Chapter 158: Cui Lingyan sat beside him, naturally there was no...
Hearing what Shupin said, Cui Linghui suddenly clenched the handkerchief in her hand. She knew that Shupin disliked her, so she deliberately wanted to embarrass her in front of Cui Lingyan.
She hesitated for a moment, then heard Concubine Shu say with a hint of disdain, "Why, you don't want to accept my kindness?"
Cui Linghui didn't dare speak out loud even though she was thinking this. She could only force a smile and say, "Your Majesty, you've misunderstood. I simply know my status is humble, and I'm afraid that going to the Cining Palace would displease the Empress Dowager."
Concubine Shu said nonchalantly, "It's okay. After all, you serve Ze'er, and your background is different from Qiu Ning and the others. The Queen Mother will definitely not embarrass you out of consideration for Ze'er."
After saying this, Shupin held Zheng Suining's arm and walked out.
Cui Linghui bit her lip and could only follow the two of them.
On the way to the Cining Palace, Concubine Shu's every word was filled with dissatisfaction with Lu Bingzhi, the Prince of Weiguo. She said to Zheng Suining, "Even though he's Princess Shu Ning, he's no more senior than Ze'er, yet he doesn't know the difference between high and low, and dares to look down on Ze'er, a prince. If it weren't for this, why would Ze'er be so mean to him? But the Empress Dowager is partial, and Lu Bingzhi always puts on that cool and indifferent demeanor, making it seem like Ze'er is deliberately making things difficult for him. You're Ze'er's legal wife, and you should often visit the palace to accompany the Empress Dowager. If you can please her, you can also help Ze'er. Don't let Lu Bingzhi and your wife please the Empress Dowager so much that people might think he's not the Crown Prince, but the Emperor's biological son."
Zheng Suining's heart grew colder as Shupin relied on her so much and treated her so closely, and a hint of subtle sarcasm appeared in her eyes.
She finally understood why Xiao Ze had such a temper. It turned out that the root cause was Concubine Shu.
With a husband like Xiao Ze and a mother-in-law like Shupin, she, the second prince's consort, looks respectable now, but who knows what her fate will be in the future.
Suppressing this thought in her heart, Zheng Suining smiled and nodded to Concubine Shu, saying respectfully, "Yes, Suining understands. If I can please the Queen Mother, it will be a blessing for Suining."
Concubine Shu was satisfied with her answer, nodded, and patted the back of her hand: "It's good that you understand my painstaking efforts. My brother always follows his own temper, which inevitably makes you suffer some grievances. But one day he will see your good side and know that you, as his wife, always consider him in everything and are truly of the same mind as him."
Zheng Suining nodded, feigning a shy expression, lowering her brows slightly and looking away. She caught sight of Cui Linghui's skirt from the corner of her eye, and thought that Concubine Shu had spoken so disregardingly of Cui Linghui's dignity, truly treating her like a concubine of the same background as Qiu Ning and Yu Lan.
I don’t know what Cui Linghui’s mood is at this moment.
Cining Palace
When the Queen Mother heard the maid report that Concubine Shu had brought the Second Prince's consorts, Zheng Suining and Cui Linghui, to pay their respects, her smile faded a little, and she ordered the maid, "Bring them in."
When Cui Lingyan saw the empress dowager's expression, she naturally knew that the empress dowager was not happy about Shupin coming.
Moreover, she thought that Zheng Suining had just followed Xiao Ze to the palace to pay respects yesterday. Today, Zheng Suining did not stay in the Second Prince's Mansion but went to the palace to accompany Shupin, and even brought Cui Linghui with her. This idea made people feel that she did it on purpose.
I don't know whether Zheng Suining deliberately brought Cui Linghui with her to embarrass her, or Cui Linghui earned this respect in front of Xiao Ze, so that she could follow Zheng Suining into the palace.
But no matter what the reason was, their entering the palace together really attracted attention, and the Queen Mother would probably think it was inappropriate, so she looked unhappy.
Following the empress dowager's instructions, the palace maid retreated and soon led Concubine Shu and several others in.
Cui Lingyan thought of the last time she and Lu Bingzhi went to the palace to pay their respects to the empress dowager. It was also when she was talking to the empress dowager in the Cining Palace that Concubine Shu brought Cui Linghui to pay their respects.
It was like this last time, and it is like this today.
There is no need to think about it, Shupin did it on purpose.
Thinking of the quarrel between Shupin and the women from her maternal family at Xiao Ze's wedding banquet, Cui Lingyan thought that Shupin might be unhappy, so she came here today.
But what could she do? The woman had been so humiliated at the wedding banquet that she couldn't say a word. Could Concubine Shu still question whether she, the Crown Prince's wife, had bullied her? Cui Lingyan felt that Concubine Shu wouldn't be that stupid.
She kept all these thoughts in her heart, and watched as Concubine Shu sat down and chatted with the Empress Dowager. She also praised Zheng Suining, her daughter-in-law, and said that Zheng Suining was the most filial and liked to copy Buddhist scriptures on weekdays. The Empress Dowager loved to worship Buddha, and from now on she would have another granddaughter-in-law to accompany her. As she listened, she slowly understood Concubine Shu's thoughts.
After all, everyone could tell from what Shupin said that the empress dowager should love her legitimate grandson and granddaughter-in-law, Xiao Ze and Zheng Suining, more than her illegitimate grandson and granddaughter-in-law, Lu Bingzhi and Cui Lingyan.
It is important to distinguish between close and distant relatives, especially among the royal family.
Zheng Suining stood beside Shupin, with her head slightly lowered, her cheeks slightly red. She didn't know what she was thinking about. Cui Lingyan could feel a sense of embarrassment and nervousness in her.
Cui Lingyan glanced at her, thinking of her previous situation in the Kangshou Marquis Mansion, and also thinking of the embarrassment that Xiao Ze had caused her after she married Xiao Ze and became the Second Prince's consort, she couldn't help but feel a little sympathy in her heart.
In that dream, she had faced the same situation when she married Qi Shaozhang. However, despite her sympathy, she never looked down on these noble ladies in the capital.
No matter how hard Zheng Suining's life was, she was still the Second Prince's Consort, and she was respected in the capital. Even if outsiders wanted to talk about the wedding, they would only talk about it in private. Unless they were stupid, they would not say anything in front of Zheng Suining.
Cui Lingyan withdrew her thoughts from Zheng Suining, sipping her tea while listening to Concubine Shu and the Queen Mother talking. After praising Zheng Suining as her daughter-in-law for a while, Concubine Shu naturally talked about the wedding day and said casually, "On the day of Ze'er's wedding, Chun'an, the elder sister, did not attend in person. If she was not feeling well, she didn't even send someone to explain. How could they be siblings? Even outsiders wouldn't act like this. Chun'an has misunderstood me, her aunt, for many years. The Emperor always protected her, but Chun'an is a noble lady of the royal family after all. Sometimes, if she is too self-willed, "Your temper has affected your reputation. You don't know how many people are making up stories and gossiping about Chun'an. She's been married for years and still hasn't gotten pregnant. Now that her younger uncle is getting married, people are saying that once Weiguogong's eldest daughter, Lu Danyan, marries and gives birth to a child, the child will be adopted by Chun'an. As his aunt, I can't help but feel worried about this and don't know what to do. In my opinion, it's better to let someone stay with the Duke of Dingguo. Even if the mother is killed and the child is raised under Chun'an's name, it's better than adopting a child from the second wife's house, which will cause more problems in the future."
"Old Madam Yin was unable to persuade Duke Dingguo, and Chun'an has always been arrogant and self-indulgent. I feel that only you, the Empress Dowager, as her own grandmother, can control Chun'an."
After Concubine Shu said this, there was silence in the palace.
Although Cui Lingyan didn't look at Lu Bingzhi beside her, she could imagine how much coldness there was in Lu Bingzhi's eyes at this moment.
The Empress Dowager understood what Concubine Shu meant, but she didn't listen to her words at all. She just said, "Just worry about Ze'er's affairs. Chun'an has the Emperor to worry about. As long as the Emperor is alive, how dare the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion wrong Chun'an?"
"Or, Concubine Shu, do you think that the emperor will no longer be able to protect his own daughter Chun'an in a few years?"
The Empress Dowager's words were indeed quite harsh, especially when she said them in front of Lu Bingzhi and Cui Lingyan. It was clear that she had no regard for the face of Concubine Shu and Second Prince Xiao Ze at all. It was obvious how unhappy the Empress Dowager was to hear Concubine Shu say these things.
The emperor's inability to protect Chun'an has two meanings: one is that the emperor has passed away, and the other is that the emperor is still alive but the power has been given to others. No matter which one it is, it is a curse and resentment, and how could Shupin dare to admit it!
Concubine Shu turned pale as paper and quickly stood up and knelt to apologize, "Your Majesty, that is not what I meant. I was concerned about Chun'an and spoke carelessly. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Shupin, the mother-in-law, was kneeling on the ground. Zheng Suining naturally didn't want to see her mother-in-law embarrassed, so she also knelt behind Shupin. Cui Linghui had no choice but to kneel down as well.
For a moment, only the Empress Dowager, Lu Bingzhi and Cui Lingyan were sitting in the hall, which made the scene even more embarrassing.
Lu Bingzhi had no intention of getting up, and Cui Lingyan, who was sitting next to him, naturally did not move either.
Seeing the two of them like this, Concubine Shu's face became even uglier. She felt in her heart that her son had really seen through Lu Bingzhi. He really had no sense of propriety or etiquette. He thought that because the Empress Dowager, as his grandmother, loved him, he could be so arrogant and rude!
She was the one who gave birth to the prince, and Zheng was the prince's consort. Both of their identities were more noble than Lu Bingzhi's. How could Lu Bingzhi sit so at ease and instead ask her and Zheng to kneel down?
Moreover, Cui Lingyan didn't realize anything was wrong at all, and didn't feel awkward at all. She could sit there with Lu Bingzhi and watch her and Zheng's embarrassment.
The Queen Mother let Concubine Shu kneel for a moment before speaking: "I know what you are thinking, but Chun'an's affairs have always been the Emperor's concern. Not to mention your unsympathetic aunt, even I cannot interfere in Chun'an's affairs. Besides, Duke Dingguo has deep feelings for Chun'an. Whether or not to take a concubine is a private matter between the couple. Concubine Shu, please don't worry about it. If you have the time, you might as well persuade Ze'er to control his temper, treat his wife Zheng well, and not cause any scandal that would displease the Emperor."
The Queen Mother's words were heard by everyone, and her displeasure towards her grandson, Xiao Ze, was palpable. She specifically told Xiao Ze to treat Zheng better, no doubt because she knew Xiao Ze hadn't gone to the Marquis of Kangshou's mansion to personally welcome her on their wedding day, and even knew that he had spent his wedding night in the room of his concubine, Cui Linghui.
Concubine Shu was not uneasy about her son's wedding. Otherwise, Zheng Shi would not have come to the palace for two consecutive days. She always had to comfort Zheng Shi, and today she even scolded Cui Linghui in front of Zheng Shi.
However, the Empress Dowager made it clear in front of Lu Bingzhi and Cui Lingyan that her son and Zheng had been having marital discord since their marriage. Shupin felt embarrassed and felt that the Empress Dowager did not love Ze'er as a grandson at all.
Lu Bingzhi was just a grandson, but in the Empress Dowager's heart he was much more important than Zeger, her own grandson.
No wonder his son disliked his cousin Lu Bingzhi and even wished he would die.
In the past, she always advised her son, but today was so embarrassing. She and Zheng were kneeling here, while Lu Bingzhi and Cui Lingyan were still sitting. For the first time, she had the same thoughts as her son.
And Chun'an, the empress dowager doesn't necessarily love her granddaughter Chun'an that much. She probably just acts like this because she sees how much the emperor dotes on Chun'an, as if she doesn't know.
She came here today intending to use the Queen Mother to cause trouble for Chun'an, but she didn't expect that the Queen Mother didn't listen to her words at all. Instead, she accused her of such a serious crime and made her so embarrassed.
After a long moment, when Concubine Shu was pinching her palms so hard that her nails could almost pierce the flesh and bleed, the Queen Mother said calmly, "Get up, and be more careful with your words from now on. You've been in the palace for so many years, you should know how much trouble you can cause by speaking without restraint! I won't hold it against you, but if others hear what you said, they might hold it against you!"
Shupin replied yes and then stood up.
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