Chapter 268

Chapter 268: Taking the Blame Mrs. Cai was frantic over her son's troubles. When she returned to the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion and heard her daughter complaining about when there would be another banquet, she snapped, "Your brother is in prison right now, and all you can think about is yourself?" "What else am I supposed to do? What can I even do to help him?" Cui Lingying pursed her lips. "Besides, when Eldest Sister warned us, I thought she made a good point. You're the one who didn't stop him." "What are you saying?" Mrs. Cai raised her voice. "What did I say? I'm just telling the truth. Why are you taking your anger out on me?" Cui Lingying was equally displeased. "I know that in your heart, Brother matters more than I do, because he's a son and you'll rely on him to support you in your old age. But when you went out to make a scene, did you ever think about me?" Mrs. Cai had stood outside the Lin family's door for so long that surely many people in Bianjing knew about it, and that would affect Cui Lingying's reputation. Cui Lingying said this was a critical time for her. "If Brother can't help me, fine, but he's only holding me back. A brother like that—I'd rather not have him at all!" "Lingying, how can you say something so selfish?" Mrs. Cai was shocked. "That's your own brother! And he was framed! What you just said is going too far!" In that moment, Mrs. Cai finally realized how selfish her daughter had become. "Selfish? Mother, didn't you teach me that everyone for themselves, and the devil takes the hindmost? You told me not to care about Eldest Sister's feelings, that once we came to Bianjing, I should treat her as a tool and use her however I pleased. Everything I think and everything I am—wasn't that all taught by you?" Cui Lingying, realizing she might not marry into a prestigious family, wished her brother didn't exist at all. Mrs. Cai was momentarily speechless. This was the daughter she had raised herself. The mother and daughter stared at each other for a moment before Cui Lingying looked away first. "Fine. I know you only care about Brother's life right now, so I won't push you. But as for Brother's matter—Eldest Sister won't help, and you can't even get an audience with County Princess Rongjia. I suggest you inform Father as soon as possible. Otherwise, when Father blames you later, don't drag me down with you." With that, Cui Lingying turned and left. At first, she had been afraid something would happen to her brother. But then she thought about how her brother's situation would affect her marriage prospects, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She ended up hating her brother for choosing his friends poorly and stirring up trouble. Mrs. Cai was left alone in the room, feeling helpless and despairing. She wondered—had she done something wrong? No. She had done nothing wrong. Cui Lingrong was never her daughter to begin with. When the Cui family had sought her hand in marriage, Cui Lingrong's mother had already passed away. At that time, her husband's younger sister had offered to take Cui Lingrong in to raise, and her husband had agreed. She was only a second wife; there was no need for her to be good to Cui Lingrong. So she had done nothing wrong to Cui Lingrong. It was Cui Lingrong who was petty—they were family, after all, yet she refused to lift a finger to help her son. In that moment, Mrs. Cai hated Cui Lingrong with every fiber of her being. Meanwhile, Cui Lingrong learned that the Fu family had gone to petition the Emperor, and she knew Cui Junyan wouldn't face anything too severe. Nanny Qiu remarked at her side, "Fortunately, Young Master Yan didn't have the nerve to actually harm anyone. Even if he ends up implicated to some degree, he'll survive, and it won't affect your reputation, Madam." "If Cui Junyan truly had the guts to harm someone, he wouldn't have been the one to get his engagement called off. Mrs. Cai still hasn't said what Cui Junyan did in Yangzhou, which shows he's always been this much of a wastrel. Let him learn his lesson. Once he's out, it's time to send them back to Yangzhou." Cui Lingrong didn't want to see Mrs. Cai and the rest of them anymore. Things turned out exactly as Cui Lingrong had predicted. Five days later, it was determined that a young maidservant named Xiao Wan had done the deed. It turned out that Xiao Wan's brother had been raped by Fu Ze and then jumped into the river, so Xiao Wan had sought revenge on Fu Ze, conveniently using the fool Cui Junyan as a pawn. With someone taking the blame, the young masters of the Lin family all coordinated their stories and pinned everything on this Xiao Wan. However, Cui Zeyu reported the full sequence of events to the Emperor, who only then learned that these sons of officials did nothing but idle about. He flew into a rage on the spot. "I thought Fu Ze was pitiable, but now it seems he got exactly what he deserved!" The Emperor ordered Xiao Wan executed. But out of consideration for the Fu family, Fu Ze escaped death—though he, along with Cui Junyan and the rest of the group, would each receive thirty strokes of the cane and be conscripted into the army to serve the country. Fu Ze's caning would be carried out after his injuries healed. Cui Junyan and the others were punished immediately. By the time Cui Junyan was brought back home, County Princess Rongjia had only just returned from her estate. She found Mrs. Cai and kept apologizing for returning too late. "It's all my fault. I was accompanying my mother on a retreat and had no idea what was happening in Bianjing. Had I known Brother Junyan was suffering such hardship, I would have come back at once—perhaps I could have begged my imperial uncle to spare him." Mrs. Cai wiped her tears. "Don't blame yourself, County Princess. With your brother having passed away, it was only right for you to accompany the Princess Consort on a retreat. It's just that I'm useless. Cui Lingrong may be my daughter in name, but I can't command her to do a single thing." "What? Sister Cui didn't help at all?" County Princess Rongjia feigned surprise. "Help? She did nothing but mock me, as if I've wronged her somehow!" Mrs. Cai gnashed her teeth in hatred. "How could she do that? That's her own biological brother. She's gone too far—truly cold-blooded and heartless." County Princess Rongjia sighed. "Although I've long known Sister Cui has an odd temperament, I never expected she'd treat not only me this way, but the Cui family as well. But don't you have any way to rein her in?" Mrs. Cai shook her head. "If I had a way, I would have used it long ago. She was raised in the Zhuang family and only listens to her deceased aunt. I... I can't very well accuse her of being unfilial, can I?" Her daughter's marriage prospects weren't settled yet, and speaking ill of Cui Lingrong would only drag her daughter down. Otherwise, Mrs. Cai would have long since spread the word far and wide, rather than swallowing her grievances in humiliation. County Princess Rongjia's eyes showed disappointment. She had hoped to extract some information from Mrs. Cai, but Mrs. Cai proved useless. Seeing no value in her, the County Princess treated Mrs. Cai and her daughter coolly in the following days. It wasn't until County Princess Rongjia noticed that Cui Lingying was deliberately or inadvertently mentioning Du Cheng that she grew displeased. But since Cui Lingying had such intentions, County Princess Rongjia conceived a new idea. At the banquet at the Rong Prince Mansion, she deliberately brought Mrs. Cai and her daughter along, and had someone summon Du Cheng.