Chapter 84: Little Cui
Lu Kuan is Lu Lingyun's half-brother.
He was also her younger brother who carried her on his back when she got married.
The Lu family has three sons, two of whom are Liu's legitimate sons, and Lu Kuan is the only illegitimate boy.
The status of illegitimate sons and daughters has never been high since ancient times.
It is said that a mother is honored by her son, and a son is honored by his mother.
In wealthy families, illegitimate sons and daughters would have a much better life, but most of them are invisible in the family and not many people care about them. In poorer families, the status of illegitimate sons and daughters is even lower.
In places like those where the illegitimate sons of the gentry and other wealthy families live, most of them serve as managers or managers of the estates for the legitimate sons. If the family is divided, they will be kicked out of the house with nothing.
In the final analysis, there are too few resources, and even less can be distributed to illegitimate children.
Of course, there are some exceptions. If the concubines are extremely favored and their children are favored by the head of the family, they will also receive many preferential treatments.
But these are the minority, and Lu Kuan is one of the majority. As a bastard in the family, Liu doesn't like him at all, and Lu's father doesn't care much about him either. Even though he is a man, he is just a transparent one.
However, Lu Lingyun remembered that in his previous life, he was the most promising of the three brothers of the Lu family and became a scholar. However, his family had no resources for him, so he gave up the imperial examination after failing the provincial examination. He sought the lowest-ranking clerk job and left home to live on his own. Later, he became a seventh-rank official.
The other two brothers of the Lu family also failed to pass the imperial examination. Relying on all the family resources, one of them was a sixth-rank official, and the other a seventh-rank official, both of whom were civil servants with no real power.
As long as the Lu family places their bets on Lu Kuan, even if Lu Kuan does not have the ability to make the Lu family rise, they can still maintain the Lu family's current status.
What impressed Lu Lingyun the most about her half-brother was not that he had always been low-key and upward, but that in her previous life, after she returned to the capital in glory, everyone in the Lu family fawned over her except Lu Kuan. And when she encountered a natural disaster crisis in Jiangnan, no one in the entire Lu family asked about it, but he was the only one who sent her a letter asking if she needed help.
Lu Hanyi had just finished making a fuss there, and Lu Lingyun felt that she also needed to support a member of her mother's family. Her life was different from her previous life. In her previous life, she and Li Wenxun fought alone and started from scratch. In this life, she married in the capital, and she would basically not leave here in this life, so it was inevitable that she would have to visit her mother's family.
The strength of her mother's family will also be one of her strengths. She has people in her mother's family, so even if she doesn't need them, it will give her confidence.
She planned to train Lu Kuan as her family member.
After a while, a young man about fourteen years old came over with Shuanghong.
"Big sister? You're looking for me?"
Lu Kuan was very surprised to see Lu Lingyun looking for him.
Lu Kuan and Lu Lingyun were just nodding acquaintances, but he liked Lu Lingyun very much because Lu Lingyun was the only one among the family's legitimate children who did not discriminate against him and had even given him food and pocket money.
Of course Lu Lingyun definitely doesn't remember, because Lu Lingyun treats everyone the same.
"You are going to take the provincial examination this year, right?" Lu Lingyun looked at him with a smile.
Lu Kuan nodded heavily.
"How are you learning?" Lu Lingyun continued to ask.
"I hope I can pass the exam and become a scholar."
Lu Lingyun smiled at him and said, "I just got a batch of books that will help you in your provincial examination. If you need them, please come to the mansion to find me anytime."
Lu Kuan was surprised for a moment after hearing this, "Really?"
"Of course." Lu Lingyun reached out and pulled a stray hair out of his collar. "Study hard. Big sister is counting on you."
After listening to this, Lu Kuan's face was filled with joy. He clenched his fists and said, "Yes, I will definitely not let Big Sister down!"
Lu Lingyun praised Lu Kuan and then left Lu's mansion.
The next day, Lu Kuan really came to the Marquis' Mansion.
He was standing at the door awkwardly and was a little hesitant when he was recognized by the security guard. This was what Lu Lingyun had instructed him to do.
Lu Kuan arrived at Lu Lingyun's yard. Lu Lingyun gave him a lot of books and snacks. Lu Kuan saw that Lu Lingyun's eyes were shining.
After he left, Lu Lingyun was flipping through the account book when he received a message from his servant.
"Madam, the eldest lady of Duke Xu's mansion wants to invite you for tea."
Li Niyue came to see her?
"good."
Lu Lingjun had nothing to do, so she got up and went to Duke Xu's mansion.
As soon as she arrived at the door, the nanny beside Li Niyue was waiting there.
"The Crown Prince's wife is here." Nanny Wang said with a smile.
"How is Sister Li these days?"
"Very good!" Nanny Wang smiled. "You helped our lady a lot with the charcoal fire last time. She has always wanted to invite you for tea to express her gratitude, but she finally got around to it after the New Year."
"It seems that Sister Li has been very busy this year." Lu Lingjun immediately got the gist of the words.
Li Niyue is busy, which means she has more power in charge of the household and is busy with household affairs.
"Yes, our lady is now highly regarded by the madam." Nanny Wang said with pride.
At this moment, a group of young women, dressed elegantly and showing nobility, came towards them with their maids and servants.
The woman walking in front was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a pretty face. She looked 50% like Li Niyue's mother-in-law, Cui. There was a stern look between her brows, and her eyes were filled with arrogance and nobility that could not be concealed.
At first glance, I knew it was the young Cui.
"Second Madam." When Nanny Wang saw the visitor, she bowed respectfully.
When she heard the title, Lu Lingyun knew that this was Li Niyue's sister-in-law, Xiao Cui, Cui's niece who married Cui's youngest son, and both husband and wife were deeply loved by Cui.
"Second Madam." Lu Lingjun also greeted her with a smile.
Xiao Cui listened to Lu Lingyun's voice and glanced at her with a sidelong glance. The arrogance in her eyes was self-evident. "Who are you?"
"Second Madam, this is our Madam's good friend, Lady Lu, the wife of the Crown Prince of Ningyang Marquis's Mansion."
"Oh!" Little Cui showed understanding, and said with disdain, "You are the poor downtrodden who married into the rich family."
Lu Lingyun: "......"
"Second Madam, Madam Cheng is our Madam's distinguished guest." Nanny Wang frowned and said.
"That's right, dragons seek dragons, shrimps seek shrimps. Your wife just hangs out with these poor people who have climbed up, and she doesn't even feel ashamed of bringing disgrace to our Duke's Mansion." Xiao Cui's tone was full of contempt.
She didn't bother to look at Lu Lingyun again. She raised her noble head and led the maids and servants to walk between Lu Lingyun and Nanny Wang.
When they passed by, she didn't look away, slightly frowned her noble eyebrows, and waved her hand with disgust, "What cat and dog."
Lu Lingyun: "......"
"Madam, please don't be angry. She is our second wife and the madam's niece. She comes from the famous Qinghe Cui family and is the most favored youngest daughter in the family. She is usually so arrogant," Nanny Wang explained to Lu Lingyun. "When she first came into the family, she also gave our wife a lot of trouble."