Chapter 104: Inside Story "I feel that this fear is not enough."...

The birthday girl, Madam Lu, vomited blood and fainted, breaking the lively and festive atmosphere of the birthday party. The guests in the mansion couldn't help but whisper about it in private, wondering why Madam Lu was so angry on such a good day and made herself so angry.

Thinking back to how Madam Lu had just sent people to invite Liao and Princess Chun'an to Jingming Hall, and how these two had caused such trouble not long after returning from Jingming Hall, some people became suspicious, wondering if it was because of Liao and Princess Chun'an?

But Liao had moved out of the Cheng'en Mansion since the late Empress's death. She had rarely returned in recent years, hadn't even bothered with the household affairs, and had practically cut off all contact with her mother-in-law, Old Madam Lu. Liao wasn't a fool, so how could she deliberately anger Old Madam Lu to such an extent on her eightieth birthday?

Therefore, everyone's eyes couldn't help but turn to Princess Chun'an.

Everyone in the capital knew that Princess Chun'an, resentful of her great-grandmother, Madam Lu, had sent the late Empress' stepsister into the palace, causing a rift between the Emperor and Empress, leading to the late Empress's death in childbirth. Princess Chun'an was also willful and spoiled, not even showing restraint in front of the Emperor. How could she possibly take Madam Lu, her great-grandmother who had murdered her biological mother, seriously?

Perhaps the princess was in a bad mood today and felt that the eightieth birthday was too glaring, so she couldn't help but say some sarcastic and harsh words to Old Madam Lu, which made Old Madam Lu so angry that she vomited blood and fainted.

Cui Lingyan noticed the gaze falling on Princess Chun'an, and was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously looked at Princess Chun'an's expression.

Although Princess Chun'an spoke without restraint just now, she is not stupid. Even if she acts casually, she would not be so unwise.

If something really happened to Madam Lu, Princess Chun'an would be blamed for angering her great-grandmother to death. The princess would probably not do such a thing that would harm others and not benefit herself.

However, these ladies' speculations are indeed...

Princess Chun'an also noticed Cui Lingyan's gaze. Seeing the concern and worry in her eyes, Princess Chun'an patted her hands, her voice still calm, even with a hint of sarcasm: "It's okay, my grandmother and I are not talking to the old lady alone. There are still maids and servants in the house. Even if they have a hundred guts, they wouldn't dare to frame me!"

Princess Chun'an glanced at Lu Bingzhi and said, "Cousin, please take your sister-in-law back home. Grandmother and I will go to Jingming Hall to take a look."

Lu Bingzhi understood what Princess Chun'an meant, nodded, stood up and said goodbye to Madam Liao, then took Cui Lingyan out of the Cheng'en Mansion and got on the carriage.

In the carriage, Cui Lingyan couldn't help but ask, "I wonder why the old lady was so angry that she vomited blood and fainted on her own birthday?"

Lu Bingzhi's eyes were indifferent, with a hint of sarcasm on the corner of his mouth. He lifted the curtain and waved to the attendant following the carriage. The attendant came forward and whispered to him. After listening to his instructions, he bowed and responded with a yes, then went to do his job.

Cui Lingyan saw him withdraw his hand and lower the curtain. After a moment's hesitation, she couldn't help but ask, "Sir, do you intend to spread the news of what happened between the Second Prince and Cui Linghui today and put the blame on the Second Prince?"

Seeing that she had guessed his thoughts in an instant, Lu Bingzhi couldn't help but curl his lips, but his voice was a little cold: "No matter why Lu vomited blood and fainted, if this news gets out, she can only blame it for this reason."

Cui Lingyan knew that he didn't like the suspicious looks the women gave Princess Chun'an. After a moment's thought, she tugged at Lu Bingzhi's sleeve and said, "I don't think this fear is enough."

Seeing Lu Bingzhi looking over, Cui Lingyan leaned over to his ear and whispered, "Your Highness, why don't you get sick when you get home? If outsiders ask, there's no need to hide it. Just say that the Second Prince's actions angered the Prince. This has nothing to do with how the Prince treats Cui Linghui, but rather that the Second Prince is acting too domineeringly. He's clearly using his status as a prince to deliberately disgust his cousin."

"Although the Crown Prince doesn't take Cui Linghui seriously, we can still use this matter as an example to make a fuss about it, so that the world can know what kind of person the Second Prince is. That would make us feel better, wouldn't it?"

Cui Lingyan knew very well that Lu Bingzhi had a cold personality and would not take people he didn't care about to heart, let alone get angry about it.

But Xiao Ze's behavior was too disgusting. If she just let it go and pretend nothing happened, she would not be willing to do that even if Lu Bingzhi was willing.

Feeling the indignation for him and the disgust and dissatisfaction with Xiao Ze in Cui Lingyan's words, Lu Bingzhi's brows softened, and the coldness in his eyes just now faded away, replaced by a smile.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Cui Lingyan tugged at his sleeve again. Before she could say anything, Lu Bingzhi smiled and hugged her in his arms, saying, "Okay, I'll do as you wish. I'll get sick when I get home. You can explain a few things to Grandma on my behalf. I don't want to make her worry for nothing."

Cui Lingyan nodded, then thought of the Empress Dowager in the palace. After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "Should we also send a message to the palace? The Empress Dowager loves the Crown Prince very much. If the Empress Dowager doesn't know the details, her worries will be in vain."

Lu Bingzhi nodded. "Even if word spread that I was faking illness, my grandmother would be furious if news of Xiao Ze and Cui Linghui got out. However, truth will come to light sooner or later."

Cui Lingyan knew that the Queen Mother disliked Cui Linghui, and after this incident, the Queen Mother would be even more disgusted with her grandson Xiao Ze and Cui Linghui.

If Cui Linghui thought that she could rise to the top and change her current situation by marrying into the prince's mansion as a concubine, and this matter became known, given the empress dowager's temperament, she would never allow Cui Linghui to marry into the second prince's mansion. Even if she did, she would never allow her to get the status of a concubine.

In such a situation, how would her always proud stepsister deal with it?

Thinking of the embarrassment and humiliation she had experienced in her dream because of Cui Linghui's schemes, Cui Lingyan was very happy to see Cui Linghui end up in such a situation.

Being too clever may backfire. If it comes to that, she will be as hopeless and hopeless as she was in her dream.

Cui Lingyan buried her head in Lu Bingzhi's arms, suppressing the thoughts in her heart and not letting Lu Bingzhi see any of them.

Before the carriage arrived at the Duke of Wei's mansion, a piece of news spread throughout the capital.

"I heard that today is the eightieth birthday of Madam Lu, the wife of Duke Cheng'en, and yet Second Prince Xiao Ze secretly met with Cui Linghui, the eldest daughter of the Ningshou Marquis's residence, in the pavilion. He even ordered someone to summon Prince Lu Bingzhi, the Duke of Weiguo, to deliberately let him witness this scene in order to provoke him. This is simply bullying. You have to know that Miss Cui was Prince Lu's ex-fiancée. Because the prince was poisoned before, Miss Cui even fell into the water and caught a cold to break off the engagement. Later, the marriage fell to Miss Cui, the third daughter who had just returned to the capital and is now the prince's wife."

"If this is true, isn't it clearly embarrassing? They are cousins. Even though the Second Prince is a royal family member and the Emperor's biological son, isn't Prince Lu also the son of Princess Shuning, the Emperor's nephew? How could he be bullied like this?"

"How can a nephew be closer to a biological son? No matter how much the Emperor dislikes the Second Prince, he would never let his nephew surpass his own son. You may not know this, but it was said that it was the Second Prince who ordered the poisoning of Prince Lu at the palace banquet. Although the Emperor investigated the matter, he only beat the eunuchs around the Second Prince to death with sticks. The Second Prince didn't even lift a hair. Otherwise, how could he allow the Second Prince to do such a humiliating thing? Although Cui Linghui has nothing to do with Prince Lu anymore, the Second Prince's behavior is too immoral. It is obvious that he did it on purpose, hoping to make the Prince angry and make a fool of himself!"

"I heard that when this story reached Madam Lu, the birthday girl, she was so upset that she vomited blood and fainted. A nice birthday banquet might end up with a fatality. If anything happens to Madam Lu, she'll be pissed off to death by the Second Prince!"

Jingming Hall

Madam Lu lay in bed, still unconscious. The imperial physician came forward to feel her pulse, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Madam Lu is furious, and that's why she's vomiting blood and fainting. I'll give her acupuncture in about half an hour, and she'll wake up."

As the imperial physician finished speaking, a woman in the room, wearing a Xiang Fei-colored jacket and elegant clothes, about the same age as Liao, couldn't help but look at Liao and Princess Chun'an. She didn't dare disrespect Princess Chun'an, but addressed Liao, her sister-in-law, and said, "Sister-in-law has been living away from home for a long time. Now that you've returned for your mother-in-law's eightieth birthday, you should let go of the past grudges and shouldn't have angered her to this extent. No matter how many faults your mother-in-law has, we, as her daughters-in-law, shouldn't be so unfilial. If anything happens to your mother-in-law, how could you really not feel any regret?"

She had barely finished her words when Princess Chun'an sneered, "How dare you slander me! I came to Jingming Hall with my grandmother, and we only exchanged a few words. How could you make the old lady so angry?"

Princess Chun'an's face was icy cold, and she exuded the majesty of a superior, forcing the woman to take a step back with fear on her face.

This woman was Kong, the second wife's wife. It was she who had devised the idea of ​​marrying her grandson to Princess Chun'an, allowing the second branch to completely surpass the first branch, perhaps even securing the title. After all, her eldest sister-in-law in the first branch had only one daughter, the Empress, and all the others were illegitimate. Her sons were not as favored by the old lady as her grandson. If this marriage could be orchestrated, it would only benefit the second branch.

But she missed the target by a single move, and instead of succeeding, she was lashed dozens of times by Princess Chun'an in a rage. She couldn't walk for more than half a month, and her grandson was so frightened that he never dared to think about it again. Now that he had married, he was actually a little henpecked, which really worried her. Even though she was the elder, she still felt a little intimidated when she saw Princess Chun'an.

Princess Chun'an's gaze fell on Nanny Ji and she said in a deep voice, "You serve the old lady. Why did the old lady suffer such a great shock?"

Aunt Ji's face turned pale and her lips trembled, not daring to speak.

Princess Chun'an showed some suspicion in her eyes. Before she could speak, she heard footsteps outside. A maid came in with a panicked look and reported, "Something happened, something happened!"

Seeing her being so unruly, Madam Kong looked stern and scolded her, "The old lady is still unconscious. If you shout and panic like this, you will scare her and make her die!"

The old woman shuddered, her knees went weak and she knelt on the ground.

Liao said, "Just tell her what's going on. The old lady is unconscious and it's not easy to wake her up. Sister-in-law, don't make a fuss about it."

The old woman gave Liao a grateful look before finding her voice again. "Yes," she trembled, "it's about today's birthday banquet. People are saying that the old lady vomited blood and fainted because she heard about the scandal between the Second Prince, Xiao Ze, and the eldest daughter of the Ningshou Marquis, Cui Linghui. Furthermore, the Second Prince deliberately acted intimately and even had the Duke of Wei invite the prince to the pavilion to embarrass him!"

"This matter has spread like wildfire in the capital, and everyone is discussing it!"

As the old woman finished speaking, the room became silent for a moment, and you could almost hear a pin drop.

Before the noble lady could speak, Princess Chun'an's face turned ashen, and her nails dug into the flesh, almost drawing blood.