Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

Cui Lingrong left after saying those words. When she returned to Qiushuangzhai, Caiyue was puzzled. "Madam," she asked, "weren't you afraid of alerting the enemy by deliberately saying that Princess Rongjia couldn't get pregnant?"

"What kind of grass did you hit? What kind of snake did you scare?" Cui Lingrong asked with a smile.

Caiyue replied naturally, "Of course it's Princess Rongjia."

Back inside, Cui Lingrong calmly sipped her tea. "With Princess Rongjia under house arrest, she'll surely behave herself for a while. But if she doesn't cause trouble, how can I find fault with her?"

Before Caiyue could figure it out, Caixia continued, "So you deliberately said that to make Princess Rongjia think that you know a lot, even some more secret things. Since she's under house arrest, it's difficult for her to find out the truth, so she'll become more and more anxious, and eventually do some irrational things."

Cui Lingrong praised Caixia for her intelligence, saying, "That makes sense."

Her relationship with Princess Rongjia was one of life and death.

Now that things have come to this point, there's no room for mercy. By leaving a way out for Princess Rongjia, she's leaving a way to her own demise.

Caiyue suddenly understood. "You're so clever, Madam! I never thought of such a provocation. Princess Rongjia must be panicking. She's harmed people time and time again, but because she's a member of the imperial family, she's still alive and well. Heaven really has no eyes. Speaking of which, the Marquis's attitude towards her hasn't changed. I really don't know why!"

Cui Lingrong also felt that Song Shulan's feelings for Princess Rongjia were unusual, but she didn't know the specific reason at the moment.

Remembering General Xie's instructions and learning that the Jiang family had sent an invitation, Cui Lingrong agreed.

Although Yuan Yuzhu has left the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, people still care about face, and the kinship ties remain. Moreover, the Jiang family and the Qin family know each other, so the Qin sisters might go there.

When the day arrived, Cui Lingrong brought congratulatory gifts to the Jiang family. After meeting with the Jiang family matriarch, she went to talk to Yuan Mingzhu about the Qin family's daughter.

Yuan Mingzhu pulled Cui Lingrong to find someone. Across a lake, Yuan Mingzhu pointed in a direction for Cui Lingrong, "Look over there, that's the fourth daughter of the Qin family. She has an outspoken personality and likes to say things like 'birth doesn't determine everything.' As for the third daughter, she's not in the crowd."

Cui Lingrong looked over and saw that the fourth daughter of the Qin family had round cheeks and very delicate eyebrows and eyes, and looked quite lively.

After a while, Jiang Zifang came over to greet her, and Yuan Mingzhu asked Jiang Zifang to bring Song Yu over to play together.

Song Yu came to the Jiang family with her mother when she was young. Since Aunt Yuan had no daughter, she would let Jiang Zifang and Song Yu play together, and the two got along very well.

Song Yu, having received a mission, followed Jiang Zifang into the crowd. Her first glance fell on Qin Mengyao. "What is Fourth Sister Qin wearing today? It looks so dazzling!"

Qin Mengyao proudly raised her sleeve, "This is a tribute, a fine item from the Duke of Dingguo's mansion. My great-aunt only received two bolts, and she used them both to make my spring clothes."

She meant that she was the only one who had this cloth; even her third sister didn't have it.

"So it's a tribute item. No wonder it's so beautiful." A girl said, reaching out to touch it, but Qin Mengyao slapped her hand away.

Song Yu noticed the disdain in Qin Mengyao's eyes, and her first impression of her wasn't very good.

Qin Mengyao's purpose in coming today was not to visit these young ladies and wives, but to visit Xie Yunting.

Her third sister looked down on Xie Yunting's background, and even her father spoke of Xie Yunting mostly in a derogatory way. But as a concubine's daughter who had been suppressed since childhood, she was particularly aware of Xie Yunting's merits.

As long as she marries Xie Yunting, she can be in charge of the household.

Moreover, given the Emperor's favor towards Xie Yunting, she might even receive an imperial title, something she never dared to dream of before.

As a result, her third sister disliked Xie Yunting and refused to marry him no matter what. Since that was the case, she wanted to meet Xie Yunting, as she was quite confident in her appearance.

So after chatting with the girls for a while, Qin Mengyao made an excuse to go to the garden to find someone.

Song Yu found it strange, so he followed.

She was very familiar with the Jiang family and followed Qin Mengyao from a distance until Qin Mengyao was stopped by a man. Song Yu quickly cut in front of the corner.

"Why has my fourth sister been avoiding me lately? Did I do something wrong?"

"What are you saying, cousin? We're both grown up now, we should keep our distance." Qin Mengyao's voice clearly indicated a desire to avoid suspicion.

The man refused to let Qin Mengyao leave. "That's not what you said before. Didn't you say you wanted to marry me and asked me to ask my parents for their permission?"

"Cousin, you're joking. Marriage is a major life event, arranged by parents. There's never been anything between us, and besides, aren't you close to Third Sister? Could it be that you don't like her anymore?"

"When did I ever get close to your third sister?" the man asked, his voice filled with grievance. "My relationship with her was merely perfunctory; my feelings for you are genuine. Fourth sister, tell me the truth, do you want to marry Xie Yunting?"

Qin Mengyao looked around. This wasn't the Qin family home; if others saw her, her reputation would be ruined. "Please, cousin, have some self-respect. My relationship with you is completely innocent, and we're not engaged. It's extremely improper for you to stop me like this! As for my relationship with General Xie, it's not up to me to decide!"

After she finished speaking, she pushed Meng Qingtang away forcefully. Since there was a better option, she didn't care to compete with her third sister for Meng Qingtang.

Meng Qingtang's eyes were filled with disappointment.

Song Yu hadn't expected to overhear something. Just as he was about to leave, he heard an extremely melodious "Brother Qing" again.

"Oh, it's Third Sister. What are you doing here?" Meng Qingtang was a little embarrassed, wondering if Qin Mengting had seen him talking to Qin Mengyao.

"I heard you came to the garden, so I thought I'd try my luck." Qin Mengting gazed at Meng Qingtang with infatuation. "Please don't give up on us. I'd rather die than marry Xie Yunting."

She was deeply in love with her cousin, having liked him since childhood. Both families had agreed to the marriage, and only the betrothal gifts were pending. However, the government then bestowed a marriage upon her.

She threatened suicide, which finally led her father and grandfather to ask Xie Yunting to remarry her.

Qin Mengting looked down on Xie Yunting, a peasant, and only wanted to marry her cousin.

Meng Qingtang frowned. "Third sister, I'm afraid things between us won't work out. Your father is right, you are the eldest daughter of the Qin family and you have to take responsibility. Just... just consider it that I've changed my mind and am sorry to you."

"But cousin, I only love you. If I hadn't known you would come, I would never have attended the banquet today. Do you know how much pain I'm in?" Qin Mengting felt like she was living a life worse than death after learning of the imperial decree to marry him.

The thought of living with Xie Yunting made her wish she were dead.

Meng Qingtang did indeed have feelings for Qin Mengting, but later found her too clingy and far less interesting than Qin Mengyao. Coupled with the arranged marriage, both the Meng and Qin families understood that Xie Yunting wouldn't choose a concubine's daughter over his legitimate daughter; they had already decided that Qin Mengting would marry Xie Yunting.

"Third sister, wake up! This is an imperial marriage, not something you or I can control. Besides, the power is in Xie Yunting's hands now; whoever he chooses will have to marry him." Meng Qingtang took a big step back. "From now on, let's avoid meeting in private, lest it damage your reputation..."

Before he could finish speaking, he heard someone bump into a window not far away, so he hurried over.

Song Yu listened intently, and after bumping into the wooden window, he hurried back to find his mother and quietly told her about the two girls from the Qin family.

Yuan Mingzhu snorted coldly, "So, these two young ladies from the Qin family are both related to the same man?"

Song Yu said that should be true.

"General Xie is really unlucky. Why does the Emperor always play such a bad matchmaker?" Yuan Mingzhu pouted. Cui Lingrong quickly told her to stop talking, because if someone heard this, she would lose her head.

After leaving the Jiang family, Cui Lingrong was about to talk to Xie Yunting about what she had heard when she arrived at the Xie residence and saw a young woman alighting from the Qin family's carriage.

Song Yu immediately asked, "Mother, it's the third daughter of the Qin family. What does she want with General Xie?"