Chapter 40 Gossip: If you marry me later, I won’t dare to bully you easily…

Duke Wei's Mansion

When Nanny Sun returned to the mansion, she reported to Old Madam Dou everything that had happened in the Ningshou Marquis's mansion.

After listening to this, Madam Dou sighed deeply and said, "Sisters feuding is nothing more than this. Although I suspected that Cui Lingyin was responsible, from what you said, it seems Cui Lingyin is so cruel. Her words clearly have the intention of sowing discord and creating misunderstandings in our family."

"But how could she know? We've lived so long, how could we not have thought of these things? Cui Lingyan just returned to the Marquis' Mansion, and this marriage, which Cui Linghui didn't want, fell on her instead. No one asked her if she was willing, and there was no need to ask, because she had no right to say no. Although I feel a little indebted to her, she will have the status of the Crown Prince's wife after marrying into the family. Cui Lingyan is smart and insightful, and I don't think she is completely opposed to this marriage, otherwise she wouldn't have said those words when she sent you out. If it were her stepsister Cui Linghui, she would definitely not lower herself to say such things."

Madam Dou smiled and said, "I'm glad to see her being so gentle and understanding. Otherwise, if she were to marry into the family with Cui Linghui, who is so arrogant and conceited, how would she get along with Bingzhi?"

"Between husband and wife, it's better for one person to be more gentle."

Madam Dou put down her teacup and said to Nanny Sun, "Since Miss Cui has asked you to express your gratitude to Bingzhi, you should go."

Nanny Sun nodded, bowed, and walked out of the room and headed towards Songxue Hall.

Halfway through the journey, they met the eldest lady Cen and the second lady Lu Danruo who were drinking tea and chatting in the pavilion.

Nanny Sun bowed as a greeting, looked away and continued walking forward.

Cen watched from afar without saying a word.

Lu Danruo curled her lips and said with a hint of disdain, "She's just a maid in Grandmother's room. She's just a little bit respected by Grandmother. After all, she's still a lowly servant. She didn't even come over to greet us mother and daughter. She clearly looks down on us."

"If it was Lu Bingzhi sitting in this pavilion today, would Madam Sun dare to do this?"

Cen's face darkened and she scolded him, "Alright, what's the point of saying all this? Your grandmother values ​​her, so she has respect in the mansion. How can you look down on her so casually?"

Lu Danruo rarely received such a scolding from Cen. Seeing Cen's expression, she knew she was truly angry. Feeling guilty for a moment, she lowered her voice a bit, "Mother, I'm just feeling sorry for you. In Madam Sun's eyes, only Grandmother and Lu Bingzhi are the true masters. Who are we? Even a bastard's son can be looked down upon by her."

Lu Danruo wanted to continue, but seeing Cen's increasingly grim expression, she didn't dare to continue. She watched Nanny Sun heading towards Songxue Courtyard from afar before she said, "I heard that Lu Bingzhi sent people to investigate the matter between Cui Lingyan and Qi Shaozhang. There's nothing fishy about them. Cui Lingyin, the illegitimate daughter of the Ningshou Marquis, felt that Cui Lingyan had snatched the marriage that should have been hers, and she became jealous. That's why her biological mother, Concubine Wen, fabricated these rumors, causing a lot of gossip in the capital. It's possible that Old Madam Zhai could have investigated this matter, but if Lu Bingzhi hadn't asked Nanny Sun to come and lay all the evidence before Old Madam Zhai, this matter would have been left unresolved."

"Lu Bingzhi always acts so high and mighty, looking down on everyone, but now he's treating Cui Lingyan, who was raised outside his family, so differently. It's really surprising. I was thinking Cui Lingyan's reputation was ruined, so I could use it to embarrass her after she married into my family. Now everyone in the capital is saying how pitiful Cui Lingyan is, framed by her illegitimate cousin. She's so lucky! Even with all the rumors going around, Lu Bingzhi is still willing to help her? Mother, do you think he's really into Cui Lingyan?"

Cen withdrew her gaze from the retreating Nanny Sun and said with a hint of sarcasm, "With his personality, how could he really be tempted by anyone? It's just that since Cui Lingyan is going to marry into the family, he can't bear to see her reputation ruined. It's more like he's protecting his own reputation than protecting Cui Lingyan, the future Crown Prince's wife."

"He's a man, too. Mother doesn't believe the rumors. He really doesn't harbor any resentment or grudges. We'll see. Only when Cui Lingyan enters the house will we know what he's really thinking."

Lu Danruo felt her mother's words made sense and sneered, "If that's the case, it's going to be a big deal when Cui marries into our family. If Cui spends her wedding night alone in the empty room, I'm afraid our Duke's Mansion will be the talk of the town again."

Cen glared at her and lectured her, "How can you be so careless as a young lady? Just say this to me. If it gets out to others, will you still have any reputation? Besides, Lu Bingzhi doesn't like you as his sister. If these words get to him, he'll punish you again."

Thinking of the Filial Piety Classic she had just finished copying a few days ago, Lu Danruo felt a little scared. She quickly looked around and when she saw that no one was around, she whispered, "He doesn't treat me like a younger sister, so how can he have the right to punish me? It's just that grandma is partial to him, and since he's the eldest princess's son, grandma just lets him bully me."

Mrs. Cen did not respond to her daughter's words. She held the teacup in her hand and took sips of it, but her mind was not here.

She had originally thought that since Cui Lingyan had a bad reputation and married into the family, she, as her mother-in-law, would be able to control her. However, Lu Bingzhi had actually intervened to help Cui Lingyan, blaming everything on Cui Lingyin's jealousy. She could only hope that Lu Bingzhi was only acting to save face; otherwise, if he truly had a crush on Cui Lingyan and was constantly protecting her, it would be of no benefit to her.

Just as she was thinking about this, Second Madam He came over with her daughter Lu Danyan. Seeing Cen and Lu Danruo, she walked up the steps with a smile and said, "Sister-in-law and Danruo are really in a good mood, drinking tea and chatting here. I thought you were in charge of the household and were busy all day, especially since the prince's wedding is coming soon and there are so many things to worry about in the mansion."

He said this and sat down in front of the stone bench with her daughter.

Cen listened to He's words, knowing full well that she was being sarcastic. If she were an ordinary stepmother, she would naturally be able to interfere in Lu Bingzhi's marriage, but Lu Bingzhi's biological mother was Princess Shuning, and his grandmother was the Empress Dowager. She could only help with the decorating of the Duke's Mansion, while the bridal chamber was entirely managed by the Empress Dowager. There was no place for a stepmother like her to interfere.

If it weren't for this, how could she, the lady of the house, have so much free time sitting here chatting and drinking tea with her daughter?

Suppressing her dissatisfaction, Cen changed the subject and asked, "Have you heard about the outside news about the two young ladies from the Ningshou Marquis's Mansion?"

He smiled and nodded. "Our prince was so concerned that he caught Cui Lingyin, the one behind all this. The news spread like wildfire, so how could I not know about it? They say the prince has a cold personality, but I think he's actually warm-hearted. Otherwise, if he had allowed those rumors to drive Miss Cui to death, why would he have sent gifts to appease her and then helped her out like this?"

In just a few words, He praised Lu Bingzhi's good points. Cen and Lu Danruo, mother and daughter, felt very aggrieved after hearing this.

Who doesn't know that He is trying to please Prince Lu Bingzhi?

Cen was feeling depressed, but she managed a smile and said, "Really? I've been married into the mansion for so many years, and I've always felt that Bingzhi has a very cold personality. As his stepmother, I don't know how to please him."

"Alas, as a stepmother, especially to a step-daughter who is the eldest princess, I dare not ask for much. I just hope that Bingzhi can love his younger sister Danruo a little more."

As she spoke, Cen's gaze fell on the eldest girl, Lu Danyan, who was sitting beside her. She asked casually, "I heard that the old lady gave you a few rare books from her collection a few days ago. Is that true?"

Lu Danyan nodded. "Grandmother knows I like reading these books, so she asked Nanny Sun to bring them to me."

Mrs. Cen smiled and said, "How can a girl like you love reading so much? You should just learn some decent arts like playing the piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting. At most, you can work hard on your embroidery. Then you can be praised by others in the future. You stay in your room reading all day. You don't act like a girl, but a gentleman."

Cen then looked at her sister-in-law He. "Now that Bingzhi is getting married, it's time for you to worry about Danyan's marriage. This is the most important thing for a girl. You should teach her to learn how to look after the account books like a housekeeper. How can you let her read those rare travelogues? What's the point? The old lady is also concerned and has specially found these books for Danyan."

He smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, sister-in-law. I am reluctant to marry Danyan off so early."

Cen curled her lips in her heart, and looked at the few drops of ink on Lu Danyan's sleeves, with a hint of disdain in her eyes.

What's the point of a girl being well-versed in literature? Will people look up to her if she gets a reputation for being a reader?

He's family background was no better than hers, yet now she wanted her daughter to build a reputation as a talented woman, thinking that she had no idea what she was thinking and that she was just pretending to gain fame.

Her sister-in-law must be very proud. Could it be that she wants Lu Danyan to climb up the social ladder by relying on her reputation as a talented woman? Does she think everyone else is stupid?

Song Xuetang

After listening to Nanny Sun's report, Lu Bingzhi raised the corners of his lips, a hint of smile flashing across his brows. "She's not even afraid of losing face when she says that. Do you think she's being too rude, Nanny?"

Nanny Sun looked at the expression on his face and knew that the prince did not think there was anything wrong with what Cui Lingyan said. Instead, he was interested in talking. She couldn't help but look up to Cui Lingyan a little more.

"How could that be? On the contrary, I feel that Miss Cui San is insightful and intelligent, and she also has a rare sincerity. Compared to Miss Cui Da, she is more suitable to be the Crown Prince's wife. The old lady just said so."

Upon hearing this, Lu Bingzhi glanced at Nanny Sun and said, "Grandma, we've only been together a few times, and yet she's already speaking for her. I can't remember when Grandma ever praised Cui Linghui before me. It seems she has an extraordinary ability to win people over. When she marries me, I won't dare bully her easily."