Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

The old lady wanted Cui Lingrong to calm things down, but Cui Lingrong didn't rush to speak because Princess Rongjia had arrived.

Princess Rongjia was in charge. Fearing that Cui Lingrong would blame everything on her, she hurriedly brought Wang Shanxi's wife over. When she saw that it was Xie Yunting who was causing trouble, a look of disdain flashed in Princess Rongjia's eyes.

"General Xie, please don't be angry. If there is anything that the Marquis's residence has done poorly in its hospitality, please feel free to speak up." Because Song Shulan was there, and with Wang Shanxi's wife's reminder, Princess Rongjia suppressed her anger and said with a smile, "There are many people who have come to the Marquis's residence today, so there may be times when we are negligent. Please forgive us."

Xie Yunting chuckled. He heard someone say that this was Princess Rongjia, and raised an eyebrow. "Is the Marquis's residence in charge of the Princess's affairs?"

Princess Rongjia said yes.

"Alright, since you're in charge, let me speak to you." Xie Yunting, with his feet propped on the stool, grinned slyly. "If it's a mistake, one or two crabs with broken legs is understandable. But all of these tables have them. In our village, even a landlord wouldn't serve a chicken with a missing leg. Are you looking down on us, unwilling to put on a show?"

"How could this be!" Princess Rongjia gritted her teeth. If the oxcart carrying autumn crabs hadn't been hit, how could this have happened?

Song Shulan added, "General Xie, you're exaggerating. Our Jiangyuan Marquis's mansion has been established in Bianjing for a century; how could we possibly do something so shameful?"

"The facts are right before our eyes. There are still many people who haven't had a chance to eat. If Lord Song doesn't believe me, he can go and see for himself." Xie Yunting chuckled coldly. "When I pointed out that there was a problem with the autumn crabs and that their quality wasn't top-notch, your servant said that's how it was, acting as if I'd never seen anything like it. Yes, I come from a poor background and haven't seen much of the world. So this is how your Marquis's mansion treats its guests!"

Xie Yunting kicked the stool and turned to leave.

Song Shulan was in a real bind. If Xie Yunting just left like that, the Marquis's mansion would be talked about to death.

He hurriedly stepped forward to apologize to Xie Yunting, "I'm so sorry, my family has been busy today. My servant certainly didn't mean to neglect his duties. Since General Xie is here, why don't you stay for a cup of tea? Let's keep things peaceful."

Princess Rongjia couldn't bring herself to beg Xie Yunting again. With so many people watching, wouldn't she be laughed at for bowing down to a scoundrel?

Wang Shanxi's wife was getting anxious, so she had to speak up for her mistress, "Yes, General Xie, every guest was invited sincerely by the Marquis's mansion, and there is absolutely no intention to belittle them."

"Then let me ask you, is this the kind of autumn crab you serve to your guests?" Xie Yunting's eyes were full of sarcasm.

At this moment, Cui Zeyu, who had come closer, said quietly, "In previous years, when my sister was in charge, no matter who it was, they were always treated to the finest autumn crabs. I don't know why this year is different."

Just now, Princess Rongjia publicly admitted that she was in charge.

Those who frequently attended the Autumn Banquet at the Marquis of Jiangyuan's residence knew that Cui Zeyu was right, but they dared not offend Princess Rongjia, so only a few nodded, and no one responded.

Song Shulan glared at him coldly. He had never liked Cui Zeyu. What was Cui Zeyu, a piece of trash he had picked up? How dare he stir up trouble here!

Cui Zeyu pretended not to notice and continued, "There's a sweet soup place near Fanlou. Would General Xie like to go together and cool off?"

Xie Yunting immediately agreed, thinking that Cui Zeyu was a straightforward person.

At this moment, Song Shulan went to look at Cui Lingrong, "This is the good younger brother you raised!"

Cui Lingrong had no choice but to step forward. "Zeyu, don't be ridiculous." She walked to her younger brother's side and nodded slightly to Xie Yunting. "General Xie, please wait. The Marquis's mansion treats everyone equally and has prepared the finest autumn crabs for everyone."

While Cui Lingrong was speaking, Qiu Mama, accompanied by a group of maids and servants, brought over steamed, top-quality autumn crabs.

Cui Lingrong said, "Every year there are some losses during transportation. These crabs with missing limbs are meant for the servants. This year it was indeed a mistake by the Marquis's residence to serve the wrong crabs. Please forgive us, General."

The person in front of him spoke gently and logically, and looking down, he saw a face as beautiful as a flower. Xie Yunting looked at the plump autumn crabs on the table, but he wasn't buying it. "Whether it was a real mistake or we want to make amends now, you know best in your hearts."

Xie Yunting still wanted to leave. He was a man of spontaneity; flipping the table meant he was unhappy and wouldn't force himself to stay.

The Marquis of Jiangyuan's mansion couldn't keep Xie Yunting, but with good autumn crabs to make up for it, everyone would naturally give them face and treat it as a misunderstanding.

Song Shulan was still unfamiliar with the kitchen, but seeing that top-quality autumn crabs had been added, she breathed a slight sigh of relief and went on to greet the guests one by one.

Princess Rongjia felt uneasy. She hadn't ordered that many top-quality autumn crabs. Where did Cui Lingrong find them?

After a brief incident, everyone quickly resumed their drinking and merrymaking.

After the banquet ended, Xu's mother came looking for someone. Qiu's mother said, "Grandma was forced to drink alcohol and ate too much cold food. She probably had a food craving and vomited several times. Is the old lady going to ask you some questions? I'll go back with you. Just ask me about Grandma's matter."

When Xu's mother heard a "vomiting" sound coming from inside the house, it seemed that the eldest grandmother had indeed eaten something by mistake, so she took Qiu's mother to Shou'an Hall.

When they arrived, Song Shulan and Princess Rongjia were also there.

Today, Old Mrs. Song even called over people from the second and third branches of the family. Clearly, Old Mrs. Song was very angry.

Upon learning that Cui Lingrong had accidentally eaten something, Old Madam Song stared at Qiu Mama and said, "You tell me, how did Cui prepare so many autumn crabs?"

Just now, Old Madam Song questioned Princess Rongjia and then questioned everyone in the main kitchen. She learned that the autumn crabs sent to the main kitchen were indeed divided into top-grade and medium-grade, not all top-grade. In addition, Jiang Shi also knew about the unexpected incident when the crabs with broken legs were served.

By now, the Jiang couple had been kneeling for half an hour. Jiang's knees were aching and swollen, and she dared not push all the blame onto the princess. She felt very aggrieved.

Madam Qiu had already rehearsed her story with the eldest mistress. "When the head chef went to invite the princess, the eldest mistress sensed something was wrong and sent this old servant to inquire. We learned that the oxcart delivering the autumn crabs had been damaged. Since the eldest mistress wasn't in charge, she didn't know how many autumn crabs the princess had prepared, or whether there would be enough for the banquet after accounting for losses. Just in case, the eldest mistress sent Caixia to inquire with the crab merchants. It was autumn crab season, and most of them didn't have any stock. Fortunately, they were lucky; one crab merchant's autumn crabs were canceled by a buyer, which solved their immediate problem."

Everyone inside was looking at Qiu's mother. She represented Great-Grandma, and her words were Great-Grandma's words.

Wang Shanxi's family seized upon the loophole: "Even if we find the crab merchant, how could Grandma have foreseen that someone would cause trouble? That we would need to replenish the supply of new autumn crabs?"

"This is something that Madam did not foresee. But Madam knew that serving mid-grade autumn crabs to guests would definitely cause gossip, so she paid out of her own pocket to have the crabs delivered in advance. Madam was prepared for the sake of the Marquis's reputation. As for why she did not inform the Princess in advance, one reason was that the situation was urgent at that time, and General Xie had already made a fuss. If the crabs were not steamed, it would be impossible to silence the gossip. Another reason was that Madam was also afraid that the Princess would think she was meddling."

As Qiu's mother sighed, "The eldest madam longs for home and everything, but she is also truly afraid of being misunderstood by the princess."

This statement was both reasonable and well-founded.

Even Wang Shanxi's family couldn't find any illogical points in it for a while.

Princess Rongjia had been suspecting that Cui Lingrong had done something wrong, otherwise how could Cui Lingrong have made up for her mistake so quickly?

Now, facing Qiu's mother, Princess Rongjia felt as if her throat was blocked, and she couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Old Madam Song saw clearly that regardless of Cui Lingrong's later attempts to make amends or whether she schemed against Princess Rongjia, the cause of today's events was Princess Rongjia's withholding of money for autumn crabs.

Even a whole, mid-grade autumn crab would cause gossip about the Marquis's residence.

This time, even Song Shulan didn't speak up for Princess Rongjia.

"No, I..." Princess Rongjia looked at Song Shulan. She cared most about Song Shulan's feelings, but Song Shulan remained silent. Her heart was in turmoil.

She didn't buy the mid-grade autumn crabs on purpose; it's just that the family doesn't have enough money. The old lady knows the household is short of funds, but she still wants to hold an autumn banquet.

Today, everything costs money, from purchasing vegetables to hiring help from outside.

Princess Rongjia has already spent some money; if she buys only the finest autumn crabs, she will have to spend several hundred more taels of silver.

She was unwilling to spend the money.

Thinking that some people might not be able to distinguish between superior and medium-grade products, he instructed people to do this.

Old Madam Song didn't want to hear Princess Rongjia's explanation. She was now filled with regret, wishing she had let Cui Lingrong manage the household sooner. The mess that had happened today was utterly humiliating.

"Aunt Qiu"

"This old servant is here."

"Go with the princess to get the account books and keys. Starting tomorrow, we'll have Madam Cui in charge of the household," Old Madam Song said directly.

Madam Qiu looked troubled. "Old Madam, the doctor just took the eldest mistress's pulse and said she won't recover anytime soon. The eldest mistress asked me to pass on a message: everyone makes mistakes, and I hope the princess will learn from this experience. While the eldest mistress is recuperating, perhaps the second mistress could help manage the household with the princess. After all, the princess doesn't understand the situation in the Marquis's mansion, and the second mistress could offer some guidance."

Jiang, who was suddenly called out, subconsciously trembled.

Should she guide Princess Rongjia?

Princess Rongjia is in a fit of anger right now. Does Cui Lingrong want her to die quickly?