Chapter 37 Family Shame Please forgive me this time, Third Sister
After hearing the maid's report, Cui Lingyan tightened her grip on the teacup. She was surprised that Lu Bingzhi would send someone to investigate the matter and even hand the evidence directly to her grandmother, Madam Zhai.
In this case, no matter what Madam Zhai's intentions were, she could no longer help Cui Lingyin cover up this scandal for the sake of the reputation of the Marquis' Mansion.
Cui Lingyan couldn't describe the feeling in her heart. She felt relieved but also a little bitter. There were so many rumors outside. Her grandmother had her own thoughts and never thought of making a decision for her. Her mother, Qi, had never comforted her at all. Her aunt came here today to question her about this matter, but it was Lu Bingzhi, an outsider, who not only did not break off the marriage because of these rumors, but handed the evidence to her grandmother and helped her out.
Cui Lingyan's eyes were a little red. No matter why Lu Bingzhi was like this, she was very grateful.
Restraining all the emotions in her heart, Cui Lingyan nodded, put down the teacup in her hand and stood up.
Aunt Zhan had also come to her senses by now and angrily said, "It was Second Miss Cui Lingyin? She's so cruel and ruthless at such a young age. Yan, your aunt will go with you. This matter involves Shaozhang, and the Qi family needs to speak to the old lady and ask if she can give the Qi family an explanation."
Qi Ruorou followed Cui Lingyan and Zhan out of Chuyun Courtyard and headed towards Xilan Courtyard where Old Madam Zhai lived.
Along the way, she was perplexed, wondering why Cui Lingyan had such a good fortune, and how she could have provoked Lu Bingzhi to help her to this extent? The truth was revealed, Cui Lingyan was the most innocent person, and the world only sympathized with her, feeling that she had finally returned to the Marquis' Mansion, but was still being plotted against by her illegitimate cousin.
Qi Ruorou clenched the handkerchief in her hand, her eyes falling on Cui Lingyan. She suddenly felt that if her cousin got married, she might never be able to catch up with her again. She couldn't even envy her. Could it be that God felt sorry for the injustice Cui Lingyan had suffered in the past few years and wanted to compensate Cui Lingyan all at once?
Suddenly a gust of wind blew over, and Qi Ruoruo felt a little pain in her eyes. She closed her eyes and opened them again, following Cui Lingyan and Zhan step by step to Xilan Courtyard.
The Xilan Courtyard was full of people. The first lady Qi, the second lady Bian, and the third lady Gao were all there. Old Lady Zhai was sitting at the top, her face ashen. Madam Wen and Cui Lingyin were kneeling on the ground, both with pale faces.
Also standing nearby was Madam Dou's confidante from the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion, Nanny Sun, who had previously visited the mansion to visit the eldest daughter, Cui Linghui.
As soon as Cui Lingyan and Zhan came in, everyone's eyes fell on Cui Lingyan.
Old Madam Zhai frowned, with a hint of displeasure in her eyes. She felt that Cui Lingyan was really ignorant. Why did she bring her aunt Zhan and Qi Ruoruo with her? Didn't she know that family disgrace should not be made public?
Cui Lingyan took a few steps forward, bowed, and said to Old Madam Zhai, "Yan'er greets Grandmother. My aunt and cousin were just at Yan'er's place. When they heard the maid's report, they came over together."
Madam Zhai was unhappy, but she couldn't blame Cui Lingyan in front of so many people, so she winked at Qi, and Qi and Zhan sat aside.
Cui Lingyan also stood on the side of the main house.
The atmosphere in the room was solemn. Zhan's gaze fell on Cui Lingyin, and she spoke directly, "It's not my place as a relative to interfere in the affairs of the Marquis' Mansion, but those rumors outside concern Yan Yatou and Shao Zhang, and our Qi family can't ignore them. Back then, my aunt sent Yan Yatou to the Qi family, saying that she was to take care of Bo Ge'er. Bo Ge'er was weak and she didn't have enough energy to do it alone. I was afraid that Yan Yatou would be wronged. As her sister-in-law, I sympathized with her and took good care of her for so many years. Although she is my niece, I love her as my own daughter. Who could have imagined that after all the trouble I took to take care of her and finally brought Yan Yatou back to the capital, these rumors would arise and damage Shao Zhang's reputation."
"To be honest, Madam, Shaozhang has always been strong-willed and has the noble spirit of a scholar. Although our Qi family may not be as prominent as the Marquis's, we have never let Shaozhang suffer the slightest injustice. Even if it's not for myself, for the sake of the Qi family, I must demand an explanation for Shaozhang. I can't let this dirty water be thrown on Shaozhang and cause the world to misunderstand him! The Qi family is a small family and doesn't want to repay a favor, but we can't let others repay kindness with hatred and harm our descendants!"
Zhan's words were too direct, and she didn't care about Qi and Old Madam Zhai's reputation at all.
But she had done a favor for the Marquisate, helping them raise their daughter for so many years. Old Lady Zhai couldn't accuse her of talking nonsense, so she could only patiently say, "Aunt, you are too kind. How could our Cui family be so ungrateful? I will definitely give you an explanation on this matter."
After saying this, she looked at Concubine Wen, who was kneeling on the ground, with a hint of coldness, and asked sternly, "Mrs. Wen, why did you do such a thing? Aren't you afraid of implicating Miss Yin? She has been raised under the name of her stepmother since she was a child, which is why people look up to her. Because of your actions, how do you want outsiders to view her? Do you want to harm her for the rest of her life?"
Madam Zhai questioned her like this, how could Concubine Wen not know that the old lady wanted her to pick Cui Lingyin out? Concubine Wen only had Cui Lingyin as her biological daughter, so naturally she wanted to do anything for her daughter. Even if the old lady didn't say it, she wanted to take the responsibility of this matter alone. Hearing that the old lady also meant this, she felt relieved and tears fell. She kowtowed heavily to the old lady and said with shame: "It was all because of my humble concubine's greed that I felt that the third lady had not grown up in the marquis's mansion since she was a child, and although Yin girl was a concubine's daughter, she had been registered under the name of the lady since she was a child, and she could also be As a legitimate daughter, I was naturally proud. I thought that since the eldest daughter couldn't marry due to her cold, this marriage should fall to Yin girl, so that she could marry into a wealthy family. I had hoped so much, but after waiting for it for so long, the marriage fell to the third girl. I was jealous and unwilling to accept it, so I had the idea to ruin her reputation. I heard that the cousin often went out, so I had people keep an eye on him. One day, the cousin was drinking in a restaurant, and then I spread the news that the cousin was depressed because the third girl was going to marry into the Weiguo Mansion and was drinking to drown his sorrows. This caused a lot of gossip in the capital.
"All the mistakes are mine alone, and have nothing to do with the Second Young Lady. The Second Young Lady has been well-behaved and well-mannered since she was little. If she knew what I was thinking, she would never allow me to act this way and make such a mistake. I know I have committed a serious mistake, so I leave it to the Old Lady to decide. I only ask that the Old Lady have mercy on me and give birth to a child for the Cui family, and not vent her anger on the Second Young Lady."
After she said this, she banged her head hard on the ground. After a few hits, her forehead became red and swollen, and a pool of blood appeared on the ground.
Just as Madam Zhai was about to speak, Zhan said coldly, "You think we're all fools? How could you, a concubine, have the audacity to do such a dangerous thing if you weren't working for the Second Young Lady? In my opinion, the Second Young Lady must have called you over and arranged for you to do this. She's happy to see you laughed at once. If the whole thing gets exposed, you, a concubine, will be nothing more than a pawn to be discarded at will."
"Second Miss is truly cruel. Otherwise, seeing her own mother in such a state of humiliation, kneeling down and apologizing, every word spoken was for her own sake, she wouldn't even offer a single plea. It's true that the girls raised in our humble family are not as cruel and ruthless as those raised in the Marquis' Mansion."
"If the Second Miss refuses to confess, and Madam Wen refuses to reveal the Second Miss and insists on protecting her, then let's report it to the authorities. I think if Madam Wen, a weak woman, were to go to jail, she wouldn't be able to withstand the torture and wouldn't tell the truth even if she died."
As Zhan spoke, she stood up and bowed to Nanny Sun, who was standing there. With a choked sob, she said, "Nanny is close to Old Madam Dou. I think Old Madam wants to get to the bottom of this matter. Don't let it remain unclear and let Miss Yan be pointed at in the future, right?"
"I've raised Yan girl. Although I'm only her aunt, I can't bear to see her leave such a hidden danger. It will make her unable to defend herself in the future and make people look down on her. I hope Madam will speak up for Yan girl. After all, Yan girl will be the Crown Prince's wife in the future. Can't the reputation of a Crown Prince's wife be compared with that of a concubine from a marquis's mansion?"
Nanny Sun dodged to the side and did not dare to accept her greeting, but she understood in her heart that Zhan felt that the Qi family was a small family and wanted to take advantage of the power of their Duke's Mansion.
The last sentence, "Is the reputation of the Crown Prince's wife less important than the reputation of a concubine's daughter in a marquis's mansion?", completely punctured the window paper.
Nanny Sun glanced at Cui Lingyan standing there, and thought to herself that with such an aunt, Cui Lingyan might not be very happy in the Qi family. She must be living under someone else's roof and be very cautious in everything she does.
No wonder Cui Lingyan has such a calm personality. It turns out that only when people have more experiences can they become insightful and calm.
Nanny Sun thought so, turned her eyes away from Cui Lingyan, bowed to Old Madam Zhai, and said, "Old Madam, we at the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion also want to handle this matter thoroughly. This will benefit both the Marquis' Mansion and the Duke's Mansion."
Now everyone understands that this matter was instigated by Cui Lingyin. It all depends on whether the Ningshou Marquis's Mansion is willing to hand over Cui Lingyin, the concubine's daughter.
In fact, since the prince intervened in this matter, the Cui family had no right to be perfunctory or false.
Just as Zhan said, isn't the future wife of the Crown Prince of Weiguo inferior to the status of a concubine's daughter in a marquis's mansion?
Cui Lingyin's face turned pale, her lips trembled slightly, and a hint of panic finally appeared in her eyes.
Only then did she realize how clumsy her tricks were. She regretted asking Madam Wen to help her do this. Now, even if Madam Wen was willing to sacrifice her life to get her out, the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion would not give up.
Cui Lingyin's head was buzzing, and her sight fell on Cui Lingyan who was standing there. She knelt and crawled in front of Cui Lingyan, crying and begging for mercy: "Third sister, it was my jealousy that clouded my mind. I beg you to forgive me this time, third sister..."
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