Chapter 136: Tolerating the incident regarding Qi Shaozhang and Cui Lingyin's return home...

Madam Zhai's face darkened. She glanced at Qi Shaozhang and Cui Lingyin and ordered, "Bring her into the mansion. I want to hear if this woman is truly the old lover of our new son-in-law. If she was so deeply in love with him, why didn't she bring him to the capital with her? And why didn't she mention it to the Marquis's Mansion? Now she's kneeling outside, isn't she making a fool of herself for everyone in the capital?"

Cui Lingyin wanted to speak up to stop them, but Madam Zhai was determined, and soon a maid brought the person in.

The person who came was Shen, who had been staying in the inn for quite a few days. Her belly was bulging. As soon as she came in, her eyes were fixed on Qi Shaozhang who was sitting next to Cui Lingyin. Before she could say anything, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

When Qi Shaozhang saw that it was her, his face changed and he accidentally knocked over the teacup beside him.

No one needed to ask him about his behavior. Everyone present knew that the baby in Shen's belly must be Qi Shaozhang's child.

Old Madam Zhai was so angry that she almost fainted. It was not because she loved Cui Lingyin, her illegitimate granddaughter, so much, but no matter how much she looked down on her, Cui Lingyin was still surnamed Cui and represented the reputation of the Ningshou Marquis's Mansion.

Neither Zhan nor Qi Shaozhang had ever mentioned this matter. Now that people have come to the door, Madam Zhai feels that the reputation of the Marquis' Mansion has been trampled under the feet of the Qi family, and she is completely ashamed.

"Shao Zhang, tell me what's going on. Why didn't you tell me before you got married? Were you trying to trick Yin into marrying us first, and then cause trouble for our mansion? You're really capable, choosing the day of your return to kneel before our mansion. The mansion is mindful of the relationship between our two families, but we wouldn't let your Qi family scheme to humiliate you like this!"

After Madam Zhai finished speaking, Qi Shaozhang showed a bit of embarrassment on his face.

Shen's face turned pale, and without a second thought, she sank to her knees before Old Madam Zhai, crying and explaining, "Forgive me, Old Madam. I secretly followed the old lady to the capital, boarded a nearby ship, and stayed in an inn outside the capital. It wasn't that I meant to cause trouble for the mistress. I am of humble status, and how I live is just fate. It's just that I'm pregnant, and I want to find a way out for the child. It wouldn't be nice for the child to be born with an unknown father and be bullied and abused."

When Madam Zhai heard her say this, she felt no sympathy at all. Instead, she was furious and mocked her. "That's nice to say, but you chose this time to come and cause such a scene. Aren't you trying to force Miss Yin to tolerate you? If you were truly well-behaved, you wouldn't have come to the Marquis's Mansion. If you had to kneel, you should have knelt in front of the Qi Residence."

After Old Lady Zhai said this, Cui Lingyin's face turned a little embarrassed. It is said that a daughter who is married off is like spilled water. What the old lady meant was that she should not cause trouble to the Marquis' Mansion after she got married.

Cui Lingyin's face flushed and paled. Qi Shaozhang stood up and bowed to Old Madam Zhai, saying apologetically, "Grandmother, please allow me to go back and deal with this. I'll come back another day to apologize after I've dealt with it."

"Shao Zhang knows that this has brought shame to the Marquisate and he feels sorry for Yin'er, but Shao Zhang swears to heaven that he had no idea Shen was pregnant, let alone that she had come to the capital. Shen's father once taught Sun Xu, but after the teacher left, the Shen family fell into decline, and Shen's younger brother took over the household. Sun Xu and Shen's affair was indeed plotted by her younger brother. Those ridiculous things happened after he got drunk. The Shen family used this as a threat to force Sun Xu to take Shen in, but Sun Xu refused. Fortunately, Sun Xu had some leverage over the Shen family, so they sent Shen to the ancestral temple to recuperate, and Sun Xu followed his mother to the capital. Mother and grandmother were unaware of all this, and it was all Sun Xu's fault."

As Qi Shaozhang spoke, he looked towards Cui Lingyin who was sitting there.

"I hope Madam will understand my difficulties and allow me to take Shen to the Qi family for disposal."

There was a hint of pleading in Qi Shaozhang's eyes, and Cui Lingyin also deeply regretted that she had planned to mention the matter of Shen to the Qi family after returning home. She didn't expect that Shen would cause such a big fuss just one day away.

Now that she is a wife of the Qi family, it is not good for her to stay in the Marquis' Mansion even if she has suffered such humiliation. Staying will only make her a laughing stock, and her grandmother will not know how to be angry with her.

If she didn't help Qi Shaozhang at this time and save his face, there was no guarantee that he would not remember her in his heart.

It would be better to humble herself now and let Qi Shaozhang owe her a favor. After returning, she could endure the grievance again. Even if Shen was kept, the Qi family still owed her and would be inferior to her.

Thinking of this, Cui Lingyin stood up, bowed to Old Madam Zhai, and said, "Grandma, please forgive me. My granddaughter and I will return to the Qi family first and will come to apologize another day."

Old Madam Zhai was already weak in energy, and after this incident she wished Cui Lingyin would just go back to the Qi family and not stay in the Marquis' Mansion and get in her way.

Hearing her say this, he nodded, stood up, and walked towards Xilan Courtyard holding Daimao's arm.

After such an incident at the banquet, everyone soon dispersed. Only Cui Lingyin and his wife, Shen who was kneeling on the ground, and the maid who served Shen were left in the pavilion.

Qi Shaozhang glanced at Shen coldly, which made Shen's heart sink and she couldn't help shivering.

Cui Lingyin had known about the existence of Shen for a long time, so although she was annoyed at the moment, she was prepared after all, and was not as panicked as others imagined.

She ordered someone to prepare a carriage, and asked Shen and the maid who served Shen to sit in it, while she and Qi Shaozhang took the original carriage back to Qi's house.

In the carriage, Qi Shaozhang, with an apologetic look on his face, explained, "I, your husband, truly did not know about this matter. It was her brother who plotted against me. I felt so humiliated that I could not even think of hiding it from you and plotting your marriage before bringing her to the capital."

"Today's scene is also a disgrace to me. I am now in the Imperial College, how can I tolerate such things?"

Cui Lingyin's eyes reddened upon hearing this, as if she believed it a little. She whispered, "We'll see what to do after we report this to Grandmother and Mother."

Qi Shaozhang felt relieved when he saw that she had softened up a bit. He had married Cui Lingyin, but he didn't want to divorce her just after the wedding. Cui Lingyin probably couldn't afford to lose face like that.

In the carriage behind her, Shen's face was pale and she was feeling uneasy.

Thinking of the look Qi Shaozhang had given her just now, she felt cold all over.

And what he said about the two of them having physical contact was all planned by his brother, and it was all lies. Although his brother had this intention, when she went to bring him sobering soup when he was drunk that day, it was Qi Shaozhang who first put his arm around her waist.

She originally wanted to find a backer for herself. The Qi family had some reputation in the local area. There was a married aunt in the mansion who was said to be the eldest lady of the Ningshou Marquis Mansion in the capital. There was also a cousin, Cui Lingyan, who had lived in the mansion for a long time.

After listening to her brother's words, she bravely came to deliver the sobering soup. She was also afraid that the Qi family had an idea and wanted Cui Lingyan to marry Qi Shaozhang. The two families would be closer, and the Qi family's status would be raised a bit. Then they would look down on her, a daughter from a poor family.

How could she have imagined that Zhan would bring Cui Lingyan to Beijing, and also bring Qi Shaozhang and Qi Ruoruo with her.

Later, she heard that Cui Lingyan had married Lu Bingzhi, the prince of Weiguo, and that Qi Shaozhang was actually going to marry Cui Lingyin, the concubine of the Marquis's family. Old Lady Wu was very happy to hear this and hurriedly boarded a boat to the capital.

She followed him secretly and went to the capital to find a way out for her child and a good future for herself.

Even being Qi Shaozhang's concubine is better than staying at home.

The Qi family has few members and few offspring, so I guess they care about the child in her belly.

The carriage drove all the way to Qi's house and stopped at the door of Qi's house in the evening.

When Mrs. Wu heard the maid report that two carriages had returned, she thought that the old lady of the Marquis' Mansion must have given them some good things. Later, she heard that the person who got off the carriage was the daughter of the Shen family, and she was pregnant. Her face changed immediately, and all kinds of thoughts churned in her mind.

Zhan, who was standing by, was also flustered. She hurried to the door and saw Shen, who was pregnant. Without thinking, she asked, "What's going on? Miss Shen, why did you come to Beijing?"

She had a bad guess in her mind, and when she saw the expressions on her son and Cui Lingyin's faces, her heart skipped a beat. She subconsciously wanted to kick Shen out of the house, but thinking of the child in her belly, she brought her in first.

When they arrived at the upper room, Mrs. Wu saw the situation and knew what she was talking about. She asked with a serious face, "Shao Zhang, when did this happen? You're not usually such a jerk!"

Qi Shaozhang repeated what he had said to Old Lady Zhai and Cui Lingyin, then knelt on the ground and apologized, "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have drunk and been tricked. This is why the Marquis' Mansion and the Qi family have lost face."

Seeing Qi Shaozhang kneeling down, Shen and her maid also knelt down.

Old Madam Wu also learned from her grandson about Shen's kneeling at the door of the Ningshou Marquis's residence. Despite her anger, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The Qi family had few children, so Shen's child was naturally something she wanted to keep. However, the Qi family's status was far inferior to that of the Marquis's residence. It wouldn't be nice to marry a concubine from the Marquis's residence and then have a pregnant concubine the next day.

Now, her grandson was being plotted against by Shen's brother. Shen had made a big fuss by kneeling in front of the Marquis's mansion. Cui Lingyin had to accept Shen and her unborn child, no matter how much she hated them.

Otherwise, leaving Shen to fend for herself in the capital would only make her reputation even worse. If Shen and her child died, who knows how many people would frame Cui Lingyin.

Old Madam Wu's gaze fell on Shen, but she did not say what to do with her. Instead, she looked at her granddaughter-in-law Cui Lingyin who was standing there.

"Yin girl, Shao Zhang is wrong in this matter, but as the saying goes, husband and wife are one. This matter has become so serious. If we don't keep Shen, those people outside will not know how to frame our two families. If Shen wasn't pregnant, it would be fine, but she is pregnant. If we kick her out, there's no guarantee that people outside won't say we are too heartless."

How could Cui Lingyin not understand the meaning behind Mrs. Wu's words? This was to force her to tolerate Shen.

Cui Lingyin didn't agree in person, but simply bowed and said, "Yin'er is already a wife of the Qi family. Grandmother and mother-in-law will make the decisions about the affairs of the mansion. Grandmother, please make whatever arrangements you wish."

"My wife is a little tired, so I'll go back to my room and rest."

Cui Lingyin said this and turned to go to the yard where she lived.

Old Lady Wu winked at Qi Shaozhang, telling him to quickly chase after her and comfort his granddaughter-in-law and say some nice words.

As soon as Qi Shaozhang left, only Madam Wu, Mrs. Zhan, Mrs. Shen and the maid who served Mrs. Shen were left in the room.

Old Madam Wu didn't want to ask about the past between Shen and her grandson. After all, she was already pregnant with a child, and no matter how much she investigated the past, it would not change anything.

She had long noticed that Shen had such thoughts about her grandson, but she really looked down on the Shen family's status. Now asking her to be her grandson's concubine was not bad.

"Mrs. Shen, you've made such a fuss today. I'm worried about your unborn child, so I had no choice but to do this. But this is the only time. From now on, you must stay in the Qi residence, and you are not allowed to compete with the mistress, Yin, for Shaozhang's favor. After the child is born, you must take good care of him. Only then will the mansion have room for you."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Upon hearing this, Shen finally breathed a sigh of relief. Tears immediately fell down her cheeks as she kowtowed to the old lady and said, "Yes, I will follow your instructions and will never dare to be disrespectful to the mistress."

Old Madam Wu waved her hand, asked Mrs. Zhan to arrange a place for Mrs. Shen to live, and asked the nanny to lead the two of them downstairs.

After Shen and her maid left, Old Lady Wu said to her daughter-in-law, Zhan, "Although this matter has caused quite a stir and has offended the Ningshou Marquis's Mansion, our Qi family has few descendants. I absolutely cannot bear to ask Shen to have the baby aborted."

"You should also explain and comfort Yin girl. Don't let her have any grievances against Shaozhang because of Shen. She has been wronged in this matter. How about this? You hand over the power of housekeeper to her. You will have less to worry about in the future."

When Zhan heard her mother-in-law say this, her expression changed slightly. She had been in charge of the Qi family for so many years, and Cui Lingyin was just a new bride. How could she be given the power of housekeeper as soon as she entered the family?

The fact that Cui Lingyin was a concubine of the Marquis's family had already made it difficult for her, as a mother-in-law, to control her. If she gained the power of housekeeper, she would be the only one who would make the decisions on everything in the mansion, and she would certainly not take her, her mother-in-law, seriously.

Although the Qi family is not as prominent as the Ningshou Marquis Mansion, they feel at ease when the household affairs are in their own hands. How can they easily hand it over to a junior?

Seeing she remained silent, Old Lady Wu spoke up, "This time, our Qi family has wronged her. We must give her some compensation, but what good things does the Qi family have that she could covet? Even if we were to buy her jewelry and headgear, to be honest, we'd be reluctant to part with them. These will all be left to Shaozhang. Instead of that, why not hand over the housekeeping duties to her? It might seem respectable, but it will actually save you some money."

Old Madam Wu lowered her voice and continued, "Besides, if we let her be the housekeeper, she might be able to ask the Marquis's Mansion for some money if she needs anything. Even if she doesn't ask the Marquis's Mansion, I think she'll have quite a dowry."

Zhan pondered for a moment and finally nodded.

The commotion at the Marquis' Mansion was very loud. In just half a day, the news about Qi Shaozhang and Cui Lingyin's return home spread throughout the capital.