Chapter 111: Grandmother Wu saw the person who appeared before her...
Bi Tao saw that her young mistress, upon hearing that her grandmother, Old Madam Wu, had arrived in the capital, showed no sign of joy. She lowered her voice and said, "If the young mistress doesn't want to pay her respects to the old lady right now, there's no need to blame herself. Just find an excuse to meet again later."
Bitao knew that Cui Lingyan had been ill on the way to Beijing, and after she woke up, she had become somewhat alienated not only from her aunt, Mrs. Zhan, but also from the Qi family. Although she couldn't guess the reason, the girl had her own reasons for being like this. Not to mention, the girl had suffered grievances in the Qi family over the years, and the old lady, as her grandmother, could not always favor the girl, otherwise, the girl would not have been so cautious.
Not to mention, the second lady Cui Lingyin almost ruined the lady's reputation when she did that. The lady forgave her and forgot the kindness of the Qi family in educating her. In this way, she and the Qi family owed nothing to each other, and there was no need to care too much about the old lady, the elder.
Cui Lingyan smiled and shook her head. "We haven't done anything to feel guilty about. How can we hide in the mansion and not pay our respects to our elders? Of course we have to go and pay our respects to Grandmother."
"Please prepare a gift and accompany me to the Qi residence tomorrow. Grandma loves dim sum, so have someone prepare a box of Rong Xin Zhai cakes. I think she'll like it."
Bi Tao hesitated for a moment and asked, "Young Madam, please tell the Crown Prince about this. It would be more respectable if the Crown Prince could accompany Young Madam to the Qi residence."
Cui Lingyan knew she wanted Lu Bingzhi to support her in front of the old lady, but she had her own ideas and shook her head: "The prince has his own affairs, there is no need to ask him to go with her."
As Cui Lingyan was speaking, Lu Bingzhi came in from outside and happened to hear these words.
He stepped forward, took the letter from Cui Lingyan's hand, glanced at it, and said softly, "I don't have anything important to do. Why don't I accompany you to the Qi residence tomorrow?"
Lu Bingzhi spoke casually, but Cui Lingyan shook her head: "The prince has just recovered. There is no need to insist on going to see the elders at this time. I will go alone."
"Besides, most of the people present will be female relatives, and if the prince goes there, it will make everyone uncomfortable."
Seeing that she had an idea, Lu Bingzhi nodded and said, "Then I will accompany you to the wedding of Young Master Qi and Second Miss Cui."
Cui Lingyan nodded and agreed with a smile.
The next morning, after having breakfast, Cui Lingyan went to pay her respects to Old Madam Dou and told her that her grandmother had come to the capital and that she was going to visit her at the Qi residence.
Upon hearing this, Madam Dou nodded in agreement, "Your grandmother raised you well, and she's your elder, so you should go and pay your respects."
As Madam Dou spoke, she instructed Nanny Sun, "Go to the storehouse and get some nourishing food. Have Yan take it away. It's a token of our appreciation."
Nanny Sun took the order and went down to make arrangements.
Cui Lingyan thanked with a smile, and waited until Nanny Sun prepared the gifts before she put down the teacup in her hand and said goodbye to the old lady. She took Bitao out of the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion and took a carriage to the Qi residence.
Qi's House
Mrs. Zhan was talking to Old Madam Wu.
Yesterday, Old Madam Wu came to the capital. After a tiring journey, she rested for a day. This morning, she heard from her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhan, about the things that happened since they came to the capital.
Even though Mrs. Wu was old and had experienced a lot, she could not hide the surprise and complexity in her eyes after listening to what Mrs. Zhan said.
After a long pause, she finally sighed, "It was Yan's own good fortune that the marriage fell upon Yan, allowing her to become the Crown Prince's wife. Now that the Crown Prince is well, their love for each other is deep. When they have children in the future, Yan's position as the Crown Prince's wife will be secure, and there will be nothing to worry about."
"Shao Zhang, after all, is the only male heir of our Qi family. Why did you choose such a wife for him? From what I've heard, Cui Lingyin is truly a bad character and cruel, not to mention she's just a concubine's daughter. Although our Qi family is a small one and can't compare to the Ningshou Marquis's family, I still feel that Cui Lingyin is not worthy of our Shao Zhang."
As Old Madam Wu spoke, she glanced at her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhan, and lowered her voice a bit, saying with a hint of emotion, "Now that Cui Lingyin is engaged, I should have listened to you when we were at the Qi family and arranged the marriage between Shaozhang and Yan. Now that Yan is marrying Shaozhang, after all, she is the legitimate daughter of the Marquisate, and it will sound good when others say it."
If she hadn't hesitated at the time, and if her grandson Shaozhang didn't seem to have the heart to care, unable to let go of the scholar's noble character and prestige, she would have sent a letter to the capital, insisting that Yan stay at the Qi family, saving her the trip to the capital. Instead, she was sent to the Duke of Wei's mansion. In the end, Cui Lingyin, the illegitimate daughter of the second branch of the marquis's mansion, became her grandson's fiancée.
Now her grandson has been admitted to the Imperial College thanks to the connections of the second wife. She owes him a favor and has no room for criticism or regret. As an elder, she really feels sorry for her own grandson.
Mrs. Wu thought so, and naturally, Mrs. Zhan had the same thought in her heart. But things had come to this point, and the wedding was approaching. Mrs. Zhan could not do such a thing as regretting it, not to mention that regretting it would only ruin her son's future.
If someone can send his son to the Imperial College, he can naturally also ruin his son's future.
Zhan sighed softly and said to her mother-in-law, "Our Qi family is a small family. If it weren't for these incidents, even the second daughter of a concubine from the Marquis's Mansion would not have looked down upon entering our Qi family. Now that the wedding is approaching, let's just hope for the best. Otherwise, if we, the elders, are not satisfied, Shaozhang will feel very uncomfortable."
"Since coming to the capital, Shaozhang's temperament has changed a bit. He's become more flexible. Otherwise, why would he agree to this marriage? Ultimately, it's because our Qi family is too low-class, not comparable to the wealthy families in the capital. This doesn't give Shaozhang the confidence to support him."
If his son had a background like Lu Bingzhi, why would he have to humble himself and marry Cui Lingyin?
Mrs. Wu felt a little distressed when she heard her daughter-in-law's words, but she said, "His aunt is also the wife of the Ningshou Marquis. How can our Shaozhang's status be lower?"
"Why, didn't she protect her nephew Shao Zhang?"
Zhan wanted to find fault with her sister-in-law, but she also knew that if she made the old lady upset, she would completely offend her sister-in-law Qi, and her son would not get any help in the future.
So, she said, "How could it be? As an aunt, how could I not protect Shaozhang? But I am the only one supporting the Marquis's residence, and the Marquis dotes on that concubine Liu. Previously, there was also the stepdaughter left by the late wife to deal with. Even if she wanted to help, she would be unable to do so. Not to mention, Bo'er was born with some deficiencies. Although he has improved over the years, he still needs the careful care of his mother, my aunt. There can be no mistakes. Plus, there is some rift between my aunt and Yan girl. Mother and daughter are not close, so there are more things to worry about. As her sister-in-law, I naturally have to be more considerate of her."
Hearing her daughter-in-law say this, Old Lady Wu frowned. "Why, little Yan is actually holding a grudge against her mother because of what happened before? This child has always been sensible and cautious, and is also extremely filial and gentle. How could she be so inconsiderate of her mother?"
Old Madam Wu was a little skeptical. In her impression, her granddaughter Cui Lingyan had always been the most sensible and filial one. She was even somewhat submissive and was the one who was most understanding of the difficulties faced by her elders.
Zhan's expression changed, and a complex expression appeared in her eyes. "After all, Yan is the legitimate daughter of the Ningshou Marquis's mansion. She has a different status from Ruorou, so she is different in her bones. I couldn't tell at first, but now that she's in the capital, she's very different. The old lady will know it when she sees her in person."
Zhan's words implied that Cui Lingyan's well-behaved and sensible behavior in the Qi family was all fake, and now that she has returned to the capital, she is no longer the same as before.
Madam Wu understood what she meant, but she didn't take it too seriously. She felt that no matter how different Cui Lingyan's current status was, she was still her granddaughter, having grown up with her. How much could she change? She wouldn't even listen to her, her grandmother, would she?
Old Lady Wu felt that what Zhan said was a bit exaggerated. Maybe she was just being unfair because she was envious and jealous of Yan, the girl who had become the wife of the prince of Weiguo.
As a mother-in-law, she knew her daughter-in-law's temperament very well, but she just didn't point it out.
Qi Ruorou sat there, and seeing the disbelief on her grandmother's face, she sighed softly in her heart.
Grandma would probably have to see Cui Lingyan now with her own eyes before she could believe what my mother said.
Just as she was thinking, a maid came in and reported, "Madam, Madam, the Crown Prince's wife has arrived at the mansion and is heading towards the main room."
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Wu was delighted at first, but then she frowned and asked, "Is it only Miss Yan who came? Didn't the son-in-law, the Crown Prince, come with Miss Yan?"
The old woman heard the displeasure in the old lady's tone and subconsciously looked at her own wife.
Zhan said to Qi Ruorou, "Go and greet your cousin. She has only been to this house once, so she might not be familiar with it."
Old Madam Wu felt even more dissatisfied when she heard this. Seeing her granddaughter Qi Ruorou leave, she asked, "Why, after becoming the Crown Prince's wife, has Miss Yan become estranged from you, her aunt? Otherwise, why would she have only been to this house once?"
"Also, since the child heard that my grandmother had arrived, she should have come with the prince to pay her respects to me. Why did she come alone? Isn't it said that the prince treats her very well and likes her as a wife very much? Why doesn't he even give her this little respect? Or do they look down on a family like ours, Qi, and even disregard filial piety?"
Old Madam Wu felt aggrieved, thinking that Prince Lu Bingzhi's failure to come along was disrespectful to her as her grandmother and a loss of face for her.
Zhan had been in the capital for some time. Seeing her mother-in-law like this, she couldn't help but think that Lu Bingzhi's real grandmother was the Empress Dowager in the palace. How could her mother-in-law have such a big face?
Fortunately, Lu Bingzhi did not come today. If he had come with Cui Lingyan, his mother-in-law would have acted like an elder and treated Lu Bingzhi as an ordinary son-in-law, which would have been a joke. The prince would have taken his anger out on her Shaozhang.
Zhan whispered a few words of comfort, and after a while, she heard footsteps outside, and Qi Ruorou brought Cui Lingyan into the house.
Cui Lingyan wore a smoky-colored brocade jacket today, embroidered with peony blossoms on the cuffs. Her hair was styled in a flowing, cloud-like bun, and a mutton-fat jade hairpin inlaid with a ruby was pinned to her hair. She was naturally beautiful, and this attire gave her an air of nobility. Her features lost their youthful innocence, and perhaps her social status gave her an air of dignity that made people hesitate to offend.
When Old Madam Wu saw her granddaughter appear in front of her, she almost didn't recognize her.
After a long pause, Old Lady Wu finally said to Cui Lingyan, who was bowing to Yingying, "Good child, come to Grandmother soon. I've been thinking about you every day since you came to the capital. Now I can finally see you."
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