Chapter 88: It wasn't until Lu Bingzhi picked her up by the waist that she finally got off...
No one knew what happened between Xiao Ze and Cui Linghui in Guangfu Temple for the time being. The old lady of Ningshou Marquis's Mansion had never thought that her eldest granddaughter, who had been raised in a pampered and arrogant manner since childhood, would one day have sex with someone in the temple and give her body to someone just for the status of a concubine.
Duke Wei's Mansion
Because of what Lu Bingzhi said in the study yesterday about promising himself to her and that today was the right day to get married and consummate the marriage, Cui Lingyan had been feeling a little restless since she woke up in the morning. While having dinner, she looked at Lu Bingzhi sitting in front of her, and the contents of the booklet that Qi had given her the night before their wedding kept appearing in her mind. She shook her head, silently recited a few mantras to clear her mind, but quickly shifted her gaze away from Lu Bingzhi.
Lu Bingzhi noticed her restless look early in the morning. He smiled, as if he had no idea why she was like this.
It was not until the two of them finished their breakfast and Lu Bingzhi got up and went to Songxue Hall that Cui Lingyan breathed a sigh of relief.
Bi Tao looked at her young mistress with some confusion, and couldn't help but ask, "Young mistress, is there something on your mind? Why are you so uneasy this morning?"
Hearing her ask this, Cui Lingyan felt a little embarrassed, but she didn't know how to tell her directly why she was so restless.
Birou was a very thoughtful person. She was thinking about the blushing face of the young lady when she came out of the study yesterday, and also about how the prince was in good health. When the young lady came back from the study yesterday, she asked her to bring the almanac, looked at it for a few seconds, and then took it away.
When she took it down, she flipped through a few pages casually. Today is a good day to get married and have sex.
Thinking of the young lady's appearance just now, she had some idea why she looked like that today.
She spoke up to defend Cui Lingyan, saying, "Such a scandal happened at the Cen Mansion yesterday. The Madam must be in a bad mood after returning from her parents' home."
Bi Tao's thoughts were indeed diverted. She curled her lips and said, "No matter how bad Madam's mood is, can she still take her anger out on our Young Madam? Our Young Madam is not someone who can be bullied easily. Now, our Young Madam is not in the same situation as she was in the Qi family, where she has the protection of the Crown Prince."
Birou and Cui Lingyan exchanged a glance and reminded, "Young Madam, I will accompany you to pay your respects to the old lady first."
Cui Lingyan nodded, took Birou out of Wutong Courtyard and headed towards Qingde Courtyard.
When she went there, she found out that Cen had not returned home the previous day and had stayed at her parents' home.
When this matter was brought up, Madam Dou only sighed softly, "He's so old, yet he caused such a scandal for the younger generations. I don't know what Old Master Cen was thinking. This man was unreliable and unruly when he was young, and he's even more unruly and careless when he's old."
He heard the old lady say this and said, "That's right. It's really hard for my sister-in-law to have such a shameless father. The Cen Mansion must have been in chaos yesterday. I wonder how worried I must be when I go back. I think Old Madam Mei was upset by this incident. Otherwise, I wouldn't have stayed at my parents' house and not come back yet."
Old Madam Dou glanced at Cui Lingyan and saw that her granddaughter-in-law had a gentle look. She nodded in response to what her aunt He said, and felt a surge of emotion in her heart.
Yan's personality is somewhat similar to Bingzhi's. She looks like a harmless little white rabbit, but in fact, she might be a little fox.
Madam Dou didn't bring up the matter any further, but instead changed the subject, saying, "The fifth day of next month is the old lady of Duke Cheng'en's birthday. Although the late Empress has been gone for many years, the Emperor has treated the Cheng'en Mansion very well over the years, with generous annual rewards. Princess Shuning was also a good friend of the late Empress's sister-in-law, so we also have a good relationship with her. This time, the old lady is celebrating her eightieth birthday, so we must go and celebrate."
Hearing the old lady's words, He nodded immediately and said, "Mother, you are right. We should pay more attention to this eightieth birthday. The mansion should prepare a generous gift."
Cui Lingyan took a sip of tea and took this to heart. She had been in Beijing for some time and married Lu Bingzhi to become the wife of the prince of Weiguo. Naturally, she knew the situation of the noble families in the capital.
The Cheng'en Mansion was the late Empress's natal family, and Lu Bingzhi's maternal family. However, Lu Bingzhi had always been the heir of the Duke of Weiguo, so naturally, he wouldn't be too close to the Cheng'en Mansion. Furthermore, Cui Lingyan had noticed since her marriage that Lu Bingzhi could not conceal his dislike and coldness whenever he mentioned his aunt, the Imperial Concubine Shu. Adding to the rumors circulating in the capital about the late Empress and Imperial Concubine Shu, she could probably guess that Imperial Concubine Shu's entry into the palace and her favor might have been tacitly approved by the Cheng'en Mansion.
Therefore, Lu Bingzhi probably doesn't have much good feelings towards this outsider family.
As she was thinking, she heard Madam Dou's voice again: "Princess Chun'an will also be there that day. Yan Yatou had met Princess Chun'an before when she entered the palace. If she meets at the birthday banquet, it would be good for her to get closer to the princess."
"But you don't have to feel restrained. I will be there when the time comes. Just stay with me."
Hearing the old lady say this, Cui Lingyan nodded and said yes.
He lowered her head, delighted to see that the old lady hadn't mentioned her eldest sister-in-law, Cen. Of course, the old lady wouldn't intentionally avoid mentioning Cen; after all, it was Cen, the Duke's wife, who had graced these banquets in the past. The old lady's silence this time was likely due to the scandal that had erupted in the Cen residence yesterday.
I think the old lady didn't want her daughter-in-law, Cen, to appear at the banquet for the 80th birthday of the old lady of Duke Cheng'en, so as to cause people to talk and make trouble, which would bring disaster to the reputation of the Duke Weiguo's Mansion.
Moreover, given Cen's personality, even if the old lady didn't care about these things, she probably wouldn't have the nerve to show up during this period of time, right? She must have thought that after a month or two, no one in the capital would talk about the scandal of the Cen Mansion, so she would have the nerve to come out.
Thinking of this, He felt a little happy in her heart. She glanced at the young lady Cui Lingyan and thought that it would be a good thing for their second house if Cui Lingyan married Lu Bingzhi.
Look, ever since Cui Lingyan came into the family, the mother-in-law Cen not only failed to suppress her daughter-in-law, but also had such bad luck. She just handed over the power of the kitchen to her a few days ago, and now such a scandal has happened in the Cen Mansion again.
It's hard to say, Cen and Cui Lingyan are not compatible, so they are always at a disadvantage and so unlucky.
Thinking about this, He Shi began to like Cui Lingyan even more. She felt that it was fortunate that Cui Lingyan had married into the family. If Cui Linghui had married into the family, she might not have been able to suppress Cen Shi, the mother-in-law, and would not have allowed their second branch to benefit from the family.
Cui Lingyan chatted with the old lady and He for a while before leaving.
As soon as she left Qingdeyuan, she met Lu Danruo who came to pay her respects.
When Lu Danruo saw her, she was slightly stunned. After a while, she bowed and called out, "Sister-in-law."
Cui Lingyan saw that her eyes were a little green, and thinking of the things that happened in the Cen Mansion yesterday, she knew that she must not have slept well last night, but she didn't take it to heart. She just nodded slightly and said, "Grandmother and Second Aunt are in the room, you should go in quickly."
After Cui Lingyan said this, she took Birou and left, without any intention of getting close to her sister-in-law Lu Danruo.
Lu Danruo's expression changed, and a hint of embarrassment appeared in his eyes.
She had just paid her respects, yet Cui was so cold to her. Her mother had gone back to the Cen residence yesterday and hadn't come back yet, and Cui hadn't even bothered to ask about her.
She looked down on Cui Lingyan, and disliked her as a sister-in-law even more. However, Cui Lingyan's attitude towards her and her mother made her feel extremely unfair. She felt that Cui Lingyan did not behave like a sister-in-law at all, and did not have the respect and filial piety that a daughter-in-law should have.
"Miss, let's go in quickly. The old lady might be a little unhappy about the scandal that happened in the Cen Mansion. Miss, please be sensible and well-behaved today, and don't make the old lady unhappy."
"The Madam has lost some of her influence in the mansion now, so the young lady must please the old lady and help her. Otherwise, the days ahead will be even more difficult."
When Lu Danruo thought of the scandal caused by her grandfather, resentment and disgust appeared in her eyes.
She suppressed her disgust, shifted her gaze away from the direction Cui Lingyan left, and walked into Qingdeyuan.
Cen Mansion
Because of the scandal that happened yesterday, the atmosphere in the entire Cen Mansion was somewhat depressing and solemn.
Moonlight Hall
Madam Mei leaned palely against a large, lake-green pillow embroidered with peonies. She drank the medicine in the bowl from Cen's hand and then instructed her, "You've been out for a day now. Go back to the Duke's Mansion, or your mother-in-law won't be happy."
Seeing her mother seem to have aged ten years in just one day, Cen's eyes reddened and she choked up a bit as she said, "How can I feel at ease knowing mother is like this? Father is truly a wretch! At such an old age, he actually did such shameless and shameless things, making mother a laughing stock! And he doesn't even acknowledge his fault at all. Instead, he thinks mother is making a big deal out of nothing and refuses to continue being virtuous and magnanimous. How could he be so cruel?"
As Cen spoke, she couldn't help but shed tears.
As she was crying, she heard footsteps outside and a maid came in hurriedly with a serious look on her face and said, "Old Madam, it's bad. The Jiang family has come to cancel the engagement. They said that such a scandal has happened in the mansion and they don't want their daughter to marry our eldest young master. It would be a laughing stock."
When Mrs. Mei heard this, she almost fainted.
Cen quickly supported her, looked at the old woman angrily, and scolded her, "Don't you know that the old lady is ill now? If you don't hide it at this time, aren't you afraid that the old lady will be angry and hurt?"
The old woman shrank her neck, but couldn't help but defend herself, "How could this old servant dare to hide such a big thing?"
As the old woman finished her words, Madam Xue came into the room with red eyes and asked in a somewhat accusing tone, "My aunt, you don't care about your own nephew at all. How come you have been the wife of the Duke of Wei for so many years and you only ask the mansion to help you? But when the mansion encounters problems, not only can you not help at all, but you also say these sarcastic words!"
"Father has been acting out of character for a long time. How come this scandal didn't happen earlier, but Mother just went to the Duke of Wei's mansion a few days ago, and within a few days, all this trouble happened? I heard that Mother, in order to vent her anger on you, ridiculed Cui Lingyan and even gave her a bracelet as a sweet treat. When I heard this, I felt uneasy. Now I know why!"
When Cen heard what her sister-in-law said, her expression suddenly changed, and she subconsciously retorted: "How could it be related to Cui?"
Xue's eyes were red as she said, "Mrs. Cui, the young lady, doesn't have the ability to do that, but you asked mother to bully Cui. Is the Crown Prince dead? I heard that the Crown Prince particularly likes Cui, his new wife. Maybe he knows what mother did and deliberately exposed this scandal to vent his anger on Cui!"
Cen's face turned pale, her body went limp and she fell to the ground, the medicine bowl in her hand falling to the ground.
......
In the evening, Lu Bingzhi returned to Wutong Courtyard.
The two had dinner together. After taking a bath, Birou winked at Bitao and left.
Only Lu Bingzhi and Cui Lingyan were left in the room.
Lu Bingzhi was wearing the pajamas that Cui Lingyan had just made for him. When he wore these pajamas, the atmosphere suddenly became a bit charming.
Cui Lingyan's cheeks felt a little hot and her heart was beating extremely fast.
It was not until Lu Bingzhi picked her up by the waist that she subconsciously hugged his neck.
"Prince."
Lu Bingzhi carried her into the inner room and placed her on the bed.
The tent fell, and Lu Bingzhi's body pressed down on her. Cui Lingyan's cheeks became redder, but she subconsciously clung to his back as Lu Bingzhi became more intimate with her.
The night was very long. Cui Lingyan was exhausted and didn't know when she fell asleep.
In the corridor, Birou and Bitao listened to the sounds in the house, their cheeks flushed.
Bi Tao whispered, "So this is why the young lady is so nervous today?"
Birou pursed her lips and smiled: "Young Madam is shy, don't show any strangeness tomorrow and make her embarrassed."
Bitao nodded in agreement, feeling extremely happy.
She hoped that the young lady would get pregnant soon, so that her position in the mansion would be more stable.
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