Chapter 50: The Foxy Prince treats Yan'er very well, how could he bully me? ...

Cen and He chatted with Madam Dou for a while, and when they saw that the old lady was a little tired, they got up and left with their children.

Leaving the courtyard, He smiled and said, "Our young mistress is truly beautiful. She and the Crown Prince are a perfect match. He even helped her up when she entered the house, which shows how pleased he is with Cui. The old lady is treating Cui, her grandson's daughter-in-law, with such respect. Who knows, in the future, Cui might even have to get involved in the household affairs of the mansion. This is a good thing, as it will give her, as the mother-in-law, more time to relax and spend more time with the Duke."

"If we can give the Lu family another heir, my sister-in-law won't have to worry about anything in the future."

He covered her mouth with a handkerchief and saw that the smile on Cen's face had stiffened. Lu Danruo, who was following behind her, had an ugly expression on her face and seemed to want to stand up for Cen.

She glanced at Lu Danruo and said meaningfully to Cen, "Look at how impatient Danruo is. I, your aunt, didn't say anything. I was just speaking from the heart, so why did you get so upset? Sister-in-law, you should teach Danruo a lesson. Otherwise, how can someone with such a temper get along well with Cui?"

After saying this, He turned to her daughter, Lu Danyan, and said gently, "Danyan, let's go back. Your cousin's wife is new to the Duke's Mansion and she's definitely not very familiar with it. Although your grandmother has instructed the Crown Prince to spend more time with her, he's still a man, and he can't be as attentive as a girl. You should spend more time with your cousin's wife, so you don't have to stay cooped up in your room reading all day. People will think you don't understand the ways of the world, and they'll think the Duke's Mansion's young lady looks down on Cui, the new young lady."

Lu Danyan replied yes, bowed to Cen, and left with He, heading towards the second wife's residence.

Cen watched the two of them leave with an ugly look on her face.

Lu Danruo's face turned pale. Just as she was about to say something, she heard Cen scold her, "If you have anything to say, go back and say it! Don't embarrass yourself here!"

Cen was rarely so strict. Although Lu Danruo was usually somewhat spoiled, she couldn't help but feel a little afraid of her mother. She didn't dare say anything else and followed Cen all the way to the Peony Courtyard.

After entering the house, Lu Danruo couldn't help but say, "Second Aunt is so bullying! Look at what she said. Cui just came in, and we have to go all out to please her? Mother is her mother-in-law. Even if there is any need to please her, it should be Cui, the daughter-in-law, who should come to please Mother and set the rules in front of Mother. How can you turn the hierarchy upside down and disregard filial piety at all?"

Mrs. Cen's face was gloomy. Seeing her daughter's indignation, she sighed heavily and said, "It's not just your Second Aunt who doesn't respect me and wants to mock me, the Duke's wife. It's your grandmother who doesn't respect me, your daughter-in-law. Otherwise, she wouldn't have mentioned Princess Shuning during the meal just now. I wanted to interject, but your grandmother didn't even give me the chance."

"Indeed, how can I compare to the nobility of Princess Shuning? Even though the princess has long passed away, in the Duke of Wei's mansion, it is still as if she were still there. In the hearts of your grandmother and your father, the princess is the most important."

"In the future, I want Cui, my daughter-in-law, to respect me. I'm afraid everyone will think that I, her mother-in-law, have bullied her and wronged her. Then, I will be in a difficult position. Just like today, when Cui heard what the old lady said, didn't she know how embarrassed I was? But she won't take it to heart. Who knows, she might even be secretly happy and look down on me, her mother-in-law?"

Lu Danruo angrily said, "My mother was married to the Duke of Weiguo's mansion by my father. How dare Cui have such contempt for her? Who the hell is she? She's said to be the legitimate daughter of the Ningshou Marquisate, but she wasn't raised there. Any noblewoman of a higher status in the capital is more polite and talented than Cui Lingyan. How dare she cling to our Duke of Weiguo's mansion and act so high and mighty as to think she's the wife of a noble prince?"

Lu Danruo thought about the interaction between Lu Bingzhi and Cui Lingyan she had just witnessed, and her annoyance grew even stronger. "She's nothing but a seductive woman. She's managed to charm Lu Bingzhi with her face, acting like he's protecting her. He's marrying a virtuous wife and concubines before he takes a beautiful woman. Lu Bingzhi is truly something. He usually seems aloof and unfazed by beauty, but now, seeing Cui Lingyan, hasn't he been completely captivated? He's been severely poisoned, and he needs the imperial physician to come and check his pulse every few days. I wonder what went on in the wedding night last night?"

Lu Danruo's eyes showed a hint of contempt, and she said with a hint of sarcasm, "I wonder if they consummated their marriage last night?"

"According to the rules, I must have taken the Yuanpa to Grandmother for inspection. Moreover, Cui and her cousin Qi Shaozhang had previously caused those rumors. Didn't Mother mention this matter this time?"

Cen's face turned even uglier as she thought about this. "It was all arranged by people sent from the Cining Palace, as well as the Imperial Household Department. I'm just a stepmother after all, so I can't get involved in this marriage at all. Even if I wanted to, how could I arrange it?"

"I think the Cining Palace and your grandmother didn't put the handkerchief there out of consideration for Lu Bingzhi's reputation. Also, during the meal, I carefully observed Cui's features, and it didn't look like she had consummated the marriage. She's most likely still a virgin."

"Although I'm your mother-in-law, your grandmother hasn't mentioned this matter, and it's not appropriate to do so. Even if she wanted to ask, she should have asked Cui privately. If I said anything, and Cui was angry or misunderstood something and started yelling, I, the Duke's wife, would lose face and would even upset your grandmother."

"Now we can only take it slow. Although what your Second Aunt said may not be pleasant to hear, one thing is true. Cui has just come into the family, and your grandmother and Lu Bingzhi are both on her side. As a sister-in-law, you must not offend her. If your grandmother wants to punish you, I won't be able to protect you."

"Did you hear that?" Mrs. Cen's voice became heavier, her eyes fixed on her daughter.

Lu Danruo felt unfair and extremely wronged. As soon as Cui came in, she acted superior, as if everyone in the mansion had to give in to her. How could she be willing to accept that?

But in the face of Cen's admonition, she finally nodded: "I understand, I won't offend her, mother, just rest assured."

She tugged at the handkerchief in her hand and added, "Although I haven't offended her, mother, don't expect me to please her as your sister-in-law. After all, I'm the legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion. How can I lower myself to please others? Even if we get along, it's her as my sister-in-law who should take care of me and accommodate me."

Mrs. Cen knew her daughter's temper and opened her mouth to persuade her again, but seeing her daughter's aggrieved look, she didn't say anything in the end. She was afraid that if she persuaded her too much, her daughter would become more hostile to Cui, the new sister-in-law.

Besides, she and her daughter couldn't be too soft, otherwise where would there be a place for them in the mansion in the future?

As for household chores, I heard that Cui Lingyan grew up in the Qi family, so she probably doesn't have much ability. If she gets involved, she will only bring shame upon herself and become a laughing stock.

Cen rubbed her brows, sighed softly in her heart, and subconsciously placed her hand on her lower abdomen. After all, all this was because she only had one daughter, Danruo. If she could give birth to a son, he would be her real support in this Duke's Mansion.

......

On this side, Cui Lingyan followed Lu Bingzhi into the ancestral hall and kowtowed solemnly.

She knew that Lu Bingzhi was not the daughter of the late Princess Shuning, but seeing Lu Bingzhi kneeling devoutly beside her, she could imagine that Lu Bingzhi really respected Princess Shuning as his own mother.

No one knew what happened back then that caused Lu Bingzhi, the legitimate son of the late queen, to be raised by Princess Shuning since childhood and become the current prince of the Duke of Wei?

Cui Lingyan frowned as she thought about this, feeling a little heavy in her heart.

After Lu Bingzhi knelt down, he extended his hand to Cui Lingyan.

Cui Lingyan was surprised for a moment, then her eyes curved and she stood up with the help of Lu Bingzhi's hand.

"It's cold in the ancestral hall. Go back to Wutong Courtyard and rest. Otherwise, if you get sick, grandma will think I didn't take good care of you."

Cui Lingyan stepped out of the doorway, and in front of her was a vast bamboo forest. Hearing Lu Bingzhi's words, she couldn't help but smile. She hummed, thought for a moment, and then spoke again: "The prince treats Yan'er very well, how could he bully me? If grandmother has misunderstood, Yan'er will help the prince explain."

She spoke very seriously, not to please Prince Lu Bingzhi, and there was even a hint of closeness and gratitude that could not be concealed between her eyebrows.

Lu Bingzhi knew that she felt grateful and close to him because he had protected her before. Thinking of her past situation, he couldn't help but feel a little pity for her.

Perhaps because she had never been loved by anyone, she remembered this small act of protection and even felt closer to him, just like a baby bird becomes dependent on and close to the person who cares for and feeds it.

Lu Bingzhi's eyebrows softened unconsciously: "Go back."

Cui Lingyan nodded and followed him all the way to Wutong Courtyard.

Ningshou Marquis Mansion

Cui Linghui sat in the pavilion in the middle of the lake, leaning on the railing and feeding the fish in the lake, but his thoughts drifted far away.

Cui Lingyan and Lu Bingzhi got married yesterday. I don’t know whether Lu Bingzhi stayed in the bridal chamber on the wedding night, let alone what happened when Cui Lingyan, the new bride, went to pay respects to the elders and greeted the young ladies and gentlemen in the mansion early this morning.

Cui Lingyan had been raised in the Qi family since she was a child. How could someone of her status be so highly regarded by the Duke of Wei? Lu Bingzhi was the crown prince, and the eldest princess's legitimate son. Even if he had helped Cui Lingyan before, it was only for the sake of his reputation as the crown prince, right?

He shouldn't stay in the new house and consummate his marriage with Cui Lingyan, right?

Thinking about her previous life when she married Lu Bingzhi, and how he left her on their wedding night to go to Songxueyuan where he used to live, she felt extremely embarrassed to be left alone in the empty room, facing the mocking and sympathetic gazes of the maids and old women.

On the second day after her wedding, she went to meet the elders. The news that she had been alone in her empty room had already spread throughout the Duke of Wei's mansion. Old Madam Dou treated her, her granddaughter-in-law, with indifference, and the gift she gave her was just an ordinary mutton-fat jade bracelet, which was not as valuable as the one Old Madam Dou had given her before the wedding. Mother-in-law Cen and sister-in-law Lu Danruo were even more disdainful, watching the new bride's joke as if no one else was around.

Second Madam He smiled with a dagger hidden within her. When no one was around, she whispered to comfort her, saying that this was just the way the Crown Prince Lu Bingzhi was. He was the only one who disdained others, and he wouldn't tolerate anyone disdaining him in the slightest. She said that since she had married into the Duke of Wei's mansion, regardless of the health of the Crown Prince Lu Bingzhi, she, as his wife, had no choice but to take good care of him. Otherwise, she would be isolated and helpless in the mansion. She said that she had a long life ahead of her, and if she couldn't learn to humble herself and let go of her pride as the legitimate daughter of a marquisate, her life in the Duke of Wei's mansion would be difficult.

Even after a lifetime, Cui Linghui still remembers the humiliation deeply.

Cui Linghui threw most of the bag of fish food in his hand into the lake. Seeing the fish swarming over to compete for the food, he sneered and sat back at the stone table, picked up the teacup on the table and started drinking.

Yulan knew that her daughter was in a bad mood, so she stood aside with bated breath, not daring to say a word.

I just hope that the third young lady will be in a difficult situation in the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion, otherwise, my young lady will suffer in the days to come.

While thinking about this, Yulan saw her aunt Zhan and her daughter Qi Ruorou heading towards the courtyard where the second lady Cui Lingyin lived.

Cui Linghui also saw this and couldn't help but show surprise. He looked up at Yulan and asked, "Didn't you say that Second Sister framed Cui Lingyan and was punished by Grandmother, and also offended Aunt Zhan? Then what's going on?"

Yulan hesitated for a moment before whispering, "To answer your question, young lady, I heard that the second young lady is going to marry her cousin, Young Master Qi Shaozhang. She also said that the matter has been discussed with the old lady and she has obtained her approval."