Chapter 91 Mingzhu escapes
The ancestral hall within the Pingyuan Marquis's mansion, always immaculately clean, now appeared somewhat disheveled. The cushions neatly placed in the center for kneeling were now scattered across the floor. The offerings on the table had been knocked over by the young lady's temper, leaving all sorts of fruits and pastries scattered. The only thing intact were the tablets.
Fortunately, Zhao Mingzhu didn't lose her temper completely and was somewhat cautious. Otherwise, the tablets would have been in jeopardy.
Zhao Mingzhu sat on the mat used for kneeling as punishment with a gloomy and uncertain expression. She counted on her fingers and found that today was the seventh day she had been locked up in the ancestral hall.
She had originally thought that she could be locked up here for two or three days, and that her grandmother would release her when her anger subsided. However, she hadn't expected her grandmother to be so cruel this time. Seven days had already passed, and there was still no sign of her being released.
Moreover, during the time she was imprisoned in the ancestral hall, no one was allowed to visit her, not even Liang. The only person she could see every day was the little maid who brought her meals, and there was not even anyone to talk to. This was the first time she was treated like this since returning to the Marquis' Mansion. The sudden neglect made Zhao Mingzhu feel very uncomfortable.
Thinking of this, she grabbed the rotten orange that had rolled beside her and smashed it hard towards the door, making a loud clanging sound.
The two mothers guarding the door were startled, but they quickly got used to it. They had heard this noise many times in the past few days. Although they didn't know what crime Sixth Lady had committed to be imprisoned here, it was not their place to criticize their master's affairs.
All they have to do is to keep an eye on Liu Niangzi, and it is best not to ask too many questions about other matters that are not their business. This is also the survival rule they have developed over the years in wealthy families.
The two old women watched their noses with their eyes and their hearts with their noses, and were unmoved by the noise coming from the ancestral hall. It was not until the maid who brought the meal came to the door with the food box that they stepped aside and opened the lock of the door.
The door of the ancestral hall opened and quickly closed again.
I heard noises at the door.
Zhao Mingzhu looked up in surprise, and found that the person coming was the maid who came to bring him food. He lowered his head in disappointment, with a gloomy expression.
Qin Xiang put down the food box in her hand tremblingly, and carefully brought out the dishes with trembling fingertips, and secretly paid attention to the movement over there with the corner of her eyes, for fear that the Sixth Lady in front of her would suddenly attack her.
She was a maidservant beside Liang. Because Liang was worried that her daughter would not have enough food in the ancestral hall, she spent a lot of money to transfer her to deliver meals to Liu Niangzi.
Originally thinking it was an easy task, and perhaps even gaining the master's favor, she happily accepted it. However, on her first day on the job, Qin Xiang was hit on the head by a flying tea bowl...
Liu Niangzi, who seemed to have a good temper, became moody and had a drastic change of temperament after being locked up.
Qin Xiang couldn't help but touch her wound that had not yet healed, and her movements became lighter and lighter.
All movements are completed in an extremely gentle and quiet state.
After putting down the last plate of pastries, Qin Xiang breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. She took a brisker step and was about to turn around and leave, but was stopped by a voice behind her.
"etc."
A cold voice reached her ears, and Qin Xiang skipped a beat. Her heart was in her throat, and she didn't know what kind of hard work was waiting for her.
She took a deep breath, suppressed the slight tremor in her heart, then turned around and said with a smile: "Sixth Lady, do you have any instructions?"
Seeing the smile on the little maid's face, Zhao Mingzhu felt inexplicably uncomfortable. Was this little bitch so happy to see her being locked up here?
Zhao Mingzhu secretly clenched her fingertips, resisting the urge to beat and scold her out. If she really scolded her away, no one would talk to her. Besides, she still had questions that needed answers from this maid.
She asked, "Why was lunch delivered earlier than usual today?"
Qin Xiang was stunned for a moment, then replied politely, "The masters of the mansion have all gone to a banquet today, so there's less work in the kitchen, so lunch will be served a little earlier."
"Whose party was it, and who went?"
Faced with the girl's question, Qin Xiang blurted out without thinking, "It's a banquet at the Earl of Yong'an's Mansion. The old lady brought the first and second ladies, as well as other young ladies in the family..." and went to attend the banquet.
As she spoke, her voice became softer, and she swallowed the last few words. But it was estimated that Sixth Lady had heard almost everything, and her expression became increasingly unsightly.
A banquet at the Earl of Yong'an's mansion?
When Zhao Mingzhu heard this familiar name, she was stunned for a moment, and all the memories of her past life came flooding back to her mind.
That’s right, in her previous life she married the second son of the Earl of Yong’an, Li Zong.
Zhao Mingzhu still remembers how delighted she was when she heard she could marry into the Yong'an Earl's Mansion. This was because even Zhao Mingsheng, the old lady's favorite, only married a fifth-rank official.
As long as I marry him, I will be able to surpass her in status. If my husband is capable, it would not be a bad idea for me to become a lady of honor.
Zhao Mingzhu was full of longing for this marriage and had imagined the wonderful and happy life she would have after marrying into the Earl's Mansion.
But reality shattered her dreams bit by bit.
At the beginning, she and Li Zong had a sweet time, but it was not long-lasting. Less than a month after the marriage, Li Zong's true nature gradually revealed itself.
As the second son of the Earl's family, he grew up in a world of debauchery. How could he stop for one person? Before he got married, he had three or four concubines in his family. After he got married, it became even worse. It was a good thing if he could stay in her room two or three times a month.
Her mother-in-law, the Countess, was not an easy person to get along with either. Not only did she set rules for her every day, but when she heard that she grew up in the countryside, she also implied that she disliked her unfashionable etiquette and manners. This made her so embarrassed that she was always at a loss, and she kept her head down like a quail, saying nothing.
The more she acted like this, the more her mother-in-law looked down on her, and even the servants in the mansion looked down on her.
Zhao Mingzhu not only has to deal with her mother-in-law, but also has to deal with the group of scheming women in the backyard. She lives a very tiring life every day.
Just when she was exhausted physically and mentally, she heard that Zhao Mingsheng's husband was not only ambitious, but also became a third-rank official at a young age and earned her an imperial edict. He also loved her very much and had a clean backyard without any other wives or concubines.
Compared to her, my life seemed like a joke. The little joy I had felt at the beginning was now more like a silent mockery.
Filled with jealousy, Zhao Mingzhu couldn't help but complain to Li Zong about his lack of ambition, but she just hit the nail on the head. In return, she was beaten severely and treated even colder.
She doesn't please her husband, nor is she liked by her mother-in-law. She seems like an insignificant and invisible person in this family, and she also has to deal with those bitches in the backyard.
After many tortures, she became a yellow-faced woman when she was less than 30 years old and passed away early.
Zhao Mingzhu's thoughts gradually returned, but her emotions seemed to have stagnated in the past. A feeling of helplessness enveloped her. She didn't even notice when her teeth had bitten her lower lip.
She had only one thought in her mind: she must never marry into the Earl of Yong'an's Mansion again!
Zhao Mingzhu's mind started to work rapidly.
She still remembered that her marriage in her previous life was arranged after this banquet.
The only unmarried women left in the family were Zhao Mingjing, the third wife of the second house, and her. Although she didn't know why the Yong'an Earl's Mansion had bypassed Zhao Mingjing and directly betrothed her in her previous life, Zhao Mingzhu had a vague intuition that this matter must be related to this banquet.
So, this matter was imminent, but she was trapped in the ancestral hall at the moment. Even if she wanted to change it, there was no way. Thinking of this, her eyes darkened a little.
Looking at the girl in front of him who was as quiet as water, Qin Xiang said to herself, "Oh no!"
The other young ladies in the mansion all dressed up beautifully to attend the banquet, but Sixth Lady could only be locked up in this ancestral hall. How could she be happy?
You're just bringing up things that are not related to the topic!
Qin Xiang bit her lip secretly, lowered her head, and kept a vigilant eye on the person opposite her to see if he would make a move. But she waited and waited, but there was no movement.
She couldn't help but look up, and just saw that the girl had accidentally bitten her lower lip, with blood rolling down her lips. With her lonely expression, she looked very pitiful.
Qin Xiang thought about how Liu Niang had barely eaten during her time in the ancestral hall, and how she looked much thinner. A wave of pity welled up in her heart, and she couldn't help but persuade her, "Liu Niang, eat first, or the food will get cold soon."
Zhao Mingzhu, who was thinking about how to escape from here, suddenly raised her head and looked at the little maid in front of her, as if she had thought of something. After staring at her for a moment, she raised her hand and waved at her.
"Okay." She nodded, as if she was relieved. "You come and help me serve the dishes."
Seeing that she was willing to eat, Qin Xiang happily agreed and turned to get the bowl and chopsticks.
He didn't notice the crisis coming behind him at all.
Zhao Mingzhu didn't know when a candlestick appeared in her hand. When the little maid turned around and was off guard, she raised the candlestick in her hand without hesitation and smashed it hard on her head.
Qin Xiang only felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, and fell to the ground before she even had time to call for help.
Warm dark liquid flowed out from the wound, soaking the handkerchief beside it.
Zhao Mingzhu's heart was beating so fast it was about to burst out of her chest. She dropped the weapon in her hand, her legs went limp and she knelt on the ground. She took this opportunity to catch her breath and calmed herself down. After struggling for a while, she finally touched the little maid's clothes with trembling hands...
Suddenly, there was a loud noise in the room, and a woman cried out in pain. The two mothers guarding the door heard the unusual noise and were about to open the door to see what was going on, but they saw the door open by itself, and the little maid who had delivered the meal before ran out crying, covering her face with a handkerchief.
When the two mothers saw the bloodstains on the handkerchief, they roughly understood what was going on and let her go without stopping her.
"How pitiful," an old woman sighed as she watched her leave. "She got her head broken a few days ago, and today she got her face hurt too. What if she gets disfigured?"
Although the other woman was also sighing in her heart, she didn't say much in the end. This was not something they could control. She just made a shushing gesture to her and whispered, "Be quiet. Don't let the ancestor inside hear you."
Then he went and locked the door again.
Everything returned to silence.
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