Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

The people lined up along the roadside, and the Duke of Dingguo tried to squeeze forward, but he didn't get a chance.

"Lord Duke, please be careful!" the attendant warned, noting that there were too many people around.

The Duke of Dingguo, however, didn't care about anything else. Seeing that Xie Yunting and his men had already walked far away, he turned and headed down another road. "Let's go, to the Xie residence!"

Although the attendant didn't understand why his master wanted to go to the Xie residence, he still followed him.

When the Duke of Dingguo arrived at the Xie residence, he learned that Xie Yunting had gone to the palace to meet the emperor.

"My lord, as you know, military officers returning to the capital must first meet the Emperor. If the Emperor is pleased, he might even invite the general to dine with him. If you have anything to say, please tell me, and I will certainly relay it when the general returns," the steward said.

The Duke of Dingguo had no desire to go home; he was preoccupied with the soldier beside Xie Yunting, who seemed increasingly familiar to him.

"It's alright, I'll wait here," said Dingguo Gongdao.

Seeing that the Duke of Dingguo insisted, the steward didn't know what to say, so he had someone serve tea, saying, "Please tell me what you need, I'll go and attend to my work now."

Duke Dingguo waved his hand, sat down and stood up again, until it was completely dark before Xie Yunting returned, drunk.

"It's...it's Duke Dingguo! What brings you here?" Xie Yunting had been dining in the palace and had drunk several cups of wine. He sat casually in his chair and pried open his eyelids with his hand.

"Xie Yunting, who are the soldiers with you today?" Duke Dingguo asked anxiously.

Xie Yunting frowned. "You mean Shuanzi? What, does the Duke have a daughter he wants to marry?"

"Shuanzi?" Duke Dingguo thought for a moment. He had seen Shuanzi before. He then said no, but Xie Yunting started snoring.

He shook Xie Yunting, but he couldn't wake him up no matter what he did.

At this moment, the steward ran over and said, "Your Excellency, you can see that the general is drunk. Why don't you come again tomorrow? If you keep staggering like this, my general won't be able to stand it."

The Duke of Dingguo and the others spent the whole afternoon trying to find out an answer, and Xie Yunting ended up getting completely drunk.

His anger flared up instantly, and he wished he could throw a bucket of cold water on Xie Yunting to wake him up, but alas, this was the Xie residence, not the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.

The steward gave a signal to the servant, and the two of them helped their master leave.

As the Duke of Dingguo watched Xie Yunting being led away, he could only helplessly return.

When he returned to the Duke's mansion, he saw Qin Shi sitting upright as soon as he entered.

He didn't give him a friendly look.

Qin Shi's eyes were bloodshot. Upon seeing the Duke of Dingguo, she stood up abruptly. "What did you do to Qin Pei?"

Qin Pei was a distant nephew of hers. Because he was bad at studying and lost money in business, he later sought refuge with the Qin family and helped them with their shady dealings.

The Duke of Dingguo snorted coldly, "You really are quite capable, managing to plant someone right next to me without even me noticing."

"What kind of skill is that? Aren't you the same?" Qin Shi retorted sarcastically. The person she had planted by the Duke of Dingguo's side had already been killed. She was more concerned about her nephew's matter now. "I'm telling you, if you bring Qin Pei back, I won't pursue some matters further."

"You're not going to pursue this? Since when did it become your place not to pursue this?" The Duke of Dingguo was furious at the thought. At this moment, he and Madam Qin no longer needed to pretend. "I was just going to buy some cloth, and you went and killed someone. Madam Qin, do you really think the Qin family is so powerful that they can cover for you in everything?"

"Well, Lu Zhong, you've finally confessed! If you hadn't been so guilty, how could I have suspected you?" Madam Qin pointed at the Duke of Dingguo. "You heartless bastard! I've been married to you for over thirty years, managing all the affairs of the household for you, and yet you keep a mistress outside the home, and you still have the nerve to criticize me?"

"If it weren't for your jealousy, and my fear that the Lu family line would end, would I have kept a mistress?" The Duke of Dingguo didn't think he was wrong. If his eldest son hadn't been so sickly, he wouldn't have kept a mistress.

Speaking of jealousy, Madam Qin was seething with anger. "Lu Zhong, when I married you, you were nothing! It was only with the support of my family that you became who you are today. When you married me, you promised to be with me for life, but you betrayed me. How dare you call me jealous?"

The Duke of Dingguo retorted, "Yes, your father and brothers did help me, but if I hadn't been capable myself, even with the Qin family's assistance, I wouldn't have achieved my current status!"

He acknowledged that he initially relied on the Qin family.

But everything that followed was due to his own abilities. As for the Qin family, they declined more and more.

Qin looked at the Duke of Dingguo with disappointment. She had fallen in love with the handsome and dashing Duke of Dingguo at first sight at the Spring Banquet. Even though she knew that he was an unfavored illegitimate son, she still begged her parents to arrange a marriage for her.

When they first got married, Lu Zhong was not valued by her parents-in-law, and she suffered a lot of disdain.

Born into a prominent family and raised in luxury, she was always comforted by Lu Zhong whenever she suffered injustice. He would tell her, "Don't cry. When I'm powerful enough, let's see how that old woman can bully us then!"

Later, Lu Zhong really became successful, and their lives got better and better. Those who used to say she wouldn't marry well started to fawn over her again.

Qin believed that she had married the right person.

Later, the birth of her son damaged her health, and her son was also in poor health.

She gradually realized that Lu Zhong was no longer as considerate of her as before.

When a woman begins to doubt her feelings, that's when she's at her most observant.

At first, Lu Zhong did not keep a mistress, but only proposed to take a concubine, but was met with a frenzied cursing from Qin.

The two started arguing, made up, then argued again, and then made up again.

Over and over again, the relationship gradually wore down amidst constant arguments.

It wasn't until she discovered that Lu Zhong not only had a mistress, but also that his son was already quite grown up that Qin's world collapsed instantly. Realizing that it wasn't a dream, she began her frenzied revenge.

"Fine, you're impressive, you're capable. Then why don't you dare divorce me?" Qin's eyes were murderous. "Because you're doing shameful things. If people found out, you'd not only be keeping a mistress, but also the fiancée of your deceased subordinate!"

The Duke of Dingguo's face turned red. He was indeed feeling guilty. If this matter were exposed, he would be ruined. Otherwise, why would the Qin family have been able to control him all this time?

"I can't reason with you. As for Qin Pei, hah," the Duke of Dingguo sneered. "What he did for you, he deserves to die!"

"You killed him?" Qin asked anxiously.

"Kill him? That would be too easy on him!" The Duke of Dingguo looked at Qin Shi, who had been by his side since childhood, his heart filled with anger and confusion. "I will spare his life, and make him regret what he has done all these years for the rest of his life. As for you, if you want to fight to the death, you are welcome to try."

He kicked the door open and told Qin to get out.

Looking at the heartless man, tears welled up in Qin's eyes. "You, Lu Zhong, are you alright? But I'm curious about you. Whether Cui Zeyu is your son or not, you will never acknowledge that bastard in this lifetime. If you have the guts, then kill me. Otherwise, I will never agree!"

After Qin left, the Duke of Dingguo looked at the dark courtyard with a furrowed brow.

He still didn't think he had done anything wrong, and as for his son, he was determined to bring him back.

Meanwhile, Cui Zeyu and Xie Yunting sat facing each other for a while.

"What exactly happened between you and the Duke of Dingguo?" Xie Yunting wasn't drunk; he was pretending.

Seeing that Cui Zeyu remained silent, he had no choice but to speak up, otherwise he would feel very uncomfortable keeping it bottled up inside.