Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

Cui Zeyu was clearly pushed aside, and glanced at Song Shulan with displeasure, "Brother-in-law, I thought you weren't coming."

"I promised your sister yesterday, didn't she tell you?" Song Shulan felt the space was a bit small and asked Cui Zeyu to move to the side a little more.

Cui Zeyu didn't move, but Cui Lingrong went to talk to the others.

Song Shulan and Cui Zeyu had nothing to say to each other. After a while, Song Shulan went to Cui Lingrong's side and asked him where he should sit.

"The Marquis's seat has been reserved. I'll have Caixia take you there." Song Shulan had barely finished speaking when Cui Lingrong was asked to come along, but she refused, "How can I go to the men's section?"

Song Shulan thought about it and agreed, so she reluctantly followed Caixia.

It wasn't until they sat down that they realized Xie Yunting was also there.

When the two met, neither wanted to give the other a friendly look. Xie Yunting's first words were sarcastic: "I thought Lord Song looked down on businessmen and wouldn't come."

"Here I am!"

"Yes, they only arrived halfway through the meal. That's really considerate."

As Xie Yunting spoke, he raised his glass and drank with the others, ignoring Song Shulan.

At the table, there were also businessmen who wanted to curry favor with Song Shulan, but Song Shulan looked down on businessmen. He casually took a couple of bites and then got up to go find Cui Lingrong.

At this moment, Cui Lingrong was chatting with Yuan Mingzhu. They rarely saw each other, so it was only on days like this that they could talk about what had been happening recently.

"When my father-in-law found out about General Xie's engagement, he was furious for a long time, saying that it was a good deal for old man Qin." Yuan Mingzhu said with a laugh, "In his eyes, General Xie is a hot commodity. Without General Xie, he told the eldest son and his wife to find a husband for Fang'er themselves, and he didn't care anymore."

Cui Lingrong asked, "So, which family does your sister-in-law want to marry Fang'er off to?"

"I heard she also wants to curry favor with the Qin family, but I don't know if they'll give her that kind of face," Yuan Mingzhu said, touching her belly. "I'm definitely having a girl this time; I haven't had any symptoms at all, she's very well-behaved."

"That's not necessarily true. When I was pregnant with Yu'er, I suffered from discomfort for a long time."

"Pah, pah, pah! If I have another son, you'll have to give me back Yu-jie!" Yuan Mingzhu already has two sons, but she still wants a daughter.

The two sisters chatted and laughed, and eventually the topic turned to Yuan Yuzhu. "The Duchess of Dingguo and my sister had a falling out, and she even put pressure on the Yuan family to force my sister to stay in the Duke of Dingguo's mansion."

"What should we do then?" The Qin family is powerful, and now that they have formed a marriage alliance with Xie Yunting, the Duchess of Dingguo is even more confident. Cui Lingrong couldn't help but worry, "If the Duchess of Dingguo secretly sabotages your sister and ruins her reputation, even if she goes to Suzhou, she may find it difficult to remarry."

Yuan Mingzhu snorted coldly, "She wouldn't dare. My sister hasn't lived in the Duke of Dingguo's mansion for nothing all these years. The Duchess of Dingguo has dirty hands. If she doesn't let my sister have an easy time, then so be it, we'll both die."

As they were talking, Yuan Mingzhu saw Song Shulan arrive. She disliked Song Shulan now, so she naturally stopped smiling. "Congratulations, Lord Song. I heard you're going to be a father again."

Song Shulan glanced at Cui Lingrong, smiled at Yuan Mingzhu, and said he was going back.

"Leaving so soon?" Cui Lingrong stood up and said, "Indeed, Your Excellency is busy with official duties, so you should go back first."

Song Shulan didn't move; his intention was for Cui Lingrong to be with him.

Cui Lingrong pretended not to understand Song Shulan's meaning, "I am Zeyu's older sister, and I have to wait until the guests leave before I return to the Marquis's residence. I understand that Your Excellency has other matters to attend to."

The more magnanimous she was, the more uneasy Song Shulan felt.

When he returned to the Marquis's residence, he happened to run into his younger brother. He called his brother into the study and gave him a good scolding, "You should at least be more ambitious. How can the Marquis's residence support the family business if I'm the only one supporting it?"

"Big brother, I've tried my best." Song Shucheng said with a grin, not taking it seriously. "But I know my limitations. I don't have the ability to get promoted or make a fortune. That's how my life will be. Don't worry about me. As long as you work hard and improve yourself, I can benefit from your success in the future."

"Foolish!" Song Shulan slammed her hand on the table angrily. "Look at the state you've become! You're obsessed with women all day long. If you continue like this, I'll tell Mother to make sure you don't have a single penny left. Let's see how you eat, drink, and have fun then!"

"No, brother, what's wrong with you today?" Song Shucheng then realized that his brother was in a bad mood. He had run into his brother who was angry, and he was just having a really bad day.

"I was talking about you, why are you asking me?" Song Shulan really hoped her younger brother could be more ambitious; the two brothers could support each other and go further together. "I'm seriously warning you, don't cause me any trouble, or I'll really make your life miserable!"

Song Shucheng was in a bad mood when he suddenly remembered what Jiang had told him: today was Cui Zeyu's housewarming party. Could it be that his elder brother had gone to Cui Zeyu's house?

He tried asking, "Brother, did you get bullied by Cui Zeyu?"

"Who is he? Does he dare to make me feel bad?" Song Shulan said irritably.

Seeing his elder brother's reaction, Song Shucheng mustered his courage and continued to ask, "Could it be your sister-in-law? That shouldn't be the case. Your sister-in-law always gives in to you, she has such a good temper, she never argues with you, how could she make you so angry?"

Song Shulan clicked his tongue. "You're a grown man, why are you so talkative? Get out of here and go back to reflect on your actions. Don't get in my way!"

Upon hearing this, Song Shucheng quickly left, fearing that his elder brother would scold him again.

Back at the second house, Song Shucheng complained to Jiang about his elder brother, "He's in a bad mood, so he takes it out on me. But he came back so early, all alone. Do you think his wife and he had a falling out?"

"How could that be? My sister-in-law is the kind of person who wouldn't argue with you even if the sky were to fall, let alone with my brother." Jiang thought for a moment, "It's probably just that my brother is upset."

"How so?"

"Haven't you noticed that ever since Princess Rongjia married into the family, my sister-in-law hasn't been as considerate and affectionate towards my brother?"

Song Shucheng nodded thoughtfully, "I understand. My sister-in-law is more interested in taking care of Cui Zeyu's new house than in showing concern for my brother. He's jealous."

At this point, Song Shucheng laughed heartily, "He's dreaming too much. He married a concubine and expects his sister-in-law to treat him the same way as before? How is that possible?"

Jiang nodded in agreement. If Song Shucheng were to marry a concubine, she would fight him with a knife, let alone fawn over him.

"As expected, the eldest brother is the most greedy, wanting both. Unlike me, I know in my heart that no matter what happens outside, you are still the most important to me, my wife." Song Shucheng said, moving closer to Jiang Shi. Recently, Jiang Shi has learned to be submissive, which he finds very pleasing.

Jiang retorted angrily, "You...you're shameless!"

"What would I do with that thing? I want to die under the peony in this life." He said as he took off Jiang's clothes and touched a soft spot.

"It's daytime!" Jiang reluctantly went along with Song Shucheng. She no longer wanted to confront him directly. The doctor said that her body could still be treated, and it would be best for her to conceive a child on her own.

Song Shulan was feeling very depressed. He went to Fanlou for drinks and happened to run into his friend Gao Jingzhi.

After a few drinks, Song Shulan complained to Gao Jingzhi, "The Cui family treats me much worse than before. They seem concerned and ask after me, but they no longer put me first. Today when I went to the Cui residence, she didn't even say 'you've had a hard time.' Do you think she's just trying to spite me, waiting for me to coax her?"

Gao Jingzhi and Song Shulan have known each other since childhood. They were classmates and colleagues, and the two had a close relationship.

Seeing Song Shulan drinking and complaining, he knew that Song Shulan still had feelings for Cui Shi, and advised, "If that's the case, why don't you try to coax her?"

"I coaxed her and even gave her the land. She's the one who's become petty!" Song Shulan said indignantly.

He's already like this, does Cui Lingrong expect him to keep bowing and scraping forever?

How is that possible!

"To be honest, your sudden marriage to a second wife will surely break your sister-in-law's heart. Since she returned from her funeral, you still expect her to be the same as before? How is that possible?" Gao Jingzhi shook his head as he spoke. Every family has its own troubles. "If you continue like this, be careful that your sister-in-law doesn't want you anymore. Then it will be too late to regret it."

"She doesn't want me? Absolutely not!" Song Shulan said confidently. "We've been married for over ten years and have three children together. How could she possibly not want me?"

At this point, Song Shulan suddenly felt a little relieved.

That's true, Cui Lingrong can't leave him, so what does he have to worry about?

Gao Jingzhi asked, "Is that true?"

"Of course, I never make decisions I'll regret. Having agreed to marry Princess Rongjia, I knew the Cui family would never leave me." Song Shulan didn't want to talk about it anymore, so she picked up her wine cup and offered it to Gao Jingzhi. "Come, come, it's my treat today! Drink with me to your heart's content!"

Little did they know, Xie Yunting had overheard their conversation.

Xie Yunting thought to himself that Sister Cui was such a good person, it was really a mistake for her to marry the wrong person. He felt sorry for Sister Cui and thought he would have to talk to Zeyu about it later.

No, he can't wait until another day.

Xie Yunting immediately went to the Cui residence to complain to Cui Zeyu.