Chapter 169

Chapter 169: The Blunt One "It's nothing particularly special. Zeyu was raised by me, so it's hard not to worry about him a little more." Cui Lingrong smiled as she caught up. "You won't blame me for talking too much, will you?" Of course she would. Madam Qin had already noticed many people casting appraising glances her way and could only force a smile. "Of course not. Marchioness Song's concern for her younger brother is only natural." "Still, the Duchess of Guo is most magnanimous. I'd long heard that you were the most reasonable and righteous of women, and now that I've spoken with you today, I see it's true." Cui Lingrong heaped praise upon Madam Qin, and to all who watched, her posture was exceedingly humble. Even if Cui Zeyu had been somewhat thoughtless at first, Madam Qin as his mother ought to guide him with tolerance, rather than allowing outsiders to spread word of Cui Zeyu's unfilial conduct. No one was a fool. If word of his unfilial behavior came from the Duke of Dingguo's estate, then either Madam Qin had tacitly permitted it, or the estate's discipline was so poor that servants dared to speak ill of their masters. And Cui Zeyu had only recently arrived at the Duke of Dingguo's estate. What grudge, what hatred, could make the Duchess of Dingguo so partial against him? No one could fathom it, and the looks directed at Madam Qin grew ever more puzzled. Cui Lingrong continued to praise Madam Qin. "My younger brother is a straightforward man who is fiercely protective of his own. He went off to do business on his own at a very young age and suffered no small amount of hardship. To now be raised by the Duchess of Guo is his good fortune. The Duchess's reputation is known far and wide in Bianjing. If anything should go wrong, it must surely be my brother's fault. Please don't stand on ceremony—beat him, scold him, whatever you wish. He is your son now, and he will obey you in all things." Hearing this, someone stepped forward to smooth things over. "Rest assured, Marchioness Song. The Duchess of Guo is the most loyal and righteous of women and would never act with partiality. Entrust your brother to her, and she will surely return to you a pillar of talent." Once one person spoke up, others chimed in with kind words. One after another they spoke, until Madam Qin found it impossible to disassociate herself from Cui Zeyu. If she said even one word against him, no one would understand why. She could only smile and deal with it, cursing Cui Lingrong inwardly for being so meddlesome, deliberately forcing her hand. "You flatter me, everyone. It's simply that the Duke and I each have our own preferences, but all are children of the Duke of Dingguo's estate, and we naturally treat them equally." Madam Qin hinted. Some understood immediately, while others only caught the words "treat them equally" and asked, "Then why have I heard that the estate's San-ge'er has all his clothing, food, lodging, and travel arranged by you personally, but when it comes to the second son, there is nothing?" No one had expected anyone to be so blunt—even Cui Lingrong wouldn't dare ask so directly. But since someone had asked, Cui Lingrong was naturally delighted. Madam Qin's expression froze. She turned to look and saw a very young woman with a somewhat dark complexion but exceptionally bright eyes. For a moment, she couldn't place who it was. It was only when someone whispered in her ear that she learned this was the child bride of the new Zhuangyuan, a woman surnamed Meng, said to be barely literate and quite incapable of proper conduct. "So it's the wife of Hanlin Ye. Where did you hear such a thing?" Madam Qin asked in return, her eyes narrowing. "Things I don't know, you seem to know. It appears you understand the Duke of Dingguo's estate better than I do." The displeasure in her words was plain, yet Meng seemed not to notice. She gave a puzzled "Eh?" and said, "I heard it from the second young mistress of the Xu family. She said you weren't satisfied with the second son and only favored the third, that you were quite partial. She also said you bore a private grudge against the second son and were deliberately ruining his reputation." Madam Qin's face grew uglier by the moment. Her first thought was that this was an ally Cui Lingrong had brought in. But Cui Lingrong was equally startled, looking at Meng with curiosity. Meng smiled and continued, "But what they said might not be true. I was afraid of misunderstanding you, so when I saw you today, I thought I'd ask. You're not upset, are you?" "Of course not." Madam Qin gritted her teeth and forced a smile. "I still have matters to attend to, so I'll be going now." "You're in such a hurry! Why not stay a while longer? The Jiang family has hired an opera troupe—it's quite entertaining." Meng still didn't seem to notice Madam Qin's displeasure and chattered on. "Back in our village, during the New Year, only the big landlord would hire performers. We'd have to line up early, and it was ever so much fun." She spoke with great excitement, completely oblivious to the contempt in everyone else's eyes, and even tried to persuade Madam Qin to stay. "It's a rare opportunity—why not stay and watch?" Madam Qin could no longer manage a smile. She looked down at Meng's dark hand, and with a look of disgust, pulled away. "No need. I really must return to the estate." She walked away swiftly, afraid that Meng might grab hold of her again. Meng pouted in disappointment. When she turned around, she saw that everyone else had dispersed, and only Cui Lingrong smiled at her. She smiled back, showing her front teeth, her manner entirely unlike the noble ladies of Bianjing. "Just now I heard the Duchess of Dingguo call you Marchioness Song—so you're a marquis's wife! No wonder you're so beautiful. I've only just arrived in Bianjing and don't know anyone here. I can see you're lovely and kind, and as it happens, I too have a younger brother who causes me worry. Shall we be friends?" After a pause, Lady Meng added with a sly smile, "I deliberately sold out Second Young Mistress of the Xu family just now—I'm not actually that foolish. That Second Young Mistress has a wicked heart. When she first started associating with me, she said I was straightforward, but behind my back, she mocked me to others for being crude and illiterate, and she shared everything I told her with everyone else." Cui Lingrong was somewhat surprised. At first, she had thought Lady Meng was genuinely simple-minded, but now it seemed she was shrewd beneath her rough exterior. "Then she truly is detestable," Cui Lingrong commented briefly. "Yes, you think so too! Then we can get along well," Lady Meng said with a hearty laugh. "But she didn't get any benefit from it either. When I heard she had betrayed me, I got into a fight with her. That delicate little thing—I beat her until she was wailing and crying." At that, Lady Meng clenched her fist and gave a disdainful snort. Cui Lingrong raised an eyebrow slightly. Having grown up following all the rules, she had never encountered someone like Lady Meng before. She was both surprised and a little curious. "You struck someone—didn't the Xu family cause trouble for you over it?" "They did, but I didn't think I was in the wrong. My husband went to apologize, and when they still dared to make things difficult for him, I grabbed a cleaver and charged to the Xu family's front gate. That scared them off." Lady Meng was fiercely bold. Cui Lingrong was taken aback once again. Fortunately, Yuan Mingzhu sent someone to fetch her, allowing her to make an escape. When she met Yuan Mingzhu and brought up Lady Meng, Yuan Mingzhu actually praised her instead. "She's a good person, just raised in a village and unfamiliar with the intricate intrigues of Bianjing's noble households. If you don't care for her, simply don't associate with her. After all, she's been in Bianjing for less than a month and has already offended quite a few people." Cui Lingrong did indeed feel that she and Lady Meng were incompatible—their personalities were too different, and they couldn't even hold a proper conversation. When Yuan Mingzhu brought up Fang-jie's marriage, the two changed the subject and chatted for a good while before Cui Lingrong took Yu-jie and left. What she hadn't expected was to find Song Shulan waiting for her at the entrance. The two boarded the carriage together. "I saw you chatting at length with that village woman, Lady Meng. You shouldn't keep associating with people like her. One Xie Yunting was already enough, and now that Xie Yunting has gone on the northern expedition, you're chatting away with Lady Meng. Marrying such a crude woman—what bad luck for Zhuangyuan Ye!" Song Shulan spoke with utter disdain. Cui Lingrong disliked hearing such words. "Before he married, Hanlin Ye was not yet the Zhuangyuan. Lady Meng and I only met for the first time today—she helped me ask what I wanted to know, so I spoke with her a little longer. That's all. If Your Lordship only sees value in the high and mighty, how can you be certain that Hanlin Ye won't gain the Emperor's favor in the future?" "Ha! Absolutely impossible!" Song Shulan said. "Do you think winning the Zhuangyuan means an easy rise to prominence? Hanlin Ye is young but extremely rigid and pedantic, and he's been shielding that troublemaker Lady Meng all along. If it were me, I wouldn't have let Lady Meng come to Bianjing at all. A village woman is utterly useless to one's official career—divorcing her would be the simplest solution." "So that's how Your Lordship thinks. Then have you ever considered divorcing me as well?" After all, her contribution to Song Shulan's career was far less than County Princess Rongjia's support.