Chapter 308: Lady Qin Handles Li Bihan

Chapter 308: Lady Qin Handles Li Bihan

At this time, in Ningxin Courtyard.

Cheng Suying was accompanying Lady Qin.

Since the old Marquis went on the expedition, Lady Qin had been feeling a deep void inside. These days, Lu Lingyun had sent Cheng Suying to stay with her to keep her company.

"Grandma, are you still thinking about Grandfather?" Cheng Suying asked as she sat beside Lady Qin practicing her calligraphy.

Lady Qin, lost in thought, was brought back to reality upon hearing her granddaughter's words and forced a smile. "Your grandfather hasn't led troops into battle in a long time."

When Lady Qin married the old Marquis, it wasn't solely due to her family's decline and the arranged marriage for the sake of interests.

She had once seen the old Marquis during a polo match.

Back then, on the polo field, that spirited young man, so different from the other young men in the Imperial City, had caught her eye at once.

He possessed a sharpness and wildness that the other young nobles lacked.

Later, she learned that his family was the newly elevated Ningyang Marquisate.

The old Marquis had accompanied his father to the battlefield at a young age, and he carried the aura of the frontier.

After that one glance, she began to actively plan her future. After the complete decline of the estate of the Duke of Qin, she took the opportunity to stay in the Imperial City under the guise of continuing the family line and married into the Imperial City.

Even if it meant marrying below her station.

Back then, the once illustrious and wealthy Miss from the estate of the Duke of Qin marrying into the nearly rootless Ningyang Marquisate had caused quite a sensation.

Everyone whispered that this Miss from the estate of the Duke of Qin was shrewd and strategic, and that the newly elevated Marquisate, lacking roots, would inevitably become a branch controlled by the estate of the Duke of Qin.

Only Lady Qin herself knew that, under the weight of such a grand title and the scrutinizing eyes of others, she had married the man she wanted.

Her feelings for the Ningyang Marquisate and the old Marquis were sincere.

"Grandma, Grandfather is so brave and powerful. He must be out there dominating the battlefield. You shouldn't worry; it's the barbarians who should be concerned," Cheng Suying said.

Hearing this, Lady Qin felt her anxiety melt away and laughed.

She reached out and pulled Cheng Suying into her arms, showering her with love. "No wonder your mother always says you have honey on your lips, always so good at soothing people."

"I don't! I'm not like someone else. I don't soothe people," Cheng Suying retorted.

In her view, the one who soothed people was the one from Bishui Pavilion. That person's words were always sweet and soft, always managing to charm her father.

"Oh, who is this 'someone else' our Suying is referring to?" Lady Qin teased with a smile. "Why does it sound like you're feeling overshadowed?"

Just then, Cheng Suying caught sight of her father's figure outside the window.

Immediately, she fell silent.

Lady Qin was puzzled by her sudden silence when they heard Cheng Yunshuo's voice at the door.

"Mother."

Lady Qin looked up to see Cheng Yunshuo striding in.

"You've come," Lady Qin said, her mood improving upon seeing her son.

Just as she was about to have a heart-to-heart talk with Cheng Yunshuo, he spoke up, "Mother, isn't Lady Cui of Duke Xu's Mansion your close friend?"

"What's the matter?" Lady Qin was slightly taken aback at the mention of Lady Cui's name, wondering why she was suddenly brought up.

Since the incident with Qin Shaojing, Lady Qin and Lady Cui had grown distant.

The series of events involving Qin Shaojing had indeed been quite scandalous, leading Lady Cui to look down on her. Lady Qin had visited a couple of times, hoping to seek some help, but sensing the subtle disdain and the interference of Lady Xiao Cui, their relationship had cooled.

They only exchanged gifts and letters during holidays, rarely meeting in person.

Hearing Cheng Yunshuo suddenly bring up her old friend, Lady Qin was puzzled.

"Could you ask Lady Cui for a recommendation letter from a prestigious scholar for Tianfu Academy? I need it to arrange Bing Zhi's admission," Cheng Yunshuo said.

At this, Lady Qin's expression changed.

Good grief, he doesn't even show up on ordinary days, and now he comes asking for a favor.

Not to mention that her relationship with Lady Cui is now strained, unlike before, but also that his father had just left on an expedition a few days ago. She was feeling sad and upset, and even her granddaughter knew to come and comfort her, keeping her company.

Cheng Yunshuo, her own son, rarely visits, and when he does, it's to ask for a favor.

And it's for his illegitimate son's affairs.

Lady Qin was immediately disheartened and angered.

"You came to me just for this trivial matter?"

Completely unaware of his mother's change in mood, Cheng Yunshuo nodded, "Yes."

Even Cheng Suying couldn't help shaking her head, she spoke up, "Father, grandfather just left on an expedition a few days ago, grandmother is worried about him. You shouldn't bother her with such trivial matters now."

"How can this be considered a trivial matter? Bing Zhi is also your brother; his admission is as important as yours."

Cheng Suying: "..."

She was so angry; why did she even bother to remind him!

Her biased father can do as he pleases! Let him be stupid!

Sure enough, after his words, Lady Qin's face turned completely cold.

"You fool, you don't even have half the sense of Suying!" she scolded Cheng Yunshuo harshly.

"Your father, for the sake of this family, is still fighting at such an age, and you! Being busy with official duties and neglecting everything else is one thing, but you're actually busy with your illegitimate son from your concubine!"

This was when Lady Qin was most vulnerable and helpless, nothing in the world was more important than the old Marquis's affairs. Cheng Yunshuo, as the only son of the family, not worrying about his father, not supporting the household, but busy with an illegitimate son, truly stepped on Lady Qin's sore spot.

"Mother, how can you say that," Cheng Yunshuo said slightly displeased, "Bing Zhi is also your grandson."

"My grandson?" Hearing this, Lady Qin became even more furious, "Bing An and Bing Hao are both my grandsons, they come to see me every day after school, Suying has been by my side these past few days. Which one of those your backyard fox gave birth to has come to see me!"

After the old Marquis left, neither Cheng Bingzhi nor Cheng Lanying came to visit, partly because they didn't want to, and partly because Li Bihan knew her place.

She looked very much like Cheng Yunshuo's beloved concubine when she entered the household, and being an outsider, she was not liked by the elders, especially Lady Qin, who only cared for the legitimate wife, Lu Lingyun.

She completely ignored the concubines.

Li Bihan was shrewd and saw no need to please them, seeing it as a waste of time. She simply avoided Ningxin Courtyard to spare herself the embarrassment, pretending she didn't exist.

Now, this non-existence had become a fault.

"I've never meddled in the messy affairs of your courtyard, but now I see you're completely bewitched by that troublemaker in your courtyard! For her sake, you've lost your mind! If I don't deal with this troublemaker, I fear the Marquis's Mansion will become hers!" Lady Qin was furious and decided to deal with Li Bihan as well.

"Mother! What are you doing now!" Cheng Yunshuo finally sensed his mother's anger. "Bihan has been well-behaved, why are you targeting her?"

"She's well-behaved? I think she's the most troublesome one! Someone, bring Concubine Li here!"

"Have I ever bothered with any of those schemers in your courtyard before!"