Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

Before the head of the estate arrived, Old Madam Song wanted Yu'er to go back first, but Cui Lingrong said with a smile, "Old Madam, Yu'er is not young anymore. She should learn some management skills. Let her stay and see how you and the Princess handle things. It would be good for her to learn some skills."

Grandma Song looked at Yu-jie. Indeed, Yu-jie was fourteen after the New Year, old enough to be a potential husband. She needed to be taught what she needed to be taught.

Cui Lingrong had her daughter stand beside her, gave her a look, and indicated that she would just watch her from there.

A short while later, the head of the village was brought in; he had a bruise on his forehead, indicating that he had been beaten.

Before Old Mrs. Song could ask any questions, Wang Shanxi's wife came out first, "Head of Liu Village, what's going on? Why is there a commotion in the village?"

Liu Zhuangtou glanced in the direction of Princess Rongjia, and when he met Old Madam Song's gaze, he trembled involuntarily. "They are some troublemakers who refuse to pay rent. They have no money to spend and want to sell their children, but instead they blame...blame the master for not being lenient."

Grandma Song was skeptical. "Such a thing really happened?"

When Cui was in charge of the household, nothing went wrong, and the estate was also peaceful.

How come when we arrived at the Rongjia County steward's house, the gatekeeper was negligent one minute, and then he refused to call a doctor for the concubine the next, and now the tenant farmers are making a fuss.

How long has it been?

When Old Madam Zheng looked at Princess Rongjia, her gaze was inquisitive. Even if Princess Rongjia was of noble status, she was incompetent if she couldn't manage the affairs of the household.

Princess Rongjia felt a lump in her throat from the old lady's gaze. She was completely bewildered, not knowing what had happened in the manor. She wanted to scold Liu, the head of the manor, for being so clueless. He should have spoken to her, the manager, first, instead of directly bringing the matter to the old lady.

She feared it was something serious, and involuntarily leaned forward, nervously watching Liu Zhuangtou.

"Yes, madam. The tenant farmers have banded together, saying that the Marquis's mansion is heartless and is forcing us to reduce our rent. They suddenly started making a fuss as if without warning, and even people from other estates know about it." Liu, the head of the estate, noticed the princess's gaze and dared not speak ill of her. He was afraid that things would escalate and he wouldn't be able to handle it, so he simply came to the Marquis's mansion to confront the master of the house.

When Old Mrs. Song heard that other families also knew about it, she immediately put down her face. She was not afraid of the tenant farmers causing trouble; what she cared about was how other families found out.

"Princess, are you aware of this matter?" The furrows between Old Madam Song's brows deepened.

Princess Rongjia shook her head, "I don't know."

"And what about the rent? Why are you asking us to reduce it for no reason?" Old Mrs. Song, who had managed the household in her youth, knew that tenant farmers wouldn't make demands without cause. "Are you asking for a rent increase, or is this year's harvest bad?"

After Cui took over the household management, Old Madam Song no longer needed to worry about the affairs of the mansion. Therefore, in recent years, she no longer concerned herself with these trivial matters and only focused on enjoying life and passing the time.

But that doesn't mean she's confused or doesn't understand anything.

Seeing Princess Rongjia pause, Wang Shanxi's wife stepped forward again to speak, but Old Madam Song glared at her fiercely. "I'm asking the princess, not you. You always interrupt your mistress, so who is the mistress, you or the princess?"

Thinking of the ruined reputation of the Marquis's mansion, Old Madam Song was furious and no longer gave him any face.

Wang Shanxi's wife's brow twitched violently, and she quickly knelt down, "Reporting to the old lady, this old servant dares not be presumptuous, but..."

"Shut up! The master hasn't spoken yet, when is it your turn to speak? Princess, answer my question: did you raise the rent, or is it because of a poor harvest this year?" Old Madam Song's voice grew louder and louder as she questioned through gritted teeth.

Princess Rongjia couldn't sit still any longer. She hurriedly stood up, her eyes darting around. "Reporting to the old lady, a few days ago, someone came to say that this year's harvest wasn't very good and they wanted to reduce the rent. But I've looked at the old accounts. In the past fourteen years, Sister Cui reduced the rent for seven years. Is it because Sister Cui is kind-hearted, or are those tenant farmers deliberately lying because they think the master is easy to talk to?"

She deliberately steered the conversation towards Cui Lingrong, "Therefore, I was thinking that in previous years the Marquis's mansion had been lenient with them, but this year the mansion has lost a large sum of money from the cloth shop. If the rent is reduced further, wouldn't that affect your and the Marquis's lives? I suppose the tenant farmers have some savings, so they didn't agree."

At this point, she knelt down, her words earnest, "I really didn't know they would be so unreasonable. The other day when Li Fugui came to our mansion, I even had Wang Shanxi's wife go and explain things to him. Everyone, just hang in there, things will definitely be better next year. Old Madam, I'm a new bride, and I really don't know much about the people and things in the Marquis's mansion. I'm afraid... I'm afraid they're just taking advantage of me because I'm new here, that's why they're making such a fuss."

As she finished speaking, she raised her hand to wipe away her tears.

Princess Rongjia's every word implied that the tenant farmers were not familiar with her and might be colluding with others to cause trouble. And this "others," without a doubt, was Cui Lingrong, whom Princess Rongjia was referring to.

Grandma Song turned her head and saw that Cui remained calm and composed, showing no sign of emotion.

Of all the people Old Madam Song had met, the one who remained calmest in the face of trouble was Cui.

Sometimes, even Old Madam Song felt that Cui was like a clay idol; even though she knew about Princess Rongjia's existence, she never made a big fuss.

But the more Cui acted this way, the less she could figure out what Cui was thinking.

After listening to Princess Rongjia's explanation, Old Madam Song gradually realized that the matter was definitely related to Princess Rongjia, after all, she was in charge of the household affairs of Princess Rongjia. As for whether Cui was involved, that remains to be verified.

Seeing that Cui remained silent, Old Madam Song took the initiative to ask, "Cui, you've managed the household for many years. Do you think those tenant farmers are truly unable to pay their rent, or are they deliberately causing trouble?"

"This..." Cui Lingrong pretended to think, "This daughter-in-law doesn't know either. After all, I haven't been involved in the affairs of the manor since I returned home. I thought that since the old lady and the marquis trust the princess, the princess will definitely be able to manage these matters well."

do not know?

Old Mrs. Song didn't quite believe it. Cui had been managing the household for many years, and there were many people from Cui's family in the Marquis's mansion. How could they not know anything?

Cui Lingrong, anticipating the old lady's thoughts, paused before continuing, "However, a few days ago, a tenant farmer, unable to bear seeing the princess, came to me for help. According to Li Fugui, this year's yield is only half of previous years, and he simply cannot pay the full rent. He asked me to plead for him, and I told him to go to the princess, since she is the one in charge of the household, and I shouldn't overstep my bounds. Later, I learned that Wang Shanxi's wife had met with Li Fugui, and I thought the princess should have appeased Li Fugui, so I didn't tell you about it."

She emphasized the words when she said that Li Fugui could not see Princess Rongjia.

They were the ones who took away her power. Since the old lady and Song Shulan wanted to give Princess Rongjia face, she would act sensibly. Anyway, it was them who wouldn't let her interfere, so it wasn't her fault.

Unable to find any loopholes in Cui Lingrong's case, Old Madam Song had no choice but to send her trusted confidant back with Liu Zhuangtou. She couldn't trust either Princess Rongjia or Cui Shi now and had to send her own people to investigate.

Princess Rongjia suggested that Wang Shanxi's wife go along as well, saying, "After all, it's the daughter-in-law who manages the household. With something like this happening, she has an unshirkable responsibility. Let Wang Shanxi's wife go with us so that we can make amends where necessary, and so that the daughter-in-law can know exactly what happened and handle the aftermath properly."

She knew the old lady was very angry, and if things weren't handled properly, the old lady might be disappointed in her. She had to send one of her people along so they wouldn't be misled.

Old Madam Song had no objection; after all, she was the head of Rongjia County's household management, and she couldn't very well refuse Princess Rongjia's request. However, she also went to see Madam Cui, saying, "You should send someone with you. You've been in charge in previous years, and the people on the estate respect you quite a bit. Perhaps they can calm things down because of you."

The daughters-in-law may fight amongst themselves within the household, but if their actions damage the reputation of the Marquis's mansion, they must stop. No one, regardless of who they are, can tarnish the Marquis's reputation.

Cui Lingrong looked troubled. "The old lady thinks too highly of her daughter-in-law. The tenant farmers only give face to whoever is in charge. If I, an idle person, were to send someone to interfere, who would the tenant farmers listen to?"

Grandma Song was a little unhappy.

Cui Lingrong continued to explain, "Listen to me, where would that leave the princess's face? But the tenant farmers only care about listening to the princess. Although I don't manage affairs and don't like to fight, I am still Xuan-ge'er and the others' mother, I..." She spoke with difficulty, "I also need to have some dignity to stand in the Marquis's mansion, don't you think?"

Hearing her say that, Old Madam Song could no longer insist and sent someone to the estate to see what was going on.

Princess Rongjia was filled with apprehension, but fortunately, before leaving, Wang Shanxi's wife reassured her, "Don't worry, with this old servant here, no matter what kind of demons or monsters they are, this old servant can make them shut up. Since that person from Qiushuangzhai isn't interfering, as long as we deal with the old lady's people, it shouldn't be difficult."

"It's a good thing I have you, otherwise I really wouldn't have anyone I could use." Princess Rongjia sighed, still feeling uneasy after watching Wang Shanxi's wife leave.

She always felt that this matter was not simple.

Cui Lingrong seemed to know what was good for her, not caring about anything or sending anyone to the estate, but her intuition told her that Cui Lingrong was definitely planning something big.