Chapter 129: Lessons should be learned in private...
The Empress Dowager gave a seat to Concubine Shu, but as a concubine, Cui Linghui was not qualified to sit down and could only stand behind Concubine Shu.
She and Cui Lingyan had never gotten along. Both were legitimate daughters of the Ningshou Marquisate, but their statuses were now worlds apart. One sat next to the Empress Dowager, while the other stood behind Concubine Shu, so the atmosphere in the palace seemed a bit awkward.
Concubine Shu smiled and said to Cui Lingyan, "It hasn't been long since Cui came into the palace to serve Ze'er. How come the Crown Prince's wife doesn't recognize Cui as her sister?"
It was obvious that what Shupin said was a deliberate mockery of Cui Lingyan for fawning on the powerful and looking down on the weak. She said that just because she was the Crown Prince's wife, she looked down on her stepsister Cui Linghui, who was a concubine.
As soon as she finished speaking, anyone could hear her displeasure and anger towards Cui Lingyan.
But think about it, from Shupin's perspective, she lost her position as Imperial Concubine and now is only a concubine, all because of Lu Bingzhi and his wife. She couldn't bear to see Cui Lingyan without saying a few harsh words.
Moreover, in her eyes, although Cui Lingyan was favored by Lu Bingzhi, she had not grown up in the Marquis's mansion, and her status as a legitimate daughter of the Marquis's mansion was not very valuable. Even if she had lost her position as Imperial Concubine, she still had the prince Ze'er as her son, who could at least give Cui Lingyan some advice.
She thought so, but the Queen Mother did not give her the face.
Before Cui Lingyan could speak, the Queen Mother said calmly, "Since you have entered the palace with different statuses, there's no need to talk about sisterhood in the boudoir. The palace has strict rules. Cui is just a concubine by Ze'er's side. After so many days in the palace, it's time for you to learn the differences between the high and the low."
The Queen Mother's words were clearly meant to protect Cui Lingyan, so much so that she didn't give Cui Linghui any face at all.
Cui Linghui's face immediately turned pale, and his eyes were full of embarrassment.
The Queen Mother's gaze fell on her, and she insisted, "Cui, am I right?"
Cui Linghui felt a little regretful for accompanying Shupin to Cining. When asked by the empress dowager, she didn't dare to say no even though she felt aggrieved.
She suppressed her embarrassment, bowed to the Queen Mother, and said, "Your Majesty is right. I am only a concubine by His Highness's side. Naturally, my status cannot compare to that of the Crown Prince's wife."
The Queen Mother nodded and said, "It's good that you understand the difference between high and low. If you want to live long in the palace, you must understand this principle."
Cui Linghui did not dare to respond. How could she not hear that the empress dowager's words were not meant for her, but for Concubine Shu.
If she agreed, she would have to endure the torture and humiliation from Concubine Shu when she returned.
Cui Linghui did not respond, but Shupin was still unhappy.
In the past, no matter how much she disliked the Empress Dowager, she still had the status of a noble concubine, which gave her some respectability in the palace. But ever since she was demoted to a concubine, the people in the palace no longer had much scruples and began to mistreat her.
Just like what the Queen Mother said, if she was still a noble concubine, the Queen Mother would never have been so disrespectful to her.
Concubine Shu smiled and changed the subject, saying to Cui Lingyan, "Cui, I heard yesterday that something happened in your Weiguo Mansion. It was said that Qiu Zhi, the head maid who served your biological mother, Qi, was sold off by the Crown Prince?"
Before Cui Lingyan could speak, Concubine Shu continued, "The Crown Prince's wife is really a jerk. Qiu Zhi did serve your mother, after all. Even for the sake of your elders' reputation, you should have taken her back from the human traffickers. We in the royal family are most concerned about our dignity. Although the Crown Prince is only the Emperor's nephew, he is still half a member of the royal family. If this damages his reputation and makes people accuse him of disrespecting his elders, then it will be your fault as his wife."
"Not to mention, the prince sold someone out like this, and you, Cui, didn't say a word. Don't you think you're jealous? It's not a good thing for a woman to be jealous. Outsiders will think you're not virtuous. Tell me, do my words make sense?"
Shupin's words were meant to embarrass Cui Lingyan. Every word she said was about filial piety and virtue. She said Cui Lingyan was jealous and did not persuade Lu Bingzhi, which clearly showed that she did not care about the reputation of her husband Lu Bingzhi.
To outsiders, it really seemed like this. If the Queen Mother already had some issues with Cui Lingyan, her grandson's wife, these words would probably make her even more dissatisfied with her.
Everyone could tell that Concubine Shu had bad intentions, and this time the Empress Dowager couldn't speak up for Cui Lingyan.
After all, if the wife of the Crown Prince of Weiguo did not have the ability to deal with this, it would really make people look down on her and feel that Cui Lingyan was not qualified to be the Crown Prince's wife.
Cui Lingyan smiled and said to Concubine Shu, "Madam Shu, you're joking. Although Qiuzhi is a servant of my mother's, she has no regard for her duties and dared to offend the Crown Prince. She deserves death by beating, let alone selling her out. When I got married, my mother taught me that as a wife, I must be respectful to my husband and never offend him. I have never forgotten her words. Qiuzhi has offended my husband, and I think my mother, too, will be pleased by your treatment. I also want to thank the Crown Prince, her son-in-law, for helping her deal with Qiuzhi, so that she won't do anything that would bring disaster upon my mother's reputation."
"As for the idea that a wife shouldn't be jealous and should be virtuous, that's also reasonable. The Crown Prince and I have been married for a short time, and I'm deeply grateful for his favor. If he wants to take a concubine, I will naturally comply with his wishes. However, the Crown Prince was nearly crippled by poisoning earlier, and he's wary of those around him. So, no woman can make him let down his guard right now. It's quite heartbreaking."
Cui Lingyan was gentle and calm, her words soft and gentle, but her words were like a fist hitting cotton, a source of both frustration and powerlessness. The final mention of Lu Bingzhi's poisoning nearly made Concubine Shu drop her teacup, her face flushing. She wanted to reprimand Cui Lingyan for her impertinence, but she was afraid she would bring up the incident in front of the Empress Dowager, where her son Xiao Ze had secretly ordered someone to poison her cousin Lu Bingzhi at a palace banquet, further incurring the Empress Dowager's resentment.
For a moment, I couldn't utter a word.
Her silence weakened her momentum and she could no longer criticize Cui Lingyan.
Having lost face, Cui Lingyan mentioned in front of the Empress Dowager that her son had poisoned Lu Bing. Shupin knew that she had no face to stay in the Cining Palace and cause trouble, so she said a few more words and took Cui Linghui to take her leave.
After she left, the Queen Mother smiled and said to Cui Lingyan, "You child, you usually look very well-behaved, but I never thought you were so sharp-tongued. With just a few words, you shut Concubine Shu up and left her speechless."
Cui Lingyan's cheeks flushed slightly, and she said a little embarrassedly, "If Concubine Shu had only mentioned my granddaughter-in-law, it would have been fine, but you criticized the Crown Prince in your words. My granddaughter-in-law didn't think it was his fault, so she naturally couldn't help but make a few remarks in her defense. If I have been rude, please forgive me, Your Majesty."
She was so protective of Lu Bingzhi that the Empress Dowager could only be pleased with her, so how could she be dissatisfied? Hearing her say this, the Empress Dowager smiled and said, "That's the way to respond to her. How could I find you rude and disrespectful?"
"From now on, you should call me grandma just like Bingzhi, and don't be so distant."
Cui Lingyan smiled and called her grandma, and they inevitably felt a little closer.
The Queen Mother said, "From now on, please come to the palace often to talk to me. I want everyone to know that my grandson's wife is not someone who can be bullied by anyone."
Cui Lingyan nodded, with a hint of gratitude and admiration in her eyes, her eyebrows curved, and her smile was particularly endearing.
Seeing her like this, the Queen Mother thought to herself, "No wonder Bingzhi likes Cui so much. Seeing her so sweet and smiling at him makes one want to protect her."
If she, as an elder, is like this, what about her husband Bingzhi?
Outside the Cining Palace
As soon as Shupin left the Cining Palace, she raised her hand and slapped Cui Linghui in the face, causing Cui Linghui to stagger and fall to the ground.
"Useless thing, you are all legitimate daughters from the Marquis' Mansion. You only bring shame to me and Ze'er. Just now, your sister offended me like that and slandered Ze'er, ruining his reputation. As her sister, why didn't you say a word to scold her? Instead, you just stood there and watched the joke. How could Ze'er accept such a useless person like you? Because of you, the emperor deposed me from the position of Imperial Concubine, and now I have become a concubine who can be bullied by anyone. I regret it so much!"
After saying this, Concubine Shu left angrily without even looking at Cui Linghui, who fell to the ground with his hands covering his face and looked embarrassed.
There were also palace maids and nannies passing by outside the Cining Palace. Seeing this scene, they were whispering and pointing at Cui Linghui from a distance.
After Shupin left, she spoke without restraint, and some of her words were even deliberately passed on to Cui Linghui's ears.
"That's Cui Linghui, the eldest daughter of the Ningshou Marquis's mansion, now serving as the Second Prince's concubine, right? After all, she was born in a marquis's mansion. Although she entered the palace as a concubine, her status is still different. How could Concubine Shu not give her the slightest bit of respect? If she wanted to teach her a lesson, she should have done it in private. Why did she start a fight right at the gate of Cining Palace?"
"No wonder. How did Concubine Shu lose her position as Concubine? I heard it was related to Miss Cui. If she hadn't seduced the Second Prince and humiliated the Prince of Weiguo with him at the birthday banquet of the old lady of Duke Cheng'en, how could she have angered the Queen Mother? The Emperor, out of filial piety, demoted Concubine Shu to Concubine Shu. If I were Concubine Shu, I wouldn't like Miss Cui either."
"I heard that the wife of the prince of Weiguo entered the palace today and is now in the Cining Palace. Could it be that they happened to meet, and Concubine Shu was unhappy and took her anger out on Miss Cui? If that's true, it's really..."
"That's all she asked for. She disdained a good marriage, and now, she's sacrificed her reputation to enter the palace as a concubine. I heard she even used the concubine Qiu Ning to send her personal maid to the Second Prince's bed. Now that master and servant are equal, it's hard to say which one is more noble. Perhaps the maid is actually favored, overshadowing her master. She really deserves it and has no shame. She doesn't look like a legitimate daughter from a marquis's mansion at all. Even people of our status wouldn't do such a thing."
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