Chapter 317 Kneeling for Four Hours
The next day, Zhan Xingzhuo woke up.
My head is throbbing badly.
Zhou Zhining brought in the hangover soup and said softly, "I made this soup for you. Drink it before you go to court."
Zhan Xingzhuo, with a sullen face, picked up the bowl and drank, remaining silent.
Zhou Zhining helped him put on his court robes, glanced at him, and asked with downcast eyes, "What did you see at Jinmantang yesterday? You drank so much wine when you came back, it scared me. I regret saying those things to you."
Zhan Xingzhuo frowned, grabbed her hand, and Zhou Zhining looked up at him with gentle, shimmering eyes, but the man's gaze was cold.
The coldness made her feel like a stranger.
"Brother Xingzhuo?"
Zhan Xingzhuo stared at her coldly, anger in his eyes: "What do you want me to see?"
"Brother Xingzhuo, I..."
"Zhi Ning, I will always give you whatever you want. But can you please let Yao Qing Ling go?" Zhan Xingzhuo forcefully shook off her hand.
Zhou Zhining's face paled, and tears welled up in her eyes: "Brother Xingzhuo, why are you saying this to me? What did I do wrong?"
"I just wanted to help you, is that wrong?"
"Did I ask Yao Qingling to do something wrong? She's tainted in your heart, so you blame me? What kind of logic is that?"
Zhan Xingzhuo looked at the crying woman and clenched his fingers.
He used to be deceived by her tears, repeatedly softening his heart towards her while speaking harshly to Yao Qingling, always thinking that she was petty.
But recently Zhan Xingzhuo discovered that he was wrong.
He got very drunk, but ironically, he seemed to have a clear mind.
Zhou Zhining's sobbing attracted Minglu.
Minglu entered and immediately saw Zhou Zhining crying. He looked at Zhan Xingzhuo with a puzzled expression and asked, "Second Master, what's wrong?"
He added, "If the Second Master gets drunk one day, it is the young lady who takes him back to his room. She is worried about the Second Master and keeps watch outside his study for most of the night."
Zhan Xingzhuo was ultimately soft-hearted towards Zhou Zhining. He glanced at the woman, took a deep breath, his expression softened, but he said nothing. He walked around Zhou Zhining and left.
Minglu followed closely behind him.
As soon as Zhou Zhining saw Zhan Xingzhuo walk away, her eyes instantly dried up.
She wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes, her face cold.
She didn't understand where things went wrong.
Oh, it's because Zhan Xingzhuo discovered that Yao Qingling preferred to curry favor with Prince Xin rather than him, so he took his anger out on her.
"Heh..." she sneered sarcastically.
It doesn't matter. As long as Zhan Xingzhuo harbors resentment towards Yao Qingling, Yao Qingling will no longer exist in his heart.
Zhou Zhining tidied herself up, put on a beautiful makeup, and went to Jinmantang.
She congratulated Prince Xin.
Prince Xin was in a good mood.
He held a white jade Guanyin statue and examined it closely.
He spoke slowly, "Did you call Zhan Xingzhuo here?"
Zhou Zhining knelt down: "This servant has no other intention. I just feel that Zhan Xingzhuo and Yao Qingling have broken off their relationship cleanly, so there will be no other disturbances between Your Highness and Yao Qingling."
Prince Xin gave a cold, mocking smile, placed Guanyin on the antique shelf, clasped his hands together and bowed to her, then turned to face Zhou Zhining, his eyelids slightly lowered.
"If you felt you had done something right, you wouldn't be kneeling on the ground."
"You just want to use me to make Zhan Xingzhuo have a crush on Yao Qingling. That way, Zhan Xingzhuo will be completely devoted to you and have no other thoughts."
Zhou Zhining bit her lip, not daring to speak, but in the end she couldn't resist the curiosity in her heart.
She asked, "So, Your Highness, how was Yao Qingling's taste? Did you get to try her?"
Prince Xin looked at her expressionlessly, and Zhou Zhining's heart pounded.
Did Zhan Xingzhu arrive just in time, interrupting them? No wonder the prince was angry.
She bit her lip again and kowtowed, admitting her mistake: "Zhi Ning was wrong."
At this moment, Prince Xin's tense expression relaxed, and he said, "Zhou Zhining, do you know where you fall short compared to Yao Qingling?"
Zhou Zhining's heart sank. What did that mean?
Prince Xin looked at her with a mocking gaze: "You are just a talented woman who seeks fame and fortune. In terms of true intelligence, methods, composure, and courage, you are no match for Yao Qingling in any way."
He averted his gaze, stepped past her, and glanced down at her out of the corner of his eye: "Kneel here for four hours."
He left after saying that.
Zhou Zhining clutched her clothes tightly, her face flushing red and then turning pale.
In their eyes, was she really that despicable?
But Yao Qingling... what exactly did she do to make Prince Xin think so highly of her?
...
Zhou Zhining knelt for four hours before daring to get up.
Her legs and feet were so numb that she lost all feeling in them, and two maids had to help her get up.
After pounding and massaging my legs, they gradually recovered.
Zhou Zhining cried all afternoon.
She was severely hurt by Prince Xin.
At the same time, he hated Yao Qingling even more.
What are those men thinking? Why do they all think Yao Qingling is better than her?
What kind of taste do they have!
They ignored her, the second most beautiful woman in the capital, and instead regarded Yao Qingling as a celestial being.
Haven't they seen how fat Yao Qingling has become?
Is she smart? If she were smart and courageous, she wouldn't have been bullied by her for three years, not daring to utter a single word.
In the end, she could only leave in a sorry state by shamelessly ruining her husband's reputation.
Zhou Zhining clenched her fingers so tightly that her nails dug into her palms and drew blood, but she felt no pain; her face was contorted with rage.
"Girl, you're bleeding!" Zhiyun exclaimed in surprise and quickly went to find some medicine to apply to her wound.
Zhou Zhining glanced at her palm, her face turning ashen.
She didn't understand where she went wrong, but she had neither won Zhan Xingzhuo's heart nor gained the Prince of Xin's praise.
Now it's her who's in a sorry state.
“Miss, you don’t need to be sad. Time will tell. In time, the Second Master will realize that only you are the best. As for the Prince, he is only interested in Yao Qingling now. Once he’s had his fill of her…” Zhiyue’s eyes darted around, and she sneered, “Her miserable days are yet to come.”
Zhiyun said, "I don't know what Yao Qingling said to the prince that made him punish you like this."
She sighed, "Although the prince's interest in her will eventually fade, she has now caught his eye and is cherished by him. If she speaks ill of him, some girls will suffer."
Yao Qingling's emotions, which had just calmed down a bit, tensed up again.
Zhiyue shook her head at Zhiyun, signaling her not to provoke Zhou Zhining, but Zhiyun wanted to live.
She knew all too well that for a master who was not in favor, the lives of his servants were no longer important.
Yao Qingling's maids are lucky; they've chosen the right mistress, and now one or two of them have become managers of large shops. Even the least promising Lou Yue is living a comfortable life, and she's visibly gained weight. I heard Yao Qingling is going to open a restaurant for her.
And what about the two of them?
He was bought by Zhou Zhining, and the contract of servitude was in her hands; his life and death were hers.
But they also had a way to survive. As long as Zhou Zhining remained in favor, they, as maids, would have a future and a chance to live.
Zhiyun encouraged, "Miss, you mustn't be discouraged. That Yao Qingling is petty. If she gets the chance, she'll only retaliate against you and won't let you get away with it."
"Even if you don't think of yourself, you should think of Young Master Xiao'er, and those who are serving hard labor in the Northern Territory!"
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