Chapter 137 Relaxing will surely make her live freely and not be so restrained...

Songxueyuan

After listening to Bitao's report, Cui Lingyan was speechless for a long time.

This Shen family is really bold enough to do such a thing.

However, in that dream, Shen was also scheming. She had to marry Qi Shaozhang because of her ruined reputation. Although she was the mistress, she was not liked by anyone in the Qi family. Even her grandmother, Old Lady Wu, only said that she cared about her. She called her over and asked her to copy scriptures. When she was bullied by Shen, she only punished her by confining her to her house. But behind her back, she advised her that Shen was scheming. Shen was pregnant now, and the baby in her belly was the most important. As the mistress, she should not get close to Shen to avoid unnecessary trouble. Even her grandmother could not protect her.

Listening to her grandmother's words, which she thought were caring for her own good, she felt sad and chilled. She had not deliberately approached Shen, but had just met Shen on the way out from the Buddhist temple where she was copying Buddhist scriptures. Shen did not like that she, the daughter of a marquis with a bad reputation, had taken the position of Qi Shaozhang's wife, so she spoke sarcastic and disrespectfully to her.

My grandmother said that simply because she had lost the support of the Ningshou Marquisate and was like a rootless duckweed, helplessly controlled by the Qi family.

Cui Lingyan came back to her senses and said to Bitao, "I thought my cousin's wife would take action earlier when she knew Shen had come to the capital to see what to do with Shen. I didn't expect it to be delayed until this time, and even let Shen do such a coercive and humiliating act on the day of my cousin's return home." Shen knelt in front of the Ningshou Marquis's mansion with a big belly, attracting countless people's attention. Now the rumors have spread throughout the capital, and Cui Lingyin's reputation has long been damaged. This time, even if she can't tolerate Shen and the child in Shen's belly, she can only let Shen enter the Qi family, so that Qi Shaozhang will have another concubine.

Only three days after the marriage, there was a concubine in the mansion, which was extremely rare in the capital. I wonder if Cui Lingyin regretted choosing to marry Qi Shaozhang.

Bitao also disliked Cui Lingyin, but she also learned from Birou that on the day of Cui Lingyin's wedding, she kindly asked Madam Wen to inform the young lady, Old Lady Wu, and Qi's plan. Although the prince would not be fascinated by Qiu Zhi, Cui Lingyin's move was also well-intentioned. Now, hearing that Shen had made such a fuss, she felt a sigh in her heart.

"Although Shen came to the mansion several times when we were staying at the Qi family, and even paid her respects to my aunt and the old lady, I never realized that Shen and my cousin had such a thing going on. She said that they had physical contact while drunk, and that Shen's brother had schemed against them. But my cousin is clearly making up excuses to cover up the scandalous affair he had with Shen. It's just a rumor, not something to be taken seriously. Now that this matter has become so serious, I'm afraid the Qi family will have another concubine, and I don't know how many people will laugh at them."

The master and servant were talking when Lu Bingzhi came in from outside. I don't know how much he heard in their conversation.

He walked up to Cui Lingyan, took the teacup in front of her and took a sip, then casually said, "Your cousin didn't act violently before the wedding because she was planning to control the Qi family after the wedding. But her cleverness backfired and she was beaten to the punch by the Shen family. But judging by what happened today, the Shen family is not someone to be trifled with. I don't know whether the east wind will prevail over the west wind or the west wind will prevail over the east wind."

Seeing him finish his drink, Cui Lingyan took the teacup he offered her and refilled it with another. She sighed softly and said, "Women have always been in a weak position. Even if my cousin had an outburst before the wedding, it would only make a big fuss and make a fool of herself. She certainly didn't expect Shen Shi to dare to do such a bold thing after returning home three days ago. She was caught off guard and was tricked by Shen Shi. Shen Shi is still pregnant, so she can't beat her or drive her away either. She can only accept this loss and tacitly allow Shen Shi to stay in the Qi family, giving the Qi family another concubine."

"It's all good now. If Shen had given birth to a son after ten months of pregnancy, there would have been a lot of trouble."

Cui Lingyan thought of the dream in which Shen gave birth to a sickly boy after ten months of pregnancy, saying that the boy was born with a deficiency from the womb. Shen then said that she had secretly tampered with the boy and given him chronic medication, which caused the boy to be born with a deficiency.

Qi Shaozhang didn't like her as his wife, so he believed Shen's words and asked her to move out of the main courtyard and move to a remote courtyard in the northwest corner. He also said that Shen would be allowed to move into the original main courtyard.

She and Qi Shaozhang were only nominally married, and she didn't care much about his status as his legal wife. After suffering this injustice, she didn't go to her grandmother, Old Lady Wu, to cry and ask her for help. Instead, she agreed to Qi Shaozhang's wish and moved out. In fact, she was also exhausted at the time and really didn't want to deal with Shen's concubine. She thought it would be better to stay away from her.

In the end, Shen Shi didn't get to live in the main courtyard as she had hoped. It was said that Old Madam Wu had reprimanded Qi Shaozhang, saying that even if he disliked her as his legal wife, they should still consider each other's dignity and not go too far. She said that no matter how bad she was, no matter how bad her reputation was, she was still the legitimate daughter of the Ningshou Marquisate. If the Marquisate knew how she was being treated, that the Qi family had allowed a concubine of low status to live in the courtyard that belonged to the mistress, and the Marquisate came to demand an explanation, the small Qi family would not be able to bear it.

Shen did not live in the main courtyard as she wished, and she had no way to complain or vent her anger on Old Madam Wu, so she went to her courtyard and made trouble twice. Later, perhaps the matter was leaked, and some people outside said that Qi Shaozhang favored his concubine and killed his wife. Qi Shaozhang was embarrassed and stopped Shen's mischief.

The child died when he was only two years old. Shen's appearance was not as good as before due to the pain of losing her son, and her temperament was no longer as gentle, considerate and caring towards Qi Shaozhang as before. Qi Shaozhang often stayed outside, and it was said that he had a mistress outside.

Those scenes in the dream are so breathtaking.

Cui Lingyan took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the oppressive feeling.

Seeing that she looked a little unhappy, Lu Bingzhi frowned slightly, took the teapot from her hand, helped her sit down on the couch, and asked with some concern: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Cui Lingyan shook her head. Since she didn't want to talk about strange and supernatural things, she naturally couldn't tell Lu Bingzhi about the dream she had on the way to Beijing.

Moreover, she is now married to Lu Bingzhi. Although Shen has entered the Qi family and become Qi Shaozhang's concubine as in the dream, she is so bold to do such a thing today. According to Qi Shaozhang's personality, he may not treat Shen as he did in the dream.

The bright future that Shen thought of might not be as she imagined.

Everything was different from what she had in her dream. She shouldn't have let the situations in her dream affect her emotions.

Cui Lingyan smiled and said, "Nothing. I've probably been in the house for too long and am feeling a bit bored. Prince, please accompany me to the garden to get some fresh air."

Seeing that she was fine, Lu Bingzhi nodded with a smile and went to the garden with her.

It was almost evening, and there was a hint of warmth in the garden, which made the two of them seem even more intimate.

Cui Lingyan loved the feeling of leisurely admiring the flowers and scenery. It was as if everything had quieted down, even the fragrance of flowers and plants in the air and the subtle trembling of plants seemed like the flow of life. This quietness could make people slow down their minds, free from all worries and worldly noise.

Lu Bingzhi stayed by her side and saw that she was obviously in a much better mood. He said gently, "If you feel bored staying in the mansion, after the Second Prince's wedding, I will take you to live in a farm in the suburbs for a few days to relax."

Cui Lingyan didn't expect him to say that, and a hint of joy appeared between her brows. In fact, she had been in the capital for such a long time, but had hardly gone out to relax.

Although Madam Dou in the mansion treated her very well, she was still somewhat restrained and not as free as she was outside.

Cui Lingyan naturally also wanted to go out and get some fresh air and relax.

Seeing her eyes so bright, even though she was suppressing her joy and maintaining a gentle demeanor, her whole person seemed to have suddenly become more energetic. Lu Bingzhi smiled, thinking of how she had been disliked by the Qi family since she was born, and later lived under the Qi family's roof. After finally returning to the capital, she did not receive any compensation from her family, so she had no choice but to marry into the Weiguo Mansion.

Although others said that her marrying him was a blessing from heaven and a good marriage that she could not have wished for, Lu Bingzhi also felt sorry for her because she was forced to do so, as if she had never been free.

Even though women in this world have no control over their own lives, being the Crown Prince's wife is considered a blessing by others. He actually wants her to be more comfortable, to do things according to her own will, without being bound by rules and reputation.

Lu Bingzhi's eyes darkened, and he secretly thought that one day he would be recognized as a royal family member and take that position. He would definitely let her live freely and not be so constrained, so as to compensate her for being helpless from childhood to adulthood.

Cui Lingyan didn't notice his thoughts and just said happily, "Sir, are you serious?"

She thought for a moment and asked tentatively, "Just me and the prince? Do you want to bring your two sisters along?"

Lu Bingzhi said, "If they want to go out on their own, they have their own wives and aunts to accompany them to relax. If they stay with me, the prince, I'm afraid they won't be able to have fun, and that would make them lose interest."

Before Cui Lingyan could speak, Lu Bingzhi asked with a smile in his eyes, "Why? Could it be that Yan'er really wants to be a good sister-in-law that everyone praises?"

Everyone in the mansion knew that she and Lu Danruo did not get along well. Although Lu Danyan often came to Wutong Courtyard to talk to her, their apparent closeness did not necessarily mean they were very close.

Lu Bingzhi asked this, clearly intending to tease her.

Cui Lingyan's cheeks turned slightly red, and she turned her head to look at the flowers blooming in the flowerbed beside her.

Behind the rockery, Lu Danruo held his breath and listened to the noise outside until the two of them walked away, then he came out from behind the rockery.

Seeing the prince and the young lady walking away, the maidservant couldn't help but say, "The prince has finally come to the garden to relax. Since you, his sister, have met him, why hide? Come out and greet each other and exchange a few words. Then the brother-sister relationship will naturally develop."

Lu Danruo looked a little embarrassed. She also came out to relax, and she didn't expect that someone with Lu Bingzhi's personality would accompany Cui Lingyan to appreciate the flowers and relax. When she saw him from afar, she subconsciously hid in the rockery.

She also felt that she had nothing to be ashamed of. Even if she was not close to Lu Bingzhi and his sister, they could just greet each other and talk when they met, and then go their separate ways. But she subconsciously hid away, and she even felt ashamed of herself in her heart.

Suppressing these thoughts, Lu Danruo curled her lips and said, "Didn't you hear? They don't want us to follow them, so why bother yourself?"