She had already been keeping a low profile, yet Tang Qingwan still refused to let the matter drop. Even a saint would lose their temper.
Cui Yunchu cast a sidelong glance at Tang Qingwan before turning her eyes to Cui Yunfeng. "Remember to send those things over. Don't make me send someone to fetch them."
Hoping to ease the tension, Cui Yunfeng offered a bright smile and nodded. "Don't worry, I'll have Yun'er deliver them to you in a little while, Eldest Sister."
A cousin might be close, but at the end of the day, she was still just a cousin. How could she compare to her own biological sister?
Cui Yunchu gave a curt nod, turned around, and gracefully walked away.
Tang Qingwan remained silent, her cold gaze fixed on Cui Yunchu's retreating figure.
"Yunfeng, don't you think Yunchu seems a bit different somehow?"
Of course she was. In the past, she had always been terrified of their cousin Qingwan, yet today she had actually dared to talk back.
Cui Yunfeng smiled and said, "Eldest Sister probably hasn't fully recovered from her illness and is just in a bad mood. Please don't take it to heart, Cousin."
"We are family, after all." Tang Qingwan took one last look at Cui Yunchu's back before turning to leave.
A few sharp words were nothing compared to her usual habit of fluttering about causing trouble like a social butterfly. Tang Qingwan had at least that much tolerance.
Chu Courtyard.
As soon as Cui Yunchu returned, she curled up on the soft couch.
"Are you still angry over our cousin's words, Miss?" Xing'er asked, pouring a cup of warm tea and handing it to Cui Yunchu.
"Why, are you going to tattle on me?" Cui Yunchu hadn't forgotten how, in her previous life, Xing'er had betrayed her and pledged loyalty to Tang Qingwan.
"Even if you gave me a hundred times the courage, I would never dare to betray you, Miss!" Xing'er dropped to her knees with a thud, her face filled with terror.
Cui Yunchu waved her hand impatiently, gesturing for her to get up.
Ultimately, Xing'er's betrayal had happened because she herself had been an unreliable master. When they had reached a dead end, it wasn't exactly wrong for the maid to seek a way out for herself.
Xing'er stood to the side, cautious and careful. "Is it because of the marriage match the Old Madam arranged for you, Miss?"
Earlier in the Pine and Crane Courtyard, seeing her mistress agree so readily, she had assumed it was completely voluntary.
"Why are you so talkative?" Cui Yunchu shot her a glance. Xing'er immediately pressed her lips together, not daring to make a sound.
Cui Yunchu wasn't thinking about the young master of the Chen family at all, but rather the Crown Prince and Tang Qingwan.
If things followed the trajectory of her previous life, those two would be getting married soon. But before that, quite a few things seemed to have happened to the Cui family, though she wasn't entirely clear on the details.
As for Tang Qingwan and the Crown Prince, their marriage hadn't been a loving and happy one. Instead, they had constantly restricted and kept each other in check, always on guard against one another.
Cui Yunchu let out a long, heavy sigh.
In truth, she ought to be grateful to Tang Qingwan. After all, her cousin had dedicated her entire life to the Cui and Tang families. The only reason she and Cui Yunfeng had been able to live carefree lives was because this cousin had been on the front lines, fighting their battles for them.
She knew she didn't have the brains for such things, so the only thing she could do was quietly behave herself and avoid causing the family any more trouble.
Hearing Xing'er's words, Nanny Zhang's eyes widened, and her voice immediately grew shrill. "The Old Madam arranged a marriage for you, Miss?"
Cui Yunchu shot her a sharp look, instantly deflating the older woman's bluster. "Which... which family's young master is it?"
"The eldest son of the Minister of Rites," Xing'er replied. "The Chen family."
Upon hearing this, Nanny Zhang completely ignored Cui Yunchu's warning. "Miss, how can that be? The status of a Minister's estate is far below that of our Prime Minister's estate! How could you marry beneath your station?"
...
She would love to marry into a higher station, but that required the other party to actually want her.
"Miss, did you really agree to this?"
"What else was I supposed to do?" Cui Yunchu replied mildly.
Nanny Zhang looked indignant. "My dear Miss, how could you agree to such an ill-matched marriage? Just look at the families our cousin and the Second Miss are engaged to!"
Had Cui Yunchu not known Cui Yunfeng's ultimate fate from her previous life, she might have almost been swayed by Nanny Zhang's words again.
She let out a sigh. "Nanny Zhang, do you know what happens to servants who repeatedly instigate their masters to cause trouble?"
Nanny Zhang choked on her words. "Miss, I only have your best interests at heart! I was left behind by your Concubine mother to support you!"
"You just want to see me dead faster," Cui Yunchu glared at her. "The matter is settled and not up for debate. If you try to whisper poison in my ear again, watch out, or I'll kick you to death."
... Sure enough, Nanny Zhang didn't dare say another word, though her eyes were clearly filled with resentment.
Her Concubine mother had been counting on the Miss to earn her a posthumous noble title. Now, wasn't that all just a pipe dream?
On the day of the Chen family's Old Madam's birthday banquet, the Old Madam personally took Cui Yunchu and Cui Yunfeng to offer their congratulations.
