Chapter 317

Chapter 317: Mother and Daughter It was only when Lou Wanxian called out "Mother" that Cui Lingrong realized this was Madam Bai, Zhao Susu's aunt. Madam Bai's movement was subtle, but everyone nearby could see her shake off Lou Wanxian's hand. "How have I taught you? Associating with all sorts of riffraff—have you forgotten all your manners?" After speaking, Madam Bai fixed her gaze on Cui Lingrong with no intention of moving. Lou Wanxian was mortified. She hadn't expected her mother to treat Lady Cui this way. But Lou Wanxian quickly recovered, signaling a maid with a glance to show Lady Cui the way. Though Cui Lingrong left, her intuition told her that Madam Bai's words had been aimed at her. But she had no grudge against Madam Bai—could it be that she was being treated this way simply because she had obtained a Mutual Divorce? After Cui Lingrong took her seat, people soon came to chat with her, though most were inquiring about Zhuang Qi's age and such matters. Zhuang Qi had never seen such a scene before. Remembering what her cousin had said, she would shyly lower her head whenever she didn't know how to answer—a young lady's modesty serving her well. Aside from occasionally responding, she stayed close to her cousin's side the rest of the time. Those women who wanted to get closer to Zhuang Qi also had to exchange a few words with Cui Lingrong. While their corner was lively and warm, Madam Bai grew displeased. The flower hall wasn't large to begin with, and Madam Bai watched as people kept going over to curry favor with Cui Lingrong. She called Lou Wanxian over. "Why is that person still here? Didn't you understand what I meant earlier?" "Mother, today is a joyous occasion at my household. The guests have all arrived—what sense would it make for me to chase someone out?" Lou Wanxian's brows furrowed. "Can't you just be happy for me?" "Happy? What's there to be happy about?" Madam Bai's words dripped with contempt. "It's nothing but Zeng Peng licking someone's boots to scrape together these scraps of favor. Not a shred of backbone—you two really are birds of a feather!" The words were extremely harsh. If Zeng Peng had been present, he likely would have argued with Madam Bai on the spot. Lou Wanxian suppressed her anger. "Mother, no matter how little you think of me, what my husband has achieved today was earned through his own efforts. It's not as disgraceful as you make it sound." "What, are you going to argue with me over a man?" Madam Bai grew increasingly convinced that Lou Wanxian was hard to control, and smashed her teacup on the spot. The sound of the shattering cup drew everyone's attention in the flower hall. No one knew what was happening. Lou Wanxian's sister-in-law—Madam Bai's eldest daughter-in-law—hurried over. "It's nothing, nothing at all. Old Madame just lost her grip." She said, then turned to look at Madam Bai. "Today is Little Sister's happy occasion. If not for her sake, then for ours—please don't make trouble for her." Madam Xia couldn't understand it. Her sister-in-law was also her mother-in-law's own legitimate daughter, so why did she find fault with everything about her? "You're lecturing me too?" Madam Bai paid no heed to what Madam Xia and Lou Wanxian said, and rose to leave. By then, everyone else could tell something was wrong. As Madam Bai walked out, they could still hear her grumbling, "Don't touch me. Aren't you so fond of that Cui woman? Then go be fond of her. I'm not your mother—I don't have a daughter who knows nothing of propriety and shame!" Zhuang Qi immediately made to rise, but Cui Lingrong pressed her hand down firmly. The others dared not look directly at Cui Lingrong, but they stole glances at her from the corners of their eyes. Everyone was, in fact, quite curious about Cui Lingrong's Mutual Divorce, especially since Bianjing had been abuzz with talk of Zhao Susu's conduct these past days. The more timid ones didn't dare discuss it, but some asked Cui Lingrong directly to her face, "Sister Cui, let me speak my mind. We're all women here—being a daughter-in-law inevitably means swallowing some grievances. If that Madam Zhao were truly so awful, why would Marquis Song keep protecting her? Surely he's not that foolish?" "That's not quite it." Cui Lingrong remained composed as she looked at the woman and smiled calmly. "Because Madam Zhao is not only Prince Rong's daughter, but also his childhood sweetheart. Word has it the two were already discussing marriage back then, but something came up in between, and it ultimately fell through." Hearing that the two had long shared feelings, the crowd no longer found it strange. One more outspoken woman asked, "Could it be that they were involved even earlier than that?" Cui Lingrong said she didn't know. She truly didn't know whether they had been. But in the eyes of others, Cui Lingrong's saying she didn't know likely meant there was something—after all, Cui Lingrong didn't seem like the type to gossip. How dignified of her. Even after all that commotion, she still spared the reputation of those at Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion. When Lou Wanxian returned, she steered the conversation back to the Zeng family, and only then did the discussion of what had just happened subside. After the banquet dispersed, Lou Wanxian found an opportunity to apologize to Cui Lingrong in private. "I'm truly sorry. I don't know why my mother dislikes me so much." "Dislikes you?" Cui Lingrong had assumed it was aimed at her. "Yes, what happened today wasn't directed at you, Sister Cui—it was at me." Lou Wanxian sighed as she spoke. "To be honest, my mother has never liked me, from childhood to now. No matter how well I did, she would never praise me—only belittle me again and again." She gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I'm not afraid to tell you this, just now my mother was saying that this estate was licked into existence by my husband." Cui Lingrong didn't understand. "You're not adopted, nor are you concubine-born, so why does she despise you so much?"