Chapter 112: You will regret it if you are disrespectful, but it will be too late then.
When Cui Lingyan heard what Old Madam Wu said, a look of intimacy and admiration appeared between her eyebrows. She smiled and walked forward to sit next to Old Madam Wu.
"Grandma misses Yan'er, and Yan'er misses her too. I heard from my aunt that Grandma was coming to the capital to attend my cousin's wedding, and Yan'er has been looking forward to meeting you today."
When she said this, Old Lady Wu was only happy in her heart. She felt that even though her granddaughter's status was different now and she had become the wife of the Prince of Weiguo, she still treated her grandmother the same way as when she was in the Qi family. She was so close to her and loved her so much that it was obvious that she had not forgotten the kindness of the Qi family in teaching her over the years.
She said that Yan girl was raised by her since she was a child, and the Qi family would never raise an ungrateful person.
I think the words reported by my daughter-in-law Zhan also had some selfish motives. Now that she has come to the capital in person, she can see for herself what is happening with Yan girl.
Thinking of this, Mrs. Wu's eyes became more loving. She took Cui Lingyan's hand and told her in detail about what happened on the way to the capital. After saying this, she hesitated for a moment before asking about the thing she cared about most.
"I heard from your aunt that the prince treats you very well and always protects you and gives you respect in front of others. Why didn't he come with you today? What delayed you?"
Old Madam Wu felt that even though Lu Bingzhi was of noble status, she was the elder after all. When she came to the capital, Lu Bingzhi, her grandson-in-law, should come to meet her in person so that she could take a look.
Once they were familiar with each other, she could bring up things that her daughter-in-law, Zhan, was reluctant to mention, even to Lu Bingzhi, a younger generation. After all, she had heard from her daughter-in-law that Lu Bingzhi enjoyed great favor with the emperor, was favored by the empress dowager, and was the son of Princess Shuning, a highly respected figure. With his help, even if he mentioned Shao Ge'er to the emperor, his uncle, even for the sake of Lu Bingzhi's nephew, the emperor wouldn't forget about him. Even if he wasn't specifically promoted in the future, his entry into the court would definitely be different from ordinary imperial examination candidates, and he would always be treated differently by the emperor.
Even if it is just a little bit, it is enough for the Qi family to support themselves and not be looked down upon.
From now on, Shao Ge'er will not have to rely on Cui Lingyin to go to her parents' home to ask for help in everything, and he will be able to be more assertive in front of his wife Cui Lingyin.
Old Madam Wu had lived to such an old age and loved her grandson Qi Shaozhang the most. How could she bear to see her only grandson being shorter than his wife?
Cui Lingyan had grown up in the Qi family and understood her grandmother, Old Madam Wu, very well. Even though she had previously believed, due to their blood relationship, that Old Madam Wu, despite her own selfish motives, truly loved her granddaughter, Cui Lingyan knew she had overestimated herself after experiencing all that nightmare. In Old Madam Wu's heart, the Qi family and Qi Shaozhang were paramount. If her granddaughter hadn't come from the Ningshou Marquisate, where having her live could benefit the family and even leverage their favors, her grandmother probably wouldn't have loved her so much.
Hearing what Old Madam Wu said, how could she not guess what she was thinking?
Cui Lingyan hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I think Grandmother has also heard about what happened at the old lady's birthday banquet at Duke Cheng'en's mansion. The prince was so angry after returning that he fell ill. He was also poisoned before, and he's had a headache these past few days, so he didn't come with Yan'er."
After she said this, Mrs. Wu felt uncomfortable but could not say anything more. After all, Lu Bingzhi's status was different, and even if he became her grandson-in-law, she could not act like an elder.
If coming to pay her respects aggravates her illness, it will not be a good thing for the Qi family. It will inevitably cause the old lady of the Weiguo Mansion to blame her and even vent her anger on Yan, the granddaughter-in-law who just came into the family.
Thinking of this, Madam Wu said with a worried look on her face, "You really need to rest and recuperate. I've also heard what your aunt said. Your stepsister is truly despicable. How could a woman do such self-deprecating and disrespectful things? Fortunately, she has only been given the status of a concubine in the palace. Otherwise, if she had really become the Second Prince's concubine, I don't know how she would plot against you, little girl Yan, in the future."
"When this woman becomes vicious, it's hard to guard against her. Even men can't match her."
Old Lady Wu asked again about Cui Lingyan's situation in the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion. Cui Lingyan answered one by one. The two seemed to be as close as when they were in the Qi family.
Zhan sat there, taking a gentle sip from her teacup. She looked away from Cui Lingyan, her heart filled with scorn. She felt her mother-in-law, having just arrived in the capital, hadn't seen through Cui Lingyan's depths. Yan was no longer the same young lady from the Marquis's mansion who had been living with the Qi family. The way she was displaying this kind of affection and admiration, she was probably acting for the old lady.
Not to mention, Lu Bingzhi didn't accompany her here today.
She didn't believe that Lu Bingzhi couldn't come with her because he was ill. She thought that Lu Bingzhi himself didn't take the Qi family seriously, so he was unwilling to condescend to come.
Most likely, Miss Yan was looking for an excuse to flatter herself without embarrassing the old lady.
Thinking of this, Zhan Shi also felt that Lu Bingzhi didn't seem to care about Yan Yatou as much as outsiders said. If he really cared about him and respected and loved his wife, why wouldn't he come along and give Yan Yatou some face?
Or was it Cui Lingyan who stopped Lu Bingzhi from following?
As soon as this thought came to her mind, Zhan suppressed it. What woman in the world wouldn't want her husband to give her face in front of relatives and elders? Moreover, Lu Bingzhi was of such a noble status. If Yan girl wasn't stupid, she wouldn't do such a foolish thing.
As they were talking, another maid came back from outside to report that the aunt had brought the second daughter of the Ningshou Marquis's mansion to the house.
When Mrs. Wu heard the report, she knew that it was her daughter who had brought Cui Lingyin from the second house, Shao Ge'er's soon-to-be-married wife.
She patted Cui Lingyan's hand, smiled at her and said, "Ever since your mother married into the Marquis' Mansion, she has never returned to her parents' home. I haven't seen her for many years. I wonder if she has been doing well these years."
"And your cousin, I'd only heard of her before. She was raised under the name of my stepmother, but now she's about to marry Shao Zhang and become your cousin's wife. Things in this world are truly unimaginable. Who could have imagined that our Qi family would have bought a house in the capital, and that I, as a grandmother, would have to come all the way to the capital to attend my grandson's wedding? And you, Yan girl, even got married earlier than your cousin, and even married Prince Lu, becoming the wife of the Duke of Wei."
As they were talking, a maid opened the curtain outside, and Qi and Cui Lingyin came in one after another.
When Mrs. Qi and Mrs. Wu met, they couldn't help crying. It took them a while to come back to their senses.
Cui Lingyan stood up and sat next to Qi Ruoruo, and asked Qi and Old Madam Wu to sit together.
Only then did Cui Lingyin step forward and bow.
Cui Lingyan's gaze fell on Cui Lingyin. Cui Lingyin had obviously dressed up specially today. She wore a light blue jacket embroidered with gardenias, the cuffs embroidered with floral patterns in gold thread, and a light green eight-panel Xiang skirt embroidered with small peonies. She walked over slowly with a dignified demeanor, but not appearing superior. She was the kind of look that the elders liked the most.
As expected, seeing her dressed like this, Old Lady Wu bowed and saluted. Although she knew Cui Lingyin was a concubine's daughter, seeing her demeanor, she looked no different from a legitimate daughter. The key point was that her family was willing to support Shao Ge'er, and it was thanks to this favor that Shao Ge'er entered the Imperial College. If Cui Lingyin didn't feel she had contributed to Shao Zhang's past and didn't look down on the Qi family, then this granddaughter-in-law wouldn't be a bad choice.
Cui Lingyan saw all the emotions revealed in Madam Wu's eyes, and saw Cui Lingyin acting respectful and obedient in front of the old lady. She felt that what the old lady had said just now was right. Things in this world are really unexpected.
On her way to the capital, she had never imagined that she was now married to Lu Bingzhi, and Cui Lingyin had become Qi Shaozhang's fiancée, and they would be getting married in a few days.
Thinking of everything in the dream, Cui Lingyan sighed and was even more glad that she was not plotted against by Cui Linghui as in the dream, and did not marry Qi Shaozhang, be despised and bullied, and die early.
Now if Cui Lingyin were to marry Qi Shaozhang, she didn't know whether her grandmother and aunt would be satisfied with the marriage, or whether they would be as picky about her as they were before. In the end, Cui Lingyin and Qi Shaozhang became a couple that was in discord and became a laughing stock.
Old Madam Wu was very kind and showed special fondness and love for Cui Lingyin, the granddaughter-in-law who was destined to marry into the family. She took off a delicate jade bracelet from her wrist and gave it to Cui Lingyin as a gift.
Cui Lingyin bowed in thanks, and the atmosphere in the room became particularly lively.
At noon, several people had lunch together. After drinking tea and chatting, the old lady felt a little tired. Qi and Cui Lingyan then stood up to say goodbye. The old lady liked Cui Lingyin very much and kept her to accompany her for a while. Therefore, on the way out of Qi's house, there were only Qi and Cui Lingyan, mother and daughter, and Nanny Jiang beside Qi.
Qi had claimed illness and not attended the birthday banquet for the old lady of Duke Cheng'en. This was the first time Qi had seen Cui Lingyan's daughter since that incident. Seeing that Lu Bingzhi hadn't come, and hearing that he was unwell, Qi hadn't dared to ask in front of Zhan and the others, but now she did ask aloud, "How come I heard earlier that the Crown Prince had gone to the palace to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, but today your grandmother is here and she's ill? What a coincidence!"
"Yan girl, although I have done you some wrong in the past, I still want to advise you that if a man doesn't care about your relatives from your mother's side and doesn't even give you this little respect, then his love for you is superficial. If people knew about it, Yan girl, how could you, the wife of the prince, have any dignity left? You would be laughed at."
"So when the prince is better, Yan-ya should bring him to pay his respects to your grandmother. At the very least, let her see how handsome her grandson-in-law is. This can be considered as your filial piety to the old lady as the younger generation. If outsiders know about this, you will also be proud. In the future, when you attend banquets, the ladies of the noble families will look at you with respect. Mother is also an experienced person and knows the importance of this matter. Don't take it lightly and let the prince's temper run wild. If this continues, he will not only not take your relatives from your mother's side seriously, but also you, his wife, will not be taken seriously. You will regret it, and it will be too late by then."
Cui Lingyan listened to Qi's words and nodded, but didn't say anything more. Qi was quite upset to see that she didn't take the matter to heart, but she also knew Cui Lingyan's personality and felt that she was now assuming that Lu Bingzhi liked her, so she didn't take it to heart. Perhaps it was precisely because of this love that she didn't dare to persuade Lu Bingzhi, allowing him to treat these people from her mother's family casually, and she didn't know anything about such disrespect.
She felt that it was useless to persuade her any more. When Cui Lingyan could no longer tolerate Lu Bingzhi's disrespect in the future, she would remember her words and regret it.
Thinking this way, Qi was actually looking forward to this day coming sooner. Otherwise, her daughter would be so lucky now that she thought she had established herself in the Duke of Wei's mansion and would become arrogant, even ignoring her biological mother and harping on past events, making her, as a mother, feel inferior to others.
If that day comes, it will be a chance for them to ease their relationship. She must know that her parents' home is the greatest support for a married woman.
......
In the imperial palace, in a small side hall of Mingde Hall.
Cui Linghui rubbed his swollen and painful knee, his eyes filled with hatred, and tears couldn't help but fall.
As Yulan applied medicine to her wound, she choked up and said, "My lady, how can my body bear the way Concubine Shu treats me? Otherwise, I'd better ask His Highness. If His Highness is willing to protect me a little, my life won't be so difficult."
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