Chapter 237: Huge Reaction

Chapter 237: Huge Reaction

Though it couldn’t compare to the items used by the imperial concubines in the palace, it was clearly very expensive!

Moreover, they were used to seeing luxury items, but such luxuries were never meant for them after all.

Yet, this young mistress casually offered such an expensive gift as an apology. She was truly generous!

The little maid’s heart skipped a beat, but just then, Bishuo said, “Thank you for your kindness, Young Mistress. I accept your apology, but please keep the gifts.”

She directly refused Lu Lingyun’s offer of compensation.

Hearing this, the little maid felt anxious as she looked at Bishuo.

Why wouldn’t she accept it?!

As a little maid, she earned only half a tael of silver a month. Even Bishuo, as a head palace maid, only earned one tael a month. Expenses in the palace were quite high, and they often needed money to smooth things over. As low-ranking maids and palace ladies, even if they saved all their lives, they might only accumulate a hundred taels by the time they left the palace. This entire set of jewelry was worth at least several hundred taels. Why wouldn’t she accept it?!

But Bishuo was magnanimous and refused without sparing even a glance at the gifts.

Seeing this, Lu Lingyun raised her eyebrows slightly. “Is Lady Bishuo looking down on these gifts as too insignificant?”

“It’s just too valuable,” Bishuo replied seriously. “It was a small misunderstanding. There’s no need for the young mistress to offer such expensive gifts. It’s getting late, and I must return to the palace.”

“I feel like you’re deliberately putting on airs, Lady Bishuo,” Chunxing interjected. “Our young mistress came all this way to apologize, yet this is the attitude you give? Are we not being taken seriously?”

Chunxing was defending her mistress.

After all, even though Bishuo was a head palace maid, she was still a servant. Lu Lingyun, on the other hand, was a legitimate noble lady with an official title. For her to come and apologize in person was a form of humbling herself.

Any servant with some sense would happily accept the gifts. Otherwise, it would be quite offensive. To put it nicely, it’s being noble, but to put it bluntly, it’s disrespecting Lu Lingyun.

“Your maid is being rude. Our lady doesn’t want your things, so that’s final. Are you trying to force us to accept?”

“What do you mean by ‘your broken things’?”

“Enough,” Lu Lingyun interrupted. She smiled faintly at Bishuo. “I was being presumptuous. It seems Lady Bishuo isn’t interested in these ordinary things. May I ask what Lady Bishuo does like?”

“Enough! No matter what you offer, we won’t take it!” The little maid, who had just been rebuked, spoke unkindly. “I think you’re trying to harm our Lady Bishuo. If we accept, it would be considered privately accepting bribes from outside the palace, a capital crime!”

“That’s ridiculous! This is our young mistress’s apology gift. Why would we need to bribe you? What do you think we’d gain from that?” Chunxing, who was not one to be trifled with, retorted sharply.

When they presented the gifts, these maids were clearly stunned by them. They didn’t say anything about not being able to accept them at that time. Now they were putting on moral high ground, trying to frame their mistress!

As the dispute continued, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind them.

“What’s going on!”

Following that, an armored imperial guard ran straight over. He paid no attention to Lu Lingyun and her group, rushing straight to Bishuo’s side.

“Bishuo! What’s wrong!”

“Sir, you came just in time. We suspect they have malicious intentions!” The little maid loudly complained.

Lu Lingyun: “……”

At that moment, she began to understand why rumors spread about Du Ruo publicly assaulting Bishuo.

However, the moment Cheng Yunshuo, who had just appeared, heard the little maid’s complaint, he immediately stepped in front of Bishuo, his face hardening as he glared at Lu Lingyun’s group.

When he saw it was Lu Lingyun, his stern expression immediately turned strange. "Why did you come here?"

"Crown Prince Cheng, don't listen to that maid's nonsense. The young lady came specially to apologize to Lady Bishuo," Chunxing quickly said upon seeing Cheng Yunshuo. "Look, this is our apology gift..."

Before Chunxing could finish, a harsh voice cut her off. "Who allowed you to come here! Who told you to find her!"

Chunxing's eyes widened in disbelief at Crown Prince Cheng.

Cheng Yunshuo's expression turned cold, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor in the Marquisate. When his gaze fell on Lu Lingyun, there was even a hint of defensiveness, as if he feared she might hurt Bishuo. "Why aren't you at home? What are you doing here apologizing and even bringing gifts? Don't you realize this will cause problems for Bishuo!"

Chunxing: "...... Crown Prince Cheng."

"Shut up! Arguing with them at the palace gate is like asking for trouble!"

Under Cheng Yunshuo's cold scolding, Chunxing closed her mouth completely. As she looked up, she met the triumphant gaze of the maid from the other side.

"Lord Cheng, they just humiliated Lady Bishuo with that so-called jewelry!"

Hearing this, Cheng Yunshuo glanced at Lu Lingyun. "You all, go back now!"

At this point, tears welled up in Chunxing's eyes, both angry and anxious, wishing she could argue back.

Lu Lingyun grabbed Chunxing's arm, shook her head, and led her onto the carriage.

As she got into the carriage, Lu Lingyun heard Cheng Yunshuo switch to an incredibly gentle tone and say to Bishuo, "Bishuo, are you alright?"

The woman who hadn't said a word the entire time spoke softly, very considerate, "I'm fine, but Lord Cheng, that's your wife. Treating her like this, isn't it a bit inappropriate?"

"Don't bother with her." Cheng Yunshuo didn't spare Lu Lingyun even a single glance.

Lu Lingyun: "..."

Chunxing: "..."

Inside the carriage, Chunxing was furious.

"Young Lady! They're pushing us too far! I'm going to fight them!"

Lu Lingyun, seeing how Chunxing was ready to fight, reached out to soothingly comfort her. "What's the big deal? When I first married into this family, it was the same."

"That's different!" Chunxing's tears flowed, angry and upset.

After so long together, Chunxing had come to see Lu Lingyun as her true mistress, someone to truly care for.

Since Lu Lingyun treated them well, they naturally stood by her and protected her.

In the past, Lu Lingyun would endure the mistreatment, but now, Chunxing couldn't bear even a single slight against her!

Lu Lingyun was the legitimate mistress of the Ningyang Marquisate. How could she be treated like this in public!

Was Crown Prince Cheng crazy!

For a woman who wasn't even Xing Dairong, he would publicly humiliate Lu Lingyun.

Lu Lingyun's expression remained calm, without any reaction. She peeked through the carriage curtain and saw Cheng Yunshuo carefully helping Bishuo with her belongings as he escorted her to the palace. "There's no difference. Even if it were Xing Dairong, it would be the same, and besides, she isn't Xing Dairong."

She really hadn't expected that woman to resemble Xing Dairong so much. Nor had she expected Cheng Yunshuo to react so strongly.

But it didn't matter.

In her own courtyard, there was no one she couldn't handle.