Married to the Fallen Lord - Chapter 40
Chapter 40
The fifteenth day of the eighth month arrived in the blink of an eye.
The Emperor held a palace banquet, which Cui Shao and the various meritorious officials attended. Meanwhile, we family members were arranged to view the lanterns along the Long Street.
By the time I arrived, the other ladies were already waiting there.
Before I could even step down from the carriage, I overheard their conversation.
“Have you heard? The Chief Grand Secretary’s wife is actually a maid!”
One person started the topic, and the others immediately chimed in.
“Yes, yes! My husband was in the prison that day and saw the deed of sale with his own eyes. Who would have thought the Chen Clan would use a maid as a substitute bride?”
“What’s wrong with being a maid? She stayed with Lord Cui through thick and thin. Can’t a maid be the mistress of the house?”
Someone spoke up for me, but they were quickly rebuffed.
“Lord Cui comes from a prestigious family. Marrying a maid was merely a matter of expediency. Who knows how much he actually despises her in his heart?”
“I heard that too. Lord Cui finds his wife quite repulsive; he avoids seeing her whenever possible. Even the maids and servants at home don’t respect her.”
Whenever dark rumors are involved, everyone takes great pleasure in the gossip. Rather than stories of marital harmony and shared hardships, they would much rather believe the worst.
The Cui Mansion’s carriage was very conspicuous, and I had been there for a while, yet they showed no restraint. It was clear they held me in utter contempt.
I had seen this kind of behavior many times in the Chen Family, so it didn’t bother me much.
I was simply pondering when I might get the chance to teach them a lesson.
Outside, Qingshan invited me to alight.
Qingshan was supposed to be with Cui Shao today, but Cui Shao had sent him to accompany me instead-he had likely anticipated this.
I lifted the curtain and finally laid eyes on the gossiping ladies.
Seeing me emerge, they looked me up and down before flashing mocking smiles, as if to say I was nothing special.
“There are quite a few crows out today. They’re far too noisy,” I remarked. “You ladies should be careful. It would be quite unpleasant if bird droppings fell into your mouths. It’s best to keep them closed.”
They never expected such words to come from the wife of the Chief Grand Secretary and were momentarily at a loss for a retort.
I gave Qingshan a look, signaling for him to bring the mounting stool.
Instead, he knelt directly in front of the carriage. “Madam, please step down.”
Qingshan now held a rank of the junior third grade, higher than the positions held by some of these women’s husbands, yet here he was acting as my footstool.
Seeing me hesitate, Qingshan sighed. “Madam, my knees are getting tired.”
I had no choice but to step onto the back of a third-grade official to alight from the carriage.
After that, not a single person dared to utter another word throughout the lantern viewing.
A few days later, coinciding with the New Emperor’s birthday, Cui Shao handpicked several family members of court officials to go to a temple for half a month of vegetarianism and prayer to seek blessings for the Emperor.
When they returned half a month later, those beautiful ladies were all sallow-faced and gaunt. Their eyes turned green at the sight of food, and they ate ravenously the entire way back.
The sight drew great laughter from the onlookers, who mistook them for a swarm of starving locusts.
