Chapter 168: I care about my children, I care about you, and I care even more...
At the Duke of Weiguo's mansion, Lu Danruo, the eldest daughter of the royal family, was imprisoned in the ancestral hall and forced to kneel. The maids and servants who served Lu Danruo were also imprisoned in the woodshed for thorough interrogation, but in the end, nothing was learned. No one knew how the note and medicine bag appeared next to Lu Danruo's pillow.
Old Madam Dou was furious and drove all the maids and servants out of the inner courtyard. For a while, everyone in the mansion was in panic and the atmosphere was heavy.
Cen family
Cen was talking with Old Madam Mei when suddenly there was a sound of footsteps outside. The curtain was lifted and the nanny who served Cen came in from outside. She walked up to Cen and whispered a few words to her.
Cen's face changed drastically, and the teacup in her hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
The tea splashed everywhere, wetting Cen's skirt.
Cen's face turned pale and she suddenly stood up from her seat.
"How is that possible!" Cen said sternly.
Seeing her daughter's sudden reaction, Mrs. Mei's smile froze. She asked with some worry, "What happened?"
Cen suppressed her panic and anxiety, forced herself to smile, shook her head at Old Madam Mei, and explained, "Something happened at the mansion. I'm going back to the Duke's Mansion first. I'll be back to be with you in a few days."
As Cen spoke, she walked quickly outside. The nanny who served her quickly followed her and returned to the yard to pack her luggage.
In less than half an hour, Cen took a carriage to the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion without even saying goodbye to her sister-in-law Xue.
Upon hearing the news, Madam Xue rushed to the upper room. Seeing Madam Mei, she asked directly, "Why did you suddenly want to go back when you were living so well? Did the Duke of Wei send someone to pick you up?"
Xue felt that Cen was really ignorant of etiquette. No matter how big the matter was, she wouldn't even have the time to come and say goodbye.
What kind of place is the Cen family? Can you come and go as you please? It's a pity that she, as the sister-in-law, has taken such good care of Cen these days.
Just as Xue was about to ask something, Madam Mei said unhappily, "Alright, it's not right for a married woman like her to stay in her parents' home. It's better for her to go back home, so that people won't point fingers at her and poke at our Cen family's spine."
"If there's anything, we'll send someone to investigate in a few days."
After hearing what her mother-in-law said, Xue had to suppress her confusion and curiosity. She had heard that Cen had not only turned pale after hearing something, but also accidentally broke the teacup in her hand.
How big a thing could make her lose her composure like this?
Could it be that there was something wrong with the old lady's health in the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion, which caused Cen, the daughter-in-law, to become distracted and have to rush back?
Xue was in a state of confusion. Seeing that her mother-in-law also had a serious expression on her face, she could only say a few words to comfort her before returning to her room. She sent her personal nanny to send someone to the Duke of Weiguo's mansion to inquire if anything had happened there.
......
The carriage stopped at the gate of the Duke of Weiguo's mansion. Cen stepped on a footstool to get off the carriage and walked quickly inside.
Along the way, the maids and servants hurriedly bowed to her when they saw her, with some unconcealable sympathy in their eyes.
Cen's heart tightened when she saw these looks, but she had no time to get angry. She just hurried towards Qingdeyuan in a hurry.
As soon as she entered the house, she saw Old Madam Dou sitting on the couch. Without even bothering to pay her respects, Cen knelt before her and cried, "Old Madam, how could Danruo have such courage? She was fooled for a moment and lost her mind, so she did such a thing. Please give her a chance and forgive her for her youth. If Cui can't swallow this anger, I, as her mother-in-law, will kowtow to her and apologize!"
Madam Dou finally understood who had taught Lu Danruo to be this way after hearing her words. She didn't know how to face the consequences of her wrongdoings, but instead used her status as an elder to kidnap Cui.
It's really ridiculous. Danruo wanted to kill Cui and the child in her belly, even if she didn't know Cui was pregnant. But if Cui ate the blood swallow, her body would be ruined. Even if she had the title of the prince's wife, she was destined to have no children in this life. For a woman, this is more unbearable than death.
The mother and daughter were nice enough. They felt that for such a big matter, as long as they apologized, Cui would not pursue the matter.
It's really ridiculous. Is Cui a person with a clay figure? She can forgive the person who almost killed her and her unborn child, and can lift him up high and let him go easily.
Do you really think that other people's lives in this world are worthless and only the Cen mother and daughter are noble?
Old Madam Dou looked at Cen coldly, her eyes full of disappointment and chillness. Under such a gaze, Cen's attempt to continue crying stopped all of a sudden.
Her face grew paler, her body trembled, and she said with some disbelief, "Danruo is your own granddaughter. Do you want her reputation to be ruined and her marriage to be delayed?"
When she asked this, Madam Dou said with a hint of sarcasm, "Ruining her reputation? Is it me, her grandmother, who wants to ruin her reputation? If she cared about her own reputation, how could she be so cruel as to want to harm Cui and her unborn child?"
Before Cen could continue, Madam Dou spoke again, "Your pleading won't change the situation this time. Have Danruo kneel in the ancestral hall for one night, and tomorrow morning have her stay at the family temple to reflect on her actions. If she's done reflecting, she can come back in a few years."
As Madam Dou finished speaking, Cen's eyes suddenly widened. She said in disbelief, "Ancestral temple? Madam, Danruo just fell ill a while ago. How could she possibly endure the hardship of a ancestral temple? Besides, if the news gets out, who among the noble families in the capital will still look up to Danruo? In a year or two, Danruo will have reached the age of marriage, and her marriage will have been delayed. How can this be possible?"
"If you're angry with her, you can scold her or beat her, but why would you delay the child's reputation and marriage? Isn't that like asking for her life?"
Seeing that Madam Dou didn't say anything, it was obvious that she had made up her mind and there was no room for maneuver. Cen froze there, and after a long while, she suddenly stood up and rushed out.
Nanny Sun saw the direction Cen went out and said with some worry: "Old Madam, the eldest Madam must have gone to find the young Madam. After all, she is the mother-in-law. The young Madam..."
Before she could finish, Madam Dou interrupted her, "Yan girl is in Songxue Courtyard now. If Cen goes there to make a scene, how can she do that? It's still unclear whether she can enter Songxue Courtyard. Bingzhi has been staying in the mansion all these days!"
"Her pleading for mercy was just asking for humiliation. I know Bingzhi's temper. After such a big incident, even if Cui Shi gave in, Bingzhi would never let this matter go and let his stepsister Danruo go."
"It's not that I, as her grandmother, don't want to give her a chance. It's just that she's too stubborn and bold. If I don't punish her and try to change her temper, who knows what kind of trouble she'll get into in the future."
"Besides, I've also been thinking that it's not appropriate for her to stay in the capital. After two years, I'll just ask her to marry out of the capital. Once she leaves the capital and doesn't have Cen's protection, she'll know the importance of things."
When Nanny Sun heard what the old lady said, she knew that the old lady was completely disappointed this time and was not going to give the second young lady a chance.
But it's better this way. If the second young lady stays in the capital, given her personality, she may not be willing to truly repent. Instead of letting her resent the prince and the young lady and causing trouble in the future, it is better to marry her out of the capital and never see them again.
The second young lady brought this upon herself. She had done such a cruel thing and so she had to bear the consequences. No matter how much Cen cried and begged, this could not be changed.
Nanny Sun sighed softly inwardly, poured a cup of tea and handed it to the old lady, comforting her, "It was the second young lady who did the wrong thing. Whether the old lady punished her by sending her to the family temple or marrying her off outside the capital, it was all for her own good, for the good of the Weiguo Mansion's reputation. The second young lady has only herself to blame. The old lady has loved her over the years, but the second young lady didn't cherish her. She wasn't content at all and had to compete with the prince and the young lady. That's why she was possessed by the devil and did such a foolish thing that is hard to undo!"
......
Songxueyuan
When Cui Lingyan came back from the old lady in the morning, she was frightened, so Birou went to the small kitchen to cook a bowl of calming medicine. After Cui Lingyan drank it, she fell asleep on the bed.
When she opened her eyes again, Lu Bingzhi was sitting beside the bed watching over her, with a grim expression on his face, and no one knew what he was thinking about.
Cui Lingyan knew that he was very angry at the moment, and also a little scared. She sat up, hugged him, patted his back, and said softly, "It's okay, don't worry."
As she finished speaking, Lu Bingzhi's stiff back slowly relaxed, but his voice remained as deep as water: "She did something like this, I will never forgive her."
Cui Lingyan looked up at him and reached out to gently smooth his furrowed brows. "It's okay. Grandmother said she would give me an explanation. Grandmother is fair and just, and she will definitely not let this matter go unpunished."
"Okay, I'm fine, the child is fine too. It's God's blessing that I escaped today even though I felt something was wrong."
The coldness in Lu Bingzhi's eyes slowly dissipated as she soothed him softly. He placed his hand on her slightly bulging belly and said, "If anything happens to you and the child..."
Before he could finish his words, Cui Lingyan covered his mouth with her hand and said softly, "Nothing will happen. Our child is a blessed one."
Lu Bingzhi looked at her and said word by word: "I care about the child, I care about you, and I care about you even more."
Listening to his words, Cui Lingyan was stunned for a moment, and clearly felt the uneasiness and fear in his heart, as well as his care and nervousness for her.
This was the first time he showed such an expression in front of her. Cui Lingyan's heart suddenly felt like it was being pricked by needles, and her eyes couldn't help but turn red. Tears welled up in her eyes and were almost about to fall.
She was also scared, nervous, and angry today. Seeing Lu Bingzhi's scared look, she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable and distressed.
Just when Cui Lingyan was about to say something, Lu Bingzhi took her into his arms.
The familiar scent of Canaan wafted through her nose, making her feel at ease. She moved her lips, wanting to say something, but then pursed them tightly and said nothing. She just wanted to be with him quietly like this. The two of them hugged each other, letting the fear slowly dissipate.
Just then, there was a burst of crying and noise outside, and Cui Lingyan subconsciously wanted to get up.
At this time, Birou pushed the door open and came in, reporting through the inner room curtains, "Prince, Young Madam, the eldest Madam has returned from the Cen family and is now crying at the gate of Songxue Courtyard, explaining on behalf of the second young lady, saying that she was ignorant and had made a mistake in the moment. She said that if the young lady is angry, she can scold or beat her as she pleases, but she will forgive her this time because of her young age."
Birou hesitated for a moment, then continued, "The eldest lady said that if the young lady doesn't forgive the second lady, she will kneel at the door of Songxue Hall and won't get up until the young lady gives in."
Cui Lingyan felt sick after hearing this. Before she could say anything, Lu Bingzhi said coldly, "Let her kneel down if she wants. Kneel down and die at the gate of Songxueyuan. The mansion won't lack a coffin for her!"
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