Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

The early autumn air was slightly chilly, and the dock was bustling with people.

Madam Qiu walked onto the deck with a frown. Thinking of what the servant had brought, she was filled with anger. Before entering the cabin, she took a deep breath, then put on a smiling face. "Madam, Ershun came to say that the Marquis's mansion is busy and they can't spare anyone to pick you up in the short term. How about we rent a carriage to go back?"

She thought the eldest mistress would be angry, after all, the letter to return home had been sent a few days ago, but they waited at the dock all day, and not only did no one from the Marquis's mansion come to pick them up, but they didn't even receive a message. The eldest mistress had to send someone back to inquire herself.

The old lady simply said calmly, "I know."

Her eldest grandmother is truly always as serene as a chrysanthemum, never causing a ripple.

"Aunt Qiu, could you please find two people to rent a carriage? Yu'er is seasick and feeling unwell, so we should head home as soon as possible." Yu'er is Cui Lingrong's eldest daughter, and she was currently taking a nap on the table.

Autumn's mother agreed and took the money to find the coachman.

Song Yu then looked up and asked, "Isn't Mother angry?" In her memory, her mother never lost her temper and could handle everything well, like a clay Bodhisattva, always maintaining the demeanor of a noble lady.

"What's there to be angry about?" Cui Lingrong had her own set of survival rules. "Your father is busy with official duties; this little thing isn't worth his attention. Your grandmother is getting old, and in the days after we left, the household affairs will definitely be managed by your second aunt. You know she's been coveting the management of the household for a long time, so it's normal for her to try to annoy me with this. But so what? I'm the head wife of the main branch. She might try to trip me up, but when I return to Bianjing, won't she have to obediently hand over the management of the household?"

After speaking calmly, Cui Lingrong urged her daughter to get up and wash her face, "Alright, go wash your face quickly, and let Qiutang help you redo your makeup. After the New Year, you'll be fourteen, a grown woman."

Song Yu reluctantly got up.

After her daughter left, Cui Lingrong methodically arranged for people to pack their belongings. After watching the maids and servants finish their tasks, she sent someone to find Qiu Mama.

Three months ago, her aunt fell critically ill, and Cui Lingrong had no choice but to take her daughter south to care for her.

Logically speaking, since her aunt is a distant relative, it's not her place as a niece to serve her.

However, the Cui family's situation was complicated. Cui Lingrong's mother was a second wife, and she passed away after giving birth to her. Her father remarried soon after, and since she was a daughter, she was not valued by the Cui family. The servants neglected her, and she was sometimes hungry and sometimes full. Even at the age of three, she still could not speak clearly.

Later, her aunt returned to her parents' home to visit relatives. It so happened that her aunt's daughter had died young. Seeing that Cui Lingrong was so small and thin, she felt pity for her and took her back to raise her.

My aunt had a gentle temperament but valued her daughter's upbringing. Since she had no more children, she took great care of Cui Lingrong and raised her as the apple of her eye.

Before Cui Lingrong came of age, fearing that the Cui family would hastily arrange a marriage for her, her aunt went to great lengths to take her north to Bianjing (Kaifeng) to make a name for herself before the marriage to the Song family was arranged.

Before she was to be married off to Bianjing, her aunt held her hand, her eyes reddening for the first time. "I originally wanted to find you a marriage match of equal social standing in Suzhou, but those people were blind and couldn't see your good qualities. Fortunately, Mrs. Song is a wise woman who values ​​your character and upbringing. This journey to Bianjing is long and arduous; if anything happens to you in the future, your aunt won't be able to help you."

"Aunt, I..." Cui Lingrong began, but tears fell before she could finish speaking.

"Good Lingrong, don't cry. Your aunt taught you that crying only shows your vulnerability and doesn't solve anything. I'll have Aunt Qiu go with you to Bianjing. With her there, I'll feel much more at ease." She knew that once her niece got married, they would see each other much less often.

Cui Lingrong wiped away her tears, "Aunt, don't worry, Lingrong will definitely not let you down."

"Yes, I believe you. My Lingrong has been intelligent since childhood. There is no difficulty that you cannot overcome."

She was held tightly in her aunt's arms, and she still remembers the faint scent of gardenias on her aunt.

When Qiu Mama came in again, she saw that the eldest mistress was in a daze, and said softly, "Eldest mistress, the carriage is ready, we can set off now."

Cui Lingrong sent someone to call her daughter, and the group boarded the carriage and slowly headed towards Bianjing City.

She had been married and living in Bianjing for almost fifteen years, and this was the first time she had been away for so long. Her thoughts were still on Suzhou, and she couldn't bring herself to go back to the past for a while.

After Song Yu boarded the carriage, he came to life. "Mother, we haven't been back for so long. Father and my brothers must be very excited. I've prepared gifts for Xuan-ge and the others; they'll definitely love them!"

"Mother, why aren't you saying anything?" Song Yu moved closer to her mother. The mother and daughter looked very alike, both with skin as white as snow. In the past two years, she and her mother had become quite well-known for going out to meet guests. "Are you really angry?"

"No." Cui Lingrong came back to her senses and smiled at her daughter.

"Don't worry, even if the Marquis's residence doesn't send anyone to pick you up, Xuan-ge and the others will definitely be waiting at the gate." Xuan-ge and Jin-ge are her brothers from the same mother. They bicker and argue all the time, but when it really matters, the siblings' relationship is still very good. Song Yu has been away from home for three months and has missed them terribly.

Cui Lingrong thought the same way. She married into the Song family and had two sons and a daughter. She raised all three children with great care and also missed her sons.

The carriage rushed into the city before dark, and by the time it stopped in front of the Marquis's residence, it was already completely dark.

The Hou residence, however, remained tightly shut, as if unaware that Cui Lingrong was about to return.

Mrs. Qiu frowned and knocked on the door. The gatekeeper was slow to arrive, and Mrs. Qiu said irritably, "Didn't Ershun tell you that Madam was coming back today? Even if the main gate isn't open, not even a side gate is left open. What on earth is going on at home that makes you all so unruly?"

The gatekeeper, having been scolded, caught a glimpse of the eldest mistress approaching out of the corner of his eye. He could only suppress his anger and said with a forced smile, "There have been many matters to attend to at the manor, and I forgot for a moment. Please forgive me, eldest mistress. It's getting late; please come inside quickly."

If it weren't for the fact that it's unseemly to curse at the gate, Qiu's mother wouldn't have let the gatekeeper off so easily. It's obvious that it was Second Grandma who ordered it, to give her eldest grandma a hard time!

Cui Lingrong glanced at the gatekeeper and said indifferently, "It's alright if you forgot I was back, but what if it's something else important? Since you're not doing your job well, let someone else do it. The Song family has no use for you."

The gatekeeper immediately knelt down, pleading, "Madam, please spare me! I'll never dare to do it again! Please give me another chance, Madam, it's truly... truly..."

He couldn't say anything more.

Cui Lingrong asked, "From the beginning you've said you're busy with things at the manor, but what exactly are you busy with?"

The gatekeeper's back was drenched in sweat. He really didn't dare to tell anyone. His forehead was pressed tightly against the ground as he kept begging the old lady to give him a chance.

Seeing that she couldn't get any answers, Cui Lingrong became even more suspicious and led Qiu Mama and the others to her residence, Qiu Shuang Zhai.

However, before she even reached Qiushuangzhai, someone from the old lady came and told her to go there by herself, without letting Yu-jie come along.

Now she knew that something extraordinary had happened at the Song residence.