Chapter 24: Awkward. With this estrangement, it will be hard to make up for it in the future...

After hearing her daughter say this, and thinking about Cui Linghui's usual temperament, Xue felt a little relieved, but she was also quite disdainful. She felt that there were many people in the world with lofty ambitions but fragile lives. Cui Linghui had lost her marriage to Lu Bingzhi and was suffering from a cold. Could it be that she still wanted to climb up a higher branch?

It's really a foolish dream. Unless she can marry into the royal family and become a prince's consort, otherwise, she will probably never have a chance to turn things around in this life.

As for the royal family, they value offspring the most. Moreover, Cui Linghui's previous actions might have offended the one in the Cining Palace. How could she marry into the royal family with dignity?

Xue suppressed these thoughts, regaining her smile as she said to her daughter, "If she has this thought, I'll be at ease. After all, our Zhenguo Mansion won't need a cousin like her to add icing on the cake in the future. I'll thank her if she doesn't use our Zhenguo Mansion as a retreat."

Xue said this, changing the subject to talk about something else.

The next morning, Cui Lingyan had breakfast and went to Xilan Courtyard to pay her respects to Madam Zhai.

Compared to when she just returned home, her grandmother, Madam Zhai, was obviously closer to her.

Seeing her come in, he smiled and waved for her to sit down in front of him. Then he instructed the head maid Daimao, "Didn't I ask the kitchen staff to make some snacks from Jiangnan yesterday? It just so happens that Miss Yan is here. Bring them over so we can all try them."

Daimao replied with a smile, bowed, and walked out of the house to the small kitchen.

Qi sat downstairs and glanced at Cui Lingyan who was sitting next to Old Madam Zhai without saying a word.

On the other hand, Second Madam Bian smiled and said, "Now, mother's heart and eyes are probably filled with only Miss Yan. The fact that my daughter-in-law can enjoy the snacks here is because of Miss Yan."

Bian said, smiling at Qi, "Sister-in-law is so lucky to have given birth to a lovely daughter like Yan. I'm so envious of her."

"I'm not blessed enough to have a daughter, otherwise I would have loved her like a treasure and wouldn't have let her suffer even the slightest injustice."

Qi listened to her words, still smiling, but furious within. Everyone in the mansion knew that she had sent Cui Lingyan to the Qi family, and had neglected her for so many years. The affection between mother and daughter was merely superficial. To put it bluntly, aside from their blood relationship, they were no different from outsiders.

Bian's words were clearly intended to annoy her and embarrass her.

The third wife, Mrs. Gao, drank tea and watched the show without interrupting.

Her eyes fell on Cui Lingyan. She saw Cui Lingyan sitting in front of the old lady with a gentle smile on her face. It seemed that she didn't hear the sharpness in Qi and Bian's words at all. She couldn't help feeling a little surprised and looked up to Cui Lingyan a little.

If Cui Lingyan tried to please Qi after returning home, hoping that her mother would give her some love, she would only feel sorry for the child.

But now it seems that Cui Lingyan is a person who can look beyond her limitations and will not get caught up in this mother-daughter relationship that is destined to be unattainable. This really makes people look up to her.

But think about it, how could Cui Lingyan remember Qi's kindness after being treated like that? If they were not related by blood, she probably wouldn't even want to remember the kindness of giving birth to her.

Gao glanced at her eldest sister-in-law, Qi, and wondered if she would regret it later. Cui Lingyan would be the wife of the Duke of Wei's son. If she couldn't bear an heir, that was fine. But if she could, and a child gained a foothold in the Duke's mansion, Qi would probably regret it.

Because of what Bian said, the atmosphere in the room became a little awkward. Madam Zhai glanced at Bian and felt that Bian really couldn't hide her words. She should just think about it in her heart, why say it out loud and embarrass herself.

Old Lady Zhai disliked Bian's ignorance, but she was even more angry at her eldest daughter-in-law who had sent Cui Lingyan to the Qi family.

How could she not see at such an old age that although Yan Yatou had good etiquette and manners when she returned to the mansion, and was very respectful to her grandmother, she could not tell how much sincerity there was in her feelings, let alone any admiration.

If the exchange marriage hadn't happened, Cui Lingyan would have been content to remain a sensible and obedient third daughter in the Ningshou Marquis's mansion, no matter how much she felt wronged. But now that Cui Lingyan was to replace Cui Linghui and marry Lu Bingzhi at the Weiguo Duke's mansion, she felt a little uncomfortable. She wondered how she could have become so estranged from the Marquis's mansion if Qi hadn't been so cruel in sending her to the Qi family.

People are all made of flesh and blood, and once there is this estrangement, it will be difficult to make up for it in the future.

Thinking of this, Madam Zhai's gaze fell on Qi, with a hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes.

Qi was already feeling a little embarrassed, and when she met Madam Zhai's gaze, her heart sank. While she resented her sister-in-law Bian, she was also dissatisfied with her daughter Cui Lingyan.

Yan was the daughter of her ten months of pregnancy. Even if her son had treated her unfairly, she should still remember the kindness he bestowed upon her. Furthermore, our dynasty rules the world with filial piety, which is paramount. How could she just watch Bian embarrass her like this without speaking up to help her out?

With this thought in mind, Qi became more and more displeased with her daughter Cui Lingyan, and felt that she had given birth to an ungrateful person.

At this time,玳瑁 came from the small kitchen with a tray, and the atmosphere eased a little as everyone ate snacks.

Old Madam Zhai changed the subject and said to Madam Qi, "There's been so much going on in the mansion these days that I've forgotten about Madam Qi. You're from the Qi family, so you should ask more about your family. Don't let Madam Qi think that there's anything wrong with our mansion."

Hearing her mother-in-law say this, Qi smiled and said, "My wife does have a lot to do, but my eldest sister-in-law is a very open-minded person and won't mind these things. I've also asked Yan to go and accompany her aunt when she's free. I think my sister-in-law will be happy too."

When Old Lady Zhai heard her say this, she cursed Mrs. Qi in her heart, calling her a fool. She had asked someone to raise her daughter for so many years, and now that she had returned home, she didn't even invite her to be closer to her, but continued to push her to Mrs. Zhan.

What will become of Miss Yan in the future? Will she remember the kindness of the Qi family and become alienated from her mother's family, the Ningshou Marquis Mansion?

She was annoyed, but couldn't bring herself to express her thoughts in front of so many people. Old Madam Zhai just smiled and said, "Yan has just returned to the Marquis' Mansion, so how can she entertain my uncle and his wife well? It's better for you, as the sister-in-law, to pay more attention to her. As for cousin Qi Ruorou, if Yan is busy, ask Yin to go and talk to her. They are about the same age, so they will become close after a few visits."

Qi's heart grew even more irritated when she heard her mother-in-law say this. Especially when she heard her mother-in-law ask Cui Lingyin and Qi Ruorou to hang out more, she felt even more that her mother-in-law was disrespecting her, the eldest daughter-in-law. Otherwise, why would she ask Cui Lingyin to go? Cui Lingyin was a concubine's daughter. Could it be that her mother-in-law looked down on the Qi family so much that she was making her lose face in front of them?

Qi felt very upset, but she didn't want to go against the old lady's wishes.

She understood very well that the old lady was angry with her because she had sent Cui Lingyan to the Qi family, and she didn't want Cui Lingyan to get closer to the Qi family.

Qi was unhappy, especially since her two sisters-in-law were laughing at her, and she felt even more humiliated.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside, and a maid came in to report: "Old Madam, the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo has arrived at the mansion and is heading towards Xilan Courtyard."

Madam Zhai's smile faded a little, and she said with some dissatisfaction, "He hurried over to see if Hui girl was being bullied. It's really ridiculous that outsiders are worried about us, our own family."

Qi and the others all understood what the old lady meant, but did not dare to respond.

Cui Linghui has been doted on since she was a child. Even though she lost her mother at a young age, she still has the support of the Duke of Zhenguo's family. After she came of age, she was engaged to Lu Bingzhi. Therefore, on weekdays, Madam Zhai is particularly indulgent and loving to Cui Linghui, her eldest granddaughter. She is also happy to see the Duke of Zhenguo's family doting on Cui Linghui, her cousin. Now that Cui Linghui has lost her status as the Crown Prince's wife, the old lady has spoken her true feelings.

Fortunately, Cui Linghui took sick leave and did not come to pay her respects today, otherwise she would have felt so bad after hearing such words from her dear grandmother, Madam Zhai.

After a while, footsteps were heard outside, and Xue came in with her daughter Mu Zhen.

After exchanging greetings and sitting down, Xue chatted with Madam Zhai for a few minutes before explaining the purpose of her visit.

"My old lady dreamed of her late aunt last night, and she became ill from the sadness. She thought of asking Hui to stay at the mansion for a while, so that she could stay by her side in place of the late aunt."

After Xue said this, she glanced into the room inconspicuously and saw that Cui Linghui was not in the room. Only a few ladies and Cui Lingyan were there. She understood a little bit in her heart. Cui Linghui might feel embarrassed and hide in his room and don't want to see anyone.

She laughed in her heart. Cui Linghui looked dignified and steady on weekdays, but in fact, he could not take responsibility when encountering problems. Otherwise, why would he do those things because of Lu Bing's poisoning, not only losing his marriage but also offending the Empress Dowager in the palace.

How could Old Lady Zhai not know that having a headache was just an excuse? Since people were talking about her late aunt, how could she stop Cui Linghui from going to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion? She could only agree with a smile and said a few more words of concern to the old lady of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

Mu Zhen stood beside Xue, her eyes subtly scanning Cui Lingyan. She had seen Cui Lingyan at the palace's flower-viewing banquet the previous time, and seeing that her clothes resembled those of her cousin Cui Linghui, she hadn't taken a keen interest in the newly-adopted third daughter of the Ningshou Marquis's residence. She simply felt they didn't belong to the same social circles, and that their interactions wouldn't be significant after they each married.

How could she have imagined that Cui Lingyan, whom she had ignored that day, was now about to marry into the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion and become Lu Bingzhi's wife.

If she had known this, she should have said a few more words to Cui Lingyan when she took Cui Linghui away from the palace that day to avoid offending her.

But it was a little late to say this now, and Cui Lingyan might not live a good life with this marriage, so Mu Zhen felt a little regretful but didn't really take it to heart.