Chapter 1 Dream "I wasn't raised in a marquis's mansion since I was little, so I don't know...
Cui Lingyan felt both cold and hot all over, and she felt like she had fallen into a long and terrifying dream.
In her dream, she followed her aunt, Lady Zhan, to the capital, her true home, the Ningshou Marquisate, with a mixture of nervousness and joy. She had expected to be pityed by her father, mother, and grandmother, and to remain in the mansion. Unexpectedly, at a banquet, her stepsister, Cui Linghui, schemed her into having an affair with her cousin, Qi Shaozhang. Her disheveled appearance in public tarnished her reputation.
The disdainful or mocking looks from all around made her feel ashamed, and she even heard a few sarcastic remarks.
"Even though he wasn't raised in a marquis' mansion, he's so shameless!"
"She did something so shameful right after returning to Beijing. I'm afraid she and her cousin from her uncle's family have been having an affair for a long time. After all, they've lived under the same roof for so many years, so there are bound to be some unclear things."
"They are all daughters of the Marquis' Mansion. The eldest daughter, Cui Linghui, is dignified and steady, so how can her younger sister be so unbearable? The eldest daughter, Cui, will become the wife of the Crown Prince in the future. Having a younger sister like this who willingly lowers herself to low status is shameful."
Cui Lingyan's face turned pale, and she looked at her mother Qi in panic, but she saw disgust and anger in Qi's eyes. Before she could speak, Qi took a few steps forward and slapped her.
"You evil creature! You've caused your brother to be weak since birth, and you've done something so shameful right after returning home. How could I have given birth to a daughter like you! If I had known earlier, I shouldn't have brought you back!"
What happened next was chaotic and noisy. She was sent to a temple, where she heard countless gossips, and was met with contempt and disdain.
The room was very cold, her fingers were stiff as she copied the female rules, and her heart was even colder.
No one believed her because she was an unloved child, otherwise she would not have been sent to live with her maternal family at the age of six.
She and her younger brother Cui Shenbo were twins, a boy and a girl, which was supposed to be a happy occasion. However, she was born very strong, while her younger brother was very weak and almost couldn't be raised. It was said that she had sucked the nutrients that should have belonged to her younger brother, and she was not liked by her mother since she was a child.
When she was six years old, she fell ill. Her younger brother went to see her and accidentally caught a cold. He had a fever for several days. Her mother pushed the little girl to the ground, pointed at her nose and cried and scolded her, saying that she had deliberately harmed her brother and would not be satisfied until her brother was killed. She said that she was determined to kill her brother and would not allow her to stay in the Marquis' Mansion.
She stood there in a daze, her mind blank, filled with grievance and fear. Later, her brother's fever subsided, but her mother insisted on sending her to her grandparents' house.
After many years, I am now reuniting with my family with anxiety and anticipation, but ended up in this situation.
The door creaked open, and a maid entered, looking at her with disdain. She said, "Third Miss, the mansion has taken action against you. Since such a scandal has occurred, you should marry into the Qi family. But what happened at the banquet that day also embarrassed my aunt. She has already taken my cousin south. The mansion will send someone else to marry Third Miss. From now on, as a wife of the Qi family, you must uphold the virtues of a woman and serve your parents-in-law. Don't let yourself be forced to stay in the Qi family."
"Alas, the Third Young Lady's wife was severely reprimanded by the Old Lady, and everyone in the mansion laughed at her. How could this young lady not know the slightest bit of filial piety and cause such a scandal?"
The dream was intermittent. She returned to the Qi family in a miserable state and became a wife of the Qi family. However, she was disliked by her aunt and cousin Qi Shaozhang. They felt that she had hurt the reputation of the Qi family. She had eaten and drunk in the Qi family for so many years, and now she had to blame the Qi family for her ruined reputation.
She stayed alone in the empty room on the wedding night, but the next day Qi Shaozhang brought a pregnant woman into the house and made her his concubine. He took care of her in every way, but she, as the main wife, had to avoid the concubine everywhere.
Fortunately, her grandmother loved her and had some pity for her. Fearing that she would suffer too much, she often called her to copy Buddhist scriptures. After her grandmother passed away, she fell ill, her body growing weaker day by day, and finally died. Her soul wandered around the mansion, where she saw Qi Shaozhang welcoming a new wife and forgetting about his concubine. She heard him complain to his new wife after drinking about how the Ningshou Marquisate had wronged the Qi family, saying that he had a noble character but was being schemed against by the mansion, making outsiders think he was a clinging slave.
From Qi Shaozhang, she learned that although her stepsister Cui Linghui married into the Duke's Mansion and became the Crown Prince's wife, she was not loved by Lu Bingzhi. She even had an affair with the Second Prince behind his back. She was caught red-handed at a palace banquet and was sentenced to death by the furious Emperor.
I also heard that Lu Bingzhi was actually the biological son of the late queen and the eldest son of the current emperor. He has now moved into the Eastern Palace and become the almighty Crown Prince.
Cui Lingyan shuddered and suddenly opened her eyes.
She covered her heart, panting heavily, her brow furrowed.
The dream was so real that she felt as if it had all happened.
Her face turned pale, and she didn't know why she had such a dream. If it was true, then what was waiting for her when she returned to Beijing would not be what she expected.
Yes, if he cared about her at all, he would not have let her live in her maternal grandparents' home for so many years. Every letter he wrote was only to her grandmother or aunt, and he never asked whether she was well or not. She should not have had any expectations for that home.
It's just that I don't want to believe the coldness of those people in the mansion, and I still have a little bit of hope in my heart.
There were footsteps outside the door, and the voice of my aunt Zhan came in: "Is Miss Yan feeling better?"
As the voice fell, the door was pushed open with a creak, and a well-maintained and kind-looking woman wearing a lake green Hangzhou silk jacket walked in. It was Cui Lingyan's aunt, Zhan.
Seeing Cui Lingyan lying on the bed, Zhan came over with concern, her voice very intimate, "You poor girl, it's your aunt who didn't take good care of you that made you sick. If you lose weight, your mother will be so distressed when she sees you back home. She might misunderstand that I, as your aunt, am mistreating your niece."
Cui Lingyan frowned, and for a moment she couldn't connect Zhan with the mother-in-law in her dream who always found fault with her and felt that she was taking advantage of the Qi family.
Seeing her silent, Zhan was a little surprised. After a moment's thought, she asked with concern, "Why? Are you nervous because we're about to arrive in the capital? Are you worried that your mother won't like you?"
Before Cui Lingyan could say anything, Zhan continued to comfort her, "My poor child, you grew up by your aunt's side. Don't be afraid. If your mother makes things difficult for you, she will definitely protect you. Alas, your mother is so cruel and partial. Since they are twins, it's normal for one to be stronger and the other weaker. How could she vent her anger on a child like you? I wish I could marry you to your cousin and stay in our Qi family forever. I wouldn't let you suffer even the slightest injustice."
"My dear child, be at ease. There are no bad parents in the world. We are all related by blood. When your mother sees how beautiful you have grown up, how can she not feel sorry for you?"
Cui Lingyan lowered her eyebrows, her heart ached so much that she had difficulty breathing.
If she had heard Zhan's words before, she would have felt warmed and felt that Zhan was truly thinking of her. But after what she had said in the dream, she suddenly felt that Zhan's words were clearly a stab to her heart.
If he really loved her, how could he be willing to do this on purpose?
It turned out that no one, whether in the Marquis's Mansion or in her maternal family, had ever truly loved her.
Even if her grandmother had some feelings for her, she would only protect her a little. In that dream, her grandmother never scolded Qi Shaozhang because of her. What she said most was to persuade her not to be so stubborn, to humble herself and try to please Qi Shaozhang. She said that if she could be more gentle, since they were cousins after all, Qi Shaozhang would always give her some face.
Thinking about the things in her dream, Cui Lingyan's face turned even paler.
Seeing her face turn pale, Zhan said hurriedly: "Look at me, why am I telling you all this? My dear, you are not feeling well, so take the medicine and rest early. Your aunt will come to see you tomorrow."
Cui Lingyan nodded and said, "Take care, aunt."
After looking at Zhan's back for a long time, Cui Lingyan finally looked away.
The maid Bi Tao came forward and fed her half a cup of warm water, then said with some joy: "The young lady has been feverish for half a day and is finally awake. Otherwise, we would have to call the boat to the shore and ask the doctor to see her. If we delay the trip and make Madam unhappy, it would be bad if she finds fault with the young lady when we get to the capital."
After Bitao said this, she felt something was wrong and looked at Cui Lingyan with some caution.
Our girl hated to hear a bad word from the Madam the most. Even when she was cruelly sent to her maternal family by the Madam at the age of six, she only felt that the Madam was angry because she almost killed the young master.
These years, I just hope that my wife can calm down and give her some love.
She said these words because she felt sorry for the girl. Normally, when the girl returned to Beijing, the mansion should have sent someone to pick her up, but now it was her aunt who accompanied her back to Beijing. How could outsiders take the girl seriously?
Cui Lingyan just hummed when she heard this. If she hadn't had that dream, she would have scolded Bitao and told her not to talk nonsense, but she would have felt secretly uncomfortable in her heart.
But after experiencing everything in the dream, she felt like she had lived another life. She didn't have time to take this little thing to heart. What worried her was whether the things in the dream were true or false, and whether they foreshadowed something.
There was a hint of surprise in Bitao's eyes, but she didn't say anything. She just thought that her daughter had just woken up and was not energetic enough, so she didn't have time to worry about it. She responded with "yes" and went down to give the order.
Seeing her leave, Cui Lingyan thought about the scene in her dream carefully again, and thought of a major event that happened in the capital after she came to Beijing in the dream.
Lu Bingzhi, the prince of the Duke of Wei, the fiancé of her stepsister Cui Linghui, and her future brother-in-law, was poisoned at a palace banquet. He was severely poisoned and his temperament changed drastically due to the torture of the poison.
Because of this incident, the atmosphere in the mansion was solemn. Stepsister Cui Linghui forced herself to smile, but she looked a lot thinner.
If going to the capital really happened, it would mean that what happened in the dream was true.
Cui Lingyan shook her lips, her heart pounding extremely hard, and she was very restless. On the one hand, she wanted to go to the capital immediately to confirm whether the dream was true, but on the other hand, she was nervous and worried, afraid that everything in the dream was true.
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