Chapter 10

Finally, the Mrs. Jiang found a copy of the “Criminal Code” and sent it to Qiao Ling.

She just told her: “You need to read everything else first before you can look at this one!”

Qiao Ling readily agreed.

She took the books back to her room and sat down at the desk to read intently.

Zhang Yuying saw that she was reading so focused, so she quietly closed the door and went out. When she came back with a plate of grapes, she saw that the books were already closed, and Qiao Ling was yawning, covering her mouth.

Zhang Yuying couldn’t help but chuckle and asked: “How are you doing, Miss?”

Qiao Ling said casually: “Almost done!”

Zhang Yuying beckoned her: “Come and eat some grapes, then you can read more.”

Qiao Ling called out to the courtyard, “Gold!” The little dog lying in the courtyard wagged its tail excitedly and ran towards her.

Then she sat cross-legged, and Jinzi sat beside her legs in a similar posture.

Qiao Ling ate grapes and asked a question she had been wondering about: “I noticed that the layout of Shendu is a bit strange. According to the records, the Qujiang Pond in the northeast was artificially dug?”

Zhang Yuying was surprised that she would ask this. She was stunned for a moment before saying: “Yes.”

This was a slightly obscure piece of knowledge, so she thought for a while before answering: “It was dug during the Emperor Xianzong, almost two hundred years ago.”

Qiao Ling was puzzled: “But I looked closely, and the terrain in the southeast is actually not low. It doesn’t seem suitable to be dug into a pool, right?”

“That involves the concept of ‘prophetic omens’.”

Zhang Yuying gathered her thoughts and explained: “Since the previous dynasty, there has been a saying among the people, ‘Yellow flag, purple canopy, the emperor will emerge from the southeast’, saying that there is the emperor’s aura in the Jiangdong region. So, during the reign of Emperor Xianzong, they started construction on Qujiang Pond in the southeast of Shendu, digging a low foundation and filling it with water, using the imperial aura of Shendu to suppress the southeast.”

“At the same time, Emperor Xianzong used the name of a place in the southeast to enfeoff his eldest son as a king, making him a vassal. The following year, he crowned the Crown Prince. In this way, when Emperor Xianzong died, the Crown Prince ascended the throne, becoming Emperor Suzong.”

“A prince enfeoffed in the southeast became emperor, which fulfilled the prophecy ‘The emperor will emerge from the southeast’. This is called ‘fulfilling the prophecy’.”

Qiao Ling pondered: “Why didn’t the previous emperors dig a low area in the southeast and build a pool to suppress the southeast? Why did Emperor Xianzong do it? And why did he even send the Crown Prince to that region to be a vassal, to fulfill the prophecy?”

Zhang Yuying shook her head, equally confused: “I don’t know.”

Qiao Ling asked: “Was there a large-scale rebellion in the south at that time?”

Zhang Yuying shook her head: “There wasn’t a large-scale rebellion in the south at that time. On the contrary, there was a lot of turmoil within Capital over the succession to the throne.”

She frowned slightly: “Many records from that time were destroyed. There was even a gap in the records of the official historian’s family. As a result, later generations have speculated a lot about that period. However, if there were large-scale rebellions in the provinces, it would be difficult to completely erase them. So I tend to think there weren’t any. But this is just my opinion, Miss, don’t take it too seriously.”

Qiao Ling nodded knowingly: “I understand.”

Reading was always less interesting than listening to stories, and looking at maps and relationship charts was a lot more boring than looking at picture books. As for the “Criminal Code,” Zhang Yuying only saw Qiao Ling flip through it briefly before it was set aside.

She smiled and didn’t say much, just occasionally urging Qiao Ling to finish the books the Mrs. Jiang had specifically assigned, and in between, she would teach Qiao Ling how to make tassels with the maids.

The first time they mentioned it, both sides were a little stunned.

One side was surprised that she needed to learn this, and the other side was surprised that someone didn’t know how to do this.

But soon, the surprise was replaced by amazement and admiration.

“Miss, you’re so smart, you learned so quickly!”

The maid wasn’t just flattering her, she was genuinely surprised.

Because the tassel design was complex, with several layers overlapping. Ordinary people would need to study the diagrams for a long time before they could figure it out. But Qiao Ling just glanced at the diagrams a few times and was able to make a decent one.

Another livelier maid said: “Miss, you must have learned this before, that’s why you picked it up so quickly!”

“Oh, you’ve caught me!”

Qiao Ling laughed: “I learned it before, but just the basics. You’re teaching me well, so I’m learning faster now!”

She picked a pear from the fruit bowl, held a fruit knife, and quickly carved a pear flower. She picked it up with a fork and handed it to the maid: “Thank you, teacher. Have some pear!”

The maids stared at the flower in astonishment, then exclaimed. Knowing that Qiao Ling was easygoing, they all crowded forward to ask for one, chattering excitedly.

Qiao Ling happily carved a flower for each of them, and finally, she also gave one to Zhang Yuying.

Zhang Yuying exclaimed in amazement: “I didn’t know you had this skill!”

Qiao Ling said: “I like this kind of fancy stuff.”

She then lowered her head and petted Gold, who was circling around her feet.

This was a smart dog, very intelligent.

At first, the maids in the courtyard thought the little mongrel wasn’t good enough for the Duke of Yues wife and that she should find a famous breed. But after raising it for a few days, they couldn’t help but develop affection for it.

Fangyi, from the old lady’s courtyard, knew that Qiao Ling had a dog and specially sent two bottles of fish oil: “Use this to mix with its food. It will make its fur look better and its eyes brighter!”

Qiao Ling took it, sniffed it, and told them to give it to Jinzi.

Perhaps the fish oil really had a miraculous effect. A few days later, Jinzi’s yellow fur became a bit brighter and didn’t look as rough as it did at first.

Qiao Ling wasn’t used to the aristocratic life, her daily needs were just three meals a day. The maids in the courtyard were bored, so they thought of dressing up Jinzi.

They skillfully made several dog leashes with different colors, and the bells hanging around its neck were made of different materials.

Fangyi laughed when she saw it: “It’s really fallen into a good home with you!”

Although the little dog had many human companions, the one who had left the deepest impression on its heart was clearly Qiao Ling, who had saved it from the fire like a god.

Qiao Ling could take it away from others, but no one else could take it away from Qiao Ling.

Jinzi usually stayed with Qiao Ling and didn’t go anywhere. Qiao Ling stroked its back and suddenly thought of her fiancé: “Does the Duke have any allergies to cats or dogs?”

She guessed he wouldn’t.

Otherwise, Mrs. Liang, even though she rarely interacted with her eldest son, wouldn’t have raised a cat in the courtyard.

If something went wrong, wouldn’t she be held responsible for a huge crime?

The maids in the courtyard also said: “It shouldn’t be a problem.”

Qiao Ling petted her cute little dog and asked them to go and ask: “If the Duke is willing, you can let Jinzi go and play with him. Tell him it’s from me. Having a living creature running around in the courtyard will add some life.”

The maids went to ask.

They came back a moment later: “The Duke asked me to thank you, Miss. He said he’s willing to let JinZi go.”

Qiao Ling patted Jin Zi’s backside and lovingly told it: “Be good!”

She handed the leash to the maids and told them to take Jinzi with them.

Then she continued to yawn and read.

Half an hour later, someone from Mrs. Liang’s courtyard came over, expressionless, and bowed to her: “Madam requests your presence.”

Qiao Ling couldn’t help but exchange a look with Zhang Yuying.

Mrs. Liang wanted to see her?

Both of them were a little uneasy – did Gold cause trouble?!

They went to Mrs. Liang’s courtyard together and realized that they had wronged Jinzi.

Mrs. Liang wouldn’t be so bored as to specifically pick on a dog.

She was here to pick on the dog’s owner.

“I was blind. I met you briefly before, and I couldn’t see your cunning heart behind your poor appearance!”

Mrs. Liang didn’t hold back at all. When she saw Qiao Ling, she slammed her hand on the table, her anger evident: “The last person who was so disrespectful and wanted to step on me, I don’t even remember when they appeared. I didn’t expect that after so many years, the next person to use me as a stepping stone would be my daughter-in-law!”

Qiao Ling was still confused, not knowing what kind of trouble she was in.

But thankfully, Mrs. Liang didn’t hide anything and immediately spilled the beans: “The old lady is so magnanimous, and Xiao Gan is so generous. Even someone who died years ago can be brought up to step on me. They just loosen their fingers a little, and they feed you well. Then you go and accuse me of being a bad stepmother, even the maids and servants over there are taken care of, but you completely ignore me, your legitimate mother-in-law, right?!”

Qiao Ling raised her hand and scratched her face, patiently waiting for her to finish.

In fact, Mrs. Liang didn’t intend to stop.

She had gone out for a while and now she was back, full of anger that she wanted to vent: “What a harmonious and loving family you are. Xiao Gan is so good at taking advantage of opportunities to win people over, she treats you like her own daughter and teaches you.  Xiao Luo is no different. It’s me who’s out of the loop, who doesn’t understand the younger generation, who doesn’t have any tolerance. Is that right?!”

Seeing that Qiao Ling was silent like a mute, she became even angrier and shouted: “Speak! Are you mute?!”

Qiao Ling addressed the issue directly, her tone calm: “Mother-in-law, the old lady, Aunt, and the aunt did give me very generous gifts when I arrived. Should I just accept them and not give anything in return? If I receive something, I should give something back. Where did I go wrong? When I first arrived at the mansion, you said that we didn’t need to interact much, so I didn’t come to see you.”

“And Aunt, it was the old lady who arranged for Aunt to teach me. It’s not like she was ‘taking advantage of opportunities to win people over’…”

After calmly speaking the first part, her tone suddenly became stronger: “So, Mother-in-law, you apologize to Aunt and the aunt immediately!”

“Huh?!”

Mrs. Liang was furious: “Why should I apologize to them? You all gang up on me. The elders are understanding and reasonable, the younger sisters -in -law are all virtuous, and the daughter-in-law is smart and studious. In the end, it’s all my fault?! Qiao Ling, I advise you not to be too arrogant. You’re not the one in charge of the Duke of Yue’s mansion yet!”

Her voice was sharp, but Qiao Ling’s voice was even louder: “How can I be blamed for this?! Why are you yelling at me?! You didn’t even give me a gift when I arrived, and you expect me to give you one in return? Don’t you know I’m poor?! Should I go out and sell my blood to give you a gift? If I gave you one, would you accept it? Would your conscience be clear? Would you be unable to sleep at night, feeling guilty?!”

“You’re so bold!”

Mrs. Liang was even angrier: “Do you think I’m like you, a poor wretch who cares about money?!”

“And, why are you yelling so loud? Keep your voice down!!!”

When Qiao Ling heard this, she was about to step forward. Zhang Yuying, quick as a flash, was afraid that she would say something irreversible in her anger, so she quickly pulled her back.

Qiao Ling stopped, turned to look, and saw Zhang Yuying pouting at her. At first, she was confused, but when she looked in the direction she was pouting, she saw the teapot on the table and the teacups next to it. She immediately understood and smiled knowingly.

She gave Zhang Yuying an approving look, grabbed the teacup on the table, and took a big gulp of water. After clearing her throat, she shouted at Mrs. Liang: “It’s not me who went out and said it! Why are you saying it was me who spread it around?! I only know a few people!!!”

“You’re just taking advantage of the fact that I don’t have any roots here, you’re bullying the weak!”

“Why don’t you yell at the old lady like this? Why don’t you yell at Aunt like this?! You only dare to bully me!!!”

“You’re just picking on the easy Weak, you’re bullying me because I don’t have anyone to rely on!!!”

“You’re so bad, so mean!!!”

Zhang Yuying: “…”