Chapter 153: Even the Kangshou Marquis Mansion and Zheng Suining can’t be in the rockery...
After Yulan left, Cui Linghui was so angry that she almost smashed all the teacups on the table to the ground, but she was reluctant to do so. Now all the things in the house were given according to the share of a concubine. If something was broken, she would have to use her own money to ask someone to buy it again. She was no longer the noble and respectable daughter of a marquis who was about to marry Lu Bingzhi, but a small concubine in the second prince's mansion.
Compared with Yulan and Qiu Ning, others looked down on her even more. At least Yulan and Qiu Ning would not be laughed at, but she, the legitimate daughter of the eldest son of the Ningshou Marquis's family, had ended up in such a state. Not only would it attract attention and discussion, but it would also make others look down on her even more.
Just as Yulan had said, Zheng Suining's arrival gave the mansion a new mistress. Even though she knew in her past life that Zheng Shi was disliked by Xiao Ze and had simply assumed the title of Prince's Consort, she was now a mere concubine of low status, and naturally felt inferior to Zheng Suining. She didn't care that Xiao Ze and Zheng Shi were spending their wedding night tonight; the thought of kneeling down to kowtow and offer tea to Zheng Shi tomorrow was enough to make her tremble with anger.
When Zheng came into the family, she might not care about Qiu Ning and Yu Lan. The first person she would deal with would probably be her, the legitimate daughter of a marquis who used to have a similar status to her.
Cui Linghui's face was grim. He said to Ying'er, "Today, His Highness is getting married, and there will definitely be people coming from the Zhenguo Mansion. Go secretly and see if it's your aunt or your grandmother. If it's your grandmother, privately find the maidservant who serves your grandmother and ask her to pass on a message to her. Ask her if she has asked someone to find the thing I asked for last time. If so, send someone to deliver it to the prince's mansion as soon as possible."
"Now that Zheng has entered the family, my situation has become extremely awkward. If I could have a child, I would feel more confident."
Ying'er knew about her master's plan. She had secretly spread the news when she was in the palace, but after the news was spread, there was no response for a long time.
Now that the master brought up the matter again, Ying'er felt that it was somewhat dangerous, after all, the master had already suffered from a cold, so how could he use medicine like that? But the master was in such a situation now that she could no longer hesitate.
Thinking of this, she obediently agreed, turned around and left the house, secretly heading towards the banquet in the front yard.
At the banquet, there was a lively and joyous atmosphere. The dowry of Zheng Suining, the eldest daughter of the Kangshou Marquis's mansion, was carried into the Second Prince's mansion one by one. The guests who came to congratulate him brought gifts that were more valuable than each other.
After the banquet, the women strolled around the garden.
Cui Lingyan accompanied her grandmother, Old Lady Zhai, for a while, and then she saw Old Lady Zhai looking towards the backyard with a complicated look in her eyes.
After a long moment, the old lady withdrew her gaze, glanced at Cui Lingyan, sighed softly, and said, "The one who troubled you at the banquet just now was someone from Concubine Shu's maternal family. You didn't give her the slightest bit of respect, and if this got to Concubine Shu's ears, she would have been deeply offended. Although the Second Prince has been repeatedly reprimanded and punished by the Emperor recently, the Emperor has three sons in total. The Third Prince is only seven years old, and the First Prince is also mediocre in talent. Even though Concubine Shu has lost her position as Imperial Concubine, the Emperor had a rift with the late Empress because of her, and directly brought her into the palace and made her Imperial Concubine. The late Empress also died of dystocia due to this incident, which shows the status of Imperial Concubine Shu in the Emperor's heart at that time. Since there was affection back then, there may be room for reversal now. As Grandmother said, if you can avoid offending the Second Prince, it is better not to offend him."
"I'm going to say something you don't want to hear. Even though Prince Lu is the son of Princess Shuning and the Emperor's nephew, how can he compare to the nobility of the Prince? Now that you've completely offended him, what if it's the Second Prince who takes that position in the future? How will the Duke of Wei handle it? You and the Prince don't have any children yet. If you do, and they ruin the whole family because of the offense you've done to that person, how will you not regret what you did?"
Mrs. Zhai thought of Lu Bingzhi's affection for her granddaughter today and advised, "The Crown Prince values you and loves you now, so as his wife, you should persuade him more. If there are some grievances, you should endure them. Grandmother is doing this for the good of you young ones."
Cui Lingyan listened to Madam Zhai's rare chattering and a bit of sadness, but she was unmoved in her heart and did not think there was anything wrong with what she said just now.
If you want to take care of everything, you may not dare to offend anyone, and you won't even dare to say a word when you are bullied.
Of all the concerns the old lady had, had she ever considered the reputation of the Duke of Wei's mansion and Lu Bingzhi? If Lu Bingzhi were to be humble and subservient, how would the world view him, the heir of the Duke of Wei?
Not to mention, his status is already noble, he is the legitimate son of the late queen, and is the most precious. Why should he bow to the second prince Xiao Ze?
Even without this status, the Second Prince's temperament wouldn't guarantee him such a position. Even if the Duke's Mansion had to take sides, they wouldn't side with Second Prince Xiao Ze, who secretly poisoned Lu Bing and had long since torn their relationship apart.
When Mrs. Zhai saw the look on her face, she knew that she hadn't heard a word of her concern and worry.
She sighed softly in her heart and said aloud, "Alright, ask Birou to accompany you here to appreciate the flowers. I'll go back over there and sit for a while. Wait until we pick up the bride, and then you can leave with the prince. There's no need to come over and say goodbye to me, your elder."
After saying this, Madam Zhai turned around and walked out with the nanny.
Cui Lingyan did not chase after her. After seeing Mrs. Zhai leave, she turned around and took Birou to appreciate the flowers in the garden.
When I walked behind a rockery, I heard a choked voice.
Cui Lingyan stopped when she heard the voice, turned around and shook her head slightly at Birou who was following behind her.
A woman behind the rockery choked with sobs and pleaded, "Go back and tell the old lady about her situation in the Second Prince's residence. The old lady loves her granddaughter the most and naturally can't bear to see her suffer in the prince's residence."
"Now that the Second Prince's Consort Zheng has arrived, she will surely mistreat our daughter. After all, she has the Zhenguogong Mansion as her in-laws. If she is mistreated by the Prince's Consort, it will be embarrassing for the Zhenguogong Mansion, and the old lady won't know how to care for our daughter. Report to the old lady and tell her that the things the daughter asked her to find in the palace should be delivered to the Prince's Mansion as soon as possible. Only if the daughter becomes pregnant and gives birth to a child will she have someone to rely on in the future."
After hearing this, Cui Lingyan stopped listening and turned to leave the rockery.
Birou followed Cui Lingyan, a look of confusion on her face. She lowered her voice when they were a little further away, "It sounds like the young lady's maidservant. Do you think the thing she asked for is some kind of fertility aid? But the young lady fell into the water and caught a cold, and even the palace physicians can't help. A strong remedy would be necessary to help her conceive, and that's quite dangerous. It seems the young lady's situation in the Prince's mansion is truly dire."
Cui Lingyan didn't take Cui Linghui seriously. Listening to Birou's words, she walked forward and said, "She was probably anxious about the Second Prince's wife coming in. She also thought that having a child would give her some confidence and face in front of the Second Prince's wife."
"She is a very proud person. What she fears most is being compared to others and being looked down upon."
Listening to the young lady's words, Birou nodded. The young lady was proud and arrogant. Now that she was in such a situation, it was natural for her to think that she could rely on her children to change her situation. This was not surprising at all.
But the elder girl always thinks she is smart, and the things she does never have good results. I don’t know if she can turn things around this time with the help of the pregnancy-aiding prescription.
Knowing that the young lady and the eldest girl had no feelings for each other, and that there was no need to care about the eldest girl now, Bi Rou did not mention the matter again. Instead, she changed the subject and walked back with the young lady.
In the evening, festive music was heard, and the people sent by the Ministry of Rites to pick up the Second Prince's wife, Zheng, returned to the Second Prince's Mansion.
Cui Lingyan listened to the discussions around her and realized that Xiao Ze did not go to the Kangshou Marquis's mansion to welcome her in person today. Instead, the ceremonial officials sent by the Ministry of Rites welcomed the Second Prince's wife into the mansion.
For someone of Xiao Ze's status, being willing to personally welcome the bride was giving face to the Kangshou Marquisate and Zheng Suining. If he was unwilling to personally welcome the bride but instead asked the ceremonial officials arranged by the Ministry of Rites to go and welcome her, no one else could find any fault with him. Even the Kangshou Marquisate and Zheng Suining could not find fault with Xiao Ze on this point.
She also remembered that the decree granting the marriage came from the Empress Dowager's palace. She didn't know what the Empress Dowager thought of Xiao Ze's behavior.
Someone whispered, "The Second Prince has been paying his respects outside the Qinzheng Palace these days, but the Emperor has only summoned him a few times. The rest of the time, he just had him pay his respects and kowtow outside. Perhaps the Second Prince is in a bad mood, which is why he didn't go to the wedding. But now, the Second Prince's wife has lost face the moment she arrives at the palace. Who knows what will happen tonight. I hope the Second Prince doesn't even feel like celebrating his wedding night."
The last half of the sentence was even lowered, but it also fell into the ears of Cui Lingyan who was beside him.
Cui Lingyan remembered that in the dream she heard from Qi Shaozhang that Zheng was not liked by Xiao Ze. Xiao Ze was willful and disregarded etiquette, so he had an affair with Cui Linghui in private, and even caused that scandal at the palace banquet, which made the emperor furious and ordered Cui Linghui to be executed.
The whole place was filled with joy. Cui Lingyan sighed softly in her heart and actually felt a little sympathy for Zheng Suining. With her status, the Second Prince didn't even give her dignity on his wedding day, making people in the capital laugh at her. In the future, he would probably not care about her reputation as his wife.
Cui Lingyan was thinking this when she saw that Xiao Ze's face looked a little bad. Someone in the crowd also whispered that the rewards given by the emperor to the second prince at his wedding this time were not as good as those given to him when the eldest prince got married.
Cui Lingyan understood. No wonder the Second Prince was unhappy on his wedding day. Even though he tried to hold it back, he couldn't hide the irritability and depression in his eyes.
After a while, the guests left the Second Prince's Mansion one after another.
Cui Lingyan and Lu Bingzhi also left the Second Prince's Mansion and sat in the carriage waiting outside.
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