Chapter 187 Keeping it a secret
"You're a friend of Lord Wen? Then you don't know that Lord Wen was appointed as the prefect of Ganzhou this morning? He and his family set off three days ago."
After finishing speaking, an official from the Court of State Ceremonial looked at Lu Yunbo with a strange expression, probably wondering whether this man knew Lord Wen.
"Speaking out? How could this be? How could this happen?"
Lu Yunbo felt a surge of blood rushing to his head, almost spitting it out. He clutched his chest, staggered, and turned to walk back.
At the General's Mansion, Yu Qingci has been busy designing new spring products for Jinxiu Pavilion these days and is completely unaware of what is happening on her mother's side.
Granny Pei hurried back from outside, and as soon as she saw the person, she couldn't wait to say:
"Young Madam, our lady has been granted an imperial title!"
"Really? Tell me what happened!"
Upon hearing this, Yu Qingci stood up excitedly. She hadn't expected her father to act so quickly; she had thought it would take some more time.
Granny Pei stepped forward with a smile and took Yu Qingci's hand, saying, "Thank God, our lady has finally been granted a title. She has been granted the title of Second Rank Imperial Lady. This morning, the Earl personally led the palace eunuchs to Liuli Lane to read the imperial edict. Many people witnessed it with their own eyes, so there is absolutely no mistake."
"Also, after receiving the imperial decree, the Earl returned to his residence with his wife."
This is wonderful!
Yu Qingci couldn't help but clasp her hands together and mutter to herself, "Now that I have the status of a Lady of Imperial Decree, no one will dare to question my mother's status as the principal wife. Even if we return to the Earl's Mansion, the old lady will not be able to torment my mother as she used to."
Yu Qingci became more and more excited as she thought about it, wishing she could fly to her mother's side immediately to see what was going on, and subconsciously took a step to walk outside.
Then he stopped in his tracks.
Damn widow!
She cursed inwardly, "Lu Yunqi, why aren't you back yet? If you come back, I can finally get rid of my status as a widow and go wherever I want without this constraint."
Just like now, she can't even openly run home to congratulate her mother.
"Lianqiao, go get paper and pen. I need to write a letter to my mother."
Even though she couldn't go out, she still wanted to share her joy with her mother, so she asked someone to bring her paper and pen to write a letter to her mother first.
Granny Pei stopped her, saying, "This is a great joy. Instead of writing a letter, young mistress, why not prepare a gift for the madam? In my opinion, young mistress, you should cook a few of the madam's favorite desserts and send them over yourself. That would be better than anything else. The madam and the master will surely feel your filial piety."
Yu Qingci thought it made sense; she could write a letter anytime, and her nanny's idea was the best. So she put down her pen and paper, rolled up her sleeves, and went to the small kitchen to make some snacks.
Seeing the young mistress's cheerful expression, Granny Pei breathed a sigh of relief.
She's been feeling really stifled these past two days. She received the news immediately that the madam had gotten into trouble and was being slandered, but she didn't dare reveal a single word to the young madam, for fear that the young madam would get so anxious and upset that she would rush out of the mansion without thinking. So she could only keep it a secret.
Worried that the young mistress might find out about this from elsewhere, she has been using the excuse of feeling unwell to avoid even leaving the mansion these past few days, for fear that some fool might spread the news to the young mistress's ears.
Now things are finally alright. The Earl has retrieved the imperial edict bestowing the title of Lady and read it aloud in public, dispelling the rumors. The Lady has also returned to the Earl's residence without incident. Everything will gradually get better from now on.
As for the matter of the lady being troubled by the rumors, let's let the young mistress know about it after a while, so as not to worry her.
Yu Qingci excitedly prepared several kinds of pastries. Just as they came out of the pot, she saw Granny Wang, who was by the side of Old Madam Ning, coming over with people, carrying a red lacquered and gold-painted nanmu box.
The servants had already informed Madam Ning of the good news. Madam Ning was naturally happy for them when she learned that her mother had been granted an imperial title. She specially selected a few congratulatory gifts and asked Granny Wang to deliver them to Yu Qingci, entrusting her to send them to her in-laws as well.
"I'm sorry to have troubled my mother. I'll go talk to her in a bit."
Yu Qingci thanked Granny Wang, put the congratulatory gifts prepared by Old Madam Ning together with her own, and asked Granny Pei to take several servants to deliver them to the Earl's residence.
Yu Qingci made several more desserts and personally delivered them to Madam Ning at Songbai Hall.
Old Madam Ning had just come out of the Buddhist hall when she saw Yu Qingci and said with a smile:
“Your mother has been granted an imperial title, which is a very important event. I just burned an extra stick of incense for the Bodhisattva, praying that the Bodhisattva would bless your mother so that she may turn her bad luck into good fortune and become very wealthy and noble.”
Yu Qingci curtsied and said, "Thank you, Mother."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat down and chatted happily about the good things.
When they returned to Guanlan Pavilion, Granny Pei also returned from the Marquis of Nanping's residence. The two of them huddled together and talked for a while.
The next day, after finishing his business at the manor, and having nothing else to do, he grabbed Tong'er and Lianqiao and started teaching them to read.
The two maids exchanged a quick glance and resignedly went to fetch the brush and ink.
Just then, a maid came in to report: The fourth mistress, who had moved out, was at the gate. She said that her young master was getting married the day after tomorrow, and she had come to deliver wedding cakes. The gatekeeper asked if they should let her in.
Yu Qingci suddenly remembered that Lu Yunbing's wedding was set for the day after tomorrow. After sending someone to deliver the congratulatory gift last time, she had forgotten about the matter. Now that Madam Ma had come to visit, it was quite reasonable.
Yu Qingci: "Then please invite her in."
The little girl went out to deliver a message.
Last time, when Lu Yunzhang came to ask for money to pay off Lu Yunbo's gambling debts, Yu Qingci, in order to avoid being harassed by this family, sent word that they were not allowed to enter without her permission.
Later, when Madam Wei and the Second Master came to visit again, they were refused entry. Even though they made a scene outside the gate, they were never able to step into the General's Mansion.
When Madam Ma was led to Old Madam Ning's place, Yu Qingci led Granny Pei in. Madam Ma was already sitting in a chair and drinking several cups of tea.
Upon seeing Yu Qingci enter, Madam Ma immediately stood up and greeted her with a smile:
"I'm so glad to see my nephew's wife. I haven't seen her for so many days. She's become more and more radiant and beautiful. She's like a figure in a painting, so captivating. What a pity!"
Ma's flattering words quickly took a turn for the worse.
Yu Qingci, with a faint smile on her face, sat down and looked at her, saying:
"What's the pity? Is it that I can't personally congratulate my cousin Yunbing because of my status as a widow? Actually, as long as Fourth Aunt doesn't mind, it's fine. After all, we're family, so there's no need to be so formal. Fourth Aunt, would you like me to go?"
Mrs. Ma hadn't expected Yu Qingci to be so blunt, and was momentarily embarrassed, unsure how to respond. She could only manage a forced smile and chuckle.
"My niece-in-law is busy, so I won't bother her with this little matter."
What a joke! Who would want to see a widow coming and going at a wedding?
Ma changed the subject: "I brought you wedding cakes this time, so you can share in the joy."
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