Chapter 133: I won’t be back to attend the Second Aunt’s return party today…

The next morning, when Cui Lingyan went to pay her respects to Old Madam Dou, Old Madam Dou waved her hand and sent the maids and servants serving in the room out, saying that she had something to say to her.

Cui Lingyan's heart was pounding. She wondered if the old lady had been in such good spirits since returning from the palace yesterday. Perhaps something had happened after just one night? Or perhaps someone had been gossiping about her, upsetting her.

Suppressing these thoughts, Cui Lingyan sat down on the embroidered cushion.

Old Madam Dou noticed her expression and felt satisfied to see her so calm. However, when she thought about what she had heard earlier about how Mrs. Qi, the eldest wife of the Ningshou Marquisate, had lost face and even been beaten by Old Madam Zhai, she couldn't help but feel a little upset.

After asking around, she found out that it was Qi who instigated Qiu Zhi to do such a ridiculous thing. Not only that, Old Madam Wu was also involved.

Thinking of her grandson's wife being schemed against by a blood relative, Old Madam Dou felt even more compassion. She didn't ask Cui Lingyan to wait any longer and began, "Today is the day your second cousin returns home. Logically, you and Bingzhi should attend the banquet, lest others think our Duke of Weiguo's mansion is so arrogant that it even looks down on your cousin and her husband, not to mention the Qi family connection. However, I heard something this morning. Your grandmother got angry with your mother yesterday. Not only did she hit her in the face with jade beads, she also beat Madam Jiang, who had served your mother for many years, with forty strokes of the cane and expelled her from the mansion. I heard the old madam was so angry because she knew your mother and your maternal grandmother had secretly instigated Qiu Zhi to seduce Bingzhi. She felt your mother was being disloyal and bringing trouble to her married daughter."

After she finished speaking, Madam Dou looked at Cui Lingyan with a hint of pity and asked, "So, do you and Bingzhi want to go back to the Marquis' Mansion to attend the return banquet today? Think about it carefully. If you go back, you won't be in a state of worry for the whole day. It won't be easy at all."

The old lady didn't say it explicitly, but her meaning was clear. Cui Lingyan lowered her eyebrows slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "Since that's the case, grandson's wife will find an excuse to refuse."

Madam Dou nodded and said, "There's no need to find another excuse. Just say I felt a little unwell this morning and that you should stay at home to take care of me. That way, no one will find fault with you."

Cui Lingyan nodded, chatted with the old lady for a while, and then said goodbye and left.

After she left, Nanny Sun came into the room and asked, "Young Madam, are you going back to the Marquis' Mansion today?"

Madam Dou shook her head. "This girl is also very angry. She didn't know that Qi Shi was behind Qiu Zhi's incident. Now that she knows, I gave her an excuse not to go. How could she think about those relatives in the Marquis' Mansion?"

"Although this child has always been gentle, she may not care about the mother-daughter relationship. She only hangs out with them out of courtesy and doesn't want to be found guilty. In fact, this child is exactly like Bingzhi at heart. If she could, she would probably stay in Songxue Hall or Wutong Courtyard and not go anywhere else."

Hearing the old lady's words, Nanny Sun sighed softly. "With the old lady's compassion and care for her, the young lady is truly blessed. Why should she care about those relatives in the Marquis' Mansion? Qi is truly a rare example of partiality in this world. Other mothers always think of their daughters, thinking that their son-in-law only has one daughter by his side, and that a lifelong couple is the best marriage. But she actually instigated Qiu Zhi behind his back. Otherwise, even if Qiu Zhi had the intention to climb up the social ladder, I'm afraid she would have hesitated and not had the courage to actually do such a shameless thing."

Coming out of Qingde Courtyard, Birou asked cautiously, "Young Madam, why did the old lady send all the maids and nannies out of the house? Is there something serious going on?"

Cui Lingyan did not hide it from her. After a few steps, she told Birou that Qi had secretly instigated Qiu Zhi to do the ridiculous thing of seducing Lu Bingzhi. This matter was known to Madam Zhai, who got very angry with Qi yesterday and also told Birou that Nanny Jiang had beaten her with a stick and kicked her out of the house.

Birou's face darkened as she listened. She had heard about this from Concubine Wen when she accompanied the Young Madam to the Ningshou Marquis's residence to deliver some dowry to the Second Young Lady, but even now, she felt a pity for the Young Madam. Furthermore, if Old Madam Zhai learned of this, it would likely become a major incident, even becoming public knowledge. By then, there would be few who would sympathize with the Young Madam, and even more who would secretly laugh at her and feel bad for having such a mother like Qi.

Especially, those who envy the young lady for marrying the prince and having such a good marriage will probably talk about this matter behind her back to calm their jealousy and envy.

She took a deep breath, but couldn't help but complain, "Young Madam is the eldest Madam's biological daughter after all. How could the eldest Madam be so disregarding of Young Madam's feelings and instigating Qiu Zhi to seduce the Crown Prince? If the Crown Prince wasn't so stubborn, and if she had succeeded, the Crown Prince would have a new lover just a few months after their marriage. Young Madam might even give Qiu Zhi the title of concubine just to maintain her reputation as a virtuous woman. This is not something a mother should do."

Only enemies can be so disgusting! No wonder Old Madam Dou said that this matter must be discussed with the Young Madam in private. It is really outrageous.

However, this matter reached the ears of Old Lady Dou, and since Nanny Jiang was driven out of the Ningshou Marquis Mansion with injuries, I'm afraid many people have already known about it, and it has spread throughout the entire capital today.

It's really unfortunate for the young lady to have a mother like Qi.

Birou remembered that today was the day when the second young lady Cui Lingyin was coming home, so she asked, "Is the young lady still going to the Ningshou Marquis's mansion today?"

She used the word "go" instead of "return", which showed that she was displeased with the Marquis' Mansion. After serving Cui Lingyan for so many days, Birou had already been completely devoted to her master Cui Lingyan.

Cui Lingyan smiled and shook her head. "No, I won't go. Grandmother has been feeling unwell since she woke up early, so naturally, I, your granddaughter-in-law, have to stay at home to take care of her."

"I think my second cousin is well-educated and will understand my difficulties."

Cui Lingyan then instructed, "By the way, you don't have to accompany me back to Wutong Courtyard. Go to the Marquis' Mansion and explain the reason to Grandmother."

Birou nodded in agreement, bowed, and walked out of the house.

Cui Lingyan watched her leave, then withdrew her gaze and walked towards Wutong Courtyard.

Ningshou Marquis Mansion

Yesterday, Old Madam Zhai got angry with the eldest wife, Qi, and there was a big commotion in Xilan Courtyard. Not only was she beaten with a stick, but Madam Jiang was also driven out of the mansion. Not to mention, Qi, the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest house, also had a wound on her face and was humiliated by the old lady. How could this matter be hidden from the people in the mansion, so everyone in the mansion knew about it.

Baohuayuan

Bian had gone back to her parents' home yesterday and heard about this as soon as she got home this morning. She was delighted but also a bit sarcastic when she said, "She's just so ungrateful. Such a good daughter has now found such a good marriage. If it were someone else, they would have used this blood relationship to try to restore their mother-daughter relationship with Yan. But Qi has been doing these absurd things time and again, clearly pushing Yan away and forcing her to no longer acknowledge her as her mother."

"But it's all for the best. If she hadn't acted this way and had eased her relationship with Yan, with Yan as her daughter, the eldest branch would have been even more dominant over our second branch in the future. I heard that it was Old Madam Wu who gave her such a foolish idea. It's truly a mother and daughter, worthy of being such a legitimate mother and daughter. One dares to think, and the other dares to act accordingly. They're truly audacious and have no sense of restraint. I just hope Yin will marry Qi Shaozhang. Old Madam Wu has already brought disaster to the eldest branch, but please don't bring disaster to our second branch."

Hearing this, Nanny An nodded quickly and said, "Madam is right to be worried, but the Second Miss has something on Madam, so Madam has no choice but to agree to her wishes and enter into this marriage. I think the Second Miss, now that she's a wife of the Qi family, knows the importance of things. Even if she can't persuade Madam Wu, she'll definitely speak to her son-in-law. Although we haven't known each other for long, he seems to be someone who cares about face and is extremely ambitious. He certainly won't tolerate Madam Wu doing something rash and causing you, Madam, displeasure."

Bian scoffed and said angrily, "I don't dare to expect anything. I just hope the Qi family doesn't bring any trouble to my brother Shen. I'll have to give Eryin a good advice when she returns home today. If that doesn't work out, I'll have to find a way to get Old Madam Wu back south. That old woman won't stay in the capital and cause trouble to everyone. She thinks she's so powerful that everyone has to listen to her."

Nanny An nodded and said to Madam Bian, "Madam, you are absolutely right. I will accompany you to the Xilan Courtyard and wait. After all, the second young lady and her husband will first go to the Xilan Courtyard to pay their respects to the old lady."

Bian nodded, stood up, took Nanny An's hand, and left the house. She glanced in the direction of Cuiwei Hall, where Qi lived, and said with a hint of disdain, "You said that the scars on Qi's face today can be covered up with makeup, but she is old and faded. If she puts on too much makeup, it will not only be an eyesore but also make her look less like an elder. I wonder if Yan will feel more distressed or relieved when she returns home today and sees Qi like this."

Nanny An smiled and said, "Ms. Qi schemed against the Third Young Lady like that, so how could the Third Young Lady feel sorry for her? If I were to say, the Madam deserved it."

The master and servant left Baohua Courtyard and soon arrived at Xilan Courtyard.

The atmosphere in Xilan Courtyard was somewhat solemn, lacking any of the joy that should have been there for the Second Young Lady to return to the mansion today.

Bian Shi did not think much of her son-in-law Qi Shaozhang, and Cui Lingyin was originally a concubine's daughter, not her own, so naturally she did not care much about the matter of her returning to her parents' home. She thought that the couple would just come over for formalities and have lunch together, and the dishes in the kitchen would not make people feel that they were being neglected.

Seeing the atmosphere in Xilan Courtyard, she didn't take it seriously. She just whispered to the maid standing in the corridor, "How is Mother feeling today? Has the Madam come over?"

The maid bowed and replied, "The old lady had trouble sleeping last night. She drank some tranquilizing soup and didn't fall asleep until late at night. She just woke up this morning and only took a few bites of her breakfast."

"The eldest lady is ill and has sent someone to apologize, saying she won't be attending the family dinner today, fearing she might spread her illness to others. She also said it wouldn't be nice for her to attend the Second Young Lady's wedding, saying even elders should be more discreet. The old lady, mindful of the scars on her face and fearing it would tarnish the reputation of the Marquisate, didn't say much. She seems to have tacitly agreed that the eldest lady wouldn't have to show up today."

Bian nodded, and when she saw the maid opening the curtain, she walked in.

The old lady had just taken the medicine, so the room was filled with a strong aroma of Chinese medicine. Daimao and several of the maids were lighting frankincense and opening the windows to disperse the smell of Chinese medicine in the room.

Old Madam Zhai sat on the soft couch. The string of jade Buddhist beads that she usually held in her hand was no longer to her liking, so she changed it to a string of red coral Buddhist beads. I wonder if she wanted to get rid of the bad luck.

Bian suppressed these thoughts and slowly stepped forward to pay her respects. With a hint of worry, she said, "I heard that Mother didn't fall asleep until late last night. I'm terribly worried. Should I get a letter and ask the imperial physician from the palace to come to the house to take Mother's pulse, or even prescribe some soothing medicine?"

Bian had always been favored by Old Lady Zhai, and she was good at talking. When Old Lady Zhai heard her say this, her expression softened a little, and she showed the first hint of a smile on her face that day.

She sighed and said, "You are the only one who is filial and concerned about my health. Unlike your sister-in-law, she wants to make me angry to death so that she can get rid of this mother-in-law."

The old lady's words clearly showed her displeasure with the Qi family. Bian heard her say this, but couldn't acquiesce. She only smiled and said, "Sister-in-law is wrong, and you, as the elder, should just point it out to her. After all, the family business will be handed over to my brother and sister-in-law from now on. Mother can't just stop helping my sister-in-law because of a small matter. To be frank, my sister-in-law's background is indeed low. If she had been born into a prominent family in the capital, even as a concubine's daughter, she would have known better than someone from the Qi family, and would have saved you all the worry over the years."

These words touched Mrs. Zhai's heart. She nodded repeatedly and said to Bian: "You are a good person. Only you are willing to tell me your true feelings."

The old lady was about to say something else when footsteps were heard outside. A maid came in and reported, "Old lady, Third Aunt sent Birou back home. She said that Old Madam Dou was feeling unwell this morning and she has to stay at the Duke's Mansion to take care of her. She won't be back to attend Second Aunt's return banquet today."