Chapter 51 We must see Yao Qingling resemble a stray dog even more than she does!
In an instant, Zhan Xingzhuo's face turned extremely ugly.
Not only were there no birthday gifts, but...
She gave him a cold shoulder and didn't even prepare a bowl of longevity noodles for him; she used the longevity buns her mother had prepared for him to fool him.
His chest heaved violently, as if a fire was burning inside.
He couldn't help but wonder if Yao Qingling really had someone else on the side.
Then he remembered that Yao Qingling had said she wanted a divorce.
The resolute figure standing at Yongning Temple; every look of disdain and disgust in her eyes…
Every moment tells her that she no longer cares about him, doesn't care about him anymore, and doesn't want him.
Zhan Xingzhuo felt extremely distressed; the fire was almost burning him dry!
Zhou Zhining's words made him no longer confident that Yao Qingling's actions were merely attempts to attract his attention, compete for his favor, or throw a tantrum.
Does she really have someone else on the side?
He recalled once again Yao Qingling's resounding words to him: "My lord, I want a divorce."
"...Right now, you are an obstacle between the inner courtyard and the outer wall for me."
Was he an obstacle for her?
Is it the obstacle preventing her from having an affair with another man?
Is it the wall that led to her adultery?
After Yongning Temple was relieved of its predicament, she could have returned quickly, but she deliberately stayed several days late without even letting him know she was safe... She didn't care at all about his worry and sadness.
These past few days... have you been having fun with some random guy?
Thinking of this, Zhan Xingzhuo suddenly raised his hand and touched his face...
She had another man, and when she came back, she accused him of not caring about her enough?
She even slapped him!
Over the years, even when she was angry, she couldn't bear to touch him. Who gave her the courage? That wild man?
Zhan Xingzhuo felt as if his chest was about to burst open!
With a loud bang, his hand slammed down on the table. The table broke, leaving a hole in it.
With another crash, he swept everything off the table.
The place was a complete mess.
Zhou Zhining watched as his face grew darker and darker, his bloodshot eyes like those of a wild beast devouring people.
At this moment, he probably wanted to kill Yao Qingling.
Ha, be angry.
No man can tolerate being cuckolded.
When the man slapped down, Zhou Zhining jumped up in fright, shrank her neck and hid to the side, lowered her head slightly, looking scared but not daring to step forward to stop him, but the corners of her lips were slightly curved.
—Yao Qingling, why didn't you come back on time? You wanted Xingzhuo to worry about you and be sad for you, ha, you've made things worse!
—Yao Qingling, who told you to start singing that nursery rhyme? You should have been quiet and unassuming, a virtuous wife who didn't concern herself with worldly affairs. You shouldn't have acted so childishly…
Zhan Xingzhuo was furious.
He strode towards the door.
Upon seeing this, a cold smile flashed across Zhou Zhining's eyes.
She didn't step forward to stop them; she just waited to watch the show.
Yao Qingling has returned safely, but tonight, she will likely be covered in wounds.
Like her, she was brutally beaten by a man, powerless to fight back, like a stray dog with nowhere to hide.
He was so pathetic that even the servants looked down on him.
What Zhou Zhining hates most about Yao Qingling is that she is protected by the Duke's mansion; she has no worries about food and clothing, comes from a respectable family, and has the noble character of her father to give her a bright spot.
This allowed her to look down on her from a superior position.
On what grounds?
Yao Qingling was just an orphan. If it weren't for the trouble that happened to her family, Zhan Xingzhuo would be her husband!
The moment Zhou Zhining hated Yao Qingling the most was when Yao Qingling looked at her every time she arrived at the new residence in a disheveled state.
Cleanliness, compassion, pity?
No, what Zhou Zhining saw was the contempt, disdain, and disgust in her expression.
Yao Qingling has no right to look at her like that!
From now on, her life will be just like hers, full of contempt and beatings!
But Yao Qingling didn't have an ex-lover like Zhan Xingzhuo to save her from her predicament.
So she will slowly rot here, new wounds adding to old ones, never to recover, until she dies completely...
Ah, her respectable family background will be disgraced because of her adultery.
Ha, the glory our fathers earned with their lives...
Zhou Zhining became more and more excited as she thought about it, her eyes turning wild.
She focused her mind; it was time… When Zhan Xingzhuo started punching and kicking Yao Qingling, she would pretend to lend a helping hand, just like how Yao Qingling had “helped” her before.
Looking up, he saw Zhan Xingzhuo standing at the door, not even leaving the courtyard.
What's wrong?
Why doesn't he go and settle accounts with Yao Qingling?
Zhou Zhining, clutching her handkerchief, cautiously approached: "Brother Xingzhuo?"
Zhan Xingzhuo was tall and blocked the door, so Zhou Zhining couldn't see what was happening in the courtyard. But when she got closer and looked over his shoulder, she saw Yao Qingling and the Imperial Censor's wife standing quietly in the courtyard.
Just a few more steps and you'll be able to cross the threshold.
Zhou Zhining's heart skipped a beat. When did they arrive?
It was now completely dark, and only two lanterns hung on the veranda of the courtyard; after spring, the flowers and trees in the courtyard grew vigorously, blocking out the moonlight.
—The west courtyard has always been Zhou Zhining's place. When she and Zhan Xingzhuo are alone, she does not allow anyone to guard them outside.
At this moment, Yao Qingling stood there quietly in her white clothes, the soft light from both sides of the corridor illuminating her face; the shadows of the trees fell on her face, which was not clearly visible.
She looked even more frightening than when she first returned to the mansion.
She really looks like a ghost!
Zhou Zhining got goosebumps and didn't dare to look Yao Qingling in the eye.
Just now, she and Zhan Xingzhuo were behaving intimately, and she even said those things...
Zhou Zhining felt guilty. Did Yao Qingling hear and see all of this?
Zhou Zhining glanced guiltily at the Censor's wife beside Yao Qingling.
That lady was not someone to be easily fooled.
She thought to herself, "I encouraged Zhan Xingzhuo to catch her in the act, but now Yao Qingling has brought people to catch them in the act... Yao Qingling has the Censor's wife as an accomplice, that's a sharp knife..."
Zhou Zhining glanced timidly at Zhan Xingzhuo, feigning fear of being blamed, and hid behind him.
Qing Ling coldly stared at the couple.
She had seen them cuddling and kissing before, so now she wouldn't be surprised or hurt by what they were doing anymore.
She knew Zhou Zhining and Zhan Xingzhuo, so she didn't wait until tomorrow. She asked Taoye to go next door to invite the Imperial Censor's family over; she also sent servants to the Duke's Mansion and the Marquis of Zhongyong's Mansion to inform them that she had returned safely.
The Imperial Censor's family lived nearby and came over first; Imperial Censor Cao was a man and it was inconvenient for him to enter the inner courtyard, so he was sitting in the main hall drinking tea.
When the Imperial Censor's wife heard that Qingling had returned to the mansion, she went into the inner courtyard to apologize to Qingling. She said that when she saw Zhan Xingzhuo helping Zhou Zhining get off the carriage, she got angry and said that Qingling was dead. Who would have thought that Zhan Xingzhuo was blinded by lust and would set up a mourning hall without even investigating?
"...He set up a mourning hall, and I panicked when I heard that, but I couldn't admit I was lying, because if word got out, my husband's career would be ruined..."
Qingling was not angry.
This incident only made her see Zhan Xingzhuo's cold-bloodedness and Zhou Zhining's hypocrisy and malice more clearly.
She didn't suffer any losses.
She and the censor's wife rehearsed their story, and then they went to the west courtyard.
Unexpectedly, she was right. She really heard Zhou Zhining instigating Zhan Xingzhuo to throw mud at her.
"My lord, are you in such a furious state that you've come to see me?"
Yao Qingling stepped out from the shadows of the trees, her clear gaze coldly fixed on Zhan Xingzhuo, a sharp, cold smile playing on her lips.
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