Chapter 85 Ayin, Don't Hate Me
The host of tonight's banquet was a young master from the Cui family's side branch. As soon as he saw Ning Yue approaching, he guessed her purpose.
"Ms. Ningyue wants to save her?" Master Cui drank his wine and looked at Ningyue with clear eyes.
Ning Yue bowed and said, "That girl looks similar to a sister I once had, so I can't bear to let her suffer this disaster. I hope Master Cui can help her."
Master Cui looked at her and said calmly, "You can ask me to save her, but I wonder if Miss Ningyue can afford the price?"
Ning Yue wanted to say something, but He Yi'er's crying was heard again. The situation was urgent and it would be too late if she delayed any further.
"I will do my best to repay Master Cui."
As soon as she finished speaking, Master Cui signaled with his eyes, and several sturdy servants nearby immediately went up to separate the two people.
"What are you doing?" Master Zhou, who was about to taste the beauty, was suddenly pulled away. Feeling dissatisfied, he immediately yelled at the servant.
At this time, Master Cui also walked up, with a smile on his face, but his eyes were very cold.
"Brother Zhou is drunk, it's time to go to bed."
The Cui family is now the undisputed number one family. The Zhou family finally returned to the capital, so they naturally dare not offend the Cui family, even though this Young Master Cui is just a descendant of a side branch.
After seeing Master Cui's eyes, Master Zhou, who was drunk to the point of madness, lost most of his drunkenness immediately. He no longer had the courage to act wildly and said obediently, "Yes, yes, I'm drunk. It's time to go back to my room and sleep."
Master Zhou was helped away by a servant. Seeing that the crisis was resolved, the mother of the Jiaofangsi hurried forward to put clothes on He Yi'er and took her to kowtow to Master Cui.
"Thank you, Master Cui, for helping me out."
He Yi'er also held back her tears and said, "Thank you, Master Cui."
Master Cui didn't even look at them, he just said: "Take the person away, don't disturb everyone's fun."
"Okay, okay." The mother half-dragged and half-carried the frightened He Yi away.
At this time, the place was silent. The young masters who did not see Ning Yue come forward to plead for mercy were all confused. They didn't know why Master Cui suddenly stood up to protect the girl from the He family.
Master Cui did not explain, but just said: "Let the performance continue."
The steward immediately listened to the order and urged the musicians to play, and then asked people to go up and dance according to the original arrangement.
Amid the pleasant sound of bamboo, Master Cui returned to his seat. Ning Yue quickly bowed to him politely: "Thank you, Master Cui."
Master Cui nodded and said, "Miss Ningyue, please go back to your seat and rest. When the banquet is over, I will send someone to take you back to Qingqiu Pavilion."
Ning Yue bowed again and then turned back.
It was not until she sat down that Ning Yue dared to breathe relaxedly and realized how tense her body was. She wanted to drink some tea to calm herself down, but found that her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't even lift the teacup.
She lowered her eyes and forced herself to remain calm, but her maid whispered beside her: "Girl, you are frightening me to death."
"Don't be afraid, I'm fine." Ning Yue's words were meant to comfort the maid as well as herself.
The maid wanted to ask Master Cui why he was willing to help Ningyue, but Ningyue shook her head and indicated that she would talk about it later.
When the banquet was over, Master Cui really sent Ningyue back to Qingqiu Pavilion politely and never mentioned anything in return.
When the maid learned that Master Cui agreed to Ning Yue's request without asking for any conditions, she immediately became anxious: "Young lady, you are confused. What if his request is too excessive, for example, asking you to give yourself to him? You have never been so kind before, but why can't you bear it tonight and have to take the lead?"
The maids also felt sorry for Ning Yue. People in their line of work had seen too many dirty things, and they were not able to take care of every one of them.
In the past, Ningyue was clear-headed and never helped anyone on a whim. Why did she suddenly want to be a hero tonight?
Ning Yue had completely calmed down by now. She gently stroked the strings of the zither and said meaningfully, "I am not acting on impulse. I just want to fight for a future for myself."
The maid was stunned when she heard this: "Miss, what do you mean?"
Ning Yue shook her head: "I can't say."
The maid kept silent.
Her daughter has always been very smart. Since she said she did this for other purposes, she was definitely not lying.
On the second day, Ning Yue dressed up and went to meet the young master of the Cui family.
The two chatted for the whole day, and Ning Yue also sang several songs for Master Cui that Rong Yinxin shared with her. After knowing that she was the first audience to hear these songs, Master Cui showed a satisfied smile on his face.
When Master Cui left, Ning Yue did not take the money from him.
For the next month, Ning Yue only received Master Cui. Even if he didn't come, Ning Yue would not see other guests, no matter how much money he offered.
Ning Yue was a popular prostitute recently, but she actually refused to receive customers for the sake of Master Cui. Not long after, rumors about the two of them spread.
Everyone says that Miss Ningyue is deeply in love with Master Cui, and Master Cui is so lucky.
Master Cui, who was originally a nobody in the Cui family and had no rank among the children of the aristocratic families in the capital, is now the center of attention wherever he goes because of his romantic affair with Ning Yue. Many young masters of aristocratic families chase him and ask him how he won the heart of Miss Ning Yue.
As for the men who admired Ning Yue, they regarded him as a thorn in their eyes and wanted to rush over and beat him half to death.
In short, whether it was envy, jealousy or hatred, Master Cui accepted it all.
Letting Young Master Cui steal the spotlight is the reward Young Master Cui wants from Ning Yue.
As a member of the Cui family, Master Cui has no shortage of money, power, or wives and concubines, so she will not force Ningyue to become her woman.
What he wanted was to surpass his brothers, and even the young masters of his direct lineage, and become the most eye-catching figure in the capital.
Even if this glory could only last for two months, he didn't mind, because the benefits he gained in these two months would far exceed the price he paid for helping Ning Yue save He Yi'er.
Two months later, winter arrived in the capital. The sky was gray all day long, and heavy snow fell from time to time.
One day, Ningyue's maid went out to buy things for Ningyue. While walking on the road, she was suddenly bumped by a little girl with her head lowered. Before she could say anything, the little girl whispered "For Miss Ningyue" and then ran away in a hurry.
Only then did the maid realize that the little girl had stuffed a letter into her hand.
Out of caution, the maid quickly stuffed the letter into her sleeve, and when she returned to Qingqiu Pavilion, she immediately handed it to Ningyue.
Ning Yue opened the blank envelope and took out the folded letter inside. When she smelled the faint scent of powder and saw the first sentence on the letter, her heart, which had been hanging for more than two months, finally settled down slowly.
The corners of her lips slightly raised, and she said, "It's done."
"Everything arranged?"
In the tea room, Patriarch Cui drank hot tea and asked his subordinates questions.
The subordinate nodded and said, "Master, don't worry. The maid was planted by the Li family. Even if the plan fails in the end, the emperor will only find out that it is the Li family."
The Cui family head's slightly wrinkled brows relaxed a little, and he said lightly: "Go down, and report to me as soon as the results come out."
"Yes." The subordinates took the order and retreated, leaving only the head of the Cui family in the room.
The sound of falling snow outside was almost inaudible, and the only sound in the tea room was the sound of boiling water on the clay stove. Patriarch Cui stroked the rim of the teacup, his eyes fixed on the paper handkerchief on the table.
Recently, Zong Zhengxiao's paper mill has made improvements to the paper handkerchiefs. Not only can they be printed on, but they are also divided into two versions: scented and unscented. With their convenience and exquisite beauty, the paper handkerchiefs quickly squeezed into the high-end market.
Zong Zhengxiao was actively upgrading not only handkerchiefs, but also toilet paper, rice paper and other paper products, and had always been offering low prices and preferential treatment, which made Cuijia Paper almost unable to breathe.
Even if the noble families were reluctant, the fact was that what Zong Zhengxiao produced not only repeatedly squeezed their living space, but also infiltrated every aspect of the noble families' lives.
Nowadays, which wealthy family doesn't buy cheap ice, bread, milk tea, and toilet paper?
Whose land doesn't need fertilizer? Knowing that Zong Zhengxiao has new grain seeds, everyone is eagerly waiting for distribution.
The dominance of the aristocratic family was revealed bit by bit.
Who still remembers that their several noble families were once able to compete with Zong Zhengxiao, and even slightly surpassed him, but all this changed from the day that mermaid appeared.
Originally, Zong Zhengxiao was tormented by insomnia and had an unpredictable personality. The aristocratic families could not only spread his reputation as a tyrant by angering him, but also hope that he would die early so that they could support a puppet emperor to take the throne and realize their own grand ambitions.
But after the arrival of the merman, Zong Zhengxiao's insomnia was inexplicably cured. Not only did he prevent the rebellion from happening, he also wiped out the He family. Later, he took out good things such as low-priced ice and fertilizer to win the hearts of the people and strengthen his influence among the people. Instead, they, the several aristocratic families, became less and less popular among the people.
The rise and fall of the royal family was all due to the mermaid Rong Yin. After the head of the Cui family realized this, he specially hired someone to investigate. Almost everything that was beneficial to Zong Zhengxiao, whether it was seeds, fertilizers, ice, paper, or food, was related to Rong Yin.
Moreover, Patriarch Cui was sure that this mermaid had more good things in her hands than what they had already taken out. This could be seen from the degree of importance and protection that Zong Zhengxiao attached to Rong Yin.
Now the aristocratic families are showing signs of decline. If the royal family is allowed to continue to develop, the outcome of the remaining aristocratic families will probably not be much better than that of the He family.
To cut the weeds, we must remove the roots. Rong Yin, the mermaid, must not be allowed to stay.
But Zong Zheng Xiao only favors Rong Yin. The fact that Rong Yin escaped from Li Ao before shows that he has his own abilities. So getting rid of Rong Yin has to be done step by step.
The head of the Cui family had already made the first move.
In the palace, the Silver Shark Garden.
Rong Yin sat on a small stool next to the stove, munching on a meat pie while looking at the stove where soup was stewing.
He actually didn't take many bites of the meat pie in his hand. His eyes were a little dull, as if he was recalling something.
It was most likely not a good memory, because there was no smile on his face, but instead it was full of sadness and deep worry.
The cook came in and saw Rong Yin's face was red from the stove fire, so he advised: "Master, you can go outside and have a rest. You don't have to keep watching. When the soup is ready, I will pack it and send it to you."
Rong Yin shook his head and said, "It's okay. I'll warm myself by the fire while I wait. It's quite cold outside."
After hearing this, the cook stopped trying to persuade him and turned around to do his own thing.
In fact, they all knew that Rong Yin preferred cold to heat, and he would prefer running in the snow to sitting by the stove and being burned by an open fire.
But today, for some reason, Rong Yin insisted on making soup for Your Majesty herself, saying that it was so cold in winter and she wanted to warm Your Majesty's body.
There is nothing wrong with making the soup yourself, but the main thing is that Rong Yin has to watch over it from beginning to end, which is actually a torture for Rong Yin who is afraid of heat.
After waiting for a long time for the soup to be cooked, the chef breathed a sigh of relief for Rong Yin.
After pouring the soup into the soup cup and covering it with a cotton cover to keep it warm, Rong Yin happily took the soup and sat on the walking stick to go to the study to find Zong Zhengxiao.
Zong Zhengxiao is always very busy at the end of the year, and Rong Yin also wants to learn from the "virtuous husband" and make some soup for her tired husband to comfort him.
When Rong Yin thought about the possible surprise Zong Zheng Xiao would have when he found out that the soup was cooked by him personally, the corners of his lips could not help but rise, and his originally depressed mood instantly became much brighter.
When Rong Yin arrived, Si Xi was waiting outside. When he saw him coming, he hurriedly went to greet him with a smile.
"Young Master, why are you here?"
Rong Yin patted the soup bowl in her arms and said, "Bring soup to His Majesty."
Si Xi smiled and said, "My young master, you came at the right time. His Majesty has just seen off several ministers and is now resting. He must be hungry. The soup you sent is just right."
"Really?" Rong Yin became even happier when he heard his words.
He said, "No need to pass on the message. You can come in with me. His Majesty doesn't know I'm coming, and I want to give him a surprise."
"Yes." Si Xi agreed and followed Rong Yin into the house on tiptoe.
After passing through the outer door and around the screen, when the two were about to step over the threshold of the inner room, a woman's scream was heard from inside.
"His Majesty!"
Rong Yin was stunned at first, then ran in quickly. The scene that came into view was Zong Zheng Xiao sitting behind a desk. The teacup on the table had fallen over, wetting Zong Zheng Xiao's clothes, and a palace maid with her collar torn open was throwing herself at him.
Before the palace maid could touch Zong Zheng Xiao, he grabbed her neck and threw her to the ground without mercy.
"Si Xi! Drag her out here! Give her severe punishment! See who sent this desperate thing!"
Zong Zhengxiao's voice was cold and full of murderous intent.
His attention was all on the palace maid, and when he heard the footsteps, he thought that the only person coming in was Si Xi.
It was not until Si Xi nervously called the guards outside to come in and catch the man that Zong Zheng Xiao caught a glimpse of other people nearby. He turned around and saw a face full of fierce expressions that froze instantly.
Rong Yin was holding the soup bowl, as if she was under a spell, staring at him and the palace maid.
The maid coughed a few times while holding her neck. Before the guards came in, she kept crawling towards Zong Zhengxiao and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I know that you only love Master Rong Yin, but you should never leave the harem empty for him. You are the monarch and have the responsibility to expand the royal family. Otherwise, how will the people of the world view you... Ugh!"
The maid was halfway through her words when the guards came in and covered her mouth. She struggled to reach out to Zong Zheng Xiao, but unfortunately Zong Zheng Xiao only had eyes for Rong Yin at the moment and didn't pay any attention to her at all. Moreover, the guards would not give her the chance to disturb their two masters for the sake of their own jobs.
The voices of the palace maids gradually disappeared outside the door. Si Xi was busy dealing with the palace maids and did not come in again, so only Zong Zheng Xiao and Rong Yin were left in the study.
Zong Zhengxiao stepped forward, took the soup bowl from Rong Yin's hand, and patted his head again, his tone full of worry, "Sorry, did I scare you?"
Zong Zhengxiao was also very angry. He didn't want to show his bloodthirsty and cruel side in front of Rong Yin. It was all because of that palace maid and the mastermind behind her. He would never let them go.
Rong Yin shook his head blankly and said softly, "No."
Zong Zhengxiao pulled him over to sit down, put the soup bowl on the table, and asked softly, "Why did you come here so suddenly?"
Rong Yin lowered his head and said gloomily, "I was afraid you were hungry, so I wanted to bring you some soup."
Zong Zhengxiao thought Rong Yin had misunderstood something, so he hugged Rong Yin into his arms, patted his back, and explained, "It's my fault that I didn't recognize her identity in time, and I didn't guess that she would suddenly do this. Someone must have deliberately arranged for her to do this. There is no improper relationship between her and me."
Before, Zong Zhengxiao asked Si Xi to investigate the background of the palace maids serving him. All these years had been peaceful, but he didn't expect that there were still some who slipped through the net.
The maid hid herself so well and had stayed in the palace for many years. She must have known that he was not the kind of man who was greedy for beauty, so her plan to seduce him would never succeed.
The main reason why she took the initiative to reveal her identity was probably not to seduce him, but because she had known that Rong Yin was coming and deliberately put on an act for him to see.
These people were able to know Xiao Rongyin's whereabouts in advance. It seems that Yinjiao Garden is no longer safe.
"I know, she is an undercover agent, and she deliberately threw herself at you." Rong Yin buried her face in Zong Zheng Xiao's arms and said sullenly.
Zong Zhengxiao helped him sit up straight, looked him in the eye, and asked, "Since you are not afraid and have no misunderstanding, then why are you not happy?"
Rong Yin lowered his eyes and said nothing.
Zong Zhengxiao was a little anxious: "Ayin, there is nothing we can't talk about. You have something on your mind but you hide it from me. Do you think this is okay?"
Rong Yin shook his head, "Not good."
"Then why don't you tell me why you're unhappy?"
Rong Yin: “…”
Seeing him like this, Zong Zhengxiao had no choice but to use provocation: "Actually, you still don't believe me. You think I would fool around with women behind your back, right?"
Rong Yin looked up at him and shook her head: "I didn't, I believe your Majesty."
Zong Zhengxiao held his face, his expression serious, and his tone a little heavier: "Your belief is to say nothing, let me doubt myself, and worry about you, right?"
Seeing that Zong Zheng Xiao was so fierce to her, Rong Yin's eyes immediately turned red, her mouth turned down, and her voice was filled with tears, "I just haven't thought it through yet, so I don't know how to tell you now. You actually dared to question my trust in you, Zong Zheng Xiao, you bastard, I hate you, I will never bring you soup again!"
I hate you.
These few words were like a bolt of thunder out of the blue, causing Zong Zheng Xiao to lose his composure immediately.
He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, because he knew that this was not just a flirtatious "hate", Rong Yin was serious.
He wanted to hug Rong Yin, but Rong Yin pushed him away. As she turned away, tears began to fall from her eyes.
Zong Zhengxiao knelt on one knee in front of Rong Yin and tried to hold her hand. Rong Yin wanted to pull her hand back, but was unable to because Zong Zhengxiao held her hand too tightly.
Rong Yin glared at him: "Let go, you are not allowed to touch me!"
"I was wrong, Ayin, I shouldn't have pressed you, I shouldn't have questioned you, I was just worried. I was afraid that you would have wild thoughts because of what happened just now, I was afraid that you didn't want to continue to be with me, I was afraid that you didn't want me anymore..."
Zong Zheng Xiao held Rong Yin's hand tightly, his tone was extremely pitiful.
Rong Yin knew that Zong Zhengxiao was pretending to be pitiful and was also giving both of them a step up, but Rong Yin didn't want to go along with the situation and coax Zong Zhengxiao today, nor did she want to tell him what she was thinking at the moment.
His mind is in a mess now and he wants to be alone for a while.
"I'm going to go back first. You can drink the soup yourself." Rong Yin forcibly pried Zong Zhengxiao's hands apart, stood up and was about to leave.
But just as he took two steps out, Zong Zhengxiao hugged him from behind. Zong Zhengxiao held his waist tightly, put his chin on his shoulder, and said in a wronged tone: "Ayin, why do you want to leave? Do you really not want me anymore?"
"I didn't..." Rong Yin's voice was extremely tired, "Zong Zhengxiao, I just want to be alone for a while, can you just let me go?"
Zong Zhengxiao's breath was choked. He stopped pretending to be pitiful and asked coldly, "Let me let you go? Ah Yin, don't you know? From the moment you chose to stay with me, I could never let you go."
When Rong Yin heard what Zong Zhengxiao said, he knew that he had misunderstood. He could only sigh and explain, "That's not what I meant. I'm not leaving you. I just need a private space to sort out my messy thoughts before talking to you again, instead of misunderstanding each other like now. Do you understand?"
"I don't understand, and I don't want to understand." Zong Zhengxiao, who was always clear-headed and intelligent, got angry with Rong Yin. He turned Rong Yin around to face him, his eyes frighteningly stubborn, "No matter what you want to do, you have to stay by my side. I can choose not to disturb you, but I can't tolerate you not being in my sight."
Since those people could act like this today, who can guarantee what they will do to Rong Yin next?
Rong Yin's face turned red with anxiety: "Zong Zhengxiao, if you do this again, I will be angry!"
"Go ahead and be angry, but you can only be angry around me."
"Asshole, I beg..."
Before Rong Yin could finish her words, Zong Zhengxiao sealed her lips tightly.
Rong Yin tried to push Zong Zheng Xiao, but was restrained even more tightly. In a rage, he bit Zong Zheng Xiao's lips, but Zong Zheng Xiao only paused for a second before continuing his attack with the smell of blood.
The memorials and books on the desk were swept to the ground with a crackling sound. Rong Yin was controlled by Zong Zhengxiao and his clothes were ruthlessly stripped off.
Before invading, Zong Zhengxiao buried his face in Rong Yin's shoulder, his voice trembling, "Ayin, please, don't reject me, don't say anything that dislikes me, I love you, I love you..."
Rong Yin hugged Zong Zhengxiao's shoulders and stopped struggling, but his tears never stopped until the end.
Si Xi came back after finishing his work and was about to go in to report to Zong Zheng Xiao, but as soon as he reached the door, he heard some noise inside. He quickly retreated, closed the door, and stood guard at the door.
He didn't understand, wasn't everything fine when he left? How did it suddenly become like this?
He seemed to hear the young master crying, a truly sad cry.
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