Chapter 154 There is a world of difference between her and the young lady.

Cui Lingyan knew that Lu Bingzhi was not interested in Xiao Ze's affairs, but she still told Lu Bingzhi what she had heard during the meal, and also told him what she had just heard behind the rockery.

Finally, she sighed, "I thought today's wedding would bring joy to some and sorrow to others, but the Second Prince didn't come to greet her in person. Miss Zheng may not be a big fan, but she must be feeling aggrieved. I wonder what the Second Prince is thinking."

As the saying goes, husband and wife are one body. Xiao Ze didn't give Zheng Suining any face, so where could he, the prince, put his face? It only made people think that he was cold-hearted and acted recklessly. Was the Kangshou Marquis' Mansion really not unhappy at all?

After hearing what she said, Lu Bingzhi showed no interest in the matter. Instead, he asked, "Did anyone give you, Yan'er, a hard time at the banquet today?"

Hearing him ask this, Cui Lingyan was slightly startled, and then she told the story of the incident during the meal.

She didn't talk about this matter, but just felt that it was just a small matter, and she refuted it back. There was no need to make herself feel bad because of irrelevant people.

Compared to her, the lady was the one who felt depressed when she thought about this matter.

Probably no one would have thought that she would leave people speechless.

"I heard it was a woman from Concubine Shu's maternal family. She must be holding a grudge against Concubine Shu for losing her position as Imperial Concubine, so she's looking for an opportunity to embarrass me. However, she's not in the right with just a few words, so I'll just ignore them. I'm definitely not the one getting hung up on this."

Lu Bingzhi smiled softly at this, but a hint of coldness flashed through his eyes. He held her in his arms, asked her to lean on his shoulder, and said gently, "Yes, there's no need to worry about people who don't matter to you. If you're tired, just lean on my shoulder and rest for a while. I'll call you when we get to the Duke's Mansion."

Cui Lingyan hummed, adjusted herself to a comfortable position and closed her eyes. Perhaps because she was easily tired during pregnancy, she fell asleep quickly while leaning against him, listening to the sound of the carriage wheels and smelling the faint scent of Canaan.

The carriage slowly drove out of the alley where the Second Prince's Mansion was located and headed all the way to the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion.

It was almost the hour of Xu when the carriage stopped in front of the Duke of Weiguo's mansion.

Lu Bingzhi woke her up gently. Fearing that she would catch a cold if she went outside, he made her sit in the carriage for a while before helping her get out.

As soon as the two entered the hanging flower gate, a maid was waiting there. She said respectfully, "Sir, the old lady has said that you and the young lady have been tired for most of the day. You should go back and rest. There is no need to go to Qingdeyuan to pay your respects. We can talk tomorrow if you have anything to say."

Old Madam Dou usually likes her grandson Lu Bingzhi the most, and she also likes her granddaughter-in-law Cui Lingyan very much. She is also considerate and caring towards the younger generation, so it is not surprising that she gave such an order.

Lu Bingzhi nodded: "Okay, I understand. Thank my grandmother for me."

After Lu Bingzhi finished speaking, he took Cui Lingyan all the way to Songxue Hall.

The nanny who delivered the message watched the closeness between the Crown Prince and the Young Lady, feeling a surge of emotion. The Young Lady was truly blessed. Had it been Cui Linghui, who had grown up in the Ningshou Marquis's mansion, the Crown Prince wouldn't have been particularly interested in her. Who could have imagined that this marriage would fall to the current Young Lady, and that she would instantly win the Crown Prince's favor? Almost six months after their marriage, the Crown Prince still treated the Young Lady so well, seemingly unimpressed by the novelty. The couple even seemed to be growing closer.

In the past, I would never have imagined that the prince, who was so lonely, could be so considerate to his wife.

The young lady was favored by the Crown Prince, and the old lady also loved her. If she could have another child, it would be perfect, and she would no longer have to worry about anything in the Duke of Wei's mansion. Just think of that concubine Cui in the backyard of the Second Prince's mansion. Now, there was a world of difference between them, and the young lady was already a world apart.

When the Second Prince's wife comes into the family, she will probably not tolerate Cui Linghui, who also comes from a marquis's family. I wonder if Cui Linghui regrets looking down on his own prince that day, which has led to his current situation where everyone laughs at him.

......

Ningshou Marquis Mansion

Xilanyuan

The maid helped Madam Zhai to wash and dress, and then changed into her casual clothes. Then she heard a maid outside report that several ladies had come to pay their respects.

Old Madam Zhai walked to the couch and sat down before ordering someone to call her three daughters-in-law in.

After a few people greeted each other and took their seats, the atmosphere in the room became a little tense.

After all, today, Zheng Suining, the second prince's wife, is coming in, and Cui Linghui, who was born in their Ningshou Marquis Mansion and became the second prince's concubine, must be mentioned at the banquet.

Normally, the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest son of the Ningshou Marquisate would attend banquets. However, today was the wedding of the Second Prince, Xiao Ze. The Second Prince and his cousin, Lu Bingzhi, had always been at odds, even harboring a deep grudge. Therefore, it was inappropriate for Cen to attend. If Bian or Gao were to go, it would appear that the Cui family looked down on the Second Prince, and neither he nor the concubines in the palace would take note. So, after much deliberation, Madam Zhai decided to attend the wedding banquet herself.

At the banquet, one can imagine how embarrassing it was. Even if those ladies didn't say it, they must have felt that the Ningshou Marquis' Mansion was a joke in their hearts.

Therefore, the daughters-in-law of the Qi family were restless the whole day, knowing that their mother-in-law must be in a bad mood after attending the banquet, and they had to show up, and they would inevitably come to see her, only to be met with a cold face and a cold meal.

Seeing that Madam Zhai was silent, the atmosphere became even more depressing, making it hard to breathe. The maids and servants serving her held their breath, not even daring to breathe, for fear that they would accidentally displease their master and take her anger out on them.

It was Second Madam Bian, who was the favorite of Old Madam Zhai, who spoke first. "Mother, the food at the banquet was difficult to digest, so I guess you didn't use much. I made your favorite jujube and yam cake today, and also asked the kitchen to make chrysanthemum and shredded chicken soup. I hope you can have some of it."

Bian was considerate and always took the old lady's health into consideration. When Madam Zhai heard her filial piety, her expression eased a little. She asked someone to put chicken soup and yam cake on the small square lacquer table on the soft couch. She picked up a spoon, drank half a cup of chicken soup and ate two pieces of yam cake, then put down the spoon and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. After the maid cleared the things away, she took two sips of tea and then began to tell her about the second prince Xiao Ze's wedding banquet today.

"The gifts the Emperor bestowed upon us were not as abundant as those bestowed upon the First Prince. The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager also bestowed gifts, but they were all following customary practice. This is not surprising. The Second Prince has indeed acted out of line over the past six months, earning the Emperor's displeasure. However, they are father and son after all, and as long as the Emperor does not appoint a Crown Prince, neither family dares to neglect him. If it weren't for the Emperor's subtle intentions, there wouldn't be so many guests today. It's just for show, but the Second Prince and his wife are probably unhappy. Given his temperament, if his wife shows even the slightest sign of grievance tonight, he'll have to spend his wedding night elsewhere, making for even more of a joke tomorrow."

"Luckily, Miss Hui isn't favored. Otherwise, if the Second Prince had stayed at her place tonight, her future situation would have been even worse. She would have been a thorn in the side of Madam Zheng. But even if that weren't the case, I can't help but feel unhappy when I think about the daughter of our Marquis's family kowtow and offer tea to Madam Zheng tomorrow morning. Alas, we're getting old, and none of the younger generations are acting like decent people. It's really infuriating. I don't know how well-educated they are, but they don't care about filial piety or respect at all, and instead cause me, their grandmother, to worry."

At this point, Madam Zhai frowned and glanced at her eldest daughter-in-law, Qi, who was sitting below.

How could Qi not see her mother-in-law's expression? But today Xiao Ze was getting married, and the only one related to the Marquis's Mansion was Cui Linghui, the legitimate daughter of the first wife of the eldest house. Even if the old lady was humiliated by people whispering and laughing at her during the banquet, she shouldn't vent her anger on her daughter-in-law, right?

It was Cui Linghui who had resorted to various means, even falling into the water and catching a cold, in order to refuse to marry Lu Bingzhi, the heir of the Duke of Wei. It was also Cui Linghui herself who had no self-respect, having swindled Xiao Ze in the temple and betrayed her innocence. Ultimately, her reputation was ruined, her dignity was lost, and she was reduced to a mere concubine in Xiao Ze's backyard.

As the stepmother, she thought she had fulfilled her responsibilities. Cui Linghui had fallen into depravity and made the Marquis' Mansion a laughing stock. The old lady could not blame anyone but herself, right?

Thinking this way, Qi felt at ease, and just pretended that she couldn't see the old lady's unhappiness.

Seeing her like this, Old Lady Zhai realized she wasn't even as considerate and filial as her second daughter-in-law, Bian. She couldn't even put on a facade, so she said in a deep voice, "I met Yan at the banquet today. She said you'd been ill recently and wanted to ask her to come back to see you, her mother. Yan said she wasn't available. I asked her to persuade the Crown Prince not to become too hostile to the Second Prince, Xiao Ze, lest if Xiao Ze were to take that position in the future, the Duke's Mansion would be in trouble and she would be implicated. I tried my best to persuade her, but the child was so self-willed that she didn't listen to a single word I, her grandmother, said."

"I originally thought that since she was born in the Marquis' Mansion and her surname was Cui, she should have cared about our family at least a little bit. But today I know that in her heart, she doesn't consider herself a member of the Cui family. Now she only considers herself the young lady of the Weiguo Mansion."

After Madam Zhai finished speaking, her gaze fell directly on Qi and she continued, "If it weren't for Qiu Zhi's incident, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way!"

For a moment, Qi's face flushed and paled, feeling extremely embarrassed. It was Qi and Old Madam Wu's idea to instigate Qiu Zhi to climb into the bed, and now it had caused Cui Lingyan, the married aunt, to be alienated from the Marquis's mansion. She hadn't even attended the Second Aunt's return banquet before, and now she was treating the Old Madam like this. From the perspective of others, it was naturally mostly Qi's fault.

Qi's body trembled, her throat rolling, and she couldn't help but say, "Her surname is Cui after all. Even for the sake of her own reputation, she dare not completely break away from the Marquis' Mansion and let outsiders stab her in the back!"