Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

"Your brother-in-law is so sure our sister can't leave the Marquis's mansion, he doesn't care about her at all," Xie Yunting said, indignant on behalf of Sister Cui. "If you ask me, he deserves to be taught a lesson. Should I find a chance to beat him up?"

"I've already hit him once, but I can't cripple or kill him. No matter what I do, I won't feel any better." Cui Zeyu shook his head. As long as Song Shulan is alive, he will continue to cause trouble.

Xie Yunting agreed, "Although I'm not afraid of trouble, I still can't kill people. You just wait, if I catch him doing something wrong, I'll definitely report him to the authorities!"

Cui Zeyu thought for a moment. Song Shulan wasn't very capable; his promotion was mostly thanks to Prince Rong. "Instead of suing him, you should sue Prince Rong. He's currently fawning over Princess Rongjia because of Prince Rong, isn't he?"

"You're right, but while Prince Rong is a bit high-profile, he doesn't have any dirt on him," Xie Yunting said, adding that there's plenty of time.

It was getting late, so Xie Yunting decided to stay at Cui Zeyu's place.

The next day, Cui Zeyu went to the cloth shop. He didn't go to his sister to tell her about it; he didn't want to upset her. He knew that only by becoming more powerful could he help her.

Cui Lingrong had been busy for several days, and she planned to take a day off. She asked the kitchen staff to slaughter two sika deer and roast the venison in the pavilion.

The pavilion is sheltered from the wind by straw mats, and the charcoal fire provides warmth inside without making it stuffy.

Cui Lingrong extended invitations to the second and third wives, including Old Madam Song.

However, Grandma Song is afraid of the cold, so she didn't come. Instead, she asked Mama Xu to bring a jar of fruit wine. "Grandma Song said she wouldn't come to join in the fun. This plum wine is sweet and sour, perfect for roasting venison."

"Please thank the old lady for me. Since you're here, Mama Xu, please have a couple of pieces to eat first." As soon as Cui Lingrong finished speaking, Caixia, with great insight, took a plate and served the venison.

The aroma of roasting food whetted her appetite, and Madam Xu subconsciously swallowed, then smiled and ate two pieces. "Thank you for the treat, Madam. I'll head back now. You all have a good time."

After Xu's mother left, Huadie arrived.

Everyone was surprised to see her.

"I know I can't eat, but I couldn't resist coming over to talk to my sisters since everyone is playing." As Huadie spoke, she deliberately touched her stomach. She walked to Aunt Zhang's side and gestured for Aunt Zhang to give her a seat.

She is now pregnant, making her far more distinguished than Aunt Zhang.

After sitting down, he said to Aunt Zhang, "Thank you for pouring me a cup of tea, sister. I'm salivating just from the smell, but I can't eat it."

Jiang interjected, "Oh, you're a concubine, and so is Concubine Zhang. Why are you ordering people around? Concubine Zhang, please sit down. There are so many people serving you in the pavilion, are they all deaf?"

Jiang disliked Huadie's attitude the most. So what if she's pregnant? What's she showing off?

Upon hearing this, Caixia hurriedly went to pour tea.

Hua Die was scolded by Jiang Shi, but she didn't dare to talk back. So she took her anger out on Cai Xia, saying, "Cai Xia, what's wrong with you? How can you drink something so hot?"

"Sister Huadie, if the tea is too hot, just wait a moment. Why make things difficult for the servants?" Aunt Zhang couldn't help but say.

Hua Die scoffed, "The eldest madam hasn't said anything, when did it become your place to tell me what to do?" She turned to look at her, "Eldest madam, you seem to be in a good mood today. If only I weren't pregnant, I would love to eat roasted venison too."

Cui Lingrong looked at her with a forced smile, "Hua Die, being pregnant doesn't mean you can be so arrogant and belittle others. You don't need to be resentful. I am the wife, and you are the concubine. In front of me, you must behave properly and apologize to Aunt Zhang."

Aunt Zhang didn't want to cause trouble, so she said, "Never mind, Madam."

"It's not just for you today, but the rules of the Marquis's manor cannot be broken," Cui Lingrong insisted, looking at Huadie. "What, does my word not carry weight?"

"Grandma, I..." With so many people watching, Huadie didn't want to apologize. Aunt Zhang was old and faded, how could she compare to her? But with Grandma staring at her, she felt very guilty and had no choice but to get up and apologize to Aunt Zhang.

She was too ashamed to stay any longer and stormed off with Bai Tao.

As soon as she stepped out of the pavilion, Jiang said sarcastically, "Such a petty person. You have the ability to get pregnant, but you also have the ability to give birth. Once you give birth, you can keep your own child. That's what real ability is. Don't swagger around here. Don't end up being used as a tool by others. That would be a real joke."

Jiang had no children and hated it most when people acted arrogantly because they were pregnant.

Hearing this, Huadie was furious and came back. "Second Madam, are you really that mean? You don't have children, so you don't understand the suffering of us mothers."

These words struck a nerve with Jiang. "You bitch! Who doesn't have children? It's people like you who talk behind my back and ruin my luck. So what if you're pregnant? It's nothing special. She's just an illegitimate child, yet she dares to challenge me! Sister-in-law, if you don't deal with her today, I'm not done with this!"

Cui Lingrong had hoped to have a relaxing day, but Huadie had caused her trouble. She sighed and said, "Huadie, you are a concubine. You need to know your place. Apologize to the Second Madam."

"I...I won't!" Hua Die felt she had done nothing wrong and ran away feeling wronged.

Bai Tao chased after her, fearing something might happen to her master.

Jiang chased after him to the outside of the pavilion, yelling, "Why are you running? Aren't you ashamed to show your face?"

She returned to the pavilion, grumbling, "What bad luck! Everyone was having a good time, but she had to come and cause trouble. Sister-in-law, even if someone like that has a child, we can't let her raise it. We don't want her to spoil our Marquis's child."

"This is not something you or I can worry about." As soon as Cui Lingrong finished speaking, everyone present understood what she meant. Hua Die was Princess Rongjia's person, and whoever wanted to keep her was up to Princess Rongjia.

However, Hua Die was indeed rude today, so Cui Lingrong asked Qiu Mama to come over and say, "Please convey my message: Hua Die is to be confined to her room for a month. She's not even three months pregnant yet, so let her stay in her room and rest properly until she's three months along before coming out."

At this moment, Huadie ran to Wutong Garden to complain.

"Waaah, Princess, you must stand up for me! Second Madam actually cursed me so that I wouldn't be able to have a child!" Hua Die said, becoming more and more aggrieved. "I didn't disrespect her at all. I just asked Aunt Zhang to pour me a cup of tea, and she said that about me."

Princess Rongjia lay on her side eating an apple, looking at Huadie as if she were a fool. "People said you couldn't eat it because you're pregnant, but you insisted on going anyway. If they don't humiliate you, who else can they humiliate?"

"Princess, I'm just so bored," Huadie explained.

"You think being bored gives you the right to risk a child's life?" Princess Rongjia's face immediately darkened when she learned that Huadie had run all the way here. "If you trip and fall, it's a small matter if you hurt yourself, but if anything happens to the child, you'll be sorry!"

"Princess..."

"Stop making noise, it's giving me a headache." These days, Huadie keeps hanging around Princess Rongjia, and she's getting annoyed with it.

Chen De's wife came over and said, "After what happened today, you should understand even more clearly that everyone else is an outsider. You came from Wutong Garden, and only the Princess is of one mind with you."

"I know that." Hua Die wanted Princess Rongjia to stand up for her. If she couldn't touch the eldest mistress, she could at least teach the second mistress a lesson.

"Now that you know, you should take good care of yourself." Chen De's wife was also worried that Hua Die might have a miscarriage. "This old servant has already sent someone to fetch a doctor. Now that you're here, please take her pulse."

Hua Die thought to herself, "It's the princess who truly cares about me. Even if the princess has to raise my child, I'm willing, as long as she can see the child every day. After all, if the child stays with the princess, it will become a legitimate child and receive support from the Rong Prince's Mansion."

Before the doctor arrived, Qiu's mother came first.

Hua Die was indignant. "It was clearly Second Madam who cursed my child first, so why is First Madam only punishing me?"

Madam Qiu said calmly, "If you're not satisfied, you can go find the Marquis and the Old Madam. The Princess is here too, so you can have her go find the Eldest Madam."

Princess Rongjia didn't want to cause trouble for Huadie, so she said dismissively, "Alright, Huadie, stop making a fuss. Madam wants you to take good care of yourself during your pregnancy, so just stay in your room and don't run around."

She only regretted that she couldn't have children, otherwise she would have taken meticulous care of them, unlike Huadie who was so careless. If anything happened to Huadie's child, she would make sure Huadie never saw the sun rise again.