Chapter 23: The sister of the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion even looks down on Prince Lu, could it be possible...
Within half a day, news spread like wildfire, quickly spreading throughout the capital that Cui Lingyan, the third daughter of the Ningshou Marquis's mansion, had replaced Cui Linghui, the eldest daughter, as the fiancée of Lu Bingzhi, the heir of the Duke of Wei. Everyone was shocked, yet lamented the pathetic nature of this high-ranking marriage. But considering that the eldest daughter, Cui, had fallen into the water and caught a cold, the Empress Dowager couldn't allow her to continue marrying into the Duke of Wei's mansion. She naturally chose another grandson's wife.
Being able to choose from the Ningshou Marquis's Mansion was the last bit of respect the Empress Dowager and the Weiguo Duke's Mansion had given the Cui family. Otherwise, the Cui family would have been truly shameless, and not only that, but Prince Lu's reputation would have been affected. Now that the Third Miss Cui had been chosen, both sides had maintained respectability, and it seemed reasonable and unacceptable.
The only pity is Miss Cui. I don’t know how she, who is so precious and precious in the Marquis’ Mansion, could have fallen into the water and caught a cold. Otherwise, how could she have lost this marriage?
Rumors soon surfaced, claiming that Miss Cui had long disliked the marriage after Prince Lu was poisoned, and that she had deliberately caused the drowning incident. Now that she had caught a cold and had canceled the marriage, it was her own fault, fulfilling her wishes. Meanwhile, Miss Cui San, having just returned to the capital, was about to marry into the Duke of Wei's mansion in Miss Cui's place. While this was a blessing, it also served as a ward off disaster for Miss Cui.
After all, Lu Bingzhi has a hidden illness. If Miss Cui San cannot get pregnant in the future, her life in the Weiguo Mansion will probably be difficult. Instead of having wealth and glory, it is better to marry a man of equal status and better health, so that they can have their own children in the future. Wouldn't that be more appropriate?
All sorts of gossip quickly thrust the Ningshou Marquis's and Weiguo Duke's mansions into the spotlight once again. Some in the capital's aristocratic circles breathed a sigh of relief, believing that the Empress Dowager had chosen Cui Lingyan to marry them instead, thus preventing them from being targeted. Otherwise, an imperial decree would have determined whether they would marry or not if they were chosen. Others felt that Cui Lingyan was truly blessed to have received such a prestigious position upon her return. If Lu Bingzhi could recover, Cui Lingyan would become pregnant and give birth to a child, allowing them to establish themselves in the Duke's mansion, which would be a cause for envy.
However, while they felt it was a possibility, they also considered it extremely unlikely, so they wouldn't gamble their own marriages on it. If they lost, they would only have the title of Crown Prince's Consort, a position that was worthless. So, even though they felt Cui Lingyan's prestigious status was unsatisfying, no one saw anything wrong with the marriage. They only wondered what life would hold for Cui Lingyan as the Crown Prince's Consort. After all, Cui Lingyan had been raised in a foreign family. Could she handle the social interactions and intrigues of the Duke's Mansion?
Zhenguogong Mansion
Madam Dong's face turned grim. She put the teacup down on the table with force and said coldly, "The Duke of Wei's Mansion is too much of a bully. Miss Hui just had a cold, and Lu Bingzhi still has some residual poison in his body. Why can't they tolerate Miss Hui? They want to change this marriage and let Cui Lingyan marry in her place. If this happens, how can Miss Hui maintain her dignity in the future?"
When Lady Xue, wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, heard what her mother-in-law said, how could she not know that her mother-in-law was really blaming the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion, and that she was really displeased with the Empress Dowager in the palace. She was just afraid of breaking a taboo and did not dare to blame the person in the Cining Palace, nor did she dare to express her resentment out loud.
Her expression changed slightly, and she spoke soothingly, "Mother, calm down. Now that things have come to this, perhaps it would be a good thing for Cui Lingyan to marry Master Lu. After all, Master Lu is ill, and it would be hard for Hui to marry him without a child. Even if she adopts a child from another family, it's not her own. Would she have to work hard all her life to raise someone else's child?"
"Mother loves Hui girl so much, how could she bear to let her suffer like this?"
Xue knew that her mother-in-law loved her granddaughter Cui Linghui the most, even more than the other grandchildren in the mansion, so she knew what to say and what not to say.
As expected, her words struck a chord with the old lady. She sighed softly and said, "You're right. Yao'er only had Hui as her daughter, and she passed away early. As her mother, I naturally have to take good care of Hui, her granddaughter. Hui has now caught a cold, and the news has spread throughout the capital. How can she find a good marriage in the future?"
Xue's heart skipped a beat when she heard her mother-in-law's words, but she didn't show it on her face. She only said gently, "Mother, you're too kind. Hui was born in a marquis's mansion, and she has you, her grandmother, who loves her so much. With such a family background, she can get all the best tonics and medicinal herbs. How can she not recover well? Besides, Hui's abdominal pain in the palace previously alarmed the imperial physician because it happened to be her period. It's common for girls to have abdominal pain during their period. How can we generalize and say it's a severe cold? Maybe the imperial physician figured out the intentions of the person in the Cining Palace and came to this conclusion. Perhaps it's because the empress dowager had a grudge because of Hui's drowning incident and didn't want Hui to marry into the Weiguo Mansion."
The old lady's face changed when she heard this, and she said, "Girl Hui would never do such a thing. It was just a rumor that spread to the palace and caused the Empress Dowager to misunderstand."
Regardless of whether Cui Linghui fell into the water on purpose, she, as a grandmother, could not take it seriously.
"Forget it. It's pointless to say more now. Hui girl must be having a hard time in the Marquis' Mansion. I know Old Madam Zhai's personality. She usually looks kind and loving, but now that Hui girl has lost this marriage and the identity of the future wife of the Duke of Wei, she can't help but look down on her a little. How can she love her as much as before? Not to mention, Cui Lingyan has returned to the mansion, and she is Qi's biological daughter. No matter how partial Qi was to her daughter before, now that Cui Lingyan has received this honor, Qi will definitely stand on Cui Lingyan's side. In this way, I don't know how much grievance Hui girl will have to endure."
"Tomorrow, go to the Ningshou Marquis's residence in person and bring Hui girl to our Duke's residence to stay for a while. Tell her that my grandmother has fallen ill and you want her to come and take care of her."
"I think Madam Zhai, out of filial piety, wouldn't stop us from calling someone over."
Xue was a little unhappy, but she didn't say anything and just nodded in agreement.
After chatting with the old lady for a while, Xue stood up and said goodbye.
When she left, the old lady's face looked a little bad. She sighed softly and said, "Alas, she is afraid that I will be tempted to ask Hui girl to marry back to our Zhenguo Mansion."
Nanny Pan, who was serving beside her, felt a pang in her heart and did not dare to respond.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, the old lady looked up at her and said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "You think I'm too old and blind to understand her feelings. She pretends to be a good aunt every day, but in reality, how could she be interested in my little girl Hui? Now that she has lost her status as the Crown Prince's wife, I'm afraid that in the eyes of her as her aunt, she has lost even more respect. How could she be willing to have her as her daughter-in-law?"
Nanny Pan said, "My cousin is so blessed to have the love of the old lady, your grandmother. Furthermore, my son-in-law is also very fond of my cousin. With my son-in-law protecting her, who in the Marquis's Mansion would dare to neglect my cousin? Even Qi is only a concubine. Isn't she afraid that neglecting my cousin will anger my son-in-law and dislike her as a concubine?"
Hearing what Pan Ma said, the old lady sneered, "What man can be relied upon? Do you think he's deeply in love with Qi because she looks like Yao'er? Do you think he's obsessed with her because he now has a concubine named Liu in his backyard who also looks 70% like Yao'er?"
"What a joke! Seeing him so deeply in love makes me feel sick for Yao'er. Otherwise, he shouldn't have remarried. Who is he pretending to be so affectionate for?"
"It's better to rely on me, your grandmother, than on him to support Hui girl!"
Seeing the old lady so angry, Nanny Pan hurried forward and handed her a cup of warm water, saying soothingly, "Please calm down, old lady. It's not worth it to make yourself sick. If anything happens to you, who will protect you in the future?"
"Besides, no matter whether the son-in-law still has feelings for our daughter or he just likes girls like this, if he makes this gesture, the Qi family will be wary of him, which is a good thing for our daughter."
The old lady took a sip of water, her expression still a little grim. She nodded and said, "Alright, there's no point in saying all this. Ask Hui girl to come and stay with me for a while, so that the child won't be left without support when she gets wronged."
"As for the rest, she just broke off her engagement with Master Lu after all, so she can wait and discuss any ideas later."
Hearing the old lady say this, Nanny Pan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
......
Xue did not return to her own courtyard, but went to Lanxiayuan where her daughter Mu Zhen lived.
She told her daughter what had just happened at the old lady's, a hint of worry between her brows and eyes. "I don't mind how much your grandmother dotes on your cousin. After all, besides your father and uncle, your grandmother only has your aunt as her daughter, so naturally she loves her like a treasure. Hui girl is the only daughter left by your aunt, so it's only natural that your grandmother dotes on her more."
"But no matter how much I love you, there is a limit. If your grandmother wants Hui to marry your brother, I will never agree."
Seeing Xue's grim expression, Mu Zhen consoled her, "Mother, don't think too much about it. As long as Grandma doesn't mention it, Mother will pretend she doesn't know what Grandma is thinking."
"It's okay to bring your cousin over to live with you for a while. Treat her the same way you treated her before."
"To be frank, my cousin doesn't even look down on Prince Lu, so how could she look down on my brother? I've been with my cousin since we were young, and in my opinion, she has very high aspirations. Now that this marriage is over, she must be holding back her anger and must be carefully planning another good future."
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