Chapter 163: The prince was not like this before he was deceived.
"Didn't Madam want to match the young master with my cousin? Although my cousin is headstrong, she is the legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion. It would be a good thing for her to marry into the Cen family. With the old lady as her grandmother who loves her, Madam can tolerate her temper."
"Stop talking now, does my cousin agree?"
"Why wouldn't she be unwilling? She has no right to be unwilling. If I were Cui, I would just follow the rumors and marry her back to the Cen family without having a sister-in-law to bother her. What a great thing."
Lu Danruo listened to the maids and old women's discussions, her expression changed again and again, she clenched the handkerchief in her hand tightly, and after a moment she turned around and walked back.
When Mrs. Cen saw her daughter coming back, her face looked even worse than when she left. She thought that the Cen family was not strict with their subordinates and her daughter might have heard some of the servants' gossips and made her unhappy.
Thinking of this, Cen beckoned Lu Danruo to sit in front of her. She patted the back of her hand gently and said, "Don't worry about the gossips of the maids and servants. As masters, do we have to care about the opinions of our servants? Danruo, with your status, even if your marriage with Pei An doesn't work out, who would dare to look down on you? After a while, mother will find you a better family."
Before Cen could finish, Lu Danruo suddenly interrupted her and said, "Mother, I will be returning home tomorrow. I will tell my grandmother later."
Cen was stunned when she heard her words, her eyes full of surprise. She subconsciously said, "Why go back? Wouldn't it be a joke if we go back now? I'll go back with you in a few days. There are so many people watching us now. If we go back like this, won't people point fingers at us?"
The Duke of Wei's mansion hadn't made any move, nor had anyone been sent to fetch her, the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest son's family. Though she wouldn't admit it, Cen knew in her heart how much she held her husband and mother-in-law in their power. This knowledge made her feel embarrassed, as if she had made a fool of herself by the noble ladies of the capital. This farce was like a slap in the face; she had gained nothing but humiliation.
At this time, Mrs. Cen didn't want to go back home with her daughter. She felt that she could delay it for a day longer. When the rumors outside died down and no one paid attention to her, the wife of the Duke of Wei, she would go back and tell others that she was at her mother's home taking care of her mother, Old Madam Mei. At least she could keep a secret for herself. So when she heard her daughter say that she would be going back home the next day, her first reaction was to scold her.
Lu Danruo ignored her scolding and shouted directly, "I don't care. I'm the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Wei. My last name is Lu. If I get tired of living at my grandmother's house and want to go back to my own home, I can go back. There's no need to think about anything else."
If she continued to live in the Cen family, she was afraid that the Cen family would really take notice of her. How could she, the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Weiguo, marry into a family as powerful as the Cen family?
As she spoke, she stood up and continued, "I'll talk to my grandmother about this right now." As she spoke, she was about to leave the house and walk towards Mrs. Mei's residence.
Cen tried to stop her but failed, so she could only follow her to see Old Madam Mei.
When Mrs. Mei heard Lu Danruo say that she would leave after breakfast tomorrow, she frowned slightly and subconsciously looked at her daughter and asked, "Will you go back with Danruo?"
Mrs. Cen shook her head and explained, "Mother is not feeling well. I want to stay home with you for a while longer. Danruo can go back by herself in the carriage. Yan's marriage to Pei'an is settled. She has to embroider her own wedding dress. She can't stay with the old lady as often as before. Danruo can fulfill her filial duty on my behalf when she returns."
Cen made up a respectable excuse. The maids and servants in the house didn't dare show any emotion on their faces, but in their hearts they all thought that the aunt was not afraid of being laughed at for saying such things. The old lady knew everything clearly, and the aunt's words were actually making things awkward for the old lady. How could the old lady feel comfortable listening to them?
As expected, after hearing her words, Madam Mei's smile faded a little, and she simply said, "If you want to go back, go back. You too, wait a while until the gossip outside subsides, and you don't have to stay to accompany an old woman like me. Although the mansion is not as good as before, there is no shortage of servants."
Mrs. Mei's words were a little unpleasant to hear. Mrs. Cen's face changed slightly. She opened her mouth to say something, but in the end she just changed the subject and talked about something else.
After talking for a while, Mrs. Mei's face showed some fatigue. She said, "Okay, you can take Danruo back. I'm a little tired too."
After hearing this, Cen took Lu Danruo and retreated.
After she left, Old Lady Mei sighed and pointed in the direction Cen and Lu Danruo had left. She said to Nanny Ruan beside her, "Look, it's obvious that she's in a bad situation at the Duke's Mansion and wants to return to her parents' home to use the rumors outside to manipulate the Duke's Mansion. Now she has the nerve to say that it's because I'm not feeling well and she came back to fulfill her filial duties. We're all family, she was born from my belly, yet she's still trying to cover up this, treating me, her mother, like an outsider."
"And that girl Danruo, she's been here for so many days and I haven't heard her ask how I'm doing. She stays in her own yard all day, and she doesn't seem to be very close to me when she comes to pay her respects to me, her grandmother. Our small mansion is not worthy of her status as a legitimate daughter of the Duke of Wei's mansion."
Nanny Ruan had served the old lady for most of her life and was the best at guessing what she was thinking. Even if she couldn't guess it, after hearing the old lady's last few words, she knew what she was thinking.
The old lady thought that the cousin was so anxious to return to the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion because she heard outside that the mansion wanted to marry her to the eldest young master. The old lady loved the eldest young master the most, and she was even more distressed that the eldest young master was broken off by the Jiang family. Seeing that the eldest young master was despised and looked down upon by the cousin, she felt very uncomfortable.
Even if they wanted to leave, they shouldn't leave at this time. In the old lady's opinion, the cousin and aunt just didn't care about the reputation of the Cen family and looked down on the Cen family from the bottom of their hearts.
After thinking this through, Nanny Ruan couldn't help but offer some comfort: "My cousin is a spoiled girl, always saying what she means. Perhaps she doesn't think so much and might not be hiding from our Cen family."
"Besides, my cousin's personality is completely incompatible with that of the young master. If she were to marry into the mansion, who knows what kind of trouble she would cause. The young master should marry someone with a gentle, virtuous, and well-educated personality, so that the old lady would have less worries in the future. As for me, just pretend you didn't hear what was said outside. Don't get upset over these things, it's not worth it."
When Mrs. Mei heard these words, her expression softened slightly. She nodded and said, "Forget it. I'm old now. Let them do whatever they want. I, an old woman, can't control them anymore."
The news that Lu Danruo was going back to the Duke's Mansion tomorrow soon reached Xue's ears.
Xue was very dissatisfied after hearing the maid's report. Her face darkened and she said with a hint of sarcasm, "She remembered to say goodbye to the old lady, but how could she forget that it was me, her aunt, who was in charge of the household expenses. Who was responsible for taking care of her and her aunt during the time they lived here?"
"That's right. She's a girl from the Duke's Mansion. How could she remember the small favor from my aunt?"
Cen Yueying sat aside, listening to her mother's complaints. She reached out and tugged at her sleeve, saying, "If you want to go back, go back. Now that things have gotten this far, I wish my aunt would leave with her so I could live a quiet life."
Xue didn't say anything else. She waved her hand and asked the maid who was answering to leave.
......
The next morning
Duke Wei's Mansion
Songxueyuan
When Cui Lingyan woke up, it was already dawn and she was still lying in Lu Bingzhi's arms.
This person was also being lazy like her and hadn't gotten up yet.
When she regained consciousness, she realized that her hands were wrapped around Lu Bingzhi's back. Lu Bingzhi wanted to get up, but he had to wake her up.
Their eyes met, Cui Lingyan blushed slightly, withdrew her arms from him, and wanted to sit up.
Before she could stand up, Lu Bingzhi held her in his arms again. He whispered in her ear in a low, pleasant voice, "Lie down for a while. It's late anyway. I'll go with you to pay our respects to Grandmother."
Hearing her say this, Cui Lingyan could imagine that she and Lu Bingzhi went there together, and they left so late. The old lady didn't know how to guess what ridiculous things the two of them did that night.
Just thinking about it made Cui Lingyan's cheeks blush and feel hot.
Especially when she thought about the things Lu Bingzhi tricked her into doing last night, her cheeks became hot. She shook her head, wishing she could drive those scenes out of her mind and never think about them again.
A soft laugh came from her ears, and a big palm wrapped her fair and delicate hand in its palm. Cui Lingyan was startled and subconsciously tried to break free.
As if he could tell she was on guard against something, Lu Bingzhi squeezed her hand and assured her with a smile, "Don't worry, I promised you last night that I wouldn't bully you for the next two days. Would I go back on my word?"
Before Lu Bingzhi could continue, Cui Lingyan covered his mouth with her other hand, hesitated for a moment, and asked the question that puzzled her: "The prince was not like this before." Mingqing was a cold and aloof person. Even though they had done everything they should have done after consummating their marriage, ever since she became pregnant and had physical discomfort, this man coaxed her into doing many shameful things. The last bit of his coldness and self-restraint was gone on the bed, causing her to suspect that he had hidden some shameful fire-avoidance diagram in his study, which was why he coaxed her like this.
When Lu Bingzhi heard her ask this, he explained, "Since you are not feeling well, you should compensate me in other ways, isn't that right?"
Cui Lingyan looked at the way he was looking at her, and was afraid that if they continued talking, they would both be late for waking up, so she sat up without saying anything, with no intention of continuing to sleep.
Lu Bingzhi had no choice but to accompany her to get up and change clothes. After breakfast, they went to see Old Lady Dou.
Because of the rumors outside, the old lady's mood was affected, although she didn't show it obviously. Cui Lingyan, the granddaughter-in-law, came to chat with the old lady every day. Today, she was late, and the couple came together. The old lady could naturally guess what the reason was.
Her grandson was a cold and aloof person, but now he seems like a different person in front of his wife. The old lady is happy to see her grandson have a close friend and a wife that he is satisfied with and likes.
Without waiting for the two to greet him, he pointed to a chair and asked them to sit down. Then, with a smile on his face, he said to Cui Lingyan, "Today, the kitchen has stewed blood swallows and peach gum. Little Yan, you can have a small bowl."
As they were talking, a maid went to the small kitchen and soon came in with a pastel porcelain cup and handed it to Cui Lingyan.
Cui Lingyan had long been accustomed to the old lady asking her to taste the food in the small kitchen from time to time. Knowing that the old lady loved her, she was not restrained.
After finishing half a bowl of blood swallow's nest and peach gum, footsteps were heard outside. A maid opened the curtain and came in to report, "Madam, the second young lady has returned home and is heading towards Qingde Courtyard."
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