.

Yining suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart... Wei Ling, he wouldn't really take Zhenzhu's life, would he?

She called Daimao in and quickly asked her to go and check on Wei Ling.

Wei Ling hadn't actually gone to bed either. He'd dealt with all the maids and servants who knew about this. He'd left out his trusted associates, but the rest were sold off and exiled. The two maids serving at the door were beaten to death and dragged out. Fearing the noise might frighten Yi Ning, he gave orders from the hall. The staff at Old Madam Wei's place were replaced overnight, all his own. Finally, he brought Zhenzhu in... By then, it was almost dawn.

After a long night, his eyes were slightly bloodshot. He told Pearl, "I won't punish you this time."

Zhenzhu originally thought she was going to die, but after hearing Wei Ling's words, she suddenly raised her head.

"Yining pleaded for you." Wei Ling continued, "From now on, your life belongs to her...it's her business what to do with it."

Zhenzhu's tense body finally relaxed. Having escaped death, she kowtowed twice to Wei Ling. Wei Ling waved his hand and told her to go back. There were still soldiers waiting for him outside.

When Zhenzhu returned to Yining, Yining was combing her hair.

Zhenzhu took the comb from Daimao and combed Yining's hair as usual. As she combed, tears began to flow, and she suddenly hugged Yining and burst into tears.

Yining sighed and rubbed her back gently.

Tingge'er heard the crying when he walked in. He ran over to Yining and said, "Sister Zhenzhu, why are you crying?" He had been coaxed to sleep by Tong's mother last night and had no idea what he had discovered. He saw Zhenzhu holding Yining's hand and asked, "Why are you holding my hand? Sister, please get up quickly. I want to play chess with you!"

Only then did Zhenzhu wipe her tears, stand up and say, "Master Ting, the young lady is sick and can't play chess with you today."

Ting'er opened his eyes wide. With his short legs, he quickly climbed onto the bed. He moved closer to Yining and looked at her carefully, noting that she looked very pale.

Yi Ning pushed his little face away and said, "Be careful or I'll make you sick... Go play with the little girl by yourself!"

Ting Ge'er sat down beside her, looked at her for a long time, and suddenly said, "You seem to have cried."

He looked quite serious and reached out his little hand to touch her eyes. "Mother Tong told me that your eyes were swollen the next day after you woke up from crying. Did someone bully you? You have to tell me. I am your brother and I will protect you from now on."

Yi Ning patted his head and said, "No one bullies me. If you don't go out to play, I'll ask Zhenzhu to get a calligraphy copybook for you to practice..."

Hearing this, Tinggeer kept saying that he wanted to go out and play, and he got out of bed. The girl in the room was finally amused by him.

Ting'er ran to the porch outside the door and waited for a long time. Finally, he saw Zhenzhu coming. He pulled Zhenzhu aside and asked softly, "Zhenzhu, what's wrong with my sister?"

Pearl hesitated for a moment, then quietly told him what had happened in the simplest way.

But after a while, Mrs. Wei brought Zhao Mingzhu to see her.

After a night of this, she seemed to have become quite haggard, not daring to utter a single word as she stood beside Old Lady Wei. Yining always spoke a bit coldly to Old Lady Wei, so Old Lady Wei took Yining's hand and sighed, "... Yining, I know you'll blame me. But her... her family's situation is so dire, sending her back is the same as killing her."

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