Chapter 169: Jiamiao, with such a ruthless sister-in-law, why would anyone be needed...

Cui Lingyan was stunned for a moment after he finished speaking. Birou, who was standing outside the curtain, seemed to be startled by Lu Bingzhi's words as well. Her breathing almost stopped for a moment. She never expected that the prince, who had such a cold personality, would one day say such harsh and unpleasant words.

"Go down! Tell Cen what I said!" Lu Bingzhi said coldly.

Birou replied "yes", bowed and walked out of the house.

In the room, Cui Lingyan opened her mouth to say something, but swallowed the words back.

He protected her, felt scared for her, and got angry for her, so he was so mean and cold, not even caring about the dignity of a prince.

She didn't want to persuade him to be magnanimous and consider his reputation at this moment, because she saw the anger that he could not suppress and was almost hidden in his blood.

Cui Lingyan said nothing, but just hugged him tightly.

At the gate of Songxueyuan

Birou repeated Lu Bingzhi's words word for word to Cen who was kneeling there. After hearing this, Cen's face turned red and white, and she was full of embarrassment and almost fainted from anger.

How dare Lu Bingzhi say such harsh and cold words? She was his father's wife. Even if she was his second wife, she was his stepmother in name only. According to etiquette, he should call her mother.

Cen's body was shaking uncontrollably, out of anger and fear.

Anger stemmed from Lu Bingzhi's harshness and disrespect. The old lady showed her daughter no mercy or affection, refusing to give her a chance to admit her mistake, simply sending her to the ancestral temple. She wasn't even moved by the delay of her daughter's marriage and the impact on her reputation. And fear stemmed from Lu Bingzhi's harsh, unconcerned attitude, revealing his deepest rage, his anger at his daughter's drugging of Cui.

These words were a slap in the face to her as a stepmother, and also determined her daughter's fate.

As long as Lu Bingzhi is around, no one will help her, no one will help her daughter.

The daughter will live in the family temple for one or two years, and when her mother-in-law, Madam Dou, calms down, she will most likely find a family that is not worthy of her status to marry her off. Then the daughter will have no hope in her life and will be laughed at by the noble ladies in the circle. She will never be as good as her cousin Lu Danyan. Not only the daughter, but even the children she gives birth to will be inferior to others from birth.

Cen's face turned pale. She wanted to scold Birou harshly, but her throat seemed to be tightly blocked. She was so trembling and angry that she couldn't say a word.

When Birou saw Cen kneeling there, she turned around and left without saying anything else.

It's all my fault. I didn't teach the Second Young Lady well, so naturally I'm sad and worried for her now. If I had known this would happen, why would I be so greedy and insatiable, thinking of competing with the Crown Prince and looking down on my own Young Lady in every way?

Birou went towards the small kitchen. The prince was accompanying the young lady at the moment, so it was not convenient for her to go in and serve him. She could only go to the small kitchen to make some pastries that the young lady liked.

......

The news that Cen was kneeling in Songxue Courtyard and forcing Lu Bingzhi and Cui to do so quickly spread throughout the Duke of Wei's Mansion.

When the maids and old women serving in the mansion heard the news, they all looked strange and had complicated feelings.

"What is the eldest lady thinking? She's still using filial piety to pressure others at this time, hoping that the prince and the young lady will forgive the second young lady. She doesn't even think about the fact that she, a stepmother, and the prince haven't shown any affection for each other for all these years. How can the prince consider her feelings as a stepmother? To put it bluntly, even if the eldest lady and the second young lady lost their lives, the prince wouldn't even blink an eye."

"The second young lady wanted to harm the young lady herself, but when she failed, she ended up in this situation. Who can she blame? She had to drink the bitter wine she brewed even if she didn't want to. Who told her to do such a thing without knowing the consequences?"

"Stop discussing the master's affairs. What are our statuses? What are the statuses of the eldest lady and the second young lady? Maybe they will turn things around someday. Even if they are not good, they are still better than us."

As soon as he finished speaking, the faces of several old women who were discussing the matter tensed, with fear and uneasiness in their eyes, and they knelt down one by one to apologize.

"Forgive me, young lady."

Lu Danyan frowned slightly and looked towards Songxue Courtyard. Then she fixed her eyes on the kneeling maids and ordered, "This mansion has its own rules. When the masters are in trouble, the servants should be more cautious and should not make random comments or speak without restraint. Go to the steward to receive your punishment."

After hearing this, the maids quickly agreed, secretly complaining in their hearts. However, it happened that the eldest girl heard their gossip. Fortunately, the eldest girl did not get angry, and did not even think of reporting this matter to the second wife He, who was now in charge of the household affairs, otherwise they would have suffered even more.

"Go down." Lu Danyan waved her hand, and several maids stood up and left quickly, soon disappearing from sight.

Fu Dong, the maidservant following behind Lu Danyan, couldn't help but say, "Young lady, how could you just let them off so easily? You only told them to go to the housekeeper to receive their punishment. The housekeeper would only fine them one month's salary at most. How could they truly learn a lesson and remember it? Now our Madam is in charge of the household affairs, and the eldest Madam is weak. Even if she returned from the Cen family, it was to deal with the second young lady's foolish behavior. Young lady should take this opportunity to establish her authority."

Hearing Fu Dong say this, Lu Danyan turned around and glanced at her, making Fu Dong feel a little uneasy. She then spoke, "The title of Duke of Guofu ultimately belongs to the eldest son's family. Mother can manage the finances, but she shouldn't overwhelm those below her and make them breathless. They can't afford to make even the slightest mistake. Clear waters hold no fish. Although mother is respectable now and is favored by Grandmother, she shouldn't go too far in gaining respect. Sooner or later, all the finances will be handed over to my cousin's wife. If you insist on being unreasonable now, how will you survive in the future without her?"

"Everything should be done in moderation. If you go beyond that limit, you'll end up like your aunt and second sister. No one will plead for them, nor dare to."

After Lu Danyan said this, she took Fudong and continued walking towards her grandmother, Madam Dou's courtyard.

In the ancestral hall

The doors and windows were tightly closed, the air was cold and damp, and the strong scent of sandalwood filled the air. On the table directly in front of the hall were tablets of the ancestors of the Lu family, making the hall seem even quieter and colder.

Lu Danruo knelt on the cold ground. Her face was pale due to the pain in her knees, and beads of sweat oozed from her forehead.

There was a stern and harsh nanny staring at her. Even if she just wanted to sit down on her knees, she would be hit on the back with a ruler. She had only been kneeling in the ancestral hall for half a day, but she had suffered punishment and grievances that she had never experienced since she was born.

Tears fell down her face. Lu Danruo felt both fear and grievance. Her grandmother punished her in such a way, which showed how angry and ashamed she was for poisoning Cui.

This time, her grandmother probably wouldn't let her off easily. She had thought that after a beating, she would be released from the ancestral hall, and that things would eventually be over. She would still be the eldest daughter of the noble Weiguo Mansion.

But at this moment, she felt increasingly uneasy. A feeling of uneasiness and panic surged from the bottom of her heart, making her feel regretful.

If she could do it all over again, she would never be bewitched into secretly putting that small packet of medicine in the blood swallow that Cui Lingyan ate, and she would not end up being punished to kneel in the ancestral hall.

Regret slowly welled up in my heart, and then turned into grievance and unwillingness.

It was unknown how long it had passed before footsteps were heard outside. Lu Danruo looked back and saw someone standing at the door of the ancestral hall. A look of joy and grievance suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"Mother!" Lu Danruo endured the pain and crawled to Cen's side. She grabbed Cen's arm and begged, "Mother, I know I was wrong. I was deceived and bewitched. Please help me. Go to my grandmother and ask for mercy on my behalf, okay?"

Cen looked at her and didn't say anything for a long time.

Seeing her mother like this, Lu Danruo grew increasingly flustered and filled with resentment. Tears streamed down her face as she choked out, "Mother, I really didn't mean to do that. I was ill, possessed, and bewitched. I don't know why I did that. By the time I realized what was happening, it had already happened."

"Please believe me, I just did this stupid thing because of my previous illness and my worry about you. I was also uneasy at my grandparents' house and couldn't sleep well every day and night. I didn't do it on purpose, please believe me!"

Lu Danruo was almost incoherent, especially when she saw her mother Cen standing there without saying a word, just staring at her, her eyes complicated and sad, full of regret and disappointment, as if hiding full of regret and embarrassment, her heart sank suddenly.

"What's wrong? What happened? Is grandma too angry? I'll go apologize to my sister-in-law. Please tell grandma that I know I was wrong and I won't do it again. I will respect my sister-in-law, okay?"

After Lu Danruo said this, she realized that Cen looked a little disheveled at the moment. There was mud on her skirt, her hair was a little messy, and her face was pale and looked a little embarrassed.

Their eyes met, and Cen's eyes reddened as she spoke, "How could you be so foolish? How could you do such a stupid thing? No one can protect you this time. Your grandmother said she'll have you sent to the ancestral temple tomorrow, and after a year or so, she'll marry you off outside the capital."

As Cen spoke, she couldn't help but pat Lu Danruo's back a few times, feeling both angry and distressed. She only had one daughter, and knowing she had gotten into such a big trouble, she couldn't help her at all. She could only watch her mother-in-law punish her, and even her marriage was affected. How could she not feel distressed and regretful? She wished she had gone back to the Duke of Wei's mansion with her daughter earlier. If she had come back with her daughter and kept an eye on her daughter, she wouldn't have done such an unforgivable stupid thing.

Lu Danruo heard what Cen said, but she felt that she must have heard it wrong, otherwise how could she hear such frightening words.

Even if she made a mistake, she was still the grandmother's biological granddaughter. It was obvious that Cui had done nothing wrong, so why did the grandmother not only punish her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall and ordering the nanny to beat her, but also send her to the ancestral temple tomorrow?

How was it possible? She was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Wei and had grown up in a prominent family. Although she had heard of other noble ladies being punished and sent to the family temple or the farm, as far as she knew, those were all unfavored concubines' daughters.

She is the eldest daughter in the family and the only daughter of her father!

"You're trying to scare me, aren't you? Grandmother had me punished by having someone beat me and made me kneel in the ancestral hall. I've already learned my lesson. What else do you want to do to me? I'm not one of those lowly concubines. I'm the eldest daughter of the eldest son, not the motherless eldest daughter who doesn't have you, her biological mother, to protect me."

Unable to believe it, Lu Danruo let go of Cen's hand. She looked at Cen with disbelief and a bit of pleading, as if she was frightened and betrayed.

Her eyes were red, and her nails dug into her flesh, soon bleeding. She felt no pain, only staring intently at Cen, wanting her to tell her she had misheard everything, that her grandmother would forgive her and have pity on her, and that since her sister-in-law, Cui, hadn't been in trouble, she would also forgive her for the sake of her reputation as a magnanimous woman.

Cen couldn't stop crying and wanted to go forward and hug Lu Danruo, but Lu Danruo, seeing her like this, seemed to be provoked and pushed her away fiercely, shouting, "Go, go and beg Grandmother, go, go and beg Cui, go and beg her. As a mother-in-law, you kneel before her, she will definitely not be able to bear it, and will definitely admit this loss and not make a fuss with me!"

"Go and beg her. If you hadn't given me a brother, if you hadn't disliked my father, if you hadn't been just a step-wife, I wouldn't have been jealous of others since I was a child, and I wouldn't have done such a wrong thing and ended up like this."

"This is all your fault!"

Lu Danruo roared out the last sentence with almost all his strength, as if he wanted to find a reason for all the resentment and fear, grievance and embarrassment in his heart, and someone to blame.

Cen raised her hand suddenly to slap her, but the slap stayed there for a long time. Seeing her daughter's almost hysterical look and pale and panicked face, she couldn't bear to slap her.

She looked a little dazed, her eyes slowly filled with disappointment and regret, regret for raising her daughter to be like this. Disappointment that even if she had some faults, she was still very kind to her daughter, but in her daughter's heart, she was so unbearable. As a mother, she could only find the person she would find to vent her anger and resentment after she made a mistake.

Her heart felt a little cold and frightened. This was the first time she discovered that her daughter had a bit of her own shadow.

Wasn't it the same for her? She wasn't favored by the Duke, and had only one daughter, Danruo, in all those years. Her relationship with her stepson, Lu Bingzhi, wasn't good either. She wasn't as respectable in front of her mother-in-law, Old Madam Dou, as her younger sister-in-law, He. She thought she had worked so hard for so many years in the Duke's Mansion, but in the end, she had gained nothing, only embarrassment and confusion.

She was also full of anger, resentment and grievance. Otherwise, why would she go back to her parents' home and spread so many rumors?

Looking at her daughter, who bore a striking resemblance to herself in her youth, and her rage and hysteria, Cen couldn't help but wonder if her daughter, out of jealousy and anger, had been exploited to poison Cui. But if she continued like this, would she, the wife of the Duke of Wei, become the next person to do such a thing?

Cen shuddered suddenly and turned away from the ancestral hall in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

That night, Cui Lingyan and Lu Bingzhi went to bed early, but in the Mudan Courtyard, Cen did not sleep the whole night, and the maids and servants who were on night watch also did not dare to sleep all night.

......

The next morning, Cui Lingyan had just woken up when Bi Tao came in from outside and walked to the bedside, whispering, "Young Madam, the old lady has already sent someone to escort the second young lady out of the Duke's Mansion. She said she wants her to go to the family temple to reflect on her mistakes. After a year or so, when she returns to the mansion, she will find her a marriage."

Upon hearing this news, Cui Lingyan said nothing. She felt no sympathy at all. People should pay the price for their actions. If she hadn't drunk the blood swallow, what would have happened to her now? Would Lu Danruo feel any pity or sympathy for her? Or would she just secretly feel smug, thinking she had finally gotten rid of her sister-in-law, since she hadn't been found guilty?

"I heard that the First Lady went to the ancestral hall to visit the Second Miss yesterday, but for some reason she got into an argument with the Second Miss, and the two of them are at odds. Today, when the Second Miss left, the First Lady went to see her off, but she sat in the carriage with the curtains unopened, and she didn't even see the First Lady. When the First Lady came back from the door, her face was pale, and she went back to the Peony Courtyard and cried again. Everyone in the Peony Courtyard was on edge, not even daring to breathe."

"Although I'm a little scared this time, I have to say something I shouldn't say. It's a good thing this happened. Otherwise, the Second Miss wouldn't like you, the Young Madam, as her sister-in-law, and living in the mansion would be a nuisance to her. Now that she has made a mistake and gone to the family temple, we don't have to deal with her, and it won't ruin your reputation. This way, it's a blessing in disguise! Now that the Second Miss has left the mansion, everything is quiet."

Cui Lingyan smiled and said to Bi Tao, "Just say this in front of me, don't tell anyone else. It would be bad if it gets to Mudan Courtyard."

Bi Tao smiled and said, "I know. How could I be so inconsiderate as to give Mudan Courtyard something to talk about? I only said this to please you, Madam. It makes me feel relieved."

Bitao grew up with Cui Lingyan since childhood, so the relationship between the master and servant is naturally different.

Cui Lingyan also knew her personality, so she didn't think there was anything wrong with what she said.

What happened in the Duke of Wei's Mansion could not be concealed, especially when Lu Danruo left the Mansion in a carriage and went to the ancestral temple. The news spread throughout the capital in just half a day.

When the news spread, many people knew that Lu Danruo had poisoned her sister-in-law Cui to death. However, Cui was smart and cautious and noticed something was wrong, so nothing happened. Instead, Lu Danruo, the sister-in-law, suffered the consequences. For a while, those who had sympathized with Cen and Lu Danruo before now felt that they were blind. How could such a cruel sister-in-law deserve sympathy? No one has ever seen an unmarried girl with such a vicious heart. They were so much older than Lu Danruo, but they were not so cruel. It can only be said that girls from wealthy families are really not simple. When they are cruel, they dare to do anything without any regard for the consequences.

Old Madam Mei was already worried because of Cen's sudden return home. When she heard the news just one day later, she fainted without catching her breath. The Cen family was immediately in chaos.

Xue secretly held her daughter Cen Yuexi's hand and sighed, "It's a good thing I only had that thought in mind, and in the end, I didn't even tell your aunt. Otherwise, if Danruo really married your brother, with her cruel temper, I might be the one poisoned as her mother-in-law. It's really scary to think about it. Now that her reputation has been ruined, even if she returns from the ancestral temple for a year or two, can anyone imagine that people in the capital will forget this matter? In my opinion, she must marry out of the capital, otherwise, she can only be a reluctant concubine, and people will only agree to marry her because of her status as a legitimate daughter of the Duke of Wei."

"It's all your aunt who's corrupted her. She's a legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion. Even if she has a brother born to Princess Shuning, that's a good thing. She should have been flattered. But she's really messed up a good hand. I don't have the slightest sympathy for her. The only pity is that after this incident, your aunt's situation in the Duke's Mansion will only get worse. We, the Cen family, can't rely on her for help. It's really for nothing that we have such an aunt who is the Duke's wife. It makes me angry just thinking about it."