Chapter 118: If I file a complaint, I will be labeled as unfilial and criticized by others...
The next morning, without Cui Lingyan knowing, Nanny Jiang, who served Qi, sent someone to deliver a letter to Qi's house.
After Zhan unfolded the letter and read it, his expression changed again and again, becoming extremely complicated.
Old Lady Wu, who was sitting on the soft couch at the head, noticed that her daughter-in-law had a strange look on her face. The letter was from the Ningshou Marquis's Mansion, and the person who delivered it was the maid who served her daughter.
Her expression immediately changed, revealing a hint of nervousness. She asked, "What's in the letter? What happened?"
Qi Ruorou happened to be in the room talking to the old lady and her mother, and she also became curious this time.
Zhan didn't say anything, but looked at the maid who had delivered the letter and asked in a deep voice, "Is what's in this letter true? Did Miss Yan really act like this? If there's even a hint of falsehood, you servants won't be able to bear the consequences!"
Her tone was so stern that the maid who had brought the letter shuddered. She dropped to her knees with a thud, kowtowed, and said, "This servant dared not lie to Madam Auntie. My wife was so angry about Third Miss's behavior that she couldn't even get out of bed. Nanny Jiang felt sorry for Madam Auntie and had no other choice but to send this servant to deliver this letter to Madam Auntie. I hope Madam Auntie and the old lady will come to visit. Firstly, to comfort Madam Auntie, and secondly, to support her. Don't let the master and the old lady in the mansion think that Madam Auntie has no one to rely on."
Before Zhan could speak, Old Madam Wu's face darkened and she angrily said, "What did Miss Yan do? Tell us now and don't hide it."
The maid came here today on the orders of Nanny Jiang to deliberately accuse Cui Lingyan. When she heard Old Madam Wu asking this, she couldn't hide it at all, so she exaggerated and told the story of what happened in the mansion yesterday.
"I had thought that the Third Young Lady's status was different now. With the status of the Duke of Wei's son's wife, she could always support Madam and win back some face for her when she returned to her parents' home. At the very least, she would have punished Concubine Liu and asked the Marquis to apologize to Madam. But who could have imagined that after returning to the Marquis's residence, not only would she not help at all and show no concern for Madam, her mother, but she actually suggested in front of the Old Madam that Concubine Liu be taken to the Xilan Courtyard to recuperate. This was tantamount to a slap in the face to Madam, making her even more embarrassed and inviting ridicule and gossip. This is just a case of the child. If Concubine Liu's pregnancy is stable because of this, and she gives birth to a bastard child ten months later, Madam will be disgusted for the rest of her life and will be disgusted by a bastard child for the rest of her life. It may even undermine the Young Master's position."
"After all, the young master was weak since birth, and his health was even worse after he was born. Although the Marquis didn't say anything, if there was a healthy illegitimate son, and that illegitimate son was born to Concubine Liu, who looks very similar to the original wife, even if the young master was a legitimate child, he would probably be overshadowed by a illegitimate son. That's why the lady is so heartbroken. She thinks the third lady is resentful of her mother because of the incident when she was sent to the Qi family, and is taking this opportunity to retaliate, making the lady unhappy and even disgusted for the rest of her life. Nanny Jiang is really worried about the lady, afraid that the lady will be unable to get over it and something bad will happen. That's why she dared to send this servant to report this matter to the old lady and the uncle's wife without asking for the lady's permission, hoping that the maid's family can come and support the lady, and that you, as the elder, can also go to the Weiguogong Mansion and give the third lady some advice."
When Mrs. Wu heard this, she was immediately distressed and angry, and her face became even more gloomy and ugly.
Her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhan, had told her so much before, saying that Yan's personality had changed since she came to the capital, like she had become a completely different person. She was still a little skeptical. After all, Yan had come to pay her respects and was respectful and filial, and had been very affectionate and adoring to her grandmother. Naturally, she felt that these were all some of her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhan's own little tricks. She didn't ask Yan to marry Shaozhang, but instead to marry Cui Lingyin, a concubine from the Ningshou Marquis's mansion. Even if she didn't say it out loud, she felt a little uncomfortable in her heart, which was why she said Yan's personality had changed.
But after hearing the maid's report, she could no longer help but believe it.
After all, she didn't expect the maid in front of her to be so bold as to tell a lie. Therefore, Mrs. Wu's original love for Cui Lingyan had now been replaced by dissatisfaction and anger.
What made her even more angry was what the maid said, that Cui Lingyan acted this way because her daughter sent her to live with the Qi family, which made her feel aggrieved and resentful. That's why she did such a thing without caring about anything. She used such a stupid thing as saving the child in Concubine Liu's belly to take disgusting revenge on her daughter, her biological mother.
Old Madam Wu was so angry that her chest heaved, and she couldn't utter a word for a long time.
Seeing this, Zhan was worried that something might happen to her, so she hurried forward to smooth her back and said, "Mother, please don't be angry. Perhaps there's some misunderstanding here."
This didn't calm Old Madam Wu; it only intensified her anger. She immediately shouted, "What misunderstanding could there be? Our Qi family has raised Miss Yan for so many years, and we've done our best. Has she ever suffered the slightest injustice? Her food, clothing, and expenses are comparable to those of Ruorou, a legitimate daughter, and even comparable to those of Shaozhang, a legitimate son. It would be fine if she didn't feel grateful and want to repay us for raising her, but she's actually resentful. What an ungrateful person! Even if her mother hastily sent her to the Qi family, she had her reasons. She's naturally strong, so how could she possibly bring Bo'er to his death? If she killed her own brother, who was born to the same mother, how could she have a good life in the Marquis's Mansion? Could it be better than living a comfortable and respectable life in our Qi family?"
"I don't know what's wrong with this child. She was fine in the Qi family, but she's become a completely different person since coming to the capital. Could it be that all those good and sensible things she did before were just an act? If that's the case, then our Qi family has really raised her for nothing. If we had known this, we shouldn't have taken her in. We should have let her fend for herself in the Marquis' Mansion. If she kills her own brother, she should have borne the consequences herself."
When Zhan heard her mother-in-law's harsh words, she wanted to persuade her but it was difficult.
How could she not know her mother-in-law's temper? She was afraid that the more she tried to persuade her, the angrier she would become, which would only add fuel to the fire.
Although she had told her mother-in-law before that Yan's personality had changed a little, she did not want to make her mother-in-law angry, so she did not report to her mother-in-law that Cui Lingyan had used the forgiveness of Cui Lingyin to offset the grace of the Qi family in raising her over the years. She was afraid that her mother-in-law would get angry after hearing it, and find fault with Cui Lingyan in a fit of rage, which would make Cui Lingyan bear a grudge against the Qi family, which would not be good for her son.
Now she still thought that Cui Lingyan, the Crown Prince's wife, could help Shaozhang in the future, so she didn't want the two families to become enemies, so naturally she would try to persuade him if she could.
She also felt that Nanny Jiang, who served as aunt's attendant, was truly ignorant. Since the matter was already settled, why bother sending someone to inform the old lady? Wouldn't that only make things more difficult for her? A family as powerful as the Qi family would be forced to turn away even if they went to the Ningshou Marquis's residence to seek justice. After all, what mistress would be so jealous as to go after a pregnant concubine? If things went wrong, aunt's situation would become even more difficult.
Just as she was thinking about this, the maid kneeling on the ground also had a worried look on her face. She comforted the old lady, "Don't be angry, old lady. If you get sick from anger, the Madam will definitely punish Madam Jiang and this servant. The Third Young Lady has always been like this. Didn't she even use the condition of forgiving the Second Young Lady for scheming against her and her cousin to undo the kindness the Qi family had shown her over the years of upbringing? Madam Jiang said that the Third Young Lady must be harboring resentment, otherwise she wouldn't have done such things so repeatedly. I'm afraid the knot in her heart won't be untied for the time being. We must slowly find a way to make her stop resenting Madam and the Qi family."
The maid's words were not meant to comfort her at all; they were clearly adding fuel to the fire. Not only did Zhan hear it, but Qi Ruorou, who was sitting next to her, also heard it.
Both of them looked serious, and looked at the maid with a bit of scrutiny and suspicion.
What was Madam Jiang's purpose in sending this maid over? If she wanted the old lady to come and comfort Madam Qi, she shouldn't have said these words, right?
It sounded like they were deliberately trying to provoke the old lady's anger, asking her, as an elder, to find fault with her granddaughter Cui Lingyan.
She kept the matter a secret from the beginning to the end and did not dare to report it to her mother-in-law, as she did not want to make a fuss and offend Yan Yatou, the Crown Prince's wife.
But at this moment, a maid shouted it out and let the old lady know. Zhan was really angry and felt that Aunt Qi was too bad at disciplining the maids and servants under her. How could she let Madam Jiang act on her own like this?
Before Mrs. Zhan could open her mouth to reprimand her, Mrs. Wu asked sternly, "Is this really the case?"
This time her gaze fell on Zhan. Zhan didn't say anything, but in Mrs. Wu's eyes, she tacitly agreed that such a thing had happened.
Madam Wu immediately flew into a rage, "Evil creature! Evil creature! How could this be my well-behaved and sensible granddaughter? She's been deceiving me, her grandmother, and everyone in the mansion all these years at the Qi family. She's so cunning and calculating at such a young age! No wonder they say her fate will bring her brother, Bo'er, to death. If she stays in the Marquis's mansion, even if she doesn't kill him, given her temperament, she'll be so upset to see her brother receive more attention than she does, and might even murder Bo'er!"
"With a temper like that, he should have been drowned when he was born to avoid the troubles in the future!"
At this moment, Mrs. Wu no longer had the slightest bit of kindness as an elder. It was obvious that she was extremely disgusted and hated Cui Lingyan, her granddaughter whom she had watched grow up since she was a child. She wanted to frame all the crimes on Cui Lingyan.
Even Mrs. Zhan felt uncomfortable after hearing these words, and she was even more afraid that her mother-in-law would make a fuss and offend Cui Lingyan.
Given Cui Lingyan's current personality, if you offend her, you will definitely be in trouble in the mansion.
She gestured to her daughter Qi Ruorou, wanting her to go forward and persuade the old lady to calm down.
Although her mother-in-law might offend her, she still loved her granddaughter Ruoruo very much. When she was angry, only her two children could persuade her.
Her son is in the Imperial College today and has not returned home. It would be better for her to ask her daughter to comfort him instead of her.
Qi Ruorou had long experienced Cui Lingyan's power. Those who offended Cui Lingyan would not have a good ending. Just look at Cui Linghui, who is now the concubine of the second prince Xiao Ze.
At this moment, he was also worried that his grandmother would get angry and make things worse, so he hurried forward to persuade her, "Grandma, please calm down first. You are old, and it is not worth it to get sick from anger. My brother is getting married soon. If you, as a grandmother, get sick from anger, will the wedding be postponed? The Marquis' Mansion is of higher status than our Qi family. Even if Cui Lingyin is a concubine's daughter, we can't treat her badly. This kind of thing must not happen."
When Old Lady Wu heard her granddaughter mention her grandson's marriage, she calmed down her anger, but her expression remained solemn. She said to her daughter-in-law, Zhan, "Tomorrow, you will accompany me to the Marquis' Mansion to find out the details of the situation. If Yan is really so unfilial, then as her grandmother, I will definitely go to the Duke of Wei's Mansion to meet her and ask her if she has any filial piety at all!"
"She grew up in our Qi family. If she gets a reputation for being unfilial, I'm afraid outsiders will criticize her for her upbringing in our Qi family!"
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