Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

Song Shulan's first reaction to the idea of ​​attaching himself to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion was to agree, especially since the Duke had just reprimanded him. If Cui Lingrong accepted the Duke as her adoptive father, the Duke would not pursue his affairs further in the future out of consideration for Cui Lingrong.

He went to see Cui Lingrong with anticipation, thinking that Cui Lingrong would definitely agree.

Cui Lingrong politely declined, saying, "I appreciate the Duke's kindness. It would be an honor for me to be recognized as your godfather, but my family had my fortune told when I was born, and they said I was not suitable to be recognized as a godfather."

In fact, it means that she has a tough fate and should be raised at a distance, and her parents should not be too close to her.

However, this was not the reason she refused the Duke of Dingguo.

Having the Duke of Dingguo as a foster father was naturally a good thing, but along with it came the foster mother, Lady Qin, and a whole host of relatives from the Qin family.

Hearing her say this, the Duke of Dingguo was taken aback, but he knew that Cui Lingrong was politely declining, so he did not insist. "Alright, alright, even if you don't acknowledge us as godparents, you can come to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion anytime you need anything. I am still your elder."

Cui Lingrong smiled and said okay.

Cui Zeyu quickly replied, "Yes, sister, I will still send people to manage the cloth shop. It's an asset that belongs to you and me, and I will keep it running forever."

Cui Lingrong actually wanted to send someone else to manage it, since her younger brother had returned to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion and had more things to do.

But when her brother said that, she thought about it and realized it made sense. It was the bond between them, and it wouldn't be bad if he could stay. She did need the money.

Cui Lingrong invited her younger brother and the Duke of Dingguo to dinner. Old Madam Song also sent Xu Mama over. "The old lady was overjoyed to hear the good news about Young Master Yu. She said that she had watched Young Master Yu grow up, and now that he has been recognized by his ancestors, he is still a child of our Jiangyuan Marquis's family. She specially asked the head kitchen to prepare Young Master Yu's favorite food."

Cui Zeyu raised his eyebrows upon hearing this. Ever since he was a child, Old Madam Song had disliked him, let alone knew what he liked to eat.

Today, however, they sent Mama Xu to invite people over. Their obsequious and servile attitude is truly despicable.

The Duke of Dingguo only knew that his son was doing well under Cui Lingrong's care, but he didn't know the specifics.

He accepted the invitation from Grandma Song.

Since the Duke of Dingguo had agreed, Cui Lingrong and Song Shulan had no choice but to go along.

The Duke of Dingguo gestured for Cui Lingrong to enter, but showed little respect to Song Shulan.

Song Shulan followed at the back, feeling a bit annoyed. He called out to Cui Zeyu in a low voice, "Zeyu, you also grew up in our Jiangyuan Marquis's mansion. Over the years, your sister and I have taken care of you and put in a lot of effort."

Cui Zeyu found it amusing. "Has Lord Song forgotten everything that happened before saying this?"

"You're so magnanimous. The past was nothing. Even brothers and sisters have their disagreements. Let's just let our little unpleasantness go with the wind, okay?" Song Shulan thought to himself that he had already given Cui Zeyu a lot of face. If Cui Zeyu still didn't appreciate his kindness, then he shouldn't blame him for not helping him in the future.

The adopted son is not his biological son.

The Duke of Dingguo's mansion has adopted two children at once, so it's uncertain who will inherit the mansion in the future.

With his help, Cui Zeyu has a better chance.

In Song Shulan's view, Cui Zeyu's decision to be adopted into the Duke of Dingguo's mansion must be for the Duke's business interests. After all, businessmen are only interested in profit, and he could see through Cui Zeyu's intentions at a glance.

Cui Zeyu didn't speak, because he had already stepped into Shou'an Hall.

Old Madam Song greeted the Duke of Dingguo warmly, and then called Cui Zeyu to her side, saying, "You child, you encountered such a big thing outside, why didn't you come to Shou'an Hall to sit down after you came back? This old woman has been thinking about it again and again, and has been waiting for you to come and pay your respects."

Ding Guo said fairly, "Ze Yu is a sensible child, but he probably has too many things to do." In his opinion, his son was indeed a busybody, and it was normal for him to be negligent.

Old Madam Song only wanted to show the Duke of Dingguo that she didn't really want to be intimate with Cui Zeyu. She couldn't stand it if she said anything else, so she changed the subject and said, "Back then, when Cui took this child in, he was as thin as a bamboo pole. He ate like a cat and got diarrhea no matter what he ate. It took a lot of effort to raise him."

She kept saying how difficult it was to raise Cui Zeyu, attributing all the credit to the Jiangyuan Marquis's mansion.

"Spending money to hire doctors—that's all handled by the Marquis's mansion. Raising a child is truly not easy," Old Madam Song said, letting out a long sigh at the end.

Cui Zeyu saw that the Duke of Dingguo's eyes were moist, as if he really believed what Old Madam Song said. He thought to himself that the Duke of Dingguo was indeed confused. How could he believe such a false statement from Old Madam Song?

Cui Zeyu smiled and interjected, "The old lady is right, but also wrong. Raising children is not easy, but I remember that when the Marquis's mansion first tried to throw me out, it was my sister who stepped in to keep me, which is how I survived."

"Oh dear, your sister is the mistress of the Marquis's mansion. If she intervenes, isn't that the Marquis's intention?" Old Madam Song tried to brush it off, but the Duke of Dingguo had already understood, and the smile on his face instantly froze.

Seeing that the Duke of Dingguo understood, Cui Lingrong didn't waste any more words.

Just then, a maid came to deliver a message, saying that Princess Rongjia had arrived.

Grandma Song asked, "What's she doing here?"

The old lady knew that Princess Rongjia disliked Cui Shi and Cui Zeyu, so she specifically instructed the servants not to go to Wutong Garden to deliver messages. Why did Princess Rongjia still come?