Chapter 86: The scandal was so widespread that everyone in the capital knew it was Lu Bingzhi’s doing…
After returning to the mansion, Zhan asked Cui Lingyin to go back to her own courtyard to rest, and she and her daughter Qi Ruorou returned to their residence.
Cui Lingyin watched the two of them leave, her face somewhat pale.
The maid Luoxue felt very sad when she saw her daughter like this.
Although my aunt didn't say anything just now, she must have been angry at the girl, her future daughter-in-law.
After all, the Qi family had raised the third young lady for so many years, but now the two sides have settled the matter because of their own young lady's previous affairs. How could the aunt be willing to accept this?
He didn't lose his temper in front of the girl, but he felt that it was not worth losing his temper at this point.
"Girl, what should I do?"
Cui Lingyin glanced at her and said, "At this point, it's better to think positively. At the very least, my previous plot against Cui Lingyan is now over, and from now on, I, as her cousin's sister-in-law, can be more confident in front of Cui Lingyan. My aunt is angry with me now, but it's not easy for her to just turn against me. After all, it was my aunt who helped Qi Shaozhang get into the Imperial College. Even if it's not for my sake, she should treat me better for my sake."
Luoxue nodded, and thinking of her future son-in-law, Qi Shaozhang, a smile crept onto her face. She said, "My cousin is now in the Imperial College, but he still remembered to ask his servants to bring some hairpins and jewelry to the young lady. It shows that he still remembers the young lady's kindness. If it weren't for the marriage alliance with our Cui family, the young lady would have become a Qi family wife. How could Madam have gone to such lengths to help her?"
There was a hint of something strange in Cui Lingyin's eyes. Only she and Aunt Wen knew that the Madam was willing to help her because she and Aunt Wen had something on her.
Fortunately, Qi Shaozhang was a man with a conscience. She helped him once, and he treated her well. He did not care about her previous attempt to ruin his and Cui Lingyan's reputation. He even cared about her and gave her enough respect as his fiancée.
She could even sense that even Zhan and Qi Ruorou were being a bit accommodating towards her. But think about it, although she was born out of wedlock, she was still a daughter of the Ningshou Marquis's mansion. Qi Shaozhang had received the benefit of studying at the Imperial College, so naturally he was thinking about the future. Zhan and Qi Ruorou weren't stupid either, so they naturally treated her better.
For example, today, if it weren't for the sweet tastes she had before, Zhan, the future mother-in-law, would probably have lost her temper on the spot and even have thought of breaking off the engagement.
Fortunately, fortunately, she and her aunt had something on the lady's side, otherwise, she might have been married off out of the capital and would not have been able to find a marriage for herself.
Cui Lingyin retracted her gaze and thought of her cousin Cui Linghui, who had gone to the temple to burn incense and stay for a while. She suddenly asked, "Cousin, have you sent any more gifts from Grandmother and Auntie to express their concern while she's staying at the temple?"
Luo Xue shook her head. "Now that the old lady doesn't like the eldest daughter, how could she care so much about her? The third daughter has become the Crown Prince's wife, so naturally she wants to rely on her own daughter in the future. How could she still put effort into the eldest daughter, her stepdaughter?"
Cui Lingyin listened to this with a hint of sarcasm, saying, "Eldest Aunt has been pretending to be a loving stepmother for so many years. Now that she sees Third Sister enjoying success and Eldest Sister's bad reputation and difficulty in getting married, she's stopped pretending. I thought she could pretend to be a loving mother forever."
"However, she was so partial to my third sister that she sent her to the Qi family when she was young. Now that my third sister has achieved success, she may not remember her as her biological mother. I wonder how awkward it will be for this mother and daughter to get along when they have their wedding tomorrow."
Cui Lingyin stopped talking about Cui Lingyan and instructed Luoxue, "Send someone to Madam and tell her what happened today. Madam, please send someone to bring my aunt back to the mansion."
Luoxue was a little confused about how the young lady and the lady got along with each other, but as a maid, it was not easy for her to ask. Even if she was curious, she was afraid that curiosity would kill the cat, so she answered yes when she heard her order and went directly to Second Madam Bian.
Cui Lingyin turned around and went back to Bilanyuan where she lived.
This side
When Bian heard Luoxue's report, her expression changed several times. After a long while, she instructed Aunt Yao beside her, "Since the cousins have reconciled, send someone to bring Concubine Wen back tomorrow."
She could guess that Cui Lingyan might not say in person that she would allow Madam Wen to come back, but Cui Lingyan owed the Qi family so much, it might not be impossible to keep Madam Wen as a gift.
Even if this matter were to be reported to the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion, I think there would be no objection there.
As Bian said this, she waved her hand and asked Luoxue to leave.
After Luoxue left, Aunt Yao said with some displeasure, "The second young lady has a hold on Madam. Not only did she get Madam to help Qi Shaozhang enter the Imperial College, but she also got her to curry favor with her future mother-in-law, Zhan. Now she's even ordering Madam, her legal mother, around. She's completely disrespectful!"
Bian took a sip of tea and said calmly, "It's better to bring her back. It's easier to control her when she's right in front of you. She has leverage over me, and I have Madam Wen's life in my hands. It can be considered a check and balance between us."
"I actually think that since Yan has become the Crown Prince's wife, she really has some skills of a superior. Look, who would have thought that the insignificant Yan who just returned to the mansion would now be the most noble and promising among the girls? The Qi family is really lucky!"
Nanny Yao had served Bian for many years and knew her thoughts very well. She knew that she was afraid that with the help of her sister Cui Lingyan, the Ningshou Marquis Mansion would fall into the hands of the eldest son Cui Shenbo in the future. In that case, their young master would have no chance at all.
She spoke in a comforting voice, "Not to mention that the Third Young Lady and the Qi family aren't close, even if the Third Young Lady doesn't hold grudges about the past, Cui Shenbo still needs to take care of himself. This weakness he was born with isn't something that's easy to heal. And now that the Marquis rarely visits the Qi family, I think our Young Master might have a chance."
Hearing her say this, Bian's expression softened a bit, and she instructed Yao Ma, "I won't go to the Qi family's mansion to warm up the room tomorrow. Please prepare a gift and ask Yin to take it with her."
Madam Yao was a little hesitant. After all, they would be in-laws in the future. If she didn't go in person, Zhan would feel that her husband looked down on the Qi family.
Bian said with some dissatisfaction, "I sent Qi Shaozhang to study at the Imperial College. The Qi family should be grateful to me, their mother-in-law, and yet they dare ask me to take care of everything? I'm too lazy to bother with this. But I heard that the house is in a good location, and most of the people living around it are scholars. I don't know how much money it cost. I wonder if my sister-in-law secretly gave them some money?"
Madam Yao said, "The eldest lady should at least show some respect. She wouldn't touch the public treasury's money anyway. However, because Qi Shaozhang married a daughter from our second wife's family, there will definitely be some resentment between the sister-in-law and the sister-in-law. It doesn't seem obvious now, but there will only be more friction when they live together in the capital in the future."
......
Zhan had lost face in front of Cui Lingyan and was too embarrassed to tell anyone about this matter. However, the news that Second Madam Bian had ordered someone to go to the farm the next day to bring Concubine Wen back to the mansion could not be concealed. By evening, the news had spread throughout the mansion.
Upon hearing the news, the Qi family sent someone to inquire thoroughly. After learning the whole story, they inevitably became furious. Old Madam Zhai, on the other hand, although she was somewhat displeased with her granddaughter Cui Lingyan's dominance, still praised her on the surface, saying, "It's a good thing that the cousins have resolved their differences. Besides, this will prevent outsiders from saying that our mansion is indebted to the Qi family. We know how much our mansion sends to the Qi family every year, but those gossipers outside have no idea. Now that the two have been balanced out, we'll be able to get along better with the Qi family in the future."
“That’s a good thing!”
Mrs. Zhai had someone intentionally tell Mrs. Zhan what she had said. Mrs. Zhan wanted to smash all the teacups on the table to the ground, but she was a guest in the Marquis's mansion, so she had to hold back her anger.
Qi Ruorou looked embarrassed and said with a hint of grievance, "Fortunately, we'll move out tomorrow. When my brother becomes successful and brings honor to our family, mother won't have to endure this humiliation."
Qi Ruorou felt sorry for her mother. Her mother, as Cui Lingyan's aunt, had raised her, but in the end, she didn't get any benefit at all. Cui Lingyan was now so high and mighty that she had forgotten the old friendship and only treated her mother as an ordinary aunt. The Cui family was really chilling.
......
Cui Lingyan naturally had no idea what everyone in the Marquis' Mansion was thinking. Since she had to go to Qi's house to warm up the next day, she went to bed early after taking a bath in the evening.
Lu Bingzhi hugged her and asked, "Do you want me to accompany you?"
Cui Lingyan turned around and looked up at him. The lights were off, and she could only see his elegant features. For some reason, she suddenly chuckled, "If the prince follows, my aunt and the others will be uncomfortable."
"Besides, my mother will be leaving tomorrow, so I'll handle it all by myself. At least the prince can be at ease if he stays in the mansion..."
Before she could finish her words, Lu Bingzhi pressed her down, and the familiar breath filled her lips and teeth.
Cui Lingyan subconsciously pushed Lu Bingzhi's shoulders at first, but then she loosened her grip. When Lu Bingzhi stopped, her cheeks were flushed and her voice was a little panting: "We have to get up early tomorrow, so you should go to bed early, Prince." She was afraid that if she continued, they would consummate their marriage today.
Lu Bingzhi was naturally not the kind of person who didn't know the seriousness of the matter. He didn't continue and just hugged Cui Lingyan to sleep.
The next day, Cui Lingyan got up at dawn, had breakfast with Lu Bingzhi, and then went to see Old Madam Dou.
Old Madam Dou knew that the Qi family had bought a house in the capital, and she had also heard about what had happened yesterday between her granddaughter-in-law, her aunt Zhan, and her cousin Cui Lingyin. She gently admonished, "You handled yesterday's matter well. Although you are a junior, you can't let others manipulate you. However, Zhan is your aunt after all, and the Qi family is your maternal family. Since they have bought a house in the capital, it's okay to give Wen Fang a larger gift today. Firstly, it will avoid being seen as ungrateful, and secondly, it would be unbecoming of your current status."
Cui Lingyan understood the importance of this matter and explained with a smile, "My grandson's wife selected a set of purple transparent frosted glass teacups from the storeroom. My aunt loves drinking tea, so I'm sure she'll like it if I give it to her."
This set of glass cups was certainly quite impressive. After hearing this, Mrs. Dou felt relieved and gave her a few more instructions before telling her to prepare to leave and not to delay here.
Cui Lingyan bowed and retreated.
Madam Dou said with satisfaction, "Look, she's young, and she does things in a way that makes people feel at ease."
Nanny Sun knew that the old lady was satisfied with this grandson's wife, so she smiled and said, "This is just the beginning. When the young lady gives birth to a great-grandson for me in the future, I won't know how to praise her enough."
Her words made the old lady laugh. As the old lady was old, she naturally hoped that the family would be prosperous and have many descendants.
Now that Bingzhi is in good health, she is naturally looking forward to it even more.
Peony Courtyard
When Cen heard the news that Cui Lingyan had gone out to warm the room, she said with a hint of sarcasm, "Didn't she offend that Zhan yesterday, and today she brought gifts to warm the room? Our young lady is really..."
Cen didn't continue and asked, "Did the prince go with you?"
The maid replied, "The prince is still in Songxue Hall and did not go out with the young lady."
Cen's eyes showed disdain: "It seems that Lu Bingzhi doesn't really like Cui. Otherwise, he should have gone with Cui today, at least showing up to support Cui."
"People usually go to the warm room together as a couple. Aren't you afraid that Cui will think it's unlucky if she goes alone?"
Cen's words were just nitpicking. Just as she finished speaking, there was a sound of footsteps outside. A maid came in hurriedly, raising the curtain. Her face looked very flustered. Cen recognized her as a maid from the Cen Mansion.
Cen's heart skipped a beat, and she stopped trying to figure out what Cui Lingyan, her daughter-in-law, was thinking. She stood up and asked, "What happened? Why are you so flustered?"
The old woman was a little scared and didn't dare to say anything.
Cen scolded, "Don't hesitate. Are you trying to drive me crazy?"
The old woman then whispered, "To answer Madam, yes, something happened in the mansion. The master was discovered to have bought an outer house, and now there is a commotion in the mansion, and the old lady has fainted from anger."
Mrs. Cen was stunned. Although she was a little surprised, there were many unfaithful men in the world. It was possible that her father had a mistress outside and hid it well, so it was not discovered until after all these years.
Even if the mother was angry, she would not faint from anger.
Could it be that there is a bastard?
She doesn't want to have any more half-brothers!
The old woman's face was awed, and it took her a long while to find her words. "If that were all fine, it wouldn't be a big deal, but, it just so happened that he had a young boy. And then, a colleague happened to pass by and saw the young boy escorting the master out, acting quite affectionately. That colleague, who's always had a bad relationship with our master, spread the news, and now everyone in the capital is talking about it. The master is so old, even if he had a concubine who's over ten years younger than him, people wouldn't have said anything. But this young boy, if it gets out, it's really disgraceful. Now the mansion is in chaos, and the mistress, the daughter-in-law, is furious. She feels that the master, the father-in-law, has brought the mansion's reputation into disrepute, and that sending the young masters out would be embarrassing in front of their classmates. She's furious, saying she can't handle it, and she wants you, the young lady, to return home immediately."
Cen's face turned pale and blue, and it took her a while to recover.
Even though she was used to the turmoil in big families, she still felt embarrassed at this moment.
Just as the old woman said, if my father had kept a concubine who was a prostitute a dozen years younger than him, people would not have talked about him like this. But this woman is even worse than a prostitute.
He was seen by his colleagues and the news spread to everyone in the capital.
Cen's head spun, the thought of this matter quickly becoming known to the Duke's Mansion. She was even more embarrassed in front of her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. She burst into tears, "What is he doing? As a father, does he really not care about his daughter's life? He's caused such a thing. How can I, a married woman, live in my husband's family?"
"Do you still have any shame?"
No wonder someone with my mother's temper would faint from anger. My mother has always been strong-willed. There is not only my mother in my father's backyard, but also several concubines. My mother is not the kind of person who is jealous and intolerant.
But such an ugly thing, no matter which family it happened to, would bring shame to the ancestors for several generations.
"Don't be angry, Auntie. Go back home quickly. It's still in chaos."
......
This side
Cui Lingyan took Birou in the carriage of the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion and went to the house purchased by the Qi family in the capital.
When she got off the carriage, someone was already waiting at the door. It was Madam Liu, who served her aunt Zhan.
When Madam Liu saw Cui Lingyan coming down, she hurriedly went to greet her with a smile, bowed, and said politely, "This old servant greets the Madam of the Crown Prince. The Madam and the young lady have been waiting for you since early morning. My aunt has also come along, and the second young lady is also here. This old servant will show you in."
Cui Lingyan felt a pang of regret when she heard her address her, and saw that she didn't know how to get along with her cousin, who had always lived in the Qi family. However, she didn't show any signs of being particularly close. She just nodded and said, "It's my fault for making my aunt wait. I got up early to pay my respects to the old lady, and it took me some time to get here, so I'm a little late."
"I dare not, I dare not. This is just the right time." Mrs. Liu led Cui Lingyan in with a respectful attitude, and she sighed in her heart.
She also knew what happened in the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion yesterday. The Madam was so angry about it that she couldn't even eat. She forced herself to come here today. Although it was a happy event for the Wenfang family, both the Madam and the girls were uncomfortable. As for Cui Lingyin, the second girl of the Ningshou Marquis' Mansion and the future young lady of the Qi family, she was probably even more concerned.
When she saw Cui Lingyan at this moment, she really couldn't believe that the cousin who was gentle and well-behaved in the Qi family and hated to argue with others was not only the wife of the prince, but also used such means to make the lady so angry.
It can be seen that he is also a cruel and heartless person.
Or maybe it was because she had the blood of the Cui family in her bones, so she didn't have to adapt at all when she came to the capital, and she could act as decisively and ruthlessly as those girls from wealthy families.
Matron Liu glanced at Cui Lingyan secretly, and seeing her smiling face, she felt that the cousin in the past was clearly pretending, and the cousin now was her true nature.
Even she, having offended someone yesterday, would have felt somewhat awkward visiting the house today. However, Cui Lingyan was at ease and calm. She even took great interest in admiring the scenery upon entering the house, praising it, "Aunt, the scenery in this house is truly beautiful. The small bridges, the flowing water, the rockery and the pond give it a touch of the elegant charm of the Jiangnan water towns. It's definitely different from the solemnity of the houses in the capital. Aunt, you've picked a great place. I think you'll be comfortable living here in the future."
Nanny Liu responded with a smile. Fortunately, Cui Lingyan did not say anything else. The two of them walked forward together and soon arrived at Ruishaoyuan where Zhan lived.
When Cui Lingyan came in, the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
Cui Lingyan stepped forward and bowed to Madam Zhan and Madam Qi, then took the room-warming gift from Birou and handed it to Madam Zhan, saying with a smile, "Knowing that Auntie loves tea, I thought of giving her this set of glass teacups. I'm sure she'll like it."
Although Zhan was annoyed by yesterday's events, she didn't want to look downcast and make a fool of herself. Hearing Cui Lingyan's words, she naturally opened the box. Seeing the crystal-clear set of purple glass teacups inside, she was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yan girl, this is really thoughtful. Auntie likes this gift very much. Come and sit down. You must be tired after all this journey."
Cui Lingyan and Zhan exchanged a few pleasantries, and there was no sign that they had a disagreement yesterday.
Qi sat there, but didn't say a few words to Cui Lingyan, her biological daughter.
The atmosphere in the room was lively, but also a bit awkward.
After half a cup of tea, Mrs. Zhan suggested, "The flowers in the garden are in full bloom. Let's go out and enjoy them, and take a look around the house. Speaking of which, I'm new here and I'm not very familiar with the place, so it's a good idea for us to go for a walk together."
Zhan made the suggestion, and naturally there was nothing wrong with it. Wenfang already had this rule.
When everyone came out of the house and went to the garden, they saw that the garden was full of flowers of various colors blooming, the fragrance of flowers filled the air, and the garden was full of vitality.
Tea and snacks were placed on the stone table in the pavilion. Zhan led a few people up there, and they drank tea and admired the flowers. The atmosphere was quite lively and warm.
It's just that they all have old grudges against each other, so it's a bit awkward. Even the maids serving there feel a little uncomfortable.
After finally finishing lunch and drinking tea and chatting, a maid came in, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Zhan asked, "What happened?"
The maid hesitated for a moment before replying, "It's not our family's business. It's the Master of the Cen Mansion who got up this morning and got into a terrible scandal that completely disgraced him. Now the whole capital knows about it."
Cui Lingyan was slightly stunned when she heard the name Cen Mansion. After thinking for a while, she asked with some hesitation, "Is it that Cen Mansion?"
The maid was a little nervous, but her eyes could not hide anything. If it wasn't her cousin's mother-in-law's family, she wouldn't have to report it at this time.
After the maid hesitantly told the whole story, everyone present was stunned and no one spoke for a long time.
Cui Lingyan was stunned, but she thought of the day when Lu Bingzhi knew that Madam Mei had deliberately embarrassed her by bringing up the matter of the late wife of Marquis Kangshou, and said that he wanted to vent her anger.
She swallowed, wondering if it was Lu Bingzhi who had done this huge scandal, which had become known to everyone in the capital?
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