Chapter 6: Changes But Cui Linghui fell into the water and became ill, but nothing happened...
Nanny Jiang listened to Qi's words and quickly spoke to comfort her, "No matter how much you laugh at me, it can't change the fact that you are the Marquis's wife, in charge of the Marquis's household affairs. From now on, the Marquis's mansion will be handed over to our Third Young Master. In these matters alone, the Second and Third Madams can never compare to Madam."
Nanny Jiang had served Qi for many years and knew her temper very well. After she said a few words, Qi's expression eased a little.
"Yes, that's true." Qi said, and then casually asked, "Did you take Yan's girl back to Chuyunyuan? What do you think of her? Does she harbor any resentment towards me as her mother?"
Upon hearing this, Nanny Jiang quickly said, "Madam, how could you think that? You carried the Third Miss for ten months and gave birth to her. How can you deny this kindness? The Third Miss must have come back this time with the intention of being filial to Madam and staying by her side."
"Besides, Madam sent the Third Young Lady to the Qi family for the Third Young Master. How could the Third Young Lady not understand her motherly heart? Unless, the Third Young Lady doesn't care about the Third Young Master as her younger brother."
Qi nodded and said to Nanny Jiang with a touch of intimacy, "Nanny, you really understand my painstaking efforts. Unlike those people outside, who frame me without knowing right or wrong. If I really did something wrong, why didn't the old lady and the master in the mansion stop me? It's obvious that they all believed that Yan's fate was too strong and were quite taboo about it. If I hadn't sent her to the Qi family, I don't know how much injustice this child would have suffered in the mansion over the years because of this."
As Qi said this, she completely put behind her mind the fact that she had insisted on sending Cui Lingyan to the Qi family.
Seeing that she had come to her senses, Nanny Jiang reported to Qi in detail what had happened in Chuyun Courtyard.
"I don't think the crabapple teacup was the eldest lady's idea. It's probably because someone below didn't pay attention and took the wrong thing. Fortunately, the third lady didn't take it to heart and even said she would go and thank the eldest lady."
"When the young lady asked about the eldest lady's illness, I told the third lady the whole story, so that she wouldn't say something inappropriate without knowing anything."
Qi was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Just tell her, she has returned to the mansion, these things can't be concealed."
After saying this, Qi saw that it was already dark. She glanced outside the room, a look of disappointment appearing between her eyebrows. She said with a hint of fatigue, "Let's not talk about this anymore. I'm really tired after a long day. Please help me bathe and get settled. We can arrange anything else tomorrow."
Nanny Jiang knew what Qi was thinking. With the Third Miss back home today, the Marquis should have stayed at Madam's house and chatted with her. But Madam had been busy with household duties over the years, and there was now Concubine Liu. Her features were very similar to those of the late Madam, and the Marquis was quite fond of her, to the point that he spent most of the month staying at her place.
Fortunately, Concubine Liu's pregnancy was not going well, and there was no movement, so she didn't make it public. Otherwise, Madam would have no idea how much of a headache she would have.
Nanny Jiang kept these thoughts to herself and helped Qi go in to wash up and settle down.
......
The next morning, Cui Lingyan woke up just as the sky was getting light.
Birou helped Cui Lingyan wash and change her clothes, then went to Cuiweiyuan where Qi lived to pay her respects.
In the house
Qi had just finished washing up when she heard Cui Lingyan coming to pay her respects. A smile appeared on her face. "She's quite polite. She hasn't become lazy because of her grandmother's pampering. Let her come in."
Nanny Jiang replied yes, smiled and walked out, but after a while she brought Cui Lingyan in.
Cui Lingyan was wearing a light blue jacket embroidered with plum blossoms, a lake green eight-panel Xiang skirt, her hair was in a flowing bun, and she had a mutton-fat jade hollow butterfly tassel hairpin pinned in her hair. She walked in slowly, and her appearance was eye-catching.
Even though Mrs. Qi disliked her daughter, she still thought she was very beautiful.
"Yan'er pays her respects to mother." Cui Lingyan bowed and said respectfully.
Qi nodded, finally putting on a motherly attitude and asking with concern, "You just got back yesterday. You must have been so tired from the journey. Why didn't you get some sleep? Why did you come to pay your respects so early?"
Cui Lingyan knew that what Qi said was just a polite remark. If she really slept in, Qi would definitely think that she didn't know the rules and didn't know how to be filial.
Having been neglected by her biological mother and living under someone else's roof since childhood, Cui Lingyan understood a truth from a very young age: only those who are truly loved will act recklessly and disregard the rules. She knew how much she meant to her mother, Qi, so she didn't dare take Qi's words seriously.
Cui Lingyan then said with a hint of admiration, "My daughter has been away from home for many years and misses her mother every day. Now that I'm back home, I naturally want to fulfill my filial duty to her."
Cui Lingyan spoke sincerely, her eyes even slightly moist. The maids and servants standing in the room couldn't help but feel a little pity and sympathy for her when they saw her like this.
However, Qi was not used to Cui Lingyan's admiration and filial piety. She smiled and waved Cui Lingyan to sit next to her, and asked about their journey to the capital.
"Originally, the palace should have sent someone to the Qi family to pick you up, but your elder sister was upset by the poisoning of Lu Bing, the son of the Duke of Wei. A few days ago, she accidentally fell into the water and had a fever for two days. She has only recently recovered slightly. Because of this incident, the palace was uneasy, so mother thought of sending someone to pick you up later. But your aunt was so impatient that she couldn't wait to bring you and your cousin to the capital."
Cui Lingyan listened with a little surprise. In that dream, although Lu Bing was poisoned when she went to Beijing, Cui Linghui did not fall into the water and fall ill. At most, he became a little thinner due to excessive thinking.
Cui Lingyan didn't know why such a change occurred.
She asked with some confusion: "The servants around Big Sister are too negligent. How can they take care of Big Sister?"
Qi explained, "What a coincidence! That day, Hui went out to relax and felt a little cold, so she asked the maid to go back and get a cloak. The maid had only taken two steps back when she heard your elder sister's screams. Fortunately, she was rescued. Otherwise, if something bad happened to your elder sister, those people outside would have misunderstood it and spread it to the Duke of Wei's mansion. Prince Lu would have thought that your elder sister didn't want to get married and wanted to commit suicide."
Qi's casual remark had been a secret memory of Cui Lingyan's. From her understanding of her stepsister, Cui Linghui, in her dream, she knew she valued her life and wouldn't easily commit suicide. However, her accidental fall into the water wasn't necessarily due to a slip.
Perhaps Cui Linghui was disgusted with her fiancé Lu Bingzhi because he was poisoned and injured, and didn't want to marry him anymore?
It's not impossible.
In that dream, Qi Shaozhang was drunk and mentioned the Ningshou Marquis Mansion to his new bride. When he talked about Cui Linghui, the young lady who married into the Weiguo Duke Mansion, his words were full of disdain. He said that Cui Linghui had never been liked by Lu Bingzhi, and because she had no favor, she had an affair with the second prince. She even behaved absurdly at the palace banquet, and was sentenced to death by the emperor in anger.
Cui Lingyan suppressed these thoughts and said softly, "Mother, you're being overly suspicious. How could Big Sister do this?"
Qi knew Cui Linghui wouldn't be so foolish. After all, the position of Weiguogong's wife was a target of countless people in the capital. Even with the rumors circulating, the noble ladies still secretly felt that this was a good match.
After all, Lu Bingzhi had only been poisoned for a few months. If he was well taken care of, it would definitely not affect his offspring.
Thinking this way, Qi did not mention the matter again and asked about her elder sister-in-law Zhan.
"Why did your cousin come to Beijing with your aunt, leaving your grandmother alone at home? Maybe she's used to it?"
Cui Lingyan understood what Qi meant, but pretended not to understand. She only explained, "Grandmother said that we should ask my cousin and I to go to Beijing together to see the world and pay our respects to our aunt, mother. She didn't say anything else."
Qi was somewhat displeased with her eldest sister-in-law, Zhan, bringing her two children to the capital. She feared Zhan might be trying to curry favor with her, perhaps even targeting her son, Cui Shenbo. Even if she didn't have such ulterior motives, entertaining the relatives would still be a hassle.
But she couldn't say these words to Cui Lingyan, her daughter who had just returned home. She just nodded and instructed: "Your aunt has taken care of you for so many years. Now she lives in the Marquis' Mansion. You should go and spend more time with her. Don't let your aunt think that you have become distant from her since you returned home."
Cui Lingyan nodded, thinking to herself that her mother always tended to think the worst of her.
If she hadn't had that dream, she would have felt aggrieved, but after experiencing everything in the dream, she would not take Qi's words to heart.
Cui Lingyan accompanied Qi for breakfast, and then went to Xilan Courtyard to pay their respects to their grandmother, Madam Zhai.
Madam Zhai had spent her whole heart at the banquet yesterday, and today she felt a little tired. She only instructed Cui Lingyan, "You are a girl from our Cui family. You had no choice but to live in the Qi family. Now that you are back, you should adapt to life in the mansion and spend more time with your elder sister. After all, you will be accompanying your mother to banquets and appearing in public in the future. Don't let others find fault with you."
Cui Lingyan bowed and replied, "Yes, my granddaughter will follow my grandmother's instructions."
Madam Zhai thought for a moment, then pointed at the maid Bihen in the room and said, "Bihen is a smart and clever girl. From now on, she will serve you, Miss Yan."
Before Cui Lingyan could speak, Qi said hurriedly, "Mother, how can this be done? Bihen is a capable person by your side. Miss Yan is short of servants. I thought of sending Feicui, who is by my side, over there. The other maids can be transferred from other places."
Madam Zhai waved her hand and said, "Alright, let's arrange it this way."
Qi moved her lips and wanted to say something, but seeing her mother-in-law's expression, she didn't say anything. She understood that her mother-in-law wanted to support Cui Lingyan and was worried that she had been wronged after returning home.
She could only smile and say to Cui Lingyan, "Why don't you thank your grandmother quickly? You don't know that Miss Bihen is a person who is respected by your grandmother. Your grandmother loves you so much that she is willing to give her to you."
Cui Lingyan was about to thank her when she heard a maid come in and report, "Madam, the old lady of the Duke of Wei heard that the eldest daughter was ill, so she sent her personal maid, Madam Sun, to visit her."
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