Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

When Princess Rongjia returned, her face was grim again. "My mother asked me to propose to Yu'er that she have a son born out of wedlock, but how could Song Lang possibly agree?"

Although it's still Yu Jie'er marrying up, from the eldest son to the illegitimate son, Song Lang is definitely not happy.

Princess Rongjia now regrets it. Why did she bring this up?

But since things have come to this, all we can do when we get back is say that the marriage of my nephew is to be decided by the Emperor, and I suppose Song Lang won't ask any further questions.

Upon returning, as soon as Princess Rongjia finished speaking, Song Shulan's face darkened.

He thought that with Princess Rongjia's involvement, the Rong Prince's Mansion would at least give it a second thought. Now, saying that the Emperor would make the decision sounded like mere rhetoric, not genuine.

Song Shulan forced a smile, "It's alright, Yu-jie is still young, there's no rush."

Princess Rongjia breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the matter was over.

"If I could have a child with the county princess, we could become even closer relatives." Song Shulan was still unwilling to give up. In the end, it was the Rong Prince's Mansion that looked down on Cui's family background, not because of him.

Princess Rongjia's face stiffened at the mention of childbirth.

She also wants to have a child.

When she chose Song Shulan as her second husband, she thought that since Song Shulan already had children, he wouldn't pressure her to have more. However, Song Shulan keeps bringing it up, and the more times it happens, the more annoyed she becomes.

"What's wrong?" Song Shulan noticed that Princess Rongjia was unhappy.

"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired. I didn't handle this matter well, I hope Song Lang won't be upset?" Princess Rongjia leaned against Song Shulan's chest.

Song Shulan said no, just then Zhu Qing brought in tea, and Song Shulan's gaze followed her.

"Lord Marquis, Princess, please have some tea." As Zhu Qing spoke, she deliberately glanced at the Lord Marquis, her eyes full of allure.

Song Shulan sat in the Wutong Garden for a while, then left under the pretext of having something to do and went to find Zhu Qing.

When Chen De's wife came to deliver the message, Princess Rongjia smashed her teacup. "She's a slut too! Does she really think that by climbing into her master's bed, she can seduce men right under my nose? What a whore!"

"Princess, please don't be angry. Zhuqing is a bit clueless, but as long as she can please the Marquis, that's fine," said Chen De's wife. "Speaking of which, Lanxin is much more sensible. She never tries to get close to the Marquis when he comes to Wutong Garden."

"If both of them turn into vixens, wouldn't that infuriate me?" Princess Rongjia, having learned her lesson, wouldn't treat Zhuqing the way she treated Huadie. "I'd better hope their bellies are up to par and give me a son soon!"

Chen Dejia said yes.

Wang Hechun's wife came in and said she had seen Caiyue again today. "This servant thinks Caiyue is quite guileless. Should the county magistrate try to win her over?"

These past few days, she's been trying to get close to Caiyue, and Caiyue has even told her how much she has in private.

"Is she truly naive, or just pretending?" Chen De's wife spoke first. "Mother Wang, you must see this carefully, lest you harm the county princess!"

"What do you mean, Madam Chen? I'm working hard for the county magistrate, how come in your mouth it's harming the county magistrate?" The two had been increasingly at odds lately, and Wang Hechun's wife said irritably, "Or is Madam Chen jealous that I found Caiyue, and that's why she's trying to belittle me?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"So what do you mean?"

"Enough!" Princess Rongjia said, her head throbbing. "You're all people from my household, arguing back and forth. Do you want to become a laughingstock?"

The two men knew the county magistrate was unhappy, so they both fell silent.

Princess Rongjia went to visit Wang Hechun's family. "Since Caiyue has a chance to win her over, then give it a try, but don't talk too much about the Wutong Garden matter. Let's see her sincerity first. I can't give her benefits before she's even helped me."

"This servant understands. It's just that winning people over requires some benefits, not..."

Princess Rongjia understood the implication and told Wang Hechun's family to go and get the money themselves.

After Wang Hechun's family left, Princess Rongjia said again, "Don't argue with her about everything. You were sent by my mother to take care of me, and you know about my affairs. I definitely trust you more. If she's only interested in saving face, let her do it. Why bother arguing with her?"

Princess Rongjia believed that everything Wang Hechun's family did was for her benefit, so she let Wang Hechun's family have their way.

Chen De's wife nodded in agreement, saying, "It was this old servant who was narrow-minded."

Princess Rongjia sighed, speaking of the expenses of Shou'an Hall, "She doesn't care if it's not the old lady's own money. How many days has it been, and the money in Shou'an Hall is being spent like water?"

If it weren't for the house arrest, Princess Rongjia wouldn't have thought of spending money to please the old lady. She originally thought the old lady would have some reservations, but in the end, she ate even more bird's nest than the old lady.

"Otherwise, give her a little less next month. Tell the head kitchen to set a quota. We can't just let the old lady ask for things all she wants." Chen De's wife knew exactly how much money her master had. They had already given the eldest madam a large sum of money, and now they were even more strapped for cash.

Princess Rongjia frowned. "Let's wait another two months. The old lady keeps staring at my belly. If I start rationing again, she'll definitely be unhappy. Instead of being frugal, I should find a way to increase my income. I need to think of a way to make some money."

Otherwise, she definitely wouldn't have been able to endure such a life for long.

Thinking of her husband, Chen De's wife smiled more. "The county princess is right. We should focus on increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, but increasing revenue is more important. Why don't you let my husband think of a solution for you?"

"Alright, you are all my trusted confidants. I trust you to handle this matter." Princess Rongjia was eager to make money quickly, "preferably a lot of money in a short period of time."

Recently, her mother has stopped giving her money, and her brother and sister-in-law are even less likely to give her any.

She had to give up all her dowry to save herself when she left the Du family.

The dowry she received after her remarriage was scraped together by her older brother and sister-in-law. Now, her father and mother are only giving her some, but it's not enough for her.

Not to mention the expenses of Shouan Hall.

Princess Rongjia felt exhausted just thinking about it. She waved her hand, telling Chen De's wife to step back and think of a solution, and then gazed at the moon outside the window.

A cool breeze was blowing on a late spring night.

A gust of wind slipped into Princess Rongjia's collar, and the thought of Song Shulan in another woman's bed made her grit her teeth in hatred.

I really don't know how Cui Lingrong could tolerate this.

Was it that Cui Lingrong never loved Song Shulan, or was this just her personality?

Meanwhile, Cui Lingrong was drawing patterns for several children. The season was about to change, and although the Marquis's mansion did not make new clothes, Cui Lingrong had the money to make them for the children.

Yu-jie needs to wear decent clothes when she goes out. Xuan-ge also needs to maintain appearances since he's taking the imperial examinations. As for Jin-ge, since his older siblings have already made clothes for him, he can't be left out.

After finishing the design, Cui Lingrong handed it to Qiu's mother, "Take it to the shop assistants at the fabric store tomorrow and have them find a tailor."

Mother Qiu agreed, "Counting the days, Young Master Yu will be back in ten days to half a month."

"Yes, if it hadn't rained, we would have arrived by now." After saying that about her younger brother, Cui Lingrong laughed again. "Speaking of which, Shuyi should arrive in the next couple of days."

"Yes, this time we'll have to rely on Madam Luo." Madam Qiu was very much looking forward to seeing how the Marquis would react if he knew that Princess Rongjia was infertile.