Chapter 66 Yao Qingling hit her maid again!
Today, Yao Qingling was visited by the wife of the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Left Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the fifth young lady of the Earl of Guangling's mansion.
They had agreed to visit together.
Yao Qingling hadn't had much interaction with these families before, but since they were here, she would definitely treat them well.
The two ladies opened the box, inside were copies of the Ksitigarbha Sutra they had made.
The fifth young lady of the Earl's mansion made the prayer flags by hand.
After looking at it, Yao Qingling praised, "The calligraphy is really good, and the prayer flags are also well made."
Lady Shaoqing sighed, "I hope those spirits can rest in peace after receiving this... So many days have passed, but my heart still feels heavy and I keep having nightmares."
Another lady added, "Luckily, the young mistress said she wanted to perform a ritual. We were all so frightened that we didn't even think of it."
Yao Qingling smiled and said, "I only remembered it after I returned to the manor and saw my mourning hall... If the souls of the dead cannot be released and their resentment cannot be dispelled, how can they not feel sad?"
The two ladies exchanged a glance, and the conversation began to escalate as they berated Zhan Xingzhuo for being so unethical as to send his wife to her death for the sake of a woman.
Zuo Tongzheng was well-informed in the court. His wife secretly told Qingling that Zhan Xingzhuo was being impeached in court and was having a hard time.
"...With a virtuous wife like the young mistress, he doesn't cherish her, but instead treats the remnants of that criminal gang like a treasure. What kind of talented woman is Zhou Zhining, what kind of second beauty?"
Zhou Zhining was known as a talented woman in Shengjing (present-day Shenyang) and was also called the second most beautiful woman in the capital.
The most beautiful woman was the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Xincheng, who married the Crown Prince, who is now Emperor Jingyan.
"...She dares not claim to be the most beautiful, nor dares to offend the Crown Princess," the fifth young lady of the Earl's mansion added.
“Some people in the court, like Zhan Xingzhuo, speak well of her because of her good reputation. They say that Zhou Qin embezzled money, but it had nothing to do with Zhou Zhining, and she shouldn’t be called a remnant of the criminals. But didn’t she enjoy the wealth that the Zhou family plundered from the people?”
"With her reputation as a talented woman and the title of second most beautiful woman, how much silver did it cost to build up? Now you say she's innocent and shouldn't be criticized? Humph, we're the ones who're innocent." Madam Shaoqing has been living in fear these past few days and hasn't had a good night's sleep.
The old lady in the family fell seriously ill, and she still had to take care of her while she was sick, which made her extremely resentful.
Yao Qingling's eyes flickered slightly.
Zhou Zhining also has the title of "Second Beauty"?
Given that she was both a talented woman and the second most beautiful woman, although she couldn't compete with the Crown Princess, according to the Zhou family's upbringing, Zhou Zhining should have married as a concubine or as the principal wife of a prince. So why was she engaged to the Duke's family back then?
However, Yao Qingling's goal was a divorce, and it was none of her business whether Zhou Zhining was ranked as a beauty or who she married.
—Anyway, Zhou Zhining is now just a remnant of the criminals, and a woman who has been divorced by the Wang family and severed ties with them.
The group chatted for a while longer when the gatekeeper came to report that a craftsman had delivered a paper kite.
The fifth daughter of the Earl's family said, "I had it custom-made."
She had someone bring it in so Qingling could take another look.
When the kite was unfurled, it was as big as three people, and the golden-winged bird looked extremely majestic; it was not at all meant for people to play with.
"I want to wait until the Buddhist ceremony to release this kite. The Garuda is the mount of the Buddha. I hope that as it flies far and high, it can take away the resentment of the dead souls as well."
The ladies praised the Fifth Miss for her thoughtfulness, and they tried to fly the birds in the courtyard.
The kite was too big, making the yard seem small. We came up with all sorts of ideas and finally managed to get it flying.
Just as they were enjoying themselves, Zhiyun came in with a stern face, relayed Zhan Xingzhuo's words, and subtly gave them the order to leave.
She had a stern posture, rarely smiled, and had the air of a court lady.
Lady Tongzheng raised an eyebrow and glanced at Yao Qingling.
Even a maid in this household is so arrogant; she's obviously a bully who relies on her master's power.
Zhan Xingzhuo truly spoiled those remaining criminals to an extreme degree.
Rumors circulated that Zhan Xingzhuo wanted to kill his wife for her beauty, and these rumors now seem more credible.
She said coldly, "Fortunately, this new mansion has the young mistress in charge. The young mistress is the daughter of a general, strong and heroic, a blessed person who can suppress evil spirits."
The term "evil charm" naturally refers to Zhou Zhining.
Zhiyun's face was grim, but she dared not say anything—after all, the other party was a guest, and an official's wife at that.
The guests bid farewell to Yao Qingling.
Qingling was considerate in both her conduct and her actions. When the guests left, she politely gave them a return gift.
Zhiyun stared wide-eyed as she watched the three exquisite little boxes being delivered.
This young mistress is indeed shrewd. When others give her gold and silver jewelry, she returns the favor with the second master's money; she loses nothing and gains everything!
After seeing the guests off, Yao Qingling turned back to look at Zhiyun, who was still in the courtyard: "Aren't you going to report back to your master?"
Zhiyun arrogantly raised her chin and said, "Young Madam, everyone in the streets and alleys is mourning for the many people who died at Yongning Temple. You'd better not laugh so happily, lest you ruin your act."
Yao Qingling looked at her silently and seriously for a while: "Zhiyun, I have not left the new mansion yet, and I am still the young mistress of this family."
"Disrespectful to the master, twenty slaps."
Immediately, a maidservant came up and carried out the family discipline.
After a while, Zhiyun returned to the west courtyard, her face red and swollen.
Zhou Zhining was both shocked and furious when she saw Zhiyun's face.
This reminded her of mallow.
Yao Qingling hit her maid again!
Zhan Xingzhuo was furious and wanted to go to the main courtyard to teach Yao Qingling a lesson, but was stopped by Zhou Zhining.
“Brother Xingzhuo, she now has outsiders backing her up. If you do anything to her, everyone will think you are bullying her.”
“We can find other ways to treat her.”
...
Yao Qingling did not confront Zhan Xingzhuo afterward for his rudeness.
With a little guess, it must have been something Zhou Zhining said that made Zhan Xingzhuo want to drive the guests away; if it were him, he wouldn't be so rude as to offend people.
She continued to focus on preparing for the ritual.
She organized the donated sutra copying materials, hand-folded paper money, prayer flags, and other supplies and sent them to the storeroom.
Two days before the ritual, she was about to take the items from the storeroom to Yongning Temple, but two servants appeared at the gate to guard them.
The butler was also there, preventing anyone from going in.
"The Second Master has instructed that the Young Mistress is not allowed to use anything from the storeroom from now on."
Yao Qingling remained calm and asked again, "Even if I come to get it in person, it's still not allowed?"
The butler nodded: "Yes, young lady, please go back."
Yao Qingling took a deep breath, her expression troubled: "The ladies and young women of various families trust me and have sent me the items for the ritual. We need them the day after tomorrow, but I can't produce them or deliver them up the mountain. How can I explain this to them?"
The butler said sternly, "This is the young mistress's matter."
...
At the same time, Zhou Zhining went to Mao'er Lane.
She promised the other affected residents that she would cover all repair costs, saying it was to atone for the Zhou family's sins.
"...Now I am still small and can only start with small things, but every penny I earn in the future will be used to help the disaster victims and sincerely cleanse the sins of my Zhou family."
She spoke with tears in her eyes and her voice was full of genuine emotion.
The second most beautiful woman was still beautiful even after she had been married.
A beautiful woman sheds tears, and I feel pity for her.
Since that day, a group of craftsmen entered Mao'er Lane and began the renovation project.
Zhou Zhining went to Mao'er Lane every day to keep an eye on things and helped transport bricks and tiles, getting covered in dust every day.
Both sincere and responsible.
After several days of repairs, the brick and tile merchants and timber merchants wanted to settle the first batch of material costs with Zhou Zhining; the craftsmen also wanted to settle their wages.
Zhou Zhining was very polite and did not plead for a few more days.
She took two maids, along with merchants and craftsmen, back to the new mansion to collect the money.
Zhan Xingzhuo waited at the warehouse door. When the person came in, he spoke generously, praising Zhou Zhining for her hard work and kind heart.
Then he opened the storeroom, which was filled to the brim with boxes.
—They were all sent by the wives and daughters of officials.
The idea was to use the gold and silver jewelry first, and if the ladies and young women wanted it back later, they would go to Yao Qingling, the one who received the gifts.
A dozen or so boxes were moved out and placed in the yard.
The merchants and artisans were all excited; they could finally get their hands on the silver!
One of the merchants stepped forward, opened the box, and checked the amount of silver.
Upon seeing it, his face turned green.
They're all scriptures!
Another box, when opened, contained paper money burned for the dead!
At this moment, Yao Qingling arrived at the storeroom with many ladies and young women, and said with a troubled expression, "I have encountered some difficulties, and I can only ask you noble ladies to help me."
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