Chapter 120: Not qualified to "discipline my wife, even if she is an elder...
Bi Tao frowned and said with some uneasiness, "Young Madam, perhaps it's because when Nanny Jiang came to the mansion before, she felt that the Young Madam treated her poorly and didn't give her enough respect, so she holds such a grudge against the Young Madam."
"However, she is just a servant, and because she is Madam's confidant, she has some respect. How could she be so bold as to do such a thing? It is clear that she is deliberately trying to make you unhappy, Madam."
If Old Lady Wu feels sorry for Madam and thinks that Young Madam is unfilial and comes to visit her, Young Madam will probably be in trouble again.
Bitao had long known that the young lady now preferred a quiet life and did not like those relatives who spoke only words of kindness but did not mean them to come and bother her, even her grandmother, Old Madam Wu.
Seeing her so angry, Cui Lingyan said calmly, "Why are you so nervous? If Grandmother comes to visit me, I will naturally entertain her well. If she wants to discipline me and embarrass me as the Crown Prince's wife, I naturally can't let her do that."
As she said this, Cui Lingyan's eyes showed a hint of coldness.
The news quickly reached Songxue Hall. After listening to Guanyan's report, Lu Bingzhi frowned slightly. After a moment's thought, he said calmly, "I asked you to investigate the Qi family. Did you find anything?"
When he knew that Madam Wu was going to the capital, he instructed Guanyan to send someone to investigate secretly. If anything was found out, it would be useful at some point.
The Qi family was a family of such status that neither the aunt nor the old lady seemed easy to get along with. Qi Shaozhang looked aloof and proud, but he was also very self-deprecating. He was somewhat respectable in the Imperial College because of his relationship with the Marquis' Mansion, but in private he was often talked about and looked down upon.
He was able to endure all of this, which shows that his character is different from before.
Guan Yan looked a little strange when he heard him ask this. He hesitated for a moment before speaking, "We haven't found anything else, but when Madam Wu came to the capital, she didn't realize she was accompanied by a pregnant woman. I sent someone to investigate, and it turns out she's pregnant with the young master of the Qi family. But the truth is still unclear. I don't know if it was due to drunken absurdity or a momentary passion with a woman like Hongxiu Tianxiang that conceived this child."
"That lady's surname is Shen. She is full of bookish air. Her father once taught Young Master Qi to read, but he passed away due to illness. The family business was ruined by her brother, who sent her only sister to sleep with Young Master Qi."
"Young Master Qi kept this a secret, even his mother, Madam Zhan, was unaware of it. This time, Madam Shen must have heard that Young Master Qi was planning to marry a concubine's daughter from the Marquis's mansion in the capital, and that he wanted to settle down there, so she secretly followed Madam Wu to the capital."
Lu Bingzhi's eyes revealed a hint of sarcasm as he said coldly, "You are such a hypocrite. However, since Shen has secretly entered the capital, you should send someone to inform Second Miss Cui of this news. This will prevent Old Madam Wu from having too much free time and thinking of disciplining the young lady of our Duke's Mansion."
"Even though she's my elder, she has no right to discipline my wife!"
Hearing the coldness in Lu Bingzhi's tone, Guan Yan knew in his heart that the prince was also upset about the affairs of the young lady's family. It was not that he was unhappy about the young lady's family affairs, but he was afraid that it would affect the young lady's mood.
He had served the prince for so many years, how could he not see how much the prince valued the young lady? It was not something that an outsider could discipline or bully.
Guan Yan replied with a "yes" and was about to leave when he heard Lu Bingzhi say, "And that Nanny Jiang? She doesn't even know the duties of a servant. Is the mansion keeping a servant like her to cause trouble? Find a way to send someone to whisper in Madam Zhai's ear and get rid of this servant so that he won't be an eyesore."
Seeing that the prince had no further instructions, Guan Yan retreated. He couldn't help but think that this matter should have been handled by the young mistress, but the prince was actually concerned about these inner-house matters. If others knew about this, they wouldn't know how shocked they would be.
However, he was happy for the prince. With such a cold and self-respecting personality, he deserved someone to care about him. Otherwise, even if he returned to the royal family and ascended to that throne, it would be so painful to be alone all his life.
You must always have someone you love in your heart so that you can live your life and your heart can slowly warm up.
Only when the young lady gives birth to a child, whether it is a son or a daughter, can the prince be truly complete and can truly let go of the fact that the late queen passed away early.
Thinking of this, Guan Yan looked towards Wutong Courtyard, hoping that the young master would come soon.
......
That evening, Luoxue, the maid who served Cui Lingyin, came back from outside. Her face looked extremely solemn and a little pale.
When Cui Lingyin saw her, she showed a hint of surprise in her eyes and subconsciously asked, "What happened when you went out? Why are you so distracted?"
Luo Xue's eyes were red, and she hesitated for a long time before speaking, "Young lady, I went out today and happened to meet a pregnant woman. I happened to hear the maids behind me whispering about this woman. They said that this woman came to the capital not long ago and was staying in an inn while pregnant, which was very inconvenient. I heard that this woman came to the capital to find her husband, and that husband was none other than my future son-in-law, the young master of the Qi family."
After Luoxue said this, he didn't dare to look at his girl's face.
Cui Lingyin's eyes widened as she stared at Luoxue in disbelief, unable to believe her own ears. After a long moment, her face pale with a hint of panic and anger, she asked, "What did you say? This woman came to see Qi Shaozhang? And she's pregnant with Qi Shaozhang's child?"
Seeing her daughter so angry, Luoxue didn't dare to hide it and hurriedly told Cui Lingyin all the information she had found out.
"They've been staying at the inn for a few days. A maid at the inn, seeing how hard they've been working, often comes to look after them, and they've become familiar with each other. I secretly gave the maid some money and asked her about it. She heard that Shen and Young Master Qi were secretly in a relationship, without any formalities. She came to the capital not to ask Young Master Qi to marry her as his principal wife, but because she was afraid he'd forget about her after he married someone in the capital. Shen even cried and said she didn't dare ask for anything else, only that Young Master Qi take her in as a concubine for the sake of the child she's carrying. After all, she's the blood of the Qi family, and she can't let it go unnoticed."
When Cui Lingyin heard these words, her eyes went dark, her body swayed, and she almost fainted.
Luoxue hurried forward and supported her.
It took Cui Lingyin a while to recover. After thinking for a moment, she ordered, "Go find your aunt."
Luo Xue listened to her instructions and nodded in agreement. Ever since the girl's marriage was decided and Concubine Wen was brought back from the farm, the lady didn't care at all about how close the girl and Concubine Wen were in private or how they got along.
I'm afraid that in the lady's view, the girl will be married off soon, so there's no need to worry about it. After all, she will be a member of the Qi family after she gets married.
Thinking of this, Luoxue turned around and left the house, heading towards the courtyard where Madam Wen lived.
Cui Lingyin sat stiffly on the couch for a while, and soon she saw Luoxue leading Madam Wen in.
On the way here, Luoxue had whispered to Madam Wen about Shen's affairs. After hearing it, Madam Wen was angry and distressed. Seeing her daughter sitting on the soft couch with an extremely pale face, she cursed Qi Shaozhang several times in her heart. She also regretted that she had listened to her daughter's words and plotted to frame Qi Shaozhang and Cui Lingyan, which caused the matter to fail and ruined her daughter's reputation. She had no choice but to choose the tallest one among the short ones and marry Qi Shaozhang and enter the Qi family.
Otherwise, with my daughter's status as a concubine of the Ningshou Marquis's mansion, even if she couldn't marry the legitimate son of a prominent family, she could still marry a concubine's son. How could she end up in this situation today, not only marrying down, but also encountering such a terrible thing before getting married?
Madam Wen came forward and sat next to Cui Lingyin. She didn't express her regrets, but asked in a low voice, "Yin girl, what are you thinking? Can you tolerate this Shen family?"
If it can be tolerated, how will it be tolerated? If it cannot be tolerated, the wedding will be held in a few days. If there is a quarrel now, it will be a laughing stock and spread throughout the capital. Yin's marriage will probably be delayed again. The old lady may be so angry that she will find a family that is not even as good as the Qi family to marry Yin off casually.
What Madam Wen could think of, Cui Lingyin could also think of.
She was well aware of her situation, so when Cui Lingyin heard about Shen's affairs, she felt upset and angry, but she never thought of canceling the engagement.
She calmed down and said, "Of course the marriage must go ahead, but Qi Shaozhang never mentioned this Shen to me, let alone the fact that Shen has come to the capital with a big belly. It was just by chance that Luoxue saw her today and overheard some things, so she found out all this information. If Luoxue hadn't gone out today and asked Shen to secretly find Qi Shaozhang, would Qi Shaozhang have kept her as a concubine outside without telling me?"
"Instead of treating her like a mistress and having her constantly on his mind, it would be better to open the way and bring her directly into the mansion as a concubine, and set the rules for her to serve tea to me, the mistress."
"As for the piece of meat in her belly, we can always find a way to get rid of it. No matter what, I can't have another illegitimate son or daughter to disgust me and let people make up stories and laugh at me, Cui Lingyin, for the rest of my life!"
Madam Wen thought for a moment, hesitated, and then suggested, "Yin girl, since it was Young Master Qi who caused this, why not let him handle it himself? I think Young Master Qi's temper is not the kind of person who can be ruthless just because of a beautiful woman. If Shen and her unborn child are both gone, wouldn't it be less of a worry for you, Yin girl, to marry into the Qi family? You won't get your hands dirty and give them something to use against you."
Cui Lingyin shook her head after hearing this and said, "Although I haven't spent much time with Qi Shaozhang, I do understand his character to some extent. If I really force him to do this, he will probably do it, but he will also harbor resentment and resentment towards me, his legal wife, for the rest of his life."
"By then, I will be in a difficult situation in the Qi family. It would be better to tolerate this Shen family. The Qi family will owe me a debt and will have to tolerate me in everything. Isn't that better?"
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