Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

At the Jiangyuan Marquis's residence, Song Shulan was most annoyed by the infighting within the household, but since the old lady had spoken, he had no choice but to come to Qiushuangzhai after lunch.

Seeing that Yu Jie'er was also there, Song Shulan didn't give her a good look.

Before Song Shulan could sit down, Cui Lingrong spoke first, "Did you come here because of Sister Zhizhi, Lord Marquis?"

"So you do know that?" Song Shulan's eyes darted back and forth between Cui Lingrong and Song Shulan. "You hit her and then left with Yu'er. Where do you think you're putting Mother's face?"

Song Shulan sighed, "Yu'er, you too, your aunt finally came back, why did you have to snatch that hairpin?"

"Why is Father blaming me?" Song Yu retorted, "If my aunt liked my hairpin, she could have asked me where it was made, and I would have told her the truth. She didn't even ask; she just grabbed it. Is this the proper etiquette?"

Song Yu was furious. "You were there, how can you blame me for the broken hairpin? It's clearly my aunt's fault for being ill-mannered!"

"How can you talk about your elders?" Song Shulan asked.

Song Yu turned her head away, refusing to look at her father; she felt she couldn't reason with him.

"My lord, you've just been promoted; how many eyes are watching you?" Cui Lingrong knew Song Shulan well; only talking about what Song Shulan valued most would be effective. "Zhizhi has been willful since childhood, and after marrying into the Sun family, she didn't curb her temper. She accompanied her son-in-law on his three-year assignment, causing five disputes and writing letters demanding money six times. She even verbally and physically abused a county magistrate's wife, resulting in that magistrate's brother gaining favor with Minister Xun. Have you forgotten, my lord, that you and I went to apologize on her behalf?"

Song Shulan knew his sister's personality well. He frowned and said, "These are all things of the past. She's here to visit today, so you should give her some face."

"It seems that you still don't understand, Lord Marquis. Zhizhi can cause so much trouble in a small place. If she offends a powerful family in Bianjing, what will happen to your reputation if Zhizhi says that her brother is the Marquis and uses your official power to bully people?" Before Cui Lingrong could finish speaking, Song Shulan's face turned pale.

Song Shulan had finally been promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue, but he hadn't even settled into his new position yet. If his sister caused trouble for him, wouldn't that implicate him?

"With the old lady around, and the Marquis's mansion unable to distance itself from Zhizhi, we can only teach her some manners. Let her know that just because she's in trouble doesn't mean the Marquis's mansion will bail her out," Cui Lingrong continued. "My lord, it's not that I'm petty and targeting her. I never competed with her before, but now it's for your career advancement."

She spoke with Song Shulan's emphasis on his career, which persuaded him.

Song Shulan completely forgot the old lady's instructions and instead asked Cui Lingrong, "Zhizhi is indeed willful and domineering, but she's my sister. We're blood relatives. How can I get her to offend people without using my name?"

"It's simple. In the past, when she offended people, she would write to the old lady, and either I would give her money or the Marquis would step in to resolve the issue. This made Zhizhi think that she had the Marquis's mansion to rely on, which is why she acted without restraint. This time, as long as you make it clear that you won't clean up her mess, she will restrain herself."

Cui Lingrong walked to Song Shulan's side and poured him tea. "My lord, after our argument today, she knows she won't get any money from me. Without money, she can keep a low profile. Go and tell the old lady, before Zhizhi leaves, don't let her agree to everything. You absolutely can't let it affect your career."

The more Song Shulan listened, the more sense it made, and he went back to Shou'an Hall.

Grandma Song looked at her son expectantly.

Song Zhizhi couldn't wait to ask, "Big brother, how did you punish Cui Shi?"

Song Shulan didn't look at her sister, but bowed to the old lady, "Mother, over the years, the Marquis's mansion has cleaned up a lot of messes for Zhizhi. It's time for her to change her temperament."

"Shulan!"

"Big brother!"

Grandma Song and Song Zhizhi spoke in unison.

"Big brother, how can you say that about me? I didn't cause any trouble. They're always the ones who pick on me, and that's when I retaliate!" Song Zhizhi protested. "Have you been bewitched by the Cui family? No way, I'm going to find her!"

"Stop right there!" Song Shulan's face was as black as charcoal. "Is that how you address Cui Shi? She's your sister-in-law. You haven't improved at all over the years."

With red eyes, Song Zhizhi looked at her older brother in disbelief.

Princess Rongjia stepped in to smooth things over, "Princess, don't be angry. The Marquis must have misunderstood something. You and your siblings have been close since childhood. The Marquis wouldn't suddenly act like this."

Grandma Song added, "Shulan, your sister may have a bit of a temper, but does that warrant such an angry outburst? I raised her; if you criticize her, aren't you implying I didn't raise her well?"

"I wouldn't dare. I just suddenly realized that now is a crucial time for both my brother-in-law and me. If Zhizhi offends someone when she returns to Bianjing, it will bring huge trouble to the Marquis's mansion and the Sun family. I just hope that Zhizhi can be more sensible, and I don't mean to be harsh on her." Song Shulan took a deep breath. "Let's let today's matter drop. Zhizhi, you are a married woman now. Neither your natal family nor your husband's family has any reason to act arrogantly."

After saying that, Song Shulan left.

Song Zhizhi thought her older brother would side with her, but after he went to Qiushuangzhai, he turned around and scolded her.

She cried her heart out, tears streaming down her face.

Grandma Song was even angrier. She was willing to spoil her daughter, so what?

Seeing this, Princess Rongjia changed the subject to Cui Lingrong, "Good sister, stop crying. The Marquis is only doing this for your own good. He's right. Your brother-in-law is returning from his post and needs to be reassigned, which is a crucial time. In that case, why don't you go and apologize to Sister Cui? We're still family."

"Pah! Who wants to be family with her?" Song Zhizhi threw down her teacup, furious. "You're so much better, Princess! Why did you have to quarrel with my elder brother in the first place? If you had married into the family earlier, there wouldn't be a place for Cui Shi!"

At this point, Song Zhizhi's eyes lit up.

Yes.

She tried to bring this up twice, but was interrupted by her mother and older brother. Could it be that Cui Lingrong didn't know about this?

As Song Zhizhi thought about how to get revenge on Cui Lingrong, she immediately wiped away her tears.

Cui Lingrong must think that her elder brother and she have a deeper relationship. Little did she know that her elder brother and Princess Rongjia were childhood sweethearts and had long been deeply in love. Otherwise, Princess Rongjia would not have married her elder brother as a secondary wife.

Song Zhizhi changed the subject, "Your Highness is right, I was a bit willful. We're family after all, so it's best not to make things too ugly. I'll go to Qiushuangzhai. If she keeps pressing the issue, then it's Cui Shi who's in the wrong."

Old Mrs. Song was afraid that her daughter would be bullied, so she asked Princess Rongjia to come along.

"No need, Mother. I'm not a child anymore. Besides, I'm going to apologize, not to argue with Cui Shi." Song Zhizhi politely declined. If Princess Rongjia went with her, how could she sow discord?

Grandma Song looked at her daughter with heartache, "My darling has grown up. Let Xu Mama go with you. Cui Shi is formidable now; you are no match for her."

Song Zhizhi thought to herself, if Cui Lingrong hadn't acted so suddenly, who knows who would have been beaten.

However, her mother insisted, and she couldn't refuse any longer. Just as she was about to head to Qiushuangzhai with Xu Mama and the others, her mother-in-law sent someone to tell her to go back.

"Why are you calling me back now? Go back and tell the old lady that I have things to do and I'll be back later." Song Zhizhi hadn't gotten her revenge yet, so how could she leave willingly?

At this time, Qiu's mother also returned from the Sun family.

"Old Madam Sun is furious. She said that since my aunt is back, she still wants to manage the household. She had no reason to refuse, so this is a good opportunity to put pressure on her." Madam Qiu smiled. "Old Madam Sun also asked me to apologize to you. Given your personality, for you to take action, it must be because my aunt angered you. It's definitely not your fault."

Cui Lingrong had met Old Madam Sun several times and knew that Old Madam Sun regretted letting Song Zhizhi into the family. "Let Song Zhizhi manage the household? Heh, the Sun family will ruin their fortune sooner or later."

Autumn's mother smiled, not quite saying yes, but she thought so in her heart.

The master and servant chatted for a while longer. Cui Lingrong was wondering how Shou'an Hall was doing and was thinking of asking Aunt Qiu to take a look when someone came into the garden. When she heard Song Zhizhi's voice, Cui Lingrong clicked her tongue softly.

Although Song Zhizhi's cheeks had been covered with egg, five finger marks were still visible. She told Xu Mama to wait at the door, and then, accompanied by her maid, swaggered into Qiushuangzhai.

"Mother is right. You and your brother, who is a merchant, hoard every penny you have. You are selfish and self-serving. You are no longer the tolerant and generous person you used to be."

Song Zhizhi casually picked up a vase, glanced at it, and then let go. "Oh dear, I was so careless. How could I not hold it properly?"

The vase fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Cui Lingrong came out of the inner room, looked at the broken porcelain shards on the floor, and raised her eyebrows slightly. "Song Zhizhi, are you asking for trouble again?"

"Me?" Song Zhizhi pointed to herself, her eyes instantly turning fierce. "Cui Lingrong, do you really think I'd let you slap me for nothing?"

Cui Lingrong walked up to Song Zhizhi. She had lost all patience with Song Zhizhi and was already thinking about how to make Song Zhizhi suffer.

"There's no one else here, so you don't need to pretend to be thinking about the bigger picture." Song Zhizhi looked at Cui Lingrong. "You've bewitched my elder brother, you must be very proud of yourself. In your heart, you definitely think you're my elder brother's first wife, and even if Princess Rongjia marries in as a secondary wife, my elder brother will definitely value you more!"

Cui Lingrong didn't speak. She quietly looked at Song Zhizhi, wanting to know what other nonsense Song Zhizhi would say.

"But you probably don't know, actually..." At this point, Song Zhizhi deliberately turned around to look, afraid that Xu's mother might suddenly come in.

It wouldn't have been a big deal if her mother found out; she just didn't want to cause any trouble.