Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

Princess Rongjia had just finished her sigh when Jiang arrived.

With red eyes, Jiang was asked several questions by Princess Rongjia before she whispered, "I really didn't say anything to her, yet she made me kneel in the ancestral hall. If word gets out, how can I face anyone? Besides, she's not in charge of the household, and the old lady is still alive. How can she punish me like this?"

Seeing that Princess Rongjia remained silent, Madam Jiang wrung out her handkerchief, lowered her eyes to wipe away her tears, and said, "Speaking of which, Princess, you are my rightful sister-in-law. What is she anyway, isn't she?"

These words struck a chord with Princess Rongjia, who was willing to offer Jiang a suggestion: "If Sister Cui wants to punish you, I dare not interfere, otherwise she will misunderstand again. You can go to the ancestral hall and say that you are praying for Ling'er's well-being. After a while, I will have a maid call you, and this matter will be over. As for the old lady, you have already been punished, and I was the one who called you away. For my sake, no one can say anything wrong."

Ling'er is the second wife's illegitimate daughter, and Madam Jiang dislikes her very much. In the past, people in the mansion had said that she mistreated her illegitimate daughter. Going to pray for blessings today might salvage some of her image.

Jiang immediately beamed with joy, "You are so kind, Princess. I will remember this favor and will listen to you from now on."

Jiang went to the ancestral hall, and Qingxue quickly returned with the message.

Princess Rongjia refused to reduce the rent, causing the tenant farmers to complain bitterly. Someone mentioned that the rent was not being reduced this year because the Marquis's mansion had a new head of household. The tenant farmers then elected someone to go to the Marquis's mansion to request an audience with Cui Lingrong.

Upon learning that a tenant farmer wanted to see her, Cui Lingrong went to the front hall.

In previous years, before spring planting, Cui Lingrong would lead people to the farm to distribute bonuses to the tenant farmers, which is why she knew Li Fugui who came to visit.

"Please, Madam, help us!" Li Fugui immediately knelt down, his voice choked with sobs. "This year there has been little rain, and the harvest is only half of what it used to be. But the Marquis's mansion demands full rent, which we simply cannot afford. If we pay the full rent, we fear our family's food supply will not last until next spring."

Grandma was a good person. Whenever the harvest was bad, she would voluntarily reduce the rent. Over the years, none of the tenants had ever sold their children.

Li Fugui and his family were very resentful of the new manager. If they were to pay the full rent, many families would really have to sell their children.

Cui Lingrong asked, "Is the situation really that serious this year?"

"Grandma, you can send someone to investigate. Because of the water shortage, the rice ears are not full enough, and there are few grains. Every household's grain in the granary is like this. It's not just our village that has a bad harvest; many families nearby are in the same situation." Li Fugui kowtowed again until his forehead was swollen. "You are Grandma, we all respect and trust you. Please give us a way to survive."

Cui Lingrong looked troubled.

Madam Qiu sighed, "If the eldest mistress were in charge, she certainly wouldn't be chasing you for rent. The harvest depends entirely on the weather, and we understand your difficulties. But it's not easy being the eldest mistress either. The Marquis and the Old Madam don't allow the eldest mistress to manage the household. Now, Princess Rongjia is in charge of the Marquis's mansion, so you have to go find her."

"We sent a message a couple of days ago, but the princess refused to see us." Li Fugui knew perfectly well that she wasn't busy; she simply looked down on them, the tenant farmers, and didn't have time to deal with them.

There aren't many people in the world as kind-hearted as Grandma.

"This..." Madam Qiu went to see her mistress. She knew the tenants were having a hard time, but her mistress was afraid that if she intervened rashly, it would give Princess Rongjia something to talk about.

Cui Lingrong knew that Li Fugui was not lying, but no matter whether she went to the Marquis or the Old Madam, they would easily turn the matter away. Because the Princess was in charge of managing the household, the Princess had to decide how to handle it. The Marquis and the Old Madam would not let the Princess lose face.

She thought for a moment, "Begging me won't help you with this."

Li Fugui was stunned in despair. If even his great-grandmother couldn't help them, then they were truly out of options.

"However, I can give you an idea," Cui Lingrong said. "You said the harvests at the nearby estates aren't good, so you can inquire how the other landlords are handling it. If a kind landlord reduces the rent, you can find a few slave traders and say you're going to sell your children. The bigger the commotion, the better. My old lady values ​​her reputation the most. I can't interfere with the princess, but my old lady can."

While other families were reducing rent, the Song family was forcing their tenants to sell their children. This made them look bad no matter how the word got around to it.

Having lived in the Marquis's residence for many years, Cui Lingrong understood the old lady and Song Shulan better than Princess Rongjia.

Li Fugui's eyes lit up, and he quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude, "Thank you so much for your guidance, Madam. I am deeply grateful for your great kindness and virtue. We will definitely pray for your well-being!"

"That won't be necessary." Cui Lingrong sighed, saying that she had her own difficulties. "Don't tell anyone about the method I suggested. As you can see, I'm not in charge of things now, and if you want to see me, you'll need several people to relay the message. Just go back and tell them that I can't help you, and that you came up with this method yourself."

"But if others say bad things about you, wouldn't that make you feel wronged?" Li Fugui was genuinely grateful to his great-grandmother and hoped that she could have a good reputation.

"It's alright, time will tell. Just tell me I'm struggling to protect myself, and those who can understand will understand. As for those who don't understand and want to curse, I don't care about their opinions. Hurry back and leave the city before dark, otherwise it won't be safe on the road." Cui Lingrong had someone prepare a bag of grain and two bolts of coarse cloth for Li Fugui.

Li Fugui assured him, "You are a very good person. I will definitely keep my mouth shut and will absolutely not cause you any trouble."

He only learned that the princess was a secondary wife when he arrived at the Marquis's residence.

In the village, Li Fugui had never heard of such a thing as having a second wife.

They couldn't find out the inside story of the master's affairs, but the general immediately put the princess in charge of the household affairs after marrying her, which shows that the eldest mistress was in a difficult situation.

Li Fugui couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Why do good people not get good rewards?"

He still preferred his eldest daughter-in-law to be in charge of the household. The new princess seemed to lack any sense of human relationships and would never understand or care about ordinary people like them.

Li Fugui carried the grain away, and when he reached the door, a woman called out to him and slipped him two pieces of silver. "Mother, what's this?"

"The princess knows you've had a tough time, but she's been working so hard for the Marquis's mansion. She didn't mean to avoid you. Take this money, brother, and buy some food for your family. Tell the tenants that things will get better once we get through this year." Wang Shanxi's family was almost back to normal, and he had just returned to his post when he heard that Li Fugui had arrived. He quickly stepped in on behalf of his master.

Looking at the silver in his hand, Li Fugui thought to himself that if the princess were truly kind, she wouldn't have forced them to pay the rent immediately. "So you're someone from the princess's household. No wonder Madam is so kind. Please take me to see the princess. This year's harvest is indeed poor; all the farms nearby are in the same situation. If the princess is willing to show mercy, we will be eternally grateful."

Wang Shanxi thought to himself, "What use is the gratitude of these lowly people to a princess who is so noble?"

However, she still smiled kindly, "Oh, I'm really sorry, Princess really doesn't have time. Everyone in the manor needs your attention, she's as busy as a spinning top."

She paused, then moved closer. "The eldest mistress of Qiushuangzhai seems to have some free time. I wonder what she said to you?"

Li Fugui understood that the princess showed no mercy whatsoever. Remembering what his grandmother had said, he said unhappily, "Hmph, what else can I say? You're saying the same thing as my mother. I thought my grandmother would be as kind as before. It's just our bad luck that we have to go back and find a way to gather food."

Watching Li Fugui's departing figure, Wang Shanxi's wife breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the one from Qiushuangzhai hadn't bothered with her business.

She returned to Wutong Courtyard and told her master, "Li Fugui is very angry. The one from Qiushuangzhai is quite sensible. Knowing that he is your steward, he did not interfere in this matter."

"Cui Lingrong won't care. Don't let her amiable and easy-going nature fool you; she's actually quite cunning. She knows it's useless to come to me. The old lady has been disliking her lately, and the Marquis's mind isn't on her either. She won't go looking for trouble." Princess Rongjia leisurely sipped her tea. "This year's pre-Qingming Longjing tea is really good. Tell the steward to buy some more."

A pound of top-quality pre-rain Longjing tea costs tens of taels of silver, but Princess Rongjia is used to this kind of life. Even if she is frugal, she makes others frugal and will never affect her own quality of life.