Chapter 9 If I continue to be disobedient, what then? ...
Cui Wan's eyes widened as she stared at Cui Shi in astonishment and disbelief. The man's once dignified and noble face was now filled with selfish calculations.
She still hesitated, stammering, "What if my cousin finds out..."
One may not care about Li Yunru, but Yan Ning is someone she has to consider.
Cui patted her hand, indicating that she could rest assured.
Cui Wan nodded: "I understand."
...
On the seventh day of the eighth lunar month, the weather wasn't particularly good. The sunny days that had lasted for over a month were finally gone, and the sky turned gray and gloomy, with occasional light drizzle.
Li Yunru was delighted and went out of the house into the rain.
She let the scattered raindrops fall on her face and clothes, closing her eyes to enjoy this moment of refreshing weather.
Shu Yun followed behind and advised, "Princess, why don't you go inside and stay under the eaves? If you catch a cold, the Prince Consort will be very worried."
Since returning from the Yan family, Yan Ning seems to have become very strange. He has changed from his previous aloof and unapproachable demeanor to being very clingy. For several days in a row, he has stayed in the mansion with her and rarely went out. Even when he did go out, he would always take her with him.
The two were living a blissful life, even more passionate than when they first got married. The servants in the household saw this and were happy for them, so they couldn't help but tease them about it.
Li Yunru couldn't tell whether this was good or bad. As a wife, she naturally wanted her husband to be with her, just like most women. But his sudden change of heart made her feel that something was not quite right.
She had once asked Yan Ning why he had changed so suddenly. He answered the question quite naturally, saying, "I was tactless before and neglected the princess a lot. I hope the princess will not hold it against me."
He affectionately rubbed her cheek, twirled a strand of her black hair in his hand, and said, "If the princess is in a better mood and behaves herself, I can speak up for you in front of my mother."
hehe.
Who says that Yan Sanlang is a paragon of virtue, detached from worldly affairs? He's quite adept at solving the age-old problem of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts.
"What if I continue to misbehave?" she asked deliberately.
Yan Ning lowered her eyes and smiled faintly, saying helplessly, "There's no other way. The princess will have to stay here more and have less contact with the other side."
She is gentle, obedient, dignified, and generous. It would be good if she had the demeanor of a matriarch, but it doesn't matter if she doesn't. What noble families have no shortage of these well-behaved ladies is that it is rare for her to maintain this free and unrestrained nature, which is also excellent.
"Who is really wronged here?" Li Yunru chuckled, put her arm around his waist, and said to him solemnly, "I, Liyang, am not the kind of unreasonable person. If the Yan family or my mother do not make things difficult for me, I am willing to condescend to be a good daughter-in-law."
She wasn't afraid of offending these people, but she wasn't the type to cause trouble either.
If others make things convenient for me, I will do the same for them.
Yan Ning was so moved that he didn't know what to do. He immediately kissed her forehead and promised, "Your Highness is so righteous. I, Changjun, will certainly not let you down."
That's what he said, but he was so busy that he only spent a few days with her before leaving again.
He left without a word for three to five days, saying he would come with her to the village for a short stay, away from the hustle and bustle. But it turned out that after only a few days, he was called away by business, leaving her alone in this rural village.
Ugh, this is so boring!
She's picked all the lotus flowers in the pond, and almost plucked all the feathers off the myna birds that were brought over. She's taken most of the fruits and vegetables grown by the nearby farmers. They're all so tired of eating them. If she doesn't find something to do, she'll definitely die of boredom!
So he paid no attention to Shu Yun's reminder and continued to immerse himself in the rain.
Just then, a carriage came from a distance and stopped in front of the manor. A short while later, a person got out.
She was a maidservant of the Yan family. Li Yunru rarely went to the Yan family, but she could recognize the token on her waist.
"This servant, Youchun, greets the princess."
She nodded slightly in greeting.
"Rise, there's no need for formalities."
She composed herself, sat back down on the veranda, took a sip of tea, and asked Madam Yan what she wanted to see her about.
The maidservant bowed and stepped forward, handing over a card, saying, "It is the birthday of Old Madam Lu. Madam said that she is not feeling well and would like the princess to go and offer her birthday greetings on her behalf, to show the close relationship between the two families."
"Oh, a birthday greeting?"
Li Yunru took the invitation, scoffing with disdain, "The world is really going to the dogs; anyone can accept my gift now."
You Chun: "..."
Speaking of these banquets and birthday celebrations, Li Yunru felt a surge of anger for no reason. Last year, when she first arrived in Jiankang, she also wanted to be a good daughter-in-law and make good friends with the various noble families. So she repeatedly humbled herself to show goodwill to them, but what did she get in return?
They said one thing to her face and another behind her back, saying all sorts of things about her being low-class. Even the gifts she sent were considered inferior, and some even mocked her to her face.
She had no desire to have anything to do with such a hypocritical and pretentious group of people!
They don't deserve it!
The young maid who had come stood there, unsure of what to do. She had just been bought into the household and didn't know much about her master's family. She only knew that her master had married a spoiled princess who wasn't close to the mistress. Before she came, the head maid who had taken her in had mentioned that the princess had a bad temper and that if she caused trouble, she should just bear with it. But this…
The little girl felt more and more aggrieved as she thought about it, and her eyes immediately reddened. She stood there trembling, not daring to speak, only pouting and trying to suck back her tears.
"Alright, stop crying. Anyone who didn't know better would think I, the princess, was bullying you."
Li Yunru didn't particularly like the Yan family, but she also disdained to make things difficult for a mere messenger. She handed the invitation to Shu Yun and said, "Go back and tell your master that I will go."
After saying that, she asked Shu Yun to give the person some reward money as compensation for the trip, and then asked her to see the person off.
"Does the princess really intend to attend Old Madam Lu's birthday celebration?"
"The invitation has already been delivered to my door, it wouldn't be right not to go."
Shu Yun fell silent.
Our master isn't the type to consider these things!
Li Yunru was indeed not the type to consider these things. What those noble families thought of her, looked at her, and said about her didn't really matter to her. As long as the two sides didn't interact with each other, that would be fine. However, she had promised Yan Ning some time ago that she would try to ease the tension with Yan's mother. Moreover, Lu's husband was a close friend of hers, and it was his grandmother's birthday. It was only right and proper for her to go and save him some face.
...
On August 14th, Li Yunru went to celebrate the birthday of the matriarch of the Lu family as promised.
It is rare for someone to live to seventy, so reaching this age is a joyous occasion. The birthday celebration was especially lively, with several prominent families coming to offer their congratulations.
Cui Wan, representing the Cui clan of Qinghe, was among them.
After she finished her greetings, she took the initiative to come over and talk to her. Li Yunru didn't like Cui Wan because the aristocratic families always compared her to others, saying how she was inferior to them. Recently, she had become close to Yan Ning, and despite being so busy, she had repeatedly put aside her work to obey her mother's orders to play with her, which made Li Yunru even more dissatisfied. However, putting aside these factors driven by outsiders, there was actually no deep hatred between the two. It was just her resentment over her saying, "The princess is like this, cousin is wronged."
At the time, she was still angry because of what Cui said, and she didn't like it. After several emotional ups and downs, she retorted without any politeness, saying some very harsh things. But thinking about it afterwards, it wasn't really a big deal.
As a noblewoman, she had her own pride. It was understandable that she would say such things after hearing that her cousin had married a princess with a bad temper. Furthermore, if she were to ease relations with the Yan family, it would be truly undesirable for Cui Wan, who was the Yan family's closest relative, to remain at odds with them.
Thinking this way, Li Yunru was not so confrontational this time, and replied with a smile. The two chatted happily, and she even introduced her to some noble ladies from prominent families who were of marriageable age.
Perhaps out of respect for Cui Wan, they were much more polite to her this time. Unlike before, they did not embarrass her at the banquet. They bowed to her respectfully and warmly said, "Princess, you should have more contact with us in the future."
This intimacy made Li Yunru feel uncomfortable.
She responded and tried her best to blend in, chatting and laughing with them, drinking one glass of wine after another.
The women's table mainly served fruit-infused wines, which were sweet, refreshing, and not very intoxicating. She already had a good tolerance for alcohol, so she didn't experience any discomfort while drinking them. However, after drinking a bit too much, she still felt bloated.
Before the banquet ended, she excused herself and went out to take a short break, then enjoyed the evening breeze to dissipate the effects of the alcohol, which made her feel more alert before returning home.
As Fang reached the door, he heard laughter coming from inside. "Look at that little princess, how stupid she is. Just because we talked to her a couple of times, she actually thinks she's some kind of distinguished guest, someone who deserves our status."
"Being born into a commoner family, that's why you're so ignorant. You can be bought off with a little favor."
"Hehe, that's right. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw her just now. She was so funny, like she'd never seen the world before. Brother Changjun is really missing out by dating someone so ignorant."
"If you ask me, Sister Cui and Brother Changjun are a perfect match, both talented and beautiful. Just now, when I saw you standing together, you looked like a perfect couple."
Cui Wan nodded, lowered her eyes and smiled faintly, saying insincerely, "Don't talk nonsense."
The young lady from the noble family said, "What's there to be afraid of? She's not here, and even if she were, so what? The old emperor in the capital won't live much longer. I heard my father and brothers say that they've already chosen a new ruler. As soon as the old emperor dies, we can immediately support a new person to ascend the throne. At that time, she'll be just an uneducated country girl. Without her status as a princess, what will she have to compete with you?"
"I've heard about this too, and I also heard from Fifth Brother that the Chen family brought up the matter of the second son of the Chen family, asking Li to go and take care of him. Brother Changjun was there at the time and didn't object, which means what? It means they tacitly approved it. It's just that for now, out of respect for the old emperor, we're giving her some face. Once she leaves..."
Standing at the door, Li Yunru felt her blood rushing backward, her body icy cold, and her five senses seemingly blocked for a moment. She couldn't hear anything else, and those few words kept swirling in her mind.
"As soon as the old emperor passes away, we will immediately support a new emperor to take the throne."
"The Chen family suggested that Li take care of Chen Erlang. Changjun was also there, and he did not object."
No objections!
"Princess!" Shu Yun caught her, supporting her body, and said fiercely, "Nonsense! Wait until I go in and tear their mouths apart!"
"I'll go by myself."
Li Yunru kicked open the vermilion door.
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