Madam Linglong didn't hesitate for too long before she heard her personal maid coming to deliver a message. Her eyes lit up with joy, "Okay, Yuan, no matter where you are, it's enough for you to just come out."
She dismissed the maid and walked to the old lady, "Mother, I'm coming over from the kitchen to ask you something." Then she whispered in her ear, "Shuyu just sent someone to say that Madam Yang will help Yuan Cuiyu to take a walk in the back garden."
The old lady said with a little displeasure, "You still have to ask me about such a small matter? Let the kitchen handle it themselves and do it according to the original plan. You should also keep an eye on it and keep an eye on the heat. There are many guests today, so don't neglect the guests with the dishes."
Only Madam Linglong understood the double entendre of this remark; Concubine Cui and the old lady thought they were talking about things in the kitchen.
Madam Linglong said, "Yes, that won't prevent mother from talking to the Concubine Dowager and the old lady."
He bowed and retreated.
The old lady looked at Madam Linglong's back and sighed softly, "The Yuan family is incompetent. If it weren't for Linglong taking charge of the household affairs, I wouldn't have a peaceful life like this."
Concubine Cui couldn't help but ask, "Why doesn't Yuan come out? Today is your birthday. As the mistress of the house, she should come out to greet the guests. But she hasn't come out in all these years."
The Dowager Concubine was a person who had not been in charge of affairs for a long time. She was the mother of the Sixth Prince Hui. She had been serving the late emperor when he was still the crown prince. She was the dragon's concubine, but she was fortunate enough to get pregnant and give birth to Prince Hui when she was forty years old. Therefore, she was older than the Empress Dowager.
Since Prince Hui was crowned king, she moved out of the palace to live with her son. She was very happy playing with her grandchildren every day. Occasionally, she would get together with a group of old ladies to chat. Her life was very carefree and comfortable.
She knew almost nothing about what had happened recently in the Prime Minister's Residence or even in the court, and Prince Hui did not allow others to talk to her about these topics and disturb her peace.
The old lady was eager for Concubine Cui to ask about Yuan Shi. She pretended to be sad and said, "Since Linglong came into the family, she has seldom come out. This talented woman has her merits, but she is always too arrogant. She looks down on Linglong. After Linglong gave birth to twins for the Xia family, she even ignored her husband. She spends her days in the Xiazhi Garden doing nothing. Occasionally, she summons some outsiders to come in and write poems and paint. But from what I have seen, they are not decent people. Alas, I can only tell this to the Concubine and the old lady. I can't tell anyone else. It's embarrassing!"
The old lady's constant sighing and the sadness on her face made Concubine Cui feel very sympathetic, and even more dissatisfied with Yuan.
"If Princess Hui had this kind of temper, I would have divorced her long ago. It's a pity that you can endure this." Concubine Dowager Cui said angrily.
"I am old now, and I can't care so much. It's also my foolish son's fault. He was deceived by her reputation that day. How could he know that she was such a person? In these years, she has never served me at all. She can't be called a filial daughter-in-law. But, hey, let me be honest. She doesn't even want to have sex with her husband. If this matter gets out, it will be really embarrassing."
The old lady seemed to be hesitant to speak, but in the end she seemed unable to help but say it, which added a bit of credibility to her words.
"How can this be tolerated?" Concubine Cui was immediately furious. "If you ask her to come out, I will definitely say something to her."
The old lady waved her hand, "Today is not the right occasion. Let's do it another day. If the Concubine Dowager is so kind as to come over, please teach her a lesson for me. I dare not say a word in front of others. I can only pour out my grievances to you two."
"Everyone used to envy you for marrying a talented woman who is famous all over the world. Little did they know that you turned out to be such a person. My sixth son always said how good Yuan was and how lucky the prime minister was. We should really let that boy come over and listen to what he heard, so that he can see what kind of person Yuan is."
Concubine Cui looked at the old lady with indignation, "Taijun, tell me, how can a woman like this be a wife? Shouldn't she be scolded?"
The old lady seemed to be in a trance. When Concubine Cui asked her, she was stunned for a long time, "Ah?"
"What's wrong with you, Madam? Didn't you hear what the old lady said?" Concubine Cui asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"
The old lady laughed awkwardly, "I'm fine, I just heard Concubine Cui say she wanted to divorce her. What's the matter? Your prince wants to divorce his wife? When does he plan to do so?"
Although the old lady is old, she is a very perceptive person, and she knows that one should not trust one side alone in anything. In particular, what the old lady said today was a bit deliberate, as if she wanted to reveal something on purpose.
Over the years, she has been pretending to be deaf and dumb in front of others and behind their backs, which really makes people think that she is stupid and gullible.
I deliberately don't respond because I don't want to be taken advantage of.
After hearing what she said, Concubine Cui laughed so hard that she fell down. "Come on, my sixth son is already thirty years old, so don't think about using your granddaughter for our sixth son. I'll find you some talented men later, and you can choose carefully."
"What else can I choose? It's good enough to have one. Now others are picking our Liu Liu!" The old lady was very worried.
"Is there no news from Xiao Tuo?" asked Concubine Cui.
The old lady shook her head, "How could that boy possibly like Liu Liu?"
"Liu Liu is just a little rude, but otherwise she's fine!" Concubine Cui comforted.
The old lady glanced at her and said, "Don't bother to comfort me. I have been looking for a husband for her since she was fifteen years old. I have seen dozens of talented men over the years. Who is interested in her?"
Seeing that the topic was diverted by the old lady, the old lady did not continue to ask about Yuan, but just said a few perfunctory words, "Miss Sun is beautiful and smart, but it's just that fate has not yet arrived. Don't be too anxious, old lady."
After a pause, she looked at Xia Zian and changed the subject again, "I should be the one who is worried. Look at my Zian. First she broke off the engagement with Prince Liang, then she caused a lot of trouble and even offended the Queen. Now she has a mother like Yuan who doesn't care about her. When I die, I don't know who will take care of her."
"What is the matter with the broken engagement?" Concubine Cui had only heard of the broken engagement but did not know the reason behind it, let alone the series of events caused by the broken engagement.
The old lady sighed, "At first, the Japanese wanted to marry Wan'er to the King of Liang, but who knew that Yuan kept saying that Zi'an was the eldest daughter and should marry first, and Zi'an liked the King of Liang very much after meeting him, and kept asking her father to tell the King of Liang to marry her to him. After a lot of effort, the matter was settled, and the King of Liang agreed to marry her. But later, the Crown Prince and Wan'er fell in love, and Zi'an was unwilling to give up and wanted to marry the Crown Prince, so she broke off the engagement."
Concubine Cui did not expect things to turn out like this, and was furious, "How can you be so ridiculous? She has the final say on who to marry? Who does she think she is? A lady from a royal family is really not that precious."
,
(End of this chapter)