Chapter 95: I guessed that the elder sister had returned from Guangfu Temple, but was it true...

The carriage stopped at the gate of the Ningshou Marquis's residence. Seeing Cui Lingyan disembark, the gatekeeper's eyes lit up with joy. She signaled for someone to go in and announce that Third Aunt had returned. She then quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "This servant greets Third Aunt. Good morning, Aunt."

Cui Lingyan nodded slightly and was about to step in when she saw that the old woman had a strange look on her face, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Cui Lingyan stopped and looked at the old woman. She said, "Madam, if you have anything to say, just say it."

This nanny's surname is Gui. She is a servant of the Marquis's family. Because she has no connections, she can only work as a gatekeeper. Compared with those servants who serve in the inner courtyard and are also servants of the Marquis' family, she is indeed a bit lowly. She cannot promote her own children, so she has long been thinking about flattering a master so that her family can be more respectable.

She didn't have this opportunity in the past, but now that her aunt Cui Lingyan has returned home, she has an extra thought in her mind.

Hearing Cui Lingyan's question, Nanny Gui stepped forward and lowered her voice, "I'm afraid you don't know. Last night, a carriage returned from Guangfu Temple overnight. The person who returned was none other than one of the maids who served the eldest lady. It's strange. She was supposed to serve the eldest lady, so why didn't the eldest lady return with her? And early this morning, the mansion sent another carriage to Guangfu Temple to fetch the eldest lady. The person who went was Bitang, the head maidservant of the old lady. I also heard that the old lady accidentally fell while getting up last night, and the other ladies are attending to her today. Now that you've returned, I feel like there's something strange going on. There must be something we're not aware of, so I thought I'd mention it to you, so you can pay attention."

"Early this morning, the old lady sent someone to tell the gatekeepers last night to keep their mouths shut and not to spread or say anything. This servant finds this matter even more strange. Reporting this to my aunt now would risk angering the old lady."

When Cui Lingyan heard her say this, there was a hint of surprise in her eyes. She also knew that this old woman was trying to make peace with her and wanted to rely on her, a married woman.

Cui Lingyan smiled and said, "Thank you for telling me so much, Madam. I didn't grow up in the Marquis' Mansion, and now I'm married. From now on, Madam, I'll have to pay more attention to the affairs of the Mansion for me."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Gui's face lit up with joy. She said, "Of course. It's a blessing for my family to be assigned by my aunt."

Cui Lingyan did not ask Birou to give her a reward, but took Birou straight into the gate.

Aunt Gui not only did not think she was stingy but felt relieved instead. Although she was a gatekeeper, she was not short of small change. The fact that the aunt did not ask anyone to reward her was because she felt she could use it in the future.

In this way, as long as she works harder, there will be a day when the aunt will order her around and treat her as one of her own.

Cui Lingyan couldn't help but ponder what Aunt Gui said. After a moment's thought, she said, "Let's go to Cuiwei Courtyard first and ask what happened last night."

The maidservant beside Madam Zhai was not dead, so how could she accidentally cause the old lady to fall and get injured?

She had felt somewhat surprised when she heard the report before, and now that she thought about it carefully, she found it even more bizarre.

Could it be that something happened to Cui Linghui, so that the nanny serving her had to come back at night and alarmed the old lady? There was a noise in the lights of Xilan Courtyard in the middle of the night, so naturally, the daughters-in-law like Qi had to go there too.

The old lady was not in a position to explain what had happened, so she made up an excuse and said that she had fallen and sprained her ankle.

Birou originally served in Xilan Courtyard, and she had some doubts and concerns in her heart. After hearing what her young mistress said, she nodded in agreement.

The two of them went all the way to Cuiwei Courtyard.

In Cuiwei Courtyard, when Qi heard that Cui Lingyan had returned home, she felt relieved for some reason, but at the same time she also felt a little unhappy.

If she had fallen today, would her own daughter come back so quickly?

Why was Cui Lingyan so concerned about the old lady's fall? You have to know that she had obtained the old lady's permission to send Cui Lingyan to the Qi family. If Cui Lingyan wanted to blame someone, she should blame the old lady, her own grandmother, as well. How could she blame only her biological mother?

Suppressing these thoughts, Qi forced a smile on her face and said to Nanny Jiang who was standing beside her, "Go and welcome Miss Yan."

The last time Nanny Jiang went to the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion, Cui Lingyan neither gave her a seat nor served her tea, which made her feel humiliated and humiliated. Because of this, she felt even more dissatisfied with Cui Lingyan, the third aunt.

He often said in front of Madam Qi that Cui Lingyan was now favored by the prince, but she didn't even think about her parents' home or her biological mother.

Since returning home three days ago, she has not come back to visit. Even when she was in the warm room at Qi's house last time, her attitude was indifferent. If you didn't know, you would think they were not real mother and daughter.

Hearing Qi's instructions, she couldn't help but say, "Third Auntie still comes back too infrequently. If she came to visit you more often, and came to Cuiwei Courtyard more often, there would be no need for me to go and greet her. It would seem a bit strange to others."

"Madam, you should mention this to Third Aunt. Mother and daughter need to spend more time together before their relationship can be restored."

When Madam Jiang mentioned this, Qi also remembered that day when she sent Madam Jiang to the house but Cui Lingyan did not treat Madam Jiang respectfully, and she felt a little dissatisfied.

The smile on her face faded a little, and she instructed Jiang Mama: "Let's not talk about this anymore, go and welcome him."

Nanny Jiang didn't continue talking. She made an expression as if she was worried about the relationship between mother and daughter. She bowed and walked out of the house towards the courtyard gate.

As soon as I walked out of the courtyard gate, I saw Cui Lingyan coming from not far away and Birou following behind her.

Cui Lingyan was wearing a light green double-breasted jacket embroidered with peonies today. The cuffs were embroidered with intricate flowers in gold thread. She had her hair in a flowing bun and wore a mutton-fat jade hairpin with a hollowed-out magnolia flower carved into it. She looked so noble that no one dared to look down on her.

She dressed like this only on a daily basis at the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion and did not do it on purpose.

Nanny Jiang understood all this and felt even more distressed, but she had to put on a smile as she stepped forward to greet her. She bowed to Cui Lingyan and said, "This servant pays her respects to Third Aunt. Madam was worried that Third Aunt might be unable to return again. She was afraid that if word got out about her, it would be disastrous and she would be known as an unfilial person. Now that Third Aunt has returned, even if I just pretend to visit Old Madam and say a few words of concern, Madam will feel at ease."

Cui Lingyan naturally understood the implication of Madam Jiang's words: she was accusing her of being unfilial and saying that she and the Qi family were too estranged. She understood that she had offended Madam Jiang by not offering her a seat and tea last time, which had made her feel embarrassed.

But she didn't feel any regret, she felt she should have been more considerate and not let her temper get the better of her. After all, how could she forget the harsh words Jiang Ma had spoken to her in that dream?

Even if she hadn't had that dream, she really didn't like Nanny Jiang's personality.

Cui Lingyan pretended not to understand what Nanny Jiang meant, and simply said, "My mother-in-law caught a cold, so it was difficult for me to go back to her parents' home. Does Nanny think I did something wrong? She wants me to go to Xilan Courtyard and talk to my grandmother about it later, asking if I should ignore my mother-in-law's cold and insist on returning to my parents' home to fulfill my filial duty?"

Her words, neither light nor heavy, made Madam Jiang feel a little embarrassed. Madam Jiang naturally knew how much the old lady valued Cui Lingyan, a married girl, and naturally did not want her to offend her mother-in-law and leave a bad impression on the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion just for going back to her parents' home.

Moreover, the old lady was not sick at all last time. She just found an excuse to ask Cui Lingyan to come back home so that she could ask about the situation in the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion.

The smile on Madam Jiang's face froze, and she said awkwardly, "My dear aunt, you are joking. It was I who spoke too much."

After she said this, she suppressed the frustration in her heart and led Cui Lingyan into Cuiwei Courtyard.

After entering the house, Cui Lingyan went forward to pay her respects to Qi. Without any greetings, she sat down and asked directly about what happened with the old lady last night.

Qi felt that Cui Lingyan had lost even the superficial warmth of intimacy, and she felt bad, but she couldn't get angry right away. She could only explain what happened last night, then warned, "I asked you to come back so your grandmother wouldn't think you were alienating your family after you got married. Although your status is different now, having married Lu Bingzhi and become the Crown Prince's wife, doesn't that mean you no longer need your family's support?"

As Qi spoke, she realized that it would only make things awkward for the mother and daughter to chat in the same room, so she stood up and said, "Let's go to Xilan Courtyard to see the old lady. Your two aunts and I went to attend to the old lady early this morning. The old lady looks a little unwell. I think she had a sprain and isn't feeling well."

Cui Lingyan was thinking about what the gatekeeper had said at the door just now, and considering what Qi had said, she couldn't help but have a guess in her mind.

Something really happened to Cui Linghui in Guangfu Temple, otherwise, the nanny beside him would not have alarmed the old lady in the middle of the night. Today, the old lady sent someone to bring Cui Linghui back to the mansion.

She nodded and followed Qi out of the house. As they left Cuiwei Courtyard, a little maid came over and bowed to Qi, saying, "Madam, the eldest daughter has returned home. She has already visited the old lady and is now back at Yingyue Courtyard."

Qi raised an eyebrow and asked in surprise, "Didn't you say you were going to stay at Guangfu Temple for a while? Why are you back today?"

As she spoke, she frowned again and said with some dissatisfaction, "After all, I am her stepmother and I raised her. Since she returned to the mansion, she knew to pay her respects to the old lady. Why didn't she come to greet me as well? She actually left Xilan Courtyard and went straight back to Yingyue Courtyard? Now that her marriage with Lu Bingzhi is ruined, she has completely disregarded the rules. Is she going to throw in the towel now?"

She complained about her dissatisfaction, and when she saw Cui Lingyan standing beside her, she realized that her words were a little inappropriate, but she just nodded to the maid and said, "I understand. You can go and do your thing."

The maid bowed and left. Qi glanced at Cui Lingyan and saw that Cui Lingyan did not say anything to comfort her and instead joined her in saying bad things about Cui Linghui. She felt even more depressed for a moment and walked towards Xilan Courtyard.

Cui Lingyan followed behind her with Birou, remaining silent all the way and not thinking about comforting Qi.

Qi was very angry and felt a little wronged. She felt that Cui Lingyan, now the wife of the prince, was still holding on to the fact that she had sent her to the Qi family, and did not regard her as her biological mother at all.

The two of them soon arrived at Xilan Courtyard. Seeing Cui Lingyan return, Old Lady Zhai's face lit up with joy. She said with a smile, "It's just that I was a little unwell for a moment. There's no need for you to come back specially, little girl Yan. Your mother is really making a fuss and worrying me too much."

Although she said this, the smile on Mrs. Zhai's face could not be concealed no matter what. Anyone could see that the old lady now likes her granddaughter Cui Lingyan.

But it is not surprising. After all, among the three granddaughters, Cui Lingyan became the wife of the prince of Weiguo and married the best.

The eldest daughter Cui Linghui's marriage is still uncertain. Even if she gets engaged in the future, her future son-in-law will not be as noble and dignified as Lu Bingzhi. The second daughter Cui Lingyin is marrying a cousin of the Qi family, whose family background is also mediocre, so he cannot be compared with the third aunt.

As a result, the old lady's favorite person naturally became the married third aunt Cui Lingyan.

Cui Lingyan stepped forward, bowed, and asked a few questions, pretending to be concerned about the old lady's health. After she sat down, she took a sip of tea from her cup before changing the subject from the old lady. With a smile, she asked, "Just now, I heard the maid tell mother that the eldest sister has returned from Guangfu Temple. Is that true? Speaking of which, I haven't seen the eldest sister for quite some time. Since she's here today, I think I can see her."