Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

"The county princess is so happy, does it have something to do with you again?" Cui Lingrong's face darkened. County princess Rongjia's sarcasm was right in her face, and she didn't hold back either.

As soon as she finished speaking, Princess Rongjia's face darkened instantly. "Sister, don't make false accusations!"

"I'm not talking nonsense. After all, this isn't the first time the county magistrate has done something so harmful. Are you going to say that you're completely innocent and have never had any bad intentions?" Cui Lingrong stood up.

She used to be very amiable, with a smile on her face.

Today, she's determined to speak up.

After bowing to the old lady, Cui Lingrong left.

The remaining Princess Rongjia and the others looked at each other in bewilderment. Madam Jiang and Madam Li lowered their eyes in embarrassment, and Old Madam Song did not look at Princess Rongjia either, since what Cui Lingrong said was true.

As for Princess Rongjia, she was furious.

"Grandma, listen to this! How could she slander me like this?" County Princess Rongjia's eyes reddened with grievance. She was talking about Cui Zeyu, not Cui Lingrong. Yet Cui Lingrong cursed her in front of so many people, how could she save face?

Princess Rongjia wanted the old lady to discipline Cui Lingrong, but the old lady Song simply said, "Alright, you can all go back now, I'm sleepy."

She waved her hand, clearly not wanting to get involved in the conflict between her daughters-in-law.

After receiving the old lady's words, Jiang was the first to get up, followed closely by Li, and only then did Princess Rongjia reluctantly step out of the courtyard of Shou'an Hall.

Seeing the two people walking side by side ahead, Princess Rongjia called out, "Why are you walking so fast? Come to my place for a cup of tea?"

Li was slightly taken aback and looked at her second sister-in-law.

Not wanting to offend anyone, Jiang nodded and said okay.

There was nothing she could do but go along with it.

Upon arriving at Wutong Garden, the county magistrate of Rongjia said, "I'm sorry, we don't have any good tea to serve you right now. Speaking of which, Third Master, you must know a lot about making money from managing your businesses, right?"

Li let out an "Ah" and said timidly, "Your Highness, Third Master doesn't have that much ability. He has already done his best to manage the Marquis's estate."

"Is that so? I was thinking that if there was any way to make money, I could ask Third Master to teach me." Princess Rongjia sighed. "Outsiders would never imagine that our huge Marquis's mansion is struggling to even cover its expenses. I'm alright, but you second and third wives, don't you have to use your dowries to help out?"

Jiang had often visited Wutong Garden before, and immediately understood what Princess Rongjia meant. She was dissatisfied with her sister-in-law withholding the expenses of Wutong Garden and wanted them to make a fuss together.

But she wasn't stupid; following Princess Rongjia's lead might not guarantee she'd win against her sister-in-law. She'd finally gotten pregnant, and protecting the pregnancy was paramount; she didn't want to go through so much trouble.

"Your Highness, dowry is meant to be used. Besides, after I became pregnant, the Second Master gave me quite a bit of his own money, so it's enough if I'm careful with it," Jiang said tactfully, indicating that she would not participate.

Li added, "Yes, if we save money, we can still make ends meet."

In truth, the second and third wives were actually a bit better off than Princess Rongjia, because they had never lived extravagantly and had always been relatively comfortable, so they didn't experience much hardship.

Princess Rongjia used to live a good life, but now she has difficulty making ends meet because she has money everywhere.

Seeing that neither of the Jiang family members responded, Princess Rongjia felt even more frustrated. Were they not taking her seriously?

"Alright, you have your reasons, so I won't say anything more. But you also need to consider the children; their future is the most important thing." Princess Rongjia didn't want to say any more, indicating that she was tired.

Jiang took her leave in a hurry. After leaving Wutong Garden with Li, she looked back and said, "Tell me, why did she do that?"

Li pursed her lips and remained silent. She dared not complain, for she could not afford to offend either the county princess or Jiang.

Seeing that Li Shi didn't react at all, Jiang Shi cursed that it was boring and led her people back to the second house.

Li finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Princess Rongjia was furious and cursed inside the house, "Look at Cui Lingrong's smug look! Does she think Xie Yunting will listen to her just because her maid seduced someone close to Xie Yunting?"

"That woman down there is a vixen, and she's no good either!" Princess Rongjia cursed. "She looks respectable, but deep down she's a slut!"

"Princess, please don't be angry. Madam wouldn't have been so direct before. The fact that she talked back to you today shows that Cui Zeyu's matter is indeed making her anxious," said Chen De's wife. "We went to so much trouble before, but we couldn't do anything about Cui Zeyu. Now that Cui Zeyu might be dead, Madam certainly won't be able to run the cloth shop on her own. Wouldn't she be worried to death?"

Chen Dejia said they would just wait and see.

"Yes, you're right." Princess Rongjia laughed. "The fact that Cui Lingrong can curse means she's truly desperate. Without the cloth shop, she has no money. Let's see how she acts all high and mighty with me!"

"That makes sense. Cui Zeyu has been out of contact for so long, he might have died in some remote mountain village. This time, it's a blessing in disguise. We didn't do anything, yet we still managed to deliver a heavy blow to Madam." Chen De's wife could finally breathe a sigh of relief; otherwise, Madam's life would have been too smooth.

Princess Rongjia nodded. "I need my brother to give the local officials a hint: even if Cui Zeyu is still alive, he cannot be allowed to return to Bianjing!"

Chen De's wife did not object. Cui Zeyu was too important to the eldest madam. If Cui Zeyu died, the eldest madam would lose her right-hand woman.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Duke of Dingguo went back and investigated again and again, and finally found out that the person Cui Zeyu was looking for was Qin Pei.

He took Cui Zeyu to the place where Qin Pei was imprisoned.

"Qin Pei did all those shameful things for the Qin family. I suggest keeping him around; maybe one day he won't be able to stand it and will reveal what the Qin family did." The Duke of Dingguo looked at the iron gate, while the others had already been dealt with by Cui Zeyu.

As soon as the Duke of Dingguo pulled open the small iron plate on the iron gate, a beam of light shone in, and they heard the sound of chains swinging wildly from inside.

There was also Qin Pei's "woo-woo" cry.