Chapter 27: Persuasion Is it still possible not to want Ningshou Houfu as my mother's home...

When Cai Ling heard her daughter's words, she felt sad for her and didn't know how to comfort her.

Just as the girl said, the word "庶" made her lose many opportunities, even if this opportunity was discarded by the eldest daughter Cui Linghui.

Before she could speak, Cui Lingyin said, "Go back and sit with Mother. Grandmother mentioned me today, and Mother will definitely have some instructions for me."

Cai Ling nodded, feeling a bit of pity for her daughter's understanding.

It would be great if the girl was born from Madam's womb. Given Madam's personality, she would definitely treat the girl like a treasure.

It’s a pity that the girl doesn’t have that blessing.

Cai Ling suppressed these thoughts and followed Cui Lingyin all the way to Baohuayuan where the second wife, Mrs. Bian, lived.

When Cui Lingyin went in, Bian had just finished talking to Nanny Chang, who was beside the eldest young master Cui Shensi. She then instructed her to take good care of the eldest young master and asked her to leave.

After Nanny Chang left, Bian looked at Cui Lingyin and said with a smile, "I was thinking of asking Nanny An to call you over to have a chat later, and you're here now. It shows that we have such a tacit understanding between mother and daughter."

Bian waved her hand and asked her to sit next to her.

Cui Lingyin stepped forward and said to Bian, "Brother has been out relaxing with his classmates these days, so it's been a little hard for us to see each other. I made some lace and wanted to ask you to use it as decoration on clothes or jade pendants. It would look nice. I'll send it to Chenxi Courtyard later."

Living under the care of her stepmother, Cui Lingyin knew best that the most important person in her stepmother's heart was her eldest brother Cui Shensi. Rather than pleasing her stepmother directly, pleasing her eldest brother would make Bian happier.

Sure enough, after hearing her say this, the smile on Bian's face became more genuine, and there was a little more intimacy between her eyebrows and eyes: "Good child, it's hard for you to think about him everywhere."

The maid Baozhu brought tea and snacks.

Bian took a few sips of tea before continuing, "Your eldest aunt is very busy with Yan's affairs and can't spare the time to entertain your uncle and aunt and cousin. Your grandmother thinks you are very considerate and wants you to spend more time with your uncle and aunt, so as to avoid the Qi family feeling that our mansion is neglecting them and causing misunderstandings."

Cui Lingyin was stunned for a moment after hearing this, pretending to have just heard it. She subconsciously said, "It's okay for Yin'er to go and accompany her. I can just think of it as sharing my grandmother's worries. But Yin'er has never been around my aunt and my cousin before, so I don't know if it would be awkward for them."

"After all, my aunt has raised my third sister, and now it's me, her cousin from the next room, who's going to accompany her. Maybe she'll be suspicious."

Bian Shi heard Cui Lingyin's words and knew what she was worried about. She patted her hands and said, "You have done your best. My aunt is not an unreasonable person. She should know the situation in our house. Would she deliberately trouble her sister-in-law?"

"Don't worry, you are a daughter of our Marquis' Mansion. You have given honor to my uncle and his wife on the surface. Who would dare to find fault with you? Just think of it as sharing your grandmother's worries."

Cui Lingyin agreed to Bian's words. Thinking of what she had just heard behind the rockery, Cui Lingyin's face changed slightly, revealing a look of wanting to say something but hesitating.

Seeing her like this, Bian asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything else?"

Cui Lingyin glanced at Bian, then whispered to her what she had just heard.

After hearing this, Bian's eyes flashed with sarcasm. She sneered and said, "That's how it is for people from humble backgrounds. I heard that Zhan's family is just a merchant family, so marrying into the Qi family is considered a step up. She has been a mistress for so many years and she hasn't changed her temper. Otherwise, how could she dare to say such things? If your aunt heard this, there would probably be a quarrel between these two sisters-in-law."

"I wondered why she brought her children to the capital, but it turns out she had such an idea in mind. But she had the nerve to bring this up directly with a junior like Yan, saying that cousins ​​can rely on each other in the capital. Didn't she think that our Ningshou Marquisate was dead and there was no one to support Yan? But we raised Yan, and our Marquisate didn't ask the Qi family for a penny. Every year, we give her generous gifts during festivals and holidays, and yet she's still not satisfied. She's still obsessed with these things. She's truly greedy."

"It's really disgusting that this family lives in the mansion."

Bian thought for a moment, then instructed Baozhu, the head maidservant beside her, "Secretly tell the people in Cuiwei Courtyard about this matter, and ask Qi to see what kind of people her family is like."

"If Qi is a strong-willed person, she should have found a way to have them move out of the house to avoid being targeted."

Cui Lingyin sat there, listening to her stepmother's instructions. She understood in her heart that her stepmother was deliberately embarrassing her aunt Qi and wanted to disgust her sister-in-law Qi.

My aunt was not born in a high-class family, but she was able to marry into the Ningshou Marquis's Mansion because of her appearance similar to Mu. My grandmother handed over the household affairs to my aunt out of courtesy. How could my stepmother, the younger sister-in-law, be willing to accept this?

Moreover, eldest brother Cui Shensi was in good health, while Cui Shenbo was a sickly person. Although he had looked better in the past two years, he was still no match for eldest brother. Stepmother loved eldest brother the most, so she naturally wanted to make more plans for him. Even if she didn't say it, she was secretly hoping that Cui Shenbo would fall ill. This would make eldest brother Cui Shensi more prominent, and the title might not be lost to him in the future.

After all, my uncle only has one sickly son, Cui Shenbo, and there have been no new additions to the harem over the years. If it weren't for this, my stepmother wouldn't have such inappropriate thoughts.

Cui Lingyin pretended not to know what her stepmother was thinking. After chatting with Bian for a while, she saw that Bian was a little tired, so she stood up and said goodbye.

......

Cuiwei Courtyard

Qi waved her hand and asked the managers to leave, with a hint of fatigue between her brows.

Madam Jiang handed a cup of tea to Madam Qi and reminded her with some concern, "Madam, there's no need to be so troubled. Just ask the stewards to come and report back every three days. Madam, you have to worry about everything so much. How can you have a moment of leisure? If you exhaust yourself, how is it worth it?"

Qi shook her head after hearing her words: "There are so many people watching over me in this position. If I make even the slightest mistake, it will be difficult to explain to my mother-in-law."

"Besides, being a housekeeper has its advantages. Although it's hard work, you don't have to ask anyone for help. You're in charge of the household expenses, and the people in the mansion will respect you a little. For a family like ours, isn't it all about face that we're fighting for?"

Nanny Jiang nodded and said with a smile, "Madam, you are right. When you find a wife for the Second Young Master, you will have more people to help you and you will have less worries."

When Nanny Jiang heard what Qi said, the smile on her face widened a little.

"Bo'er is weak and I always thought he was still young. Now that I hear what you say, it's time to choose a good marriage for him."

At this point, she thought of Cui Lingyan and continued, "Yan girl is about to marry into the Duke of Wei's mansion. She and Bo'er are twins, a boy and a girl. After worrying about her marriage, it's time for me to worry about Bo'er's."

When Nanny Jiang heard Qi suddenly mention Cui Lingyan, she was a little unsure how to respond. She had noticed during the days since the Third Young Lady returned home that, despite visiting Cuiwei Courtyard morning and night, she treated Qi, her mother, with the utmost respect, leaving no room for fault. Yet, precisely because of this, the mother and daughter seemed so unfamiliar, even the servants felt uneasy listening to their conversation.

Sometimes she thought that if she had been able to persuade the Madam not to send the Third Daughter to the Qi family, now that the Third Daughter had been arranged to marry Master Lu, the Madam would be so happy that her daughter had such a good marriage.

He must be busy preparing everything, thinking about what dowry to give to the third young lady, for fear that if he is not careful enough, the third young lady will be looked down upon by the people in the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion.

It's not like it is now, there is a layer of distance between her and the third lady. If the third lady is lucky enough to be favored by Master Lu in the future, it will be too late for the lady to ease the relationship between mother and daughter.

Nanny Jiang thought about it and finally advised, "Madam, you should get closer to the Third Young Lady. The same goes for the Second Young Master. Since the Third Young Lady returned home, they have met a few times, but it was just superficial politeness. They don't act like real siblings at all. Although the Third Young Lady has some grudges because of being sent to the Qi family, now that she is marrying into the Weiguo Mansion and staying in the capital, how could she not want the Ningshou Marquis Mansion as her natal family?"

"I feel that, regardless of what happened before, now that Madam and the Third Young Lady have reconciled, you should ask the Second Young Master to visit the Third Young Lady more often, whether by giving her something a girl would like or some famous snacks from the capital. There's no such thing as an unsolvable knot between the siblings."

"Madam, you must have figured it out. Although the eldest daughter didn't want this marriage, it fell into the hands of the third daughter. But now that the third daughter has gotten this honor, the eldest daughter may not be happy. Let me be frank, the eldest daughter was not born from Madam's womb, so no matter how well Madam treats her, it will be useless. With this matter, I'm afraid that Madam and the eldest daughter will no longer be as close as before."

"Otherwise, why didn't the eldest girl come to say goodbye to Madam before going to her maternal grandparents' home?"

My wife is the second wife. How can a stepmother truly show affection to her stepdaughter?

As the two were talking, the maid Qiu Zhi came in from outside.

Qi glanced at her and said, "Why are you here with me instead of serving Yan Yatou? What's going on with Yan Yatou?"

Qi was a bit displeased, feeling that Yan was too disrespectful to her as a mother. Was there something wrong that wasn't worth her coming to Cuiwei Courtyard in person, but she had to send a maid instead?

Qiu Zhi used to serve Madam Qi. Seeing her expression, she knew she had misunderstood something. She quickly bowed and explained, "It's not that there's something wrong with the Third Young Lady. It's just that I overheard someone gossiping about Madam Madam and Madam Cousin saying something inappropriate in private, and someone overheard them."