Chapter 142: Means Now this senior monk is telling Pei An’s fortune, guess it’s you…

Cui Lingyan was surprised to hear this news, but also found it somewhat odd. Although He Shi had intended for Lu Danyan to marry Pei An, given her usual temperament, she wouldn't necessarily act that way. She suspected that He Shi would at most spread rumors about Lu Danruo's arrogance and willfulness, and that her stepsister and her brother Lu Bingzhi weren't close.

These are not really secrets. The key is that they were all told to Old Lady Yin at this critical moment of marriage negotiation, which would make her feel a little shaken.

However, the fortune-telling words of this wandering monk directly said that Pei An should not marry a woman from the eldest branch of a wealthy and powerful family. In fact, his actions were more decisive and cruel. It did not seem that he was targeting Lu Danruo, a girl from the boudoir, but seemed to be targeting Pei An, the second master of the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion.

After all, once these fates are announced, how can those women who think they will not end up like the previous two fiancées and want to fight for the identity of the second wife of the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion feel at ease? They will definitely feel timid.

Seeing her young mistress's frown, Birou warned, "Old Madam will surely be furious after something like this. Young Madam, go over and take a look. At least try to comfort and console Old Madam."

Although Cui Lingyan had just returned to Wutong Courtyard, she knew that it would be inappropriate for her not to show up at this time. She didn't want people to think that she was watching the show behind her back and didn't consider herself a member of the Weiguo Mansion at all.

Cui Lingyan naturally wouldn't let anyone use this as a pretext, so she instructed Bi Tao, "Go to Songxue Hall and tell the prince about this. Tell him that I'll be back later, and that he can have dinner first. He doesn't need to wait for me, and he doesn't need to come to Wutong Courtyard."

Bi Tao nodded. She had long been accustomed to the fact that the prince and the young lady lived in separate houses. Not only did she not find it inconvenient, but she saw that the relationship between the prince and the young lady was getting better and better.

"Yes, I understand. Young Madam, please be careful. The First Madam and the Second Young Lady are not the kind of people with good tempers."

Don't let the quarrel drag down the innocent and implicate the Young Madam. That mother and daughter are capable of anything. They could start a fight by suspecting Second Madam He without any evidence, so how could they not also suspect the Young Madam?

After all, the mother-in-law, Cen, wasn't close to the Young Madam at all, and their relationship was even worse than that of outsiders. The second daughter, Lu Danruo, had previously offended the Young Madam, and the relationship between the two was merely superficial. Deep down, everyone knew that their relationship was as thin as a sheet of paper and wouldn't withstand the slightest bit of abuse.

Fortunately, the young lady has now stabilized her position, and no one dares to bully her easily.

Cui Lingyan knew what she was thinking and nodded: "Don't worry, I will be careful."

After saying this, Cui Lingyan put down the teacup in her hand and took Birou out of the house, heading towards Qingdeyuan.

When she went over, Cen and Lu Danruo were kneeling on the ground, and the eldest daughter Lu Danyan was standing aside, supporting He. He had half of her face covered with her hand, and her hair was a little messy. Except for Cen, probably no one in the room dared to attack He.

Cui Lingyan guessed this in her mind, walked forward slowly, bowed, and stood aside.

Madam Dou's good mood for the day was completely ruined by this incident. When she saw Cui Lingyan come in, she nodded to her, her eyes still on Cen and Lu Danruo who were kneeling on the ground.

She said to Cen with a sullen face, "How can you be so crazy? You are not even acting like a Duke's wife! How can you be so sure that those rumors outside were spread by the second son's wife? You shouted them out without any evidence and didn't even know the seriousness of the matter. You even resorted to violence. How do you expect the people below to view you as the Duke's wife? How will you manage the household affairs in the future?"

Cen had regained some of her rationality at this time. After hearing her mother-in-law's scolding, she felt really regretful. However, she had long known that He was trying to snatch Danruo's marriage. She had only heard those rumors outside and met He's mother and daughter when she returned home. She subconsciously thought that He came to laugh at her and her daughter.

She was so angry that she stepped forward to question him. During the argument, she thought about how He had taken away most of the household expenses in the mansion, and how He was still not satisfied and even dared to think about snatching away Danruo's marriage. In anger, she couldn't help but slapped He in the face to vent her anger.

After the slap, He's head was tilted to the side, her hair was disheveled, and her cheek was swollen. She noticed that the air was suddenly very quiet, and the maids and servants looked at her with some shock. Only then did she regret her irrationality.

Seeing her mother-in-law so angry, Cen felt a little flustered, but she could only try to defend herself. She began to explain, "But if it wasn't my sister-in-law, who else would have had such thoughts, wanting to make things difficult for my Danruo and snatch her marriage away?"

As she spoke, she couldn't help but shed tears, sobbing, "Who can't bear to see my Danruo marry a good family? Who can't bear to see my daughter have a good marriage so that I, as a mother, can have someone to rely on? Is it because I only have Danruo and no sons that they are bullying us mother and daughter?"

"Most of the household expenses in the mansion are in the hands of my sister-in-law. My mother-in-law said that she was worried about how I had worked so hard over the years and had become frail, so she wanted her daughter-in-law to take good care of me. My daughter-in-law was grateful for her care and never said a word of objection, but my sister-in-law was thinking about snatching Danruo's marriage away for Yanjie. How could I, as her sister-in-law, tolerate this? Even if the rumors today were not arranged by my sister-in-law, is it normal for her to have such thoughts? After all, she has watched Danruo grow up since she was a child. How could she, as an elder, plot against her own family?"

To Old Lady Dou, her sobbing was no different from those street shrews. The old lady's expression darkened, and she snapped, "Alright, what's wrong with you?! If you have no evidence that you did something wrong, then apologize to the second son's wife. Instead of repenting, you're just imitating those shrews out there."

The old lady then turned to Lu Danruo and said, "Your mother has become so confused and irrational because of you. However, she is the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest son of the family and represents the reputation of our Duke's Mansion. I can't afford to embarrass her too much."

"How about this? You go to the ancestral hall and kneel for an hour on your mother's behalf and reflect on your sins."

Lu Danruo was already feeling very aggrieved. Like Cen, she suspected that the rumors were all fabricated by He and Lu Danyan. Now she was already dissatisfied because she had no evidence and could not accuse or question them. She was even scolded by the old lady and punished to kneel in the ancestral hall for an hour to reflect on her mother's behavior.

She couldn't accept her grandmother's partiality!

Seeing Cui Lingyan standing there without even a whimper to help her mother or to plead for mercy, Lu Danruo felt suffocated and couldn't help but ask, "Grandma, why are you so partial? If you don't believe what mother said, Grandma, why don't you ask my sister-in-law? Ask her if Auntie called her over that day under the pretext of having tea because of this marriage with the Duke of Dingguo? Did Auntie ask her to help my cousin snatch this good marriage that should have belonged to me?"

When Lu Danruo said this, it was full of questioning and hostility. The room fell silent for a moment, and everyone's eyes fell on Cui Lingyan.

Cui Lingyan had long experienced Lu Danruo's temper, so even now that the anger was directed at her, she didn't feel annoyed. She simply said calmly, "Second sister, are you so angry that you're confused? Auntie asked me to come over for tea that day. Although she did mention the matter of the Duke Dingguo Mansion, she didn't ask for my help. Second sister, you really think too highly of me. Marriage is a matter of parents' orders and matchmaker's words. I'm just your sister-in-law. How can I interfere in this?"

Cui Lingyan's words were just short of saying that Lu Danruo was stupid.

Even if He had this idea, she would not directly ask Cui Lingyan for help. After all, no matter how much Cui Lingyan disagreed with her mother-in-law Cen, she was still the daughter-in-law of the eldest son. How could she let others gossip about her and try to betray her?

He would not leave this handle for others, thinking that everyone is so stupid as to put all their thoughts on the surface.

Old Madam Dou was speechless after hearing what Lu Danruo said. She felt that her granddaughter didn't look like a legitimate daughter raised in the Duke's Mansion at all. She didn't even understand this little principle.

"Okay, don't bring your sister-in-law into everything. She's very clear-headed. Don't even mention that she hasn't spoken. Even if she did, she wouldn't agree to anything."

Madam Dou ordered, "Take the second young lady to the ancestral hall and kneel down."

Then she turned to Cen and said, "With her personality like this, let alone the fortune-telling from wandering monks, even if she didn't have any, I don't think she'd marry Pei An. She won't bring any trouble to our Duke of Wei's Mansion if she marries him."

"The current wife of Duke Dingguo is the current emperor's favorite, Princess Chun'an. If she becomes a sister-in-law to Princess Chun'an, with Danruo's temper, she will offend the princess in a few days. I understand your intentions, but it also requires Danruo to have the ability. If she doesn't have that ability, what kind of situation will she be in if she marries him? Are you doing this for her own good, or are you pushing her into trouble for your own selfish whims?"

She didn't really like this marriage. She didn't try to persuade Cen before because she knew her temper. She thought that if she stopped her, Cen would probably resent her as her mother-in-law.

She also thought that with Dan Ruo's personality, Pei An might not be satisfied. No matter how much Old Lady Yin liked her, the marriage would not be possible without Pei An's approval, so she did not interfere.

She never thought that after returning from a flower-viewing banquet, such things would happen. Old Madam Dou felt tired. Seeing the unwillingness on Cen's face, she obviously felt that she was partial to the second wife. Then she lifted the window paper and pointed out Cen's true thoughts.

Cen's face changed and she froze there.

Madam Dou's eyes revealed a hint of sarcasm. She waved her hand and said, "Alright, go back to your courtyard and reflect on your actions. You're the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest son's family. The He family can't take away your status as the Duke's wife. If you have such thoughts, why don't you just settle down and be a good Duke's wife? Stop thinking every other day that someone is out to harm you and steal your glory. You're even using your own daughter as a gamble, hoping to have something to rely on."

"Everyone says you love your own daughter Danruo the most, but I think your love is fake. Otherwise, how could you raise Danruo to be like this? Now that you know she is not suitable to marry into the Dingguo Mansion, you still insist on having this idea."

As Madam Dou finished speaking, Cen's face turned paler and paler, and she was a little afraid to meet Madam Dou's eyes that could see through her every thought.

Cen didn't dare to argue and could only get up and leave in embarrassment.

Although He suffered this unexpected disaster, she had never thought about marrying Lu Danyan to Pei An. Now that the old lady had punished Lu Danruo to kneel in the ancestral hall, she could not make a fuss anymore. She had to endure the grievance and leave with her daughter.

Cui Lingyan watched the two of them leave, then poured a cup of tea and handed it to the old lady.

Madam Dou took it and sighed softly, "A large family fortune has its disadvantages. Everyone is scheming against you. You've made a fool of yourself."

Cui Lingyan shook her head. Madam Dou took a sip of her tea and asked casually, "You are very perceptive. You should have guessed that Madam Yin's interest wasn't in Danruo, but in her status as the eldest daughter of the family. Now that this high monk is predicting Pei An's fate, do you think your second aunt did it behind his back?"

Cui Lingyan didn't expect the old lady to ask her this. After thinking for a moment, she shook her head and said, "Aunt wouldn't act this way. This method doesn't seem like something that would be used by someone in the harem. It seems like it's aimed at Pei An."

Madam Dou nodded in satisfaction after hearing her say this. "Well, if your mother-in-law had half your intelligence, I wouldn't have suspected He and made the people below laugh at her for nothing. If this matter were to get out, it would bring shame to our Weiguo Mansion."