Chapter 77: Even if the young lady is generous, she must also...
Cui Lingyan was stunned when she heard this, with a hint of surprise in her eyes. She remembered that Mrs. Mei had just come to visit the house, and today Mrs. Cen had such an idea. She knew that this idea was from Mrs. Mei.
She nodded: "I understand, you can go on with your work."
Qiuzhi nodded. Seeing Birou and Bitao serving in the room, she wanted to stay, but she felt a little uncomfortable. The young mistress clearly didn't consider her one of her own. Even if she wanted to say something in private, she wouldn't say it in front of her.
Thinking this way, Qiu Zhi felt a pang of resentment. She recalled her former status at Cuiwei Courtyard and felt she was unlucky. She should have been respectful when the First Madam assigned her to serve the Third Young Lady, Cui Lingyan, and not leave a bad impression. But then, because Cui Lingyan had grown up in the Qi family and wasn't favored by the First Madam, and had just returned to the capital and wasn't close to the family, she felt like a rootless duckweed, so people inevitably looked down on her. That's why her behavior and words were tinged with contempt and arrogance, offending her. Now, Cui Lingyan was the Crown Prince's wife, and at the Duke's Mansion, she was favored by both Crown Prince Lu Bingzhi and her grandmother, Old Madam Dou. Seeing her flourish, she, a maidservant who came with her as a dowry, received no credit or recognition. It was truly painful and regretful.
Thinking of the noble status of the Crown Prince Lu Bingzhi, she really envied Cui Lingyan's fortune. Although she also had some thoughts of wanting to climb up the social ladder, she didn't dare to do anything. The Crown Prince had that kind of personality, and she was afraid that if she started to curry favor with him, he would order her to be dealt with before the young lady found out.
Thinking of this, Qiu Zhi felt even more upset, and she bowed and stepped back.
Seeing Cui Lingyan glance in the direction Qiu Zhi had left, Bi Tao couldn't help but say, "Young Madam, don't worry about her. When she first came to Chuyun Court to serve Young Madam, she looked down on the young madam, the third young lady who had just returned home, because she came from the eldest madam's room. Even though she's now a dowry maid, the past can't be wiped out. If you really use a servant with her temperament, she might develop some inappropriate thoughts."
Cui Lingyan retracted her gaze and chuckled, "How could I care about her? After all, her body contract is in my hands. No matter how much I think about it, I have to consider how to act."
Cui Lingyan stopped talking about Qiu Zhi and changed the subject to the fact that Cen wanted to register the third young master Lu Cong'an under her own name as her legitimate son.
"I heard that soon after the First Lady married, she punished the Third Young Master for some minor offense. The Duke even lost his temper because of this. Since then, he's become less friendly towards the First Lady, his second wife. It's fair to say that the First Lady hates the Third Young Master immensely, but now she's saying she wants to register him as her own legitimate son. It's truly unbelievable. This was most likely not the First Lady's idea, but Old Madam Mei's."
Thinking of what Old Madam Mei said that day, Birou frowned slightly and said, "Old Madam Mei has lived to such an old age and has been scheming in the inner palace for many years. She is indeed quite experienced. Now that she has come up with such an idea, I'm afraid the mansion will be in turmoil."
Cui Lingyan also knew the seriousness of the matter, and felt that there would be trouble in the mansion because of this matter.
After all, if Lu Cong'an was registered under the name of Cen family and became the legitimate son, although his status would not be as high as that of Lu Bingzhi, the prince, it would still be much more noble, and he would also be the legitimate son of the eldest house in the future.
Now Lu Bingzhi's identity as the son of the late queen is still unknown, and outsiders think that his poisoning will harm his offspring, so they are bound to have some suspicious thoughts.
If Lady Cen, the Duke's wife who married back from her husband's second marriage, had a son, he would definitely be thinking about things that he shouldn't be thinking about.
And the second wife, Mrs. He, might also be thinking about making plans for her son.
Now that Lu Cong'an was to be registered under Cen's name, Cui Lingyan felt that, not to mention Lu Bingzhi, the second wife He must be extremely unhappy.
It's inevitable that he will be the first one to come out and stop this.
Pondering this in her mind, Cui Lingyan said, "Let's wait and see. This matter may not be that simple. Even if the First Madam wants to do this, she needs the approval of the Duke and the Old Madam. Not to mention, the Crown Prince has always treated the Third Young Master, his half-brother, very well and has looked after him quite a bit over the years. The Crown Prince and the First Madam have a mediocre relationship, so if the Third Young Master is smart, he might not be willing to be registered under the First Madam's name."
"Don't forget, the First Madam punished the young Third Young Master before. Since the incident escalated to such a drastic degree and caused the Duke to lose interest in the First Madam, I think he must have been severely punished. Even after all these years, the Third Young Master might not have forgotten the incident. How could this forced mother-son relationship satisfy the First Madam?"
Bi Tao agreed deeply: "Young Madam is right. Although I have not been with you for a long time, I have never heard that the Third Young Master has done anything to show any affection towards the First Madam. At most, he has just been showing due courtesy."
"The Third Young Master and our Crown Prince hang out quite often, and the two brothers get along very well. The First Madam wants to promote the Third Young Master, but I'm afraid that's just her idea. He might not be happy to be listed under her name."
As they were talking, the news that Cen intended to register the third young master Lu Cong'an as her own legitimate son had spread throughout the entire Weiguo Mansion.
Listening to the Rain Courtyard
Madam Qiong had just finished copying Buddhist scriptures in the small Buddhist hall when she saw her maid Jinxiu rushing over. Before she even stood still, she said, "Madam, something's happened."
Concubine Qiong's face changed, her heart skipping a beat. She said to Jinxiu, "If you have anything to say, please tell me slowly. I'm just a concubine, and the Duke doesn't come to my place often. Even when he does, it's just for tea and conversation, not overnight. Although I've been somewhat respectable over the years, I'm not feared. Could it be that something happened to Cong'an?"
Aunt Qiong's face turned pale as she spoke.
Jinxiu quickly explained, "There's been word circulating in the mansion that the eldest lady is considering registering our third young master as her legitimate son. I've already mentioned this to the old lady this morning, and we're just waiting for her approval."
Just as Jinxiu finished speaking, Aunt Qiong's expression changed several times, and then she said, "Go and call Cong'an over, and tell him I have something to say to him. Don't delay."
Jinxiu also knew the seriousness of the matter. She answered yes, bowed, and left, quickly leaving the yard.
Aunt Qiong returned to the room with her maid Caique and sat down on the soft couch with a slightly frown on her face. She did not feel happy at all that her son, a concubine's son, would be registered under the name of the stepmother Cen as a legitimate child.
The maid Caique was also worried when she saw her aunt frowning. She knew that Cen had bullied and punished the third young master. At that time, Cen dared to attack the third young master openly, and bullied their aunt countless times behind his back. The aunt did not want to add to the trouble and thought that Cen should just set some rules. She never thought that Cen would humiliate the third young master, find fault with him and say that the third young master was disrespectful to her, her stepmother, and had no manners. She even asked the third young master to kneel in the corridor and ordered people to use family rules against him. The third young master was whipped ten times, and he did not hold back on any of them. He had a fever that night and almost lost his life. Because of this, how could the aunt not resent Cen and dare to register the third young master under Cen's name.
She thought for a moment and said soothingly, "Don't worry, Auntie. The old lady hasn't agreed to this yet. I think she doesn't think it's appropriate. After all, ordinary people would think this is a sign of the wife's generosity and virtue. The old lady would only be happy to praise her. How could she not agree on the spot?"
"Now the news has spread like wildfire, and the entire Duke's Mansion knows about it. The Old Madam must be dissatisfied, and the First Madam is dissatisfied and unwilling to accept it, so she has people spread this news, hoping to force the Old Madam to allow our Third Young Master to be registered under her name."
Madam Qiong's expression softened slightly upon hearing this, and she nodded, "You do have a point. Furthermore, the Crown Prince is the most important person in the mansion, so why bother with another legitimate son? Wouldn't that be discouraging the Crown Prince? Cong'an has respected the Crown Prince as his elder brother since he was a child, and wouldn't dare or would even entertain such thoughts. Princess Shuning has been so kind to me that I'm able to serve the Duke, and I've even given birth to a son like Cong'an. I'm already content, so how could I possibly harbor such thoughts?"
"Even if I ask the Duke for help, he won't ask Cong'an to register it under the name of the Madam."
Madam Qiong hesitated for a moment, then added, "Besides, the young lady has only just married into the family. How could she possibly want her uncle to suddenly become the legitimate son? Even if he can't surpass the Crown Prince, even if the young lady is a magnanimous person, she will definitely feel uncomfortable."
"This may seem respectable, but it won't do Cong'an any good at all. Not only will it not benefit him, it will also cause the Crown Prince and the Young Madam to have a problem with him, creating a rift between them. Even if the Crown Prince doesn't take it to heart, it will be seen by outsiders as an insult to his legitimate brother. Not to mention, the Crown Prince is being talked about so much because of the poisoning. For the First Madam to have such thoughts at this critical juncture is truly unworthy of being the Duke's wife!"
On this side, Second Madam He also heard the news, and her face immediately turned very ugly.
"She treated Lu Cong'an so badly when she first married him, and now she's thinking this way. She's dreaming! She's willing to honor Lu Cong'an, but Lu Cong'an might not be happy to accept her favor."
"I was wondering why Madam Mei came to visit us before. I thought she was visiting her daughter, who was not favored but had the title of Duke's wife in vain. I never thought she came to her house to come up with such a shameful idea for her daughter!"
"Is she trying to sow discord between Lu Cong'an and his brother, the Crown Prince? I don't believe the old lady can't see it at all!"
He's face turned grim. Turning to her daughter Lu Danyan, who was sitting beside her, she said, "Your eldest aunt is really pretending to be virtuous. This illegitimate son is just a illegitimate son. Why should he be given the respect of a legitimate son? If Lu Cong'an becomes the legitimate son, will your brother have to worry about this when interacting with him in the future? Moreover, the Crown Prince is not well now. Cen went to the trouble of making Lu Cong'an the legitimate son. Is she trying to use Lu Cong'an to take over the Duke's family business?"
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