Chapter 243 Hitting Yao Qingling
Zhan Xingzhuo was speechless after being rebuked by Yao Qingling.
His expression darkened slightly.
Zhou Zhining hated Yao Qingling, hated her child, and wished that Yao Qingling's relationship with Zhan Xingzhuo would become as strained as possible. But she also clearly understood that the more Yao Qingling distanced herself from Zhan Xingzhuo, the more he would be unable to let go.
Men tend to be attached to what they can't have.
Therefore, to make Zhan Xingzhuo hate Yao Qingling, he needs to make him feel that Yao Qingling is not worthy of being a good mother and that she has not treated her child well.
Zhou Zhining twitched her lips and said, "Even if we find the best wet nurse to take care of the child, and have the best guards and the best doctors, the best care in the world is always a mother's constant companionship."
"It is said that a mother and child are connected at heart, and a mother knows best what her child wants. Especially for a baby who can't speak yet, only cry, only the mother knows whether the baby needs to wet the bed, is hungry, or is uncomfortable."
“Qingling, the child is still too young. You have so many things to do, and you've neglected the child. But since you insisted on bringing this child into the world, don't let him suffer. Don't you think so?”
Zhou Zhining implied that Yao Qingling only cared about giving birth but not raising the children, and that she was always in the public eye to show off. She claimed to be earning money to support the family, but in reality, she didn't love the children at all. She only used the children as tools to manipulate men and was not worthy of being a mother.
She added, "A mother should put everything else aside and put her child first."
Yao Qingling stared coldly at Zhou Zhining and said sarcastically, "Oh? You just said that you couldn't take good care of the child and that it was thanks to your brother Xingzhuo that the child was able to grow up healthy. Miss Zhou, you seem to be with the child all the time."
She was simply using the child to keep Zhan Xingzhuo by her side, making him her slave.
"Oh, right. Since you're the one who wanted to give birth to this child, and it's Wang Xuan's child, given how he treated you, why did you go through all that trouble to bring him into this world and make him suffer with you? And because of you, he's become a slave, so pitiful..."
Qingling feigned sympathy and shook her head.
She added, "Miss Zhou is selfish. If you were willing to kneel before Lord Zuo and perform the three kneelings and nine prostrations... after all, that's what you're best at. Keeping Xuan'er in the Wang family, even if he might not be favored, at least he'll be a proper young master, don't you think?"
"Tell me, if this child grows up and is still a slave, will he resent you?"
"I still want to thank you for finding him another good father?"
Yao Qingling's gaze shifted from Xiao'er to Zhan Xingzhuo's face, and finally to Zhou Zhining's face.
Her gaze was strange, seemingly mocking, seemingly disdainful, and also like a cold, sharp blade, fierce and vicious.
She didn't want to talk about these things.
She just wanted to stay far away from them, but they insisted on bothering her, so she shouldn't blame them for having a bad temper.
Zhou Zhining's face turned green, and with red eyes, she looked helplessly at Zhan Xingzhuo: "Brother Xingzhuo, I just hoped that Sister Qingling could take good care of the child. Every word I said was from the bottom of my heart. Why would she humiliate me and Xiao'er like this?"
As she spoke, she pinched a handkerchief and wiped her eyes.
When Xiao'er saw her mother crying, she kicked her little legs to break free from Zhan Xingzhuo's embrace, ran over and kicked Yao Qingling.
"You bitch, you made my mother cry, I'll beat you to death!"
The children are young, but the younger they are, the less restraint they tend to show when they fight.
That kick landed on Qingling's shinbone, and even through her cotton-padded trousers, it hurt.
After kicking Qingling, Xiao'er was afraid she would hit him, so he immediately hid next to Zhan Xingzhuo, grabbed his robe and glared at Qingling, a typical case of a fox borrowing the tiger's power.
Zhan Xingzhuo's face darkened as he looked at the small footprints on Yao Qingling's skirt.
He didn't expect the child to suddenly hit someone, especially that word "bitch," which he used so fluently that it didn't sound like something someone his age would say so often.
He taught him the Four Books and Five Classics, and the etiquette of a gentleman.
Yao Qingling was so angry she laughed.
Despicable person?
It's obvious that Zhou Zhining often swears in private, and the child has picked up the habit from her.
She looked at Zhan Xingzhuo mockingly: "If this child were well-behaved and polite, I might think more highly of him. But obviously..."
She shook her head slightly and didn't continue.
But this unspoken mockery is even more slapping.
This clearly implies that the children personally trained by Zhan Xingzhuo are nothing special.
Therefore, she had even more reason not to give Zhao'er to him.
Zhan Xingzhuo looked disgusted. He never expected that a few words of verbal sparring would make him lose face.
He looked down at Xiao'er: "Why did you hit her?"
Xiao'er followed Zhou Zhining around and encountered all sorts of people. It can be said that from the moment he was born, he learned to read people's expressions and moods.
With red eyes, he obediently said, "Father, she bullied Mother. Mother said that Xiao'er is a man and must protect Mother."
Zhou Zhining sobbed and squatted down to pick up the child: "Xiao'er is still young, it should be his mother who protects him."
Her face gently rubbed against her child's soft face; what a touching scene of motherly love.
Yao Qingling watched coldly, tsk, this does show that Zhou Zhining and Zhan Xingzhuo have done a good job educating their child, who is already protecting his mother and standing up for her at such a young age.
But in Yao Qingling's eyes, this was nothing more than the child inheriting Wang Xuan's tyranny and learning Zhou Zhining's hypocrisy, and being used to bullying the strong with the weak.
She looked at Zhan Xingzhuo and said calmly, "I cannot argue with a child, but since this child calls you 'Father,' I beg you to teach him properly. If he offends a noble person, even the Vice Minister might not be able to plead for him."
According to the law, a servant who commits insubordination is to be executed.
Zhou Zhining's face turned pale, and she hugged the child tightly.
Zhan Xingzhuo's face was extremely pale.
It was one thing for her to disrespect him in the mansion, but this was on the street. She addressed him as "adult" repeatedly, yet every word she uttered was a veiled insult.
Where is a man's dignity?
He took a deep breath and scolded, "Yao Qingling, you're always so unforgiving. It's just that a child kicked you, and you're being so aggressive. Do you even act like an adult?"
"Since you don't know your place, I'll let this child teach you a lesson for me, so what?"
Yao Qingling stared blankly at the man.
Ha, what's the point of her continuing to speak with such bias?
She said nothing more, only one sentence: "Sir, you have already reprimanded me. May I leave now?"
She lowered her eyes, her fists clenched tightly inside her sleeves.
When Zhan Xingzhuo saw her suddenly retract her thorns, he felt a sudden pang of pain in his heart.
He didn't mean to say that, it's just... it's just...
"Yao Qingling." He opened his mouth, wanting to say something conciliatory, but Yao Qingling had already bowed and turned to walk towards the carriage.
He watched her retreating figure, watching her carriage disappear down the street.
Zhou Zhining stared at the man's stunned profile, hating Yao Qingling intensely.
She both scolded her and successfully made Zhan Xingzhuo feel guilty towards her.
How can we make Yao Qingling disappear from this world completely?
"Father, Xiao'er is hungry. Can we go in and eat?" Xiao'er tugged at Zhan Xingzhuo's sleeve and acted coquettishly.
This sound was heard by Lady Xincheng, who was coming out of Xiangyuan Garden.
Lady Hou glanced at the child, then her gaze fell on Zhan Xingzhuo's face. She frowned slightly, revealing her displeasure.
Zhan Xingxiang was discussing marriage with the heir of the Marquis's mansion, but things were already going wrong. The reason the Marquis's mansion was still hesitant was because of the complicated relationship between Zhan Xingzhuo and Zhou Zhining.
The word "father" disgusted Lady Xincheng. She didn't even bother to greet him or give Zhan Xingzhuo a chance to come over and pay her respects. She went straight to her carriage.
"Walk."
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