Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

Hearing the name of Princess Rongjia, Cui Lingrong became angry.

As a result, when Princess Rongjia learned that Song Zhizhi was coming back, she came to curry favor with the old lady. "What a coincidence, Sister Cui is here too. I hope you are well, old lady. I heard that Sister Zhizhi is coming back. I wonder what she likes. I thought I would like to ask you about it."

"You're so thoughtful, unlike some people." Old Mrs. Song glanced at Cui Lingrong out of the corner of her eye. She was particularly dissatisfied with Cui Lingrong in this respect. If Princess Rongjia hadn't been so bad at managing the household, she definitely wouldn't have let Cui Lingrong take charge.

Princess Rongjia feigned confusion, "Who is the old lady referring to?"

"Hmph, I know who I'm talking about in my heart." Old Madam Song still didn't say it directly, and began to tell Princess Rongjia about her daughter's preferences.

Princess Rongjia stood to the side, virtuous and considerate.

Cui Lingrong didn't want to sit there and watch the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law get along, so she got up and said goodbye.

"Remember what I said. Zhizhi is my only daughter, and I don't want her to suffer as soon as she comes back." After saying this, Old Madam Song looked at Princess Rongjia again.

Not long after Cui Lingrong left Shou'an Hall, Princess Rongjia followed her.

"Sister Cui, did you upset the old lady?" Princess Rongjia's eyes were full of amusement. "Why bother? The old lady dotes on her daughter. As her sister-in-law, what's wrong with spending a little money? Isn't your younger brother quite good at making money?"

"Speaking of this, I must thank you, Princess. If it weren't for you introducing business to my brother, his cloth wouldn't have been able to sell to those wealthy families." Cui Lingrong now realizes that every cloud has a silver lining. Although her brother lost money, maintaining his relationships with those families allowed his business to flourish in the future.

Princess Rongjia was taken aback. She hadn't expected Cui Lingrong to know. "These are all minor matters. We're family, let's not talk about this." She changed the subject. "But you should still pay more attention to Zhizhi's matter, so as not to affect the old lady's mood."

"I know what to do, so there's no need for you to worry about it, Princess." Cui Lingrong caught a glimpse of Huadie walking towards them from a distance and had an idea in mind. "Princess, you should worry more about the child in Huadie's womb."

Hearing the deliberate tone in Cui Lingrong's voice, Princess Rongjia immediately sensed that Cui Lingrong had ill intentions and subconsciously said, "Sister Cui, you don't need to worry about Huadie. I will take good care of her."

"Your Highness is so concerned; it seems you intend to raise this child. I'm curious, Your Highness, you can have your own children, so why are you fixated on Huadie's child?" Cui Lingrong spoke with a smile throughout. "If you have your own child later, what about this one? I don't believe the two can be the same. The child will depend on you, but if you become indifferent to him, wouldn't that be too heartless?"

Princess Rongjia didn't know why Cui Lingrong was talking so much today, but she couldn't afford to have a falling out with Cui Lingrong, so she forced herself to say, "I've already said, my affairs are none of your concern, Sister Cui."

"Princess, you just said we're all family. Huadie's child is also the Marquis's child. I am the Marquis's legal wife, so this child will have to call me 'Mother' from now on. Since he's also my child, I have to put in a little more effort." Cui Lingrong raised an eyebrow as she saw Huadie stop. "Huadie, didn't the old lady tell you not to come out until you're three months old?"

Hua Die looked at the eldest mistress, then at Princess Rongjia, "This concubine...this concubine is almost three months pregnant."

"Then you should still be careful. It's still chilly in early spring, and you're pregnant, so be careful of slippery surfaces." Cui Lingrong walked to Huadie's side. "You should thank the princess. She's worried a lot about the child in your womb."

Patting Hua Die on the shoulder, Cui Lingrong smiled and said, "However, the princess has never given birth, so there are many things she doesn't understand. If you have any questions, feel free to have someone come to Qiushuangzhai to find me."

As Cui Lingrong walked away, Huadie remained stunned.

It wasn't until Chen De's wife arrived that Hua Die snapped out of her daze. "Aunt Chen, what did you say?"

"The princess asked this old servant to ask you why you came out here?" Seeing that Hua Die's expression was not good, Chen De's wife was afraid that Hua Die would overthink it, so she added, "Don't listen to the eldest mistress's nonsense. You are someone from Wutong Courtyard. If you are well, the princess will also be honored, which is why the princess takes extra care of you."

"Hmm." Hua Die nodded. Seeing the princess looking at her, and since the eldest mistress had brought it up today, she decided to get to the bottom of it. "Princess...Princess, the eldest mistress said you want to raise my child, is that true?"

Princess Rongjia was already annoyed by Cui Lingrong, and now seeing Huadie's lack of tact, she frowned and asked, "You don't want to?"

Hua Die wanted her child to be with her, but she also wanted the child to have a good background by following Princess Rongjia, so she was very conflicted.

However, the eldest mistress raised a question that she herself didn't understand: "If the child could stay with the princess, with the princess's abilities, she would surely raise the child better. I'm just curious, why doesn't the eldest mistress wait until her own child is born?"

This topic again.

Princess Rongjia became furious upon hearing this.

If she were capable of having children, why would she wait for that idiot Huadie to bear her child?

Seeing that Princess Rongjia was about to get angry, Chen De's wife spoke up first, "In wealthy families, children born out of wedlock are raised by their legal mothers. This is a great favor. Don't think too much about it, Aunt."

She went to check on Bai Tao, saying, "It's windy here, why don't you hurry and help your aunt back?"

Only then did Bai Tao dare to step forward.

Hua Die wanted to ask something more, but Bai Tao pulled her away.

Back inside, Huadie still couldn't understand. "Why is the princess keeping such a close eye on my child?"

To say that the princess is magnanimous is absolutely impossible.

Hua Die was a maid who accompanied the princess during her dowry. She served the princess for a period of time. When the princess lost her temper, no one in the Wutong Courtyard dared to utter a sound.

Bai Tao was more intelligent, but she had already given up on saving her master. "Don't overthink it. Didn't Mother Chen say that it's an honor for your child to grow up with the princess?"

"But Ling'er from the second branch of the family follows Aunt Meng, which shows that the Marquis's mansion does not have this custom." Hua Die couldn't help but think more, but no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't figure it out.

Meanwhile, Princess Rongjia returned to Wutong Courtyard. Thinking of Cui Lingrong's words, she angrily cursed, "What do you think Cui Lingrong meant? Could it be that she intends to attack me?"

Chen De's wife said it was uncertain, "If the eldest madam wanted to take action, she would have done it long ago, she wouldn't have waited until now."

Wang Hechun's family had a different view: "The eldest mistress knows that the princess is going to raise Concubine Huadie's child, so she definitely won't tolerate this child. She just didn't have the chance before. What she just said was probably to deliberately sow discord when she saw Concubine Huadie coming over."

Princess Rongjia agreed with what Wang Hechun's wife said, "Cui Lingrong seems like a good person, but her methods are more ruthless than anyone else's. She couldn't possibly be watching me have a child. Wang Hechun's wife, you should go and check on Huadie every day and make sure she gives birth safely."

Wang Hechun's wife smugly agreed, while Chen De's wife smiled and said, "Trying to compete with her? Don't you even know your own abilities?"

After Wang Hechun's family left, Princess Rongjia asked again, "Didn't I have someone burn down Cui Zeyu's cloth shop? How come it's still open?"

"Your Highness, it seems that Cui Zeyu has sought help from the wife of the heir of the Duke of Dingguo's family," said Chen De's wife. "His business won't fall through anytime soon."

"Then let's put in more effort. Cui Zeyu is just a merchant. The Cui family has never acknowledged him as their son. Only Cui Lingrong protects him. Even if he finds new cloth, we must ruin his cloth shop. Go find a reliable person and do as I say." Princess Rongjia beckoned to Chen De's wife and whispered a few instructions, "It would be best to teach Cui Zeyu a lesson. Breaking his arm would be even better."

Chen Dejia agreed, saying, "If something happens to Cui Zeyu, the eldest madam will be out of money. Let's see how she manages things then."

"Yes, I want to see how much she values ​​this adopted brother." Princess Rongjia snorted coldly, feeling relieved at the thought of Cui Zeyu's fate.

As for Cui Lingrong, she went to the second branch of the family to find Jiang Shi.

"Why did you come here, sister-in-law?" Jiang looked haggard and was quite surprised by Cui Lingrong's arrival.

"Sister You is coming to Bianjing soon, so I came to tell you," Cui Lingrong said, her eyes lowered. "If you keep this gloomy attitude, aren't you just making others happy?"

Jiang felt frustrated. Ever since He Pingping became pregnant, the Second Master had been going to He Pingping's place every day and hadn't come to her once. "What can I do? How can I possibly be happy?"

"Then you really are useless," Cui Lingrong scoffed. "It's just a concubine getting pregnant, and there's no guarantee she'll give birth to a son. You're already crying behind closed doors; how are you going to fight anyone?"

If there were other people available in the Marquis's mansion, Cui Lingrong really wouldn't want to look for Jiang Shi.

Upon seeing Jiang Shi Wang Guokai, Cui Lingrong raised her eyebrows and said, "Even if you have a son, won't you follow Princess Rongjia's example? You are the legitimate mother."

"What does sister-in-law mean?" Jiang didn't understand.

"If you don't understand, that's fine. I'm not going to beat around the bush with you today. I need you to pass on a message to Huadie." Cui Lingrong beckoned to Jiang Shi. Even though she was scheming, she remained dignified and elegant. She pursed her thin lips and directly threatened Jiang Shi, "If you're unwilling, I'll have Sister You change her route and go straight back to Suzhou."