Zhao Qingning spoke while looking at Yongjia: “Mother, as the saying goes, ‘Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but Buddha remains in the heart.’ Besides, you’re just changing locations—it won’t hinder your accumulation of merit.”
Yongjia seemed tempted.
In truth, she had never truly believed in gods or spirits. In the early years when the nation was first established, amid war and chaos, she had prayed day and night for Buddha to protect the country’s peace. Yet what followed was foreign invasion, rampant slaughter, and widespread suffering among the people.
At that time, her younger brother was still a child, and she, as a woman, had no choice but to take charge and quell the unrest. How could one avoid bloodshed on the battlefield? Over time, she grew numb to it.
Once everything settled, she was plagued by nightmares night after night, dreaming of the enemies she had killed coming to claim her life.
It was for this reason that she had retreated to the prayer hall for quiet cultivation, seeking peace of mind.
Now, hearing Zhao Qingning’s words, she found them quite reasonable.
Zhao Junyuan noticed her hesitation and couldn’t help saying, “Madam, you live in luxury within the manor—how could Buddha possibly see your sincerity?”
“Isn’t that easy to solve?” Zhao Qingning smiled innocently. “The entire household can accompany my mother in wearing coarse cloth and eating vegetarian meals. With so many devotees, Buddha would surely be pleased.”
Zhao Junyuan’s expression darkened slightly.
He wondered if it was his imagination, but he felt his daughter was deliberately contradicting him.
But that shouldn’t be the case—hadn’t she always adored him as her father?
Why had her attitude suddenly changed?
Had something happened to her?
If Zhao Qingning could hear his thoughts, she would likely tell him it wasn’t his imagination.
She was doing it on purpose.
The Princess Manor rightfully belonged to her mother. How dare Zhao Junyuan, a social climber, aspire to wield power?
Zhao Qingning’s large eyes shifted mischievously as she took Zhao Junyuan’s hand and placed it on Yongjia’s, cooing sweetly, “Father, I know you also want Mother to stay, don’t you?”
Zhao Junyuan gazed at Yongjia with tender affection. “Naturally.”
Then, her voice softened: “Other children have their mothers seeing them off to school, but I don’t. Mother, can’t you really stay?”
The girl lowered her eyes, seemingly on the verge of tears.
Yongjia’s heart ached.
She had indeed neglected Qingning far too much.
“Alright, Mother will stay. From now on, I won’t leave again.”
She drew Zhao Qingning into her embrace, and seeing her daughter’s joyful expression, felt she had made the right decision.
Zhao Junyuan felt increasingly irritated but couldn’t let it show.
From a distance, the three appeared to be smiling gently—a picture of perfect harmony.
Soon, everyone in the manor received the notice that the Eldest Princess would no longer leave for secluded cultivation. They quickly busied themselves, striving to make a good impression on their mistress.
Not long after, Yongjia had a prayer hall set up within the Princess Manor.
Preoccupied with this task, she forgot all about her intention to punish Zhao Qingning.
Early the next morning, just as Zhao Qingning was about to leave, she suddenly turned back. “Let’s go pay respects to Mother.”
When she arrived at the main chamber, Yongjia was just about to look for her.
“Take this and apologize to Yang Fuzi.”
Zhao Qingning opened the gift box to find a high-quality inkstone inside. Yang Fuzi, being a learned scholar, would likely appreciate such literary items.
She carefully stored the gift. “Understood, Mother. I won’t cause any more trouble this time.”
Yongjia nodded in satisfaction. “A teacher for a day is a father for life. Yang Fuzi is not an unreasonable man—you must show him respect. Also, take this for Miss Jiang.”
Zhao Qingning glanced at the two boxes held by the servant beside her. One contained exquisite pastries that looked delicious, while the other held fashionable hairpins and jewelry from the capital. Though not as precious as eastern pearls, they were appropriate and would look lovely on a young girl.
In Yongjia’s view, the incident of her daughter pushing someone into the water was wrong, and an apology to the person involved was necessary.
Zhao Qingning nodded and bowed in farewell.
When she arrived at the academy and stepped out of the carriage, she saw Lu Jinghan standing at the entrance.
He had changed into gray clothing, resembling the servants at the academy, standing there respectfully.
Though they were about the same age, he was as thin as a bamboo pole.
However, the wounds on his face had improved significantly, suggesting he had been using the medicinal powder properly.
Zhao Qingning approached and asked, “Why are you standing here?”
Lu Jinghan looked up at the sound of her voice and gave a slight bow. “You told me to wait for you, miss, so I came.”
She frowned. “When did you arrive? I asked you to wait for me in the side hall.”
“I came at daybreak, thinking I could greet you here,” Lu Jinghan replied calmly, though in truth, he hadn’t slept at all last night.
In this academy, everyone was narrow-minded.
During the day, under Zhao Qingning’s protection, they didn’t dare to hit or scold him arbitrarily.
But at night, the eunuchs pulled his ears, drenched his bedding, and even drugged the guard dogs on purpose. The dogs barked all night, making sleep impossible.
At daybreak, he had taken a significant action before coming here to wait.
Hearing this, Zhao Qingning felt somewhat pleased.
Lu Jinghan coming to greet her showed that he was grateful.
As long as she appealed to his emotions and reasoning, she could eventually nurture him into an enlightened ruler.
With this thought, she smiled. “Let’s go in.”
“Yes.”
Lu Jinghan followed closely behind. He wasn’t allowed in the main hall, so he waited in the side hall as he had the day before. This time, however, he wasn’t standing. Everyone knew Zhao Qingning valued him, so they made room for him.
He thanked them quietly and sat down peacefully.
In class, Zhao Qingning listened attentively.
The lessons at this level were child’s play to her, but the instructor was still Yang Fuzi. Since she had just offended him, it was best to maintain a good attitude.
Yang Fuzi was also puzzled. He had requested to resign from the emperor yesterday but was refused. Upon inquiry, he learned that the little rascal hadn’t complained about him, so he had come to the academy again today.
After class, as he was about to return to rest, someone stopped him.
“Fuzi.”
Seeing the girl before him, he frowned. “What is it?”
Zhao Qingning respectfully presented a gift box. “I was disrespectful and offended you yesterday, sir. This small gift is but a token of my apology. Please forgive me.”
Unexpectedly, at the sight of the box, Yang Fuzi took two steps back and shouted angrily, “Zhao Qingning, are you trying to make a fool of me again?”
He had learned his lesson. When she first entered the academy, after causing trouble and being scolded, she came to apologize and gave him a box. When he opened it, a mouse jumped out onto him, startling him while the little rascal laughed heartily.
Zhao Qingning sighed. “…It’s really not that this time.”
Seeing that Yang Fuzi didn’t dare to take it, she opened the box herself, revealing a high-quality inkstone made of Songzhou stone.
“This is a Songzhou inkstone. Please accept it, Fuzi.”
Yang Fuzi’s eyes widened in astonishment.
He was naturally a connoisseur of fine goods.
The Sizhou inkstone was truly a superior piece, comparable to imperial tribute inkstones.
Having served in the imperial court for decades, he had received countless inkstones, yet never one from Sizhou.
However, he could easily guess this was likely Princess Yongjia’s doing.
Seeing Zhao Qingning bow slightly and present the inkstone with both hands, he thought she finally understood propriety this time and decided not to hold a grudge. He accepted the inkstone and said, “Attend classes diligently from now on.”
“Yes.”
Zhao Qingning’s sudden reverence made Yang Fuzi puzzled, but he attributed it to Princess Yongjia’s discipline after returning to the estate and didn’t dwell on it further.
After seeing Yang Fuzi off, Zhao Qingning breathed a sigh of relief.
One trouble had been resolved.
With this in mind, she approached Jiang Zhiyi.
The Jiang family’s maids quickly shielded their mistress, fearing she might be bullied again.
Zhao Qingning repeated her previous explanation and concluded, “Miss Jiang, I acted thoughtlessly last time. Eastern pearls are imperial tributes, and gifting them might invite criticism. These are carefully selected as my apology. Please accept them.”
She felt her attitude was impeccable.
Surely this would satisfy her now?
Jiang Zhiyi stared at the box of jewelry and pastries, her nails digging unconsciously into her palms until they nearly drew blood.
Having come from a poor background in her previous life, she had endured countless humiliations since childhood. Finally reborn as an official’s daughter, she still faced such contempt.
Jiang Zhiyi looked up with a cold sneer, “Are you mocking me, Miss Zhao? Implying I’m unworthy of eastern pearls and haven’t tasted fine things, so you brought these to remind me of my place?”
She pushed the items aside and said coldly, “You’ve made your point. You may leave now.”
Zhao Qingning: “???”
Wait, you refused the eastern pearls, and now you reject pastries and ordinary jewelry too? What do you actually want?
She felt utterly exhausted. No one had warned her the female lead would be this sensitive and distrustful.
As Zhao Qingning tried to explain further, Jiang Zhiyi stormed out of the main hall as if deeply insulted.
Her departure left Zhao Qingning alone to endure the pointing fingers and whispers.
Another futile effort.
After a long while, she sighed and instructed Qiuhua to put away the jewelry and pastries before trudging wearily into the side chamber.
It was lunchtime, yet Lu Jinghan had nothing to eat.
Zhao Qingning had forbidden him from leaving. No matter how hungry he was, he dared not return for meals.
Besides, those people never saved food for him. He considered himself lucky to scavenge leftover scraps daily. Sometimes, not even cold leftovers remained, leaving him to fill his stomach with water alone.
Drinking too much water often made his stomach ache unbearably, sometimes even causing him to vomit.
Determined to improve his situation, Zhao Qingning had Qiuhua bring the food container and arranged the pastries before saying, “Xiao Jiu, come here.”
Lu Jinghan stood up. “Yes.”
Seeing him frozen before her, she raised an eyebrow and gestured, “Why are you standing there? Sit down and eat.”
Lu Jinghan’s pupils contracted in shock.
His first thought was that she intended to poison him.
Or perhaps she wanted to witness him humiliated—had she drugged the food?
But disobedience meant immediate punishment, possibly death.
Lu Jinghan took his seat. Zhao Qingning pushed the dishes toward him, but he remained motionless. She urged impatiently, “Why are you hesitating? Eat.”
He looked up, picked up his chopsticks in silence, selected a piece of meat with trembling hands, and brought it to his lips—but couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth.
Zhao Qingning looked somewhat bewildered. “Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like these dishes?”
His hand holding the chopsticks tightened slightly.
He absolutely couldn’t let Zhao Qingning detect any hint of resistance, or she might seize the opportunity to hit him again.
She had countless ways to kill him—there was no need to resort to poison. She probably just wanted some amusement.
He decided to take the gamble.
Just as he was about to put that piece of meat into his mouth, he saw Zhao Qingning pick up her own chopsticks, take a bite, and after carefully savoring it, frown at him.
“The chef’s skills are quite good—much better than leftover rice. I didn’t bring anything else today, so even if you don’t like it, just make do with it for now.”
Meeting those eyes that sparkled with pure foolishness, Lu Jinghan suddenly felt relieved.
It seemed he had overthought things.