Chapter 90: Reputation I want to see who dares to act like this in the future...

Qiulanyuan

He also heard that Nanny Sun personally delivered the angelica and pigeon soup to Wutong Courtyard. After asking, she naturally learned about Lu Bingzhi and Cui Lingyan's marriage consummation last night.

He waved her hand and asked the maid who was reporting to come back to leave. When she saw the snacks in front of her, she lost her appetite for a moment.

Lu Danyan knew her mother had always sought to rival the eldest son's family, even considering having her eldest brother inherit the Duke's title. Before Lu Bingzhi's poisoning, her mother simply wanted to avoid being outshined by her sister-in-law, Cen. She considered herself a decent family, having given birth to a son. Compared to Cen, who had only a daughter and wasn't favored by the Duke of Wei, she had more confidence. The only thing missing was that her husband wasn't the Duke of Wei, and Lu Bingzhi was the son of Princess Shuning, so she naturally didn't dare to even think about the title.

But ever since Lu Bing was poisoned, there have been so many rumors outside saying that Lu Bing is physically weak and that future brides will probably have trouble getting pregnant, so his mother started to worry more.

Cui Lingyan had remained a virgin for so long since entering the family. Although servants were not allowed to discuss matters within the master's boudoir, the fact that they hadn't consummated their marriage was a secret. This intensified her mother's concerns.

Who would have thought that Lu Bingzhi and Cui Lingyan actually consummated their marriage yesterday? It is conceivable that my mother must be feeling empty inside now.

Lu Danyan gently advised, "My daughter, you should give up this thought. After all, the Crown Prince is Princess Shuning's son, and he is favored by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. Even if he has no children, the title will definitely be his."

He opened her mouth to argue, but Lu Danyan continued, "This is not uncommon among the noble families in the capital. They wouldn't just give up their titles, or even adopt a child as their own. Besides, now that the Crown Prince and Cui have consummated their marriage, the child might not be a problem. If you don't let go of this thought, you'll be the one to suffer in the future."

He wasn't a ruthless person; she'd simply seen an opportunity and become more active. Now, hearing her daughter's advice, she sighed softly and said, "It's not that I'm scheming. It's just that the Crown Prince was poisoned, and I was thinking about the future of the Lu family. Besides, if your brother could inherit the title of Duke, it would be a good thing for you, too."

Lu Danyan said softly, "My aunt even complained to Mother about the rumors that were going around the mansion before. Mother punished the maids, and Grandmother didn't pursue the matter any further. But Grandmother is so old, even if she doesn't say it, she must have been able to sense what Mother was thinking. Perhaps it was because Mother wasn't too obvious that Grandmother didn't bring it up."

"Now that Cui is favored and the two have consummated their marriage, mother should keep these thoughts to herself. If Cui is still pregnant in two or three years, before mother becomes so anxious, grandma might also be thinking of adopting a child for the Crown Prince."

He's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and she said somewhat awkwardly, "Who doesn't have some selfish motives? I don't mean to harm anyone, I just want a good future for my own son. Can your grandmother really blame me for such a petty thought? Besides, I only thought about it in my mind, and didn't do anything serious. Our Second Branch gets along well with the Crown Prince and Cui. Now that they've consummated their marriage, I, as their Second Aunt, am naturally happy. I hope they can have a child soon."

Seeing that her mother had listened to her words and had obviously given up on this thought, Lu Danyan breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, a maid came in to report and walked up to He and whispered a few words.

He was stunned, with a hint of surprise in her eyes. She waved her hand and asked the maid to leave.

Lu Danyan asked with some doubt: "Mother, what happened?"

He hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Yesterday, the Jiang family went to the Cen Mansion to cancel the engagement, saying that the old man of the Cen Mansion had caused this scandal, and if their daughter married into the family, it would be shameful and she would be ridiculed. The Jiang family's attitude was too strong, leaving no room for maneuver. The Cen family knew they were in the wrong, so they had no choice but to tear up the marriage certificate and cancel the marriage."

Although Lu Danyan was a little surprised, she also felt that it made sense. If she were a daughter of the Jiang family, she would have no face in the future if she had such a father-in-law.

If she had already become the granddaughter-in-law of the Cen family, it would be fine, but since she hadn't married in yet, who would want to lose face? After all, the young master of the Cen family was not the only unmarried young man in the capital.

It is not difficult to choose a family with similar status and good reputation. Why would you join the Cen family and be ridiculed in the future?

Not to mention, going to the girl's house to cancel the engagement now will not hurt her reputation. She may even think that the Jiang family is a noble family and many people will come to propose marriage to her.

"If it were me, I would definitely cancel the engagement. Otherwise, if I marry into a family with a father-in-law like this, I don't know how humiliated I would be in the future. No matter where I go to a banquet, people will gossip about me and make plans behind my back. It's not surprising."

"Some people might even speculate that my grandfather liked to keep young prostitutes. Perhaps my grandson has the same preference. How can we live like this?"

He nodded, but her expression was a bit strange. She said, "The cancellation of the engagement is not surprising, but now everyone outside is saying that the affair between the old master of the Cen Mansion and that young prostitute was deliberately exposed by Lu Bingzhi, the prince of the Duke's Mansion, in order to embarrass the Cen family!"

"He also said that it was because the last time Old Madam Mei came to the mansion, she offended Young Madam Cui Lingyan. The prince was furious when he found out, so he wanted to ruin the reputation of the Cen Mansion!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Danyan was stunned. She said in disbelief, "How is this possible? The two families are related by marriage. Even if Eldest Aunt is estranged from the Crown Prince, she is still his stepmother. How could the Crown Prince be so cruel as to ruin the reputation of the Cen Mansion in a single stroke?"

She knew that Madam Mei had come to the mansion a few days ago to embarrass Cui Lingyan, the young lady, by bringing up the affairs of the late wife of the Kangshou Marquisate. While she was using someone else's affairs, anyone with a sense of wit would have known that she was deliberately saying those words to Cui Lingyan. But Madam Mei was so old and an elder, so no matter how upset Cui Lingyan felt, she couldn't argue with her.

If she started to argue about it right then and there, it would only make people feel petty. The old lady was just talking about the former wife of the Kangshou Marquis, and Cui Lingyan identified herself with it. The old lady only needed to say that the young lady was overthinking it to make Cui Lingyan even more embarrassed.

So, even though she knew about this, she didn't take it to heart. After all, even if she was the young lady of the Duke of Wei's mansion, she couldn't just stand there and not suffer any grievances, right?

She could never have imagined that Lu Bingzhi would vent his anger on his wife Cui Lingyan in this way, without even caring about the relationship between the two families.

He's face was also a little shocked. "I also think it's unlikely, but there's no smoke without fire. No sooner had the Jiang family come to cancel the engagement than these rumors started spreading in the capital. If I'm guessing correctly, this news came from the Cen Mansion. Maybe the Cen family is so angry that they spread this news. They want everyone in the capital to see that the prince disregarded the relationship between the two families for such a small matter, causing the Cen Mansion to lose face and even causing the Cen family's eldest young master to be broken off from the engagement by the Jiang family!"

He thought of Lu Bingzhi and couldn't help but say, "Although the prince seems to be cold and aloof, he doesn't seem to be the type to resort to cruel methods. If this is true..."

Thinking of her own little thoughts, He felt a chill on her back and was a little scared.

Lu Bingzhi has now ruined the reputation of the Cen family for the sake of Cui Lingyan, the new bride. If Lu Bingzhi knew her thoughts or did something to her, he might not let her go because of the relationship they had lived in the Duke's Mansion together for so many years.

Lu Danyan fell silent, and after a long while she finally spoke, "Put all those thoughts aside for now. Given the Crown Prince's personality, even if Cui doesn't get pregnant in the future, the adoption must be something he agrees to. Otherwise, even Grandmother can't interfere."

He's expression changed again and again. Although she was still a little unwilling, she finally nodded.

Soon, the story about Lu Bingzhi, the prince of Weiguo, and the old master of the Cen family spread.

Then word came out that the mother of Cen family's eldest daughter-in-law, Xue, had heard that her grandson's engagement had been broken off by the Jiang family. Out of worry, she went to the Cen family. Xue cried and complained that although her father-in-law was unreasonable, Master Lu was too heartless and cruel. However, because her mother-in-law said a few words that inadvertently wronged Cui Lingyan, a junior, he was so relentless that he made the Cen family a laughing stock. His son was also implicated and his engagement was broken off. In the future, he was afraid that even his daughter Cen Yuexi's marriage would be affected.

After the old lady left the Cen Mansion, she immediately spread the news and was very dissatisfied with Lu Bingzhi.

Cui Lingyan had naturally heard the news as well. Lu Bingzhi had just returned from Songxue Hall. Glancing at the man sitting on the couch, leisurely sipping tea, she couldn't help but remark, "I don't know how Mrs. Xue figured it out. Now, she's bringing disaster upon the Crown Prince's reputation."

Cui Lingyan didn't say that if she had known this would happen, she would have pretended not to have heard what Old Madam Mei said, thus avoiding all the rumors. In her opinion, Lu Bingzhi was protecting her and letting her vent her anger, so she naturally wouldn't say such depressing and complaining words.

She could only sigh, "Women's intuition is truly accurate. The people under the Crown Prince must be capable. Xue Shi was able to predict this. Perhaps she had long felt that what Old Madam Mei said when she came to visit that day was a bit inappropriate. Now that someone happened to witness Old Master Cen and the young prostitute's scandalous affair, she couldn't help but connect it to the Crown Prince."

Lu Bingzhi took a sip of tea and said nonchalantly, "The scandal was committed by Old Master Cen, and it was just a colleague who happened to see it. What does it have to do with me, the prince of the Duke of Wei?"

Lu Bingzhi spoke with confidence, as if he had no intention of doing anything here.

Seeing that he didn't take it seriously, Cui Lingyan thought about his future as the Crown Prince, and that these rumors would be nothing to him.

Even so, as a husband, he protected his wife so much that perhaps those who were sensible would think that he should do so. Otherwise, would he allow others to bully his wife? That would be a lack of courage.

Thinking of this, Cui Lingyan couldn't help but say, "The prince is so protective of me. Who knows, if the girls from the wealthy families in the capital hear about it, they'll probably envy me."

Hearing her tone, Lu Bingzhi raised his lip and said, "Of course they should be envious. After all, your husband has not hesitated to offend and scheme against the Cen family for you. Right now, the one in the Mudan Courtyard must be so angry that he wants to eat his stepson alive."

Thinking of Cen, the nominal mother-in-law, Cui Lingyan felt a little worried: "If we offend her like this, who knows what she will do. The prince doesn't have to worry about her, but as her daughter-in-law, I am afraid she will torment me."

Lu Bingzhi asked, "Why, are you scared?"

Cui Lingyan shook her head. "It's just rumors with no evidence. Xue's speculation alone only proves that Madam Mei has bullied others and Xue is simply feeling guilty."

"How can we pin this on the Crown Prince based on Xue's speculation? Could it be that the Crown Prince forced Old Master Cen to keep that young prostitute away from home?"

Cui Lingyan smiled and said, "I don't feel guilty at all. If Madam questions me, I will just say that Madam is the daughter-in-law of the Duke's Mansion after she got married. I just heard my sister-in-law's guess and then she accused the prince of this crime. It's obvious that after all these years of marrying into the mansion, her heart is always towards her natal family and not towards her husband's family at all."

Lu Bingzhi knew that Cui Lingyan was a sharp-tongued and insightful person. Hearing her say this, he couldn't help but chuckle, but also said comfortingly: "Don't worry, Cen Shi doesn't have the guts to break up with my stepson."

"Besides, the Cen family took their anger out on her, a married woman of many years, because of this matter. When she left home, there wasn't even anyone to see her off. Doesn't she feel a little aggrieved? How could she have any more grudges with her husband's family, making her situation in the Duke's Mansion even more difficult?"

After just a few simple words, Cui Lingyan felt more at ease.

Just as Lu Bingzhi had said, despite all the rumors circulating in the mansion, Lady Cen, the Duke's wife, hadn't summoned Cui Lingyan to question her. Instead, it was said that Lady Cen had the two gossipy maids punished, each receiving forty strokes of the cane and then expelled. This immediately silenced the rumors within the mansion.

The next morning, when Cui Lingyan went to pay her respects to Old Madam Dou, she met Cen. Cen didn't show any resentment at all. Instead, she comforted her, "Don't take those rumors about the Crown Prince to heart, Miss Yan. I'm not someone who can't distinguish right from wrong. I won't assume that the Crown Prince is deliberately making things difficult for the Cen family just because of those unfounded speculations, causing the Cen family to suffer a bad reputation and be fabricated and talked about."

"The Crown Prince is self-assured of his status and has always acted prudently. How could he possibly get involved in such matters and tarnish his reputation?"

Cui Lingyan bowed and said, "I'm relieved that you think so, mother. Mother was ill a few days ago, and she went back to her parents' home to worry about things these past two days. Is she feeling better now?"

Cen smiled and said, "I'm much better now. I'm sorry you were worried about me, little girl Yan."

Old Lady Dou should have been happy to see how harmonious the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was, but this false harmony was really annoying to her.

Madam Dou couldn't stand it any longer, so she said, "Alright, I don't have anything else to do here, you all can go away."

Everyone stood up, bowed and left.

Cining Palace

After hearing the maid's report, the Queen Mother frowned and said with some displeasure, "Mrs. Xue is so bold! She framed Bingzhi without any evidence. Even if it's true, the Cen family should bear the consequences, not to mention that Bingzhi didn't do it!"

"Go, tell someone to reprimand her and make Xue kneel down to listen to the lecture. I want to see who dares to mess with Bingzhi's reputation like this in the future!"