Chapter 355: Not the Right Time Yet

“How much silver did the Lin Family give you for the divorce?”

Zhao Qiao’er lowered her head: “…Not a single penny. The Lin Family said my crimes were severe, and it’s already merciful not to hand me over to the authorities. Don’t even think about…”

“Useless! Truly useless.” Ms Qin grabbed the teacup on the table and smashed it on the ground, sending shards flying everywhere, “I raised you until now, you learned so much from me, and this is the outcome?”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qiao’er finally exploded.

“Enough already! If it weren’t for you just being a concubine, why would I have married into a merchant family like the Lin Family?”

Ms Qin was deeply hurt, clutching her chest in pain: “Fine! When you were young, you said you never despised your mother for being a concubine; turns out you were lying to me.”

“Mother, it’s just the truth.” Zhao Qiao’er rolled her eyes, “If it weren’t for helping you poison that wench, for helping you solidify your position in the household, how would I have ended up in such a state?”

She became increasingly agitated, her voice trembling, “Do you know how the Lin Family treated me? On the day they opened the ancestral hall, they made me kneel before the ancestral tablets and read a confession letter in front of the entire clan… Lin Yuanshan wouldn’t even glance at me…”

Ms Qin sneered: “And now you’re blaming me? I was merely crying about how Han Lei came to Prince Mansion and bullied me, making life unbearable. Who suggested just killing her outright?”

The mother and daughter were quarreling fiercely when suddenly Ms Zhang’s booming voice came from outside.

“Ms Qin, Miss, it’s time for lunch. Are you going to find a way yourselves, or will you grace us by eating our servants’ simple fare?”

Ms Zhang was supposedly asking about lunch, but her tone was full of mockery, clearly there for the spectacle.

Ms Qin rushed to the door and yanked it open: “Mrs. Zhang! Don’t go too far!”

Ms Zhang showed no fear; instead, she laughed even more heartily.

“Oh my, Ms Qin is angry? Perfect timing, today we won’t prepare your meals; besides, you don’t appreciate our servants’ food anyway.”

As she spoke, she deliberately raised her voice, “Ladies, let’s add a dish today and split Ms Qin’s portion too!”

The courtyard erupted in cheers. Ms Qin was trembling with rage but helpless.

She slammed the door shut and turned to see Zhao Qiao’er staring blankly at the once-bustling Duobao Pavilion, now empty.

“Stop looking,” Ms Qin slumped onto the chair, “The valuables were either taken by Zhao Zun or… I sold them.”

She sighed, her voice dropping, “These past few months, just to maintain the household expenses…”

Zhao Qiao’er suddenly felt overwhelmingly fatigued.

She quietly walked to her mother’s side and sat down, mother and daughter silent. From outside came the noisy sounds of servants having their meal, highlighting the desolation inside.

“Mother,” after a while, Zhao Qiao’er softly spoke, “What are we… going to do now?”

Ms Qin stared at her increasingly coarse hands, long stripped of their former opulence.

“What can we do? You were sent back by the Lin Family, and I… don’t have much savings left.” She suddenly grabbed Zhao Qiao’er’s hand, “Does your bag have anything valuable?”

Zhao Qiao’er smiled wryly: “Just some change of clothes and… the bracelets you gave me when I got married.”

“Quick, take them out,” Ms Qin’s eyes brightened, reaching out to rummage through her bag, “I know the shopkeeper of the pawnshop on West Street, let’s take them there; they should fetch some silver…”

Zhao Qiao’er clutched her bag: “No way! This is the last bit I have left!”

“Left?” Ms Qin laughed sharply, “At this point, you’re still talking about what’s left? Are you not eating? Not staying alive?”

Just as the two were at an impasse, Ms Zhang’s gossip-laden voice suddenly penetrated the courtyard.

“Tao, why are you running? Slow down.”

A little servant girl lifted her skirt and rushed in from outside, her cheeks flushed with excitement.

“Hey! Everyone, go out and see! It’s so lively outside. All Prince’s procession, one team after another, so grand.”

A little servant girl lifted her skirt and rushed in from outside, her cheeks flushed with excitement.

“Which Prince?” The old woman sweeping the floor stopped, her cloudy eyes suddenly brightening.

“Go, go, let’s go have a look. It’s so dull here.” The kitchen helper dropped the knife and wiped her hands on her apron.

“Right, let’s go, let’s go. Let’s have a look.”

Outside the courtyard came another round of chaotic footsteps, then silence.

Zhao Qiao’er and her mother stopped their quarrel too.

“Mother, what’s happening outside?” Zhao Qiao’er lifted the window curtain and looked outside, only to see the servants running toward the mansion gates.

Ms Qin straightened her slightly disheveled hair, a glint flashing in her eyes, “Come on, let’s go have a look. Perhaps…”