Chapter 134: I also saw Lu Bingzhi accompanying Cui Lingyan back home...
As soon as the maid finished speaking, the room suddenly became quiet.
Seeing that Madam Zhai's face immediately darkened, Bian felt a little unhappy.
Although she disliked Cui Lingyin, a concubine's daughter, and hated it even more that this concubine's daughter used old things to force the second house to marry into the Qi family, a family she had always looked down upon, but no matter what, Cui Lingyin was also the aunt who married out from the second house, and her reputation also represented the reputation of the second house. Today was the happy day for Yin's daughter to return home for the third time, and Yan's daughter had a different status as a cousin, so she should come to the house to attend the return banquet, so there was no way she could avoid it.
Not to mention, with the favor of Old Lady Wu, Yan Yatou is not afraid of being accused of looking down on relatives from her natal family and maternal grandparents because of her power, and not even attending such an important occasion.
But she thought of the fact that Qi and Old Madam Wu had instigated Qiu Zhi to seduce Lu Bingzhi, and her heart skipped a beat. She frowned, wondering if this matter was known to Yan Yatou, which was why she was disgracing the Marquis' Mansion and the Qi family.
What she could think of, Madam Zhai naturally could think of as well. After calming down, the old lady said to the maid who replied, "Please bring Birou in. I haven't seen Miss Yan for a while, and I don't know if she's doing well in the Duke's Mansion."
The maid bowed and quickly led Birou in.
Birou was originally a favored maid in Xilan Courtyard. Otherwise, Madam Zhai would not have sent her to serve Cui Lingyan, and she would not have been sent to serve Cui Lingyan as a dowry maid and followed Cui Lingyan to the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion.
Madam Zhai secretly wanted Birou to keep an eye on Cui Lingyan, thinking that even if the indenture was handed over to Cui Lingyan, Birou would at least understand her thoughts.
But she was wrong. Ever since Cui Lingyan got married, Birou followed her to the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion. In her heart and eyes, Cui Lingyan was the only master, and she completely ignored the thoughts of her old master.
Seeing Birou, Old Lady Zhai felt a little uncomfortable in her heart, and regretted that she had sent Birou to be with Cui Lingyan. It would have been better if she had sent Daimao, who was more sensible, to serve her. With her around to persuade her, how could Miss Yan become so estranged from the Marquis' Mansion and have repeated conflicts with her? Now she doesn't care about the face of the Marquis' Mansion at all, and even doesn't come back for Miss Yin's homecoming banquet.
"I greet the old lady and the second lady." Birou walked forward slowly and bowed to greet the two of them.
Madam Zhai nodded and asked directly, "Madam Dou is seriously ill. If she wasn't seriously ill, why would she have Yan Ya stay by her side and not even be able to attend her cousin's return banquet?"
"The old lady has always been very respectful of rules and kind to the younger generations. Logically, even if she had to take care of the sick, she should have kept the two daughters-in-law, Cen and He. If that wasn't enough, there were still unmarried girls in the mansion. Why did she insist on keeping Yan girl here? If you didn't know, you would think Yan girl was disrespectful to her elders and used Old Lady Dou as an excuse."
Madam Dou's question was somewhat aggressive. If it were in the past, even if Birou had some face in Xilan Courtyard, she would have felt guilty and uneasy after hearing such words, and would have knelt down to apologize and explain.
But Birou followed Cui Lingyan to the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion. She usually met the prince Lu Bingzhi, and also went to the palace to meet the Empress Dowager and Princess Chun'an. She had seen many of these nobles, so she was less in awe of Madam Zhai, and naturally she could handle what she heard.
So, hearing Old Madam Zhai's questioning, Birou simply bowed and said, "Old Madam Dou is of noble status and is now old. Even a cough would cause everyone in the mansion to worry. What's more, the old lady is not feeling well. How can the young lady, as the granddaughter-in-law, return to her parents' home at this time? Even if the old lady doesn't say anything, everyone in the mansion will say something unpleasant."
"The young lady said that the second aunt is the most sensible and I think she will be able to understand her."
Old Lady Zhai felt so upset at what Birou said that she wanted to get angry at Birou right then and there and ask the nanny to come forward and slap her so that she would know the limits of a servant.
However, Birou is now following Cui Lingyan, and she represents the reputation of the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion. No matter how dissatisfied she is, she cannot easily get angry with others.
At this, Madam Zhai snorted and said, "Yan girl is really filial. But after a daughter is married off, she is like spilled water. The Marquis's Mansion is not as prestigious as the Duke of Wei's Mansion. How dare you expect Yan girl to think about her family in everything?"
"Okay, go back and serve your master."
Birou's expression remained unchanged. She replied with a "yes" and retreated.
After she left, Madam Zhai tightly grasped the red coral bracelet in her hand and remained silent for a long time.
Bian hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Mother, do you think Yan knew about what my sister-in-law and Old Madam Wu had instigated Qiu Zhi? Otherwise, Yan has always been a person who values rules. Although she and Yin had some grudges in the past, she would never do it so obviously and embarrass Yin. When Yin got married, she gave her a set of exquisite pearl headwear, which shows that she was considerate of their relationship."
"You, why don't you ask Biore?"
Madam Zhai said angrily, "What are you asking? After this tattered window paper, what dignity do you think our Marquisate still has? If she doesn't want to come back, then she doesn't have to come back. She's still willing to make up an excuse that she wants to stay in the mansion to take care of Madam Dou. If one day she doesn't even make an excuse, then she truly doesn't take the Marquisate, her family, seriously."
Madam Zhai sighed deeply and said with emotion, "It's a good thing she only married Lu Bingzhi, the prince of the Duke of Wei. If she had married the prince, with a better future, I'm afraid it would not only be disrespectful to the Marquisate, but the Marquisate would probably have to rely on her and compensate her for all the things they owed her."
Hearing what her mother-in-law said, Bian's eyes showed some surprise.
Although Cui Lingyan was sent to the Qi family to be raised since she was young, and the family owed her something, neither the old lady, her biological grandmother, nor Qi, her biological mother, had ever acknowledged their debt to Cui Lingyan, let alone offered any compensation.
The fact that Old Lady Zhai was so emotional today showed that Cui Lingyan was in power and had repeatedly refused to give face to the Marquis' Mansion, which made her mother-in-law feel a little pressured. That's why she couldn't help but speak out her true feelings.
But what the mother-in-law said was not wrong. Cui Lingyan was so beautiful, and as the eldest daughter of the Ningshou Marquisate, she could have been a prince's consort. The eldest daughter, Cui Linghui, was now serving the Second Prince, Xiao Ze, as a lowly concubine. It was only her own fault, her reputation ruined, that she ended up in such an undignified state. But if Cui Lingyan had grown up in the Marquisate, with her good looks, she might have been a prince's consort.
Even when she first returned to the capital, it wasn't impossible for one of the princes to take her as a concubine. Thinking about it now, Cui Lingyan was fortunate not to have had a greater stroke of luck; otherwise, the Marquis's residence would have had to rely on her for everything, and the eldest branch would have suppressed the second branch, preventing them from ever turning the tables.
Thinking of this, Bian spoke in a comforting voice, "Mother, don't you always say that we should be open-minded about everything? Fortunately, Yan is only the wife of a prince. Even in front of the Empress Dowager, she has some respectability, but how can she compare to the emperor's consort? When the prince's interest in her wears off and he has someone new around him, Yan will know the benefits of having her family as a support. You don't have to worry. When the time comes, if Yan comes to ask for help, you, as the elder, can scold her and repay the humiliation she brought upon the Marquis' Mansion today."
Hearing her say this, Madam Zhai's expression eased a little, but she was still a little indignant. She didn't think that she, as a grandmother, and her son owed Cui Lingyan bad treatment. She could only blame everything that happened today on her eldest daughter-in-law, Qi, and felt that it was all Qi's fault.
"Your eldest sister-in-law is really more of a hindrance than a help, and she even caused our mansion to suffer and lose its dignity."
As Madam Zhai spoke, she instructed Daimao, the maidservant beside her, "Tell the kitchen to prepare an extra feast and send it to Madam Liu today. Tell her that Yin is returning home today, and ask her to share in the joy of her aunt's return. If she can give birth to a son for the Marquis, I will have the Jade Courtyard cleaned up for her to live in."
When Mrs. Zhai gave these instructions, Daimao was stunned for a moment.
The smile on Bian's face, who was sitting nearby, froze. What good was the joy of their second-room aunt asking Concubine Liu to come back and bring good luck? Even though she knew that her mother-in-law was doing this to deliberately disgust her eldest sister-in-law, Qi, and to make things difficult for her, Bian still felt that her mother-in-law's method was a bit too rude.
He also said that once Concubine Liu gave birth to a son, he would have someone clean up the Jade Courtyard for Concubine Liu to live in.
With her status, is she worthy of living in such a nice courtyard?
The mother-in-law must have been so angry with Yan that she came up with this idea.
Although Bian felt that something was wrong, she thought that this method would disgust her sister-in-law Qi and make Madam Wen feel uncomfortable, and would also make Cui Lingyin feel very uncomfortable if she heard about it. It would not do any harm to her and her son, so she did not speak to stop and persuade Madam Zhai.
When Daimao saw her expression, he immediately agreed and sent someone down to give the order.
......
A carriage slowly drove into the alley where Ningshou Marquis's Mansion was located and stopped in front of the mansion.
The maid at the gate knew that Cui Lingyin was coming back today, but such a big thing happened in the mansion yesterday. It was said that the eldest lady had a wound on her face, and the old lady was so angry that she couldn't even eat. So even though she knew that Cui Lingyin was coming back, she didn't take it too seriously.
After all, Cui Lingyin was just a concubine's daughter and married Qi Shaozhang, the young master of the Qi family. Qi Shaozhang was able to study at the Imperial College thanks to the relationship with the second wife Bian's family, so everyone in the Marquis' Mansion felt that the Qi family was marrying above their station.
If the eldest lady had been respectable, there would naturally be people who would flatter her nephew Qi Shaozhang. However, the eldest lady was so shameless that she became more and more disliked by the old lady, and thus this little thought faded.
Not to mention, with the Third Young Lady, the Crown Prince's wife, in front of her, the Second Young Lady is not worth their efforts to please her.
With this in mind, the old woman forced a smile and came out from the gatehouse to greet them. When she saw that the carriage was really ordinary, not even half as luxurious as the carriage that the third young lady took when she went back to her parents' home, she felt even more sad that the second young lady had done such a thing, ruining her reputation and finally marrying a husband like Qi Shaozhang. Even if she could stay in the capital in the future, she would definitely feel inferior compared to her cousin.
The eldest daughter of the palace, Cui Linghui, at least had hope. If she got pregnant, she could turn her life around. But the second daughter's life was in sight. No matter what, she would never surpass the third daughter. So why did she bother to ruin the third daughter's reputation in the first place, and end up with such a marriage?
Seeing Qi Shaozhang jump off the carriage first, and then help Cui Lingyin get off, the maid stepped forward with a smile and bowed, saying, "I greet the Second Aunt and the Second Uncle. The Aunt is coming home today, and the old lady has been waiting for you since early morning. Please go in quickly."
As the old woman spoke, she led the two of them into the gate of the marquis' mansion with a smile, and went all the way to Xilan Courtyard where Madam Zhai lived.
Upon entering the mansion, Cui Lingyin noticed it wasn't as festive and lively as it had been when Cui Lingyan returned. Back then, she wasn't married yet, and her reputation had been ruined by her plot to plot Cui Lingyan and Qi Shaozhang, so she was extremely cautious in the mansion. Back then, she envied the fact that Cui Lingyan's return had garnered such attention from her grandmother, Old Lady Zhai, who was clearly trying to curry favor with her.
Although she was envious at first, when the day came for her to return home, Cui Lingyin did not expect to be comparable to Cui Lingyan. But after all, she grew up in the Marquis' Mansion and always hoped that the mansion would give her some respect.
But there was no bustle along the way, and until I entered the Xilan Courtyard where Madam Zhai lived, I didn't feel much of a festive atmosphere, but rather a sense of solemnity and dullness.
Cui Lingyin's heart skipped a beat, and she felt a little embarrassed. She looked at Qi Shaozhang beside her with some uneasiness.
Qi Shaozhang was no fool. When he first arrived in Beijing and took up residence at the Ningshou Marquisate, he was treated as a beggar, accused of taking advantage of the Qi family, who were taking him seriously, relying on the Qi family's kindness in raising Cui Lingyan. Back then, he felt looked down upon and resentful, sensing the disparity in status and background. Now, having lived in the capital for so long and become Cui's grandson-in-law, he had witnessed the joy and bustle of the Marquisate when Lu Bingzhi accompanied Cui Lingyan back to her parents' home. As the saying goes, everything is afraid of comparison. Throughout this journey, Qi Shaozhang felt the disparity, feeling like he had been slapped in the face by the Marquisate, his in-laws.
But he was no longer the aloof Qi Shaozhang of the past. Suppressing his embarrassment, he smiled and took Cui Lingyin's hand, gently patting it in a comforting gesture: "Let's go in quickly and pay our respects to Grandmother."
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