Chapter 19: Instead of doing this, it would be better to ask Miss Cui San to marry...
The news that Cui Linghui felt unwell after attending a flower-viewing banquet in the palace and alarmed the imperial physician quickly spread. Soon after, the fact that the imperial physician diagnosed her with a cold also became known to everyone.
For a time, Cui Linghui, the future wife of the Crown Prince of Weiguo, was pushed to the forefront and attracted the attention of many people.
Duke Wei's Mansion
Old Madam Dou sent away Nanny Yan from the Empress Dowager's palace and sighed deeply.
She glanced at Nanny Sun standing beside her and said, "The last time you went to Ningshou Marquis's mansion to visit Cui Linghui, you also met the third young lady there. What do you think of the third young lady Cui's personality?"
Old Madam Dou knew that the Empress Dowager was holding a flower-viewing banquet in the palace today, but she did not enter the palace because of her old age and lack of energy.
She also didn't expect that such a thing would happen during a flower viewing party.
She wasn't surprised at all by her grandson Lu Bingzhi's cold attitude towards Cui Linghui, his future wife. She just hadn't expected Cui Linghui to have developed a cold body condition after falling into the water. And she had just heard from Nanny Yan that this cold condition could be quite severe, requiring careful nursing and care. Furthermore, as with all medicine, taking too much could lead to other health problems, and even difficulty conceiving after marriage.
Although Mrs. Dou was willing to tolerate Cui Linghui's little thoughts because of her young age, she was not happy with the marriage, just like the Empress Dowager, after hearing about Cui Linghui's problem.
Especially since Cui Linghui's previous fall into the water was quite strange. Now that he had a cold, it was really nauseating. Things that were slightly tolerable before were suddenly magnified and unbearable.
Just now, Nanny Yan said that the Queen Mother directly cancelled the engagement because of Bingzhi's bad reputation, and she thought of another girl from the Ningshou Marquis's Mansion to marry in his place.
In addition to the eldest daughter Cui Linghui, who was born out of wedlock, the Ningshou Marquis's Mansion only has the second daughter Cui Lingyin, who was born out of wedlock, and the third daughter Cui Lingyan, who just returned home.
The Empress Dowager favored Cui Lingyan, the third young lady who had just returned home, and Old Lady Dou immediately fell in love with her.
Hearing Old Lady Dou's question, Nanny Sun thought for a moment and replied, "Although I haven't been with Miss Cui for long, I feel she has a gentle disposition and knows how to act. What's most remarkable is that she was raised in a foreign family, and now that she's back home, there's not a trace of timidity or pettiness in her features, nor does she seem to harbor any resentment. She seems to have a peaceful disposition, unlike a girl of her age."
"Perhaps it's because he's lived with his maternal family since he was young. Even with his grandmother's protection, he still suffered a lot of injustices under someone else's roof. Seriously speaking, he's a pitiful child."
Madam Dou knew about the affairs of Ningshou Hou's wife Qi, and nodded after hearing what Nanny Sun said: "This mother is biased, so naturally no one will truly protect her. She is a pitiful person."
"You have a pretty good eye for people. In that case, you'll accompany me to the Ningshou Marquis's residence tomorrow to discuss this matter with the old lady there."
Nanny Sun looked a little surprised when she heard her say this: "Old Madam, since the Empress Dowager has this in mind, why don't you ask her to send someone to the Marquis' Mansion to pass on the message?"
In her opinion, the Queen Mother is the Crown Prince's grandmother and has a noble status. She is qualified to manage the Crown Prince's marriage and choose a more suitable wife for him.
With the Empress Dowager's decree, would the Ningshou Marquisate dare to disobey? Besides, it would only be a matter of having a different girl marry into their Weiguo Duke's House, which wouldn't actually cause any loss to the Ningshou Marquisate.
If the Ningshou Marquisate knew the importance of the matter, they would have known that this was the best choice. Otherwise, if Cui Linghui, a young lady, married into the family and became the Crown Prince's wife but could not give birth to an heir, it would be difficult for her to gain a foothold in the mansion.
Instead of this, it would be better to ask Miss Cui San to marry here.
Madam Dou knew exactly what she was thinking. Hearing this, she reached out and nodded at her, "You, we're not particularly wealthy. Besides, regardless of whether Miss Cui's drowning was intentional or not, we were the first to call off the engagement. Marriage between two families is a union of two families, so why act so condescending? If the Empress Dowager issues an order, it will inevitably be seen as an abuse of power. It would be better for me, your grandmother, to go to the mansion personally to discuss the matter."
"Besides, I also want to see Miss Cui San with my own eyes to see if her personality is as good as you say, and whether she is suitable to marry our Bingzhi."
When Nanny Sun heard the old lady say this, she knew it was no use trying to persuade her any further. The old lady had always been kind and considerate of others.
Nanny Sun thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "Since the Queen Mother and the Old Madam have this in mind, should we discuss this matter with the Crown Prince?"
No matter what, it is the prince who is getting married.
Madam Dou shook her head. "Let's not talk about it for now. I'll tell Bingzhi about this once things are settled. Bingzhi isn't too concerned about this marriage. To him, it doesn't make much difference which of these noble ladies from the capital he marries."
She became a little worried again and said, "I don't know who will win this child's heart in the future. I would rather he got angry because of Cui Linghui falling into the water and ignoring him. That way it would seem that he is taking this marriage seriously. But he didn't do that at all. Now that someone else is marrying me, can we still expect him to have any opinions?"
Madam Dou sighed softly and stopped talking. She instructed, "That being said, don't make this matter public until it's finalized."
Nanny Sun nodded: "This is about the prince's marriage, I know the importance of it."
"I don't think the Ningshou Marquis' Mansion will have any objections."
After all, Cui Linghui was unwilling to continue this marriage. Now that the Queen Mother had this idea, asking Cui Lingyan to marry the prince was in line with Cui Linghui's wishes. It didn't count as the Duke's Mansion bullying her as a girl.
Nanny Sun kept the rest of the words in her heart and did not say them out loud, but she knew that the old lady thought the same.
......
Peony Courtyard
Just as Cen had finished reading the account book, she saw the curtain at the door being drawn and her confidante, Madam Qi, walked in from outside with a look of anxiety on her face.
Cen frowned and said, "But what happened?"
Nanny Qi stepped forward and lowered her voice, saying, "Madam, the Empress Dowager has sent Nanny Yan to the mansion."
When Cen heard her say this, she didn't take it seriously and said, "The Queen Mother cares about the Crown Prince. She sends people out of the palace to visit him every now and then and gives him some rewards. There's nothing to be surprised about."
What's more, Lu Bingzhi is still poisoned, so the empress dowager is naturally more concerned.
Madam Qi said, "Madam, I don't know why Madam Yan came back to the palace directly after leaving the old lady's place, and did not go to the prince's place."
When Cen heard this, she showed surprise. She thought for a moment and said, "Send someone to find out."
Aunt Qi said, "The maids serving in the old lady's room are very tight-lipped, how could we possibly find out?"
"But I heard that the old lady is going to the Ningshou Marquis's Mansion tomorrow."
"Madam, do you think the old lady is going to cancel this marriage?"
They also knew that Cui Linghui had abdominal pain at the flower-viewing banquet, which alarmed the imperial physician and was diagnosed with a cold. The Queen Mother loved her grandson, the Crown Prince, the most, so she would never be willing to let this marriage continue.
Cen thought for a moment, then hesitated, saying, "I've never heard the old lady express any opinion about Cui Linghui falling into the water. The old lady has always been kind, and Cui Linghui is still ill. How could she come here so directly to cancel the engagement? Besides, the prince is ill, and there are all those rumors in the capital. If we cancel the engagement now, who knows how much discussion and criticism it will cause. The old lady and the queen dowager value the prince. Why would they want his reputation to be damaged by this incident?"
Mrs. Cen shook her head and said, "Let's just pretend we don't know. I'm just a concubine, so it's not appropriate for me to ask too much about the Crown Prince's affairs."
Nanny Qi nodded. She knew the difficulties faced by the Madam. As a second wife, the Madam was different from the original wife. The previous wife was the late Princess Shuning. It was even more difficult for the Madam to be a second wife.
She was humble in front of her stepson, the Crown Prince. Even showing concern for his marriage, let alone interfering, would sometimes be perceived as having a hidden meaning. Especially since the Crown Prince was ill and his wife only had one daughter, if she showed too much concern for the marriage, it would inevitably make people feel like she was making fun of her.
Thinking of this, Madam Qi sighed softly in her heart, feeling a little sorry for her wife.
As long as Madam cannot give birth to a son, she will never have the confidence to stay in this mansion.
Cen changed the subject and asked, "I was too busy to go to Mingyue Court today. Have you visited Danruo? She's impatient, and the prince asking her to copy the Filial Piety Classic a hundred times is really putting her in a difficult position."
"It's also because Danruo is ignorant and doesn't know how to please the eldest brother, the prince. Otherwise, if he could be loved by the prince, he would at least be looked up to by others and could help me a little in this mansion." Nanny Qi watched Lu Danruo grow up. She knew that Lu Danruo was jealous of the eldest brother, the prince, and was arrogant in his bones. How could he please the eldest brother, the prince?
Thinking of this, Nanny Qi comforted her, "The young lady is young and a little arrogant, and she feels wronged for you, Madam. When she grows up, she will be more sensible."
"Besides, the prince has a cold personality. How can anyone please him?"
In her opinion, if the girl tried to please him, it would only make the prince dislike her sister even more. Rather than that, it would be better to stay away from her.
Upon hearing this, Cen complained, "No matter how naive Danruo is, she's still the Crown Prince's sister, and a legitimate daughter. How can't the Crown Prince, as her older brother, treat her with some respect? He doesn't love Danruo, but he doesn't dislike his illegitimate brother at all. I heard he even had some rare books sent to Qifengyuan. These two brothers, one legitimate and the other illegitimate, one's biological mother is Princess Shuning, the other is just a maidservant to the Princess. I never thought they could have such a brotherly bond."
Nanny Qi knew what her mistress was thinking, so she could only advise, "The Second Young Master is a concubine's son no matter what. His biological mother was just a maidservant of Princess Shuning. How can he compare to our young lady with such a lowly background?"
Hearing what Nanny Qi said, Cen felt even more upset. It was difficult for her to gain a foothold in the mansion without giving birth to a son, so seeing the illegitimate son was even more offensive to her.
Lu Bingzhi was the eldest princess's biological son, so as a stepmother, she couldn't command his respect. She couldn't even discipline a bastard's son, simply because his mother was a former member of the eldest princess's family. How could she not feel aggrieved?
Seeing Cen's unhappy expression, Nanny Qi gently advised, "Madam, you should be more open-minded. Maybe after the prince gets married, our daughter will get along well with her sister-in-law and will be able to have a closer relationship with the prince as her brother."
Cen glanced at her and said, "It's difficult. I don't think Cui Linghui is someone who can get along with others. She might look down on me as her mother-in-law. How could she be willing to truly love Danruo, her sister-in-law?"
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