Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

"Grandma is a bit slow-witted. If you want to know, try to get some information out of her next time, and maybe you'll find out." Madam Qiu was also very happy that her master brought back 6,700 taels of silver today.

In the past, Qiu's mother would have thought about what to do if the old lady was unhappy, and the eldest grandmother would still have to coax the old lady to be happy.

Now, in Qiu's mother's opinion, no matter how much the eldest grandmother tries to coax the old lady, it's useless. When it's time to show favoritism, the old lady will still choose Princess Rongjia.

Since the outcome is the same, I might as well live life to the fullest.

"That's true. Song Zhizhi has never been very bright. Since she's started, I'll eventually find out." Cui Lingrong's ability to stay in the Jiangyuan Marquis's residence for over a decade shows that she has a lot of patience. "Tomorrow, take out five thousand taels of silver and have Ershun deliver it to Zeyu."

The cloth shop lost money, and her younger brother, afraid of worrying her, certainly wouldn't contact her. Now that she had money, there was no point in keeping it.

Autumn Mother said okay and divided the banknotes into two portions.

The next day, after finding out that the old lady had left, Qiu's mother called Ershun over.

No sooner had Er Shun left than He Pingping arrived.

Caiyue looked down on He Pingping and snorted, "It's better not to see this kind of person, lest she say something nonsense and upset you, Madam."

"She's pregnant, and the old lady and the second master are very concerned about her pregnancy. If I stop her from seeing her, it will give people something to talk about. Caiyue, if you don't want to see her, then don't go out. Caixia, come with me." Cui Lingrong went into the hall and saw that He Pingping's eyes were red. She asked what was wrong.

"This humble servant greets Madam." He Pingping lowered her head, as obedient as a kitten that hadn't been weaned.

She didn't say what was wrong, but tears started falling.

Cui Lingrong didn't care about He Pingping's affairs. She held her teacup and calmly took small sips.

Caixia spoke on behalf of her mistress, "Auntie, you can speak directly. The eldest mistress is not one to beat around the bush. You have to speak so that the eldest mistress will know whether it can be resolved."

"I know that in our household, the eldest mistress is the best person." With that, He Pingping knelt down. "Please, eldest mistress, help me. I... I really don't want to continue arguing with the second mistress."

Cui Lingrong then looked up and said, "Your food and rations are all provided directly by the public funds. As far as I know, the Second Master also gave you private property, so your life shouldn't be too difficult."

"I have enough to eat and wear, it's just that Second Mistress ignores me." He Pingping went to pay her respects several times, but was turned away each time. "No matter how big a mistake I may have made, since Second Mistress and I both serve the Marquis, it's better to get along peacefully. As long as Second Mistress can calm down, I'm willing to serve her like a slave."

"So, why are you asking me about your affair with Second Grandmother?" Cui Lingrong asked.

"I heard that the eldest mistress and the second mistress have been getting close lately, so I dared to come and ask you to mediate." When He Pingping learned that Cui Lingrong had asked a female physician for Jiang, she panicked a little. She did not know whether she was carrying a boy or a girl. If Jiang was also pregnant, it was obvious whose child was more important.

Cui Lingrong understood; the reconciliation was a pretense, and the real purpose was to inquire about the Jiang family.

Seeing through He Pingping's scheme, Cui Lingrong became less polite, "I can't interfere in your affairs. You're Second Madam's cousin; you know how she treats you."

"I know that Second Madam has been incredibly kind to me, and that's why I wanted to repay her," He Pingping said, weeping.

"The best way to repay her is to stay away from her," Cui Lingrong said. "Aunt He, you are a concubine, and she is the wife. If she doesn't want to talk to you, you should just stay quietly in your own courtyard. It's better than being summoned by the mistress every day to observe the rules. Be content and don't cause trouble here."

Cui Lingrong gave He Pingping a cold shoulder; such a backstabbing person is not trustworthy.

He Pingping looked embarrassed. Cui Lingrong had someone help He Pingping up. "Let's go. I know exactly what you're thinking. Since you've willingly become a concubine, don't even think about anything else."

After a few words, He Pingping's face turned deathly pale.

Cui Lingrong wasn't standing up for Jiang Shi; she genuinely disliked He Pingping. Fortunately, her younger brother didn't fancy He Pingping, otherwise He Pingping would have revealed her true nature and wouldn't have been worthy of him.

Speaking of her younger brother, Cui Lingrong couldn't help but worry about the cloth shop's business. She sighed with Caixia, "I wonder if the cloth shop can ever recover to what it used to be."

"Young Master Yu is very capable, and this servant believes in him." Speaking of Young Master Yu, Caixia couldn't help but think of Caiyue. Well, Caiyue's feelings will fade with time.

At this moment, Ershun had just finished drinking tea at the cloth shop and was walking to the door.

"Please don't bother seeing me off. Madam said you're having difficulties, so feel free to take the money. She'll only get her share of the profits when you've made a comeback." Er Shun bowed to Young Master Yu.

When Cui Zeyu learned that his sister had just earned money and had given it to him, his heart was filled with warmth, realizing that his sister still cared about him.

At that moment, Old Madam Song and Princess Rongjia happened to be passing by.

Hearing Er Shun's words through the carriage, Old Mrs. Song couldn't help but curse, "You scoundrel!"

Princess Rongjia asked softly, "What's wrong with the old lady?"

Grandma Song pursed her lips and did not answer.

"Although it's Sister Cui's money, we can't control how she uses it. But why is she giving money to Cui Zeyu again?" Princess Rongjia scrutinized the old lady's expression and continued, "The Marquis's mansion doesn't even hold a banquet, yet she's using money to support a bastard she picked up. I really don't know what's more important to her?"

Grandma Song couldn't help but blurt out, "That's my money, it's my money!"

The money I just took from her yesterday is being delivered to Cui Zeyu today.

She, Cui Lingrong, wasn't even that good to the Cui family!

Old Mrs. Song couldn't swallow her anger, and remembering the threats Cui Lingrong had made to her yesterday, she suddenly grabbed Princess Rongjia's hand, "Princess, you must have a son!"

Princess Rongjia was startled by Old Madam Song's sudden action, especially this scene, which made her hallucinate the image of Old Madam Du forcing her to drink the talisman water. She subconsciously shook off Old Madam Song's hand.

Old Mrs. Song threw the wooden planks at the carriage from behind.

They bumped into each other with a "bang".

The people inside the carriage were all terrified.

"Are you...are you alright?" Princess Rongjia quickly apologized, "I didn't mean it, it was just so sudden, and no one has ever grabbed my hand like that before. Are you alright?"

The carriage had limited space, so Princess Rongjia didn't move much. Old Madam Song didn't react much, but she was very surprised that Princess Rongjia would react so strongly.

She didn't do anything, did she?

Grandma Song looked at Princess Rongjia and saw that Princess Rongjia's face had turned pale. She must have been frightened. She shook her head and said that she was fine.

For a moment, no one spoke in the carriage.

Princess Rongjia thought that Old Madam Song was angry and wondered how to let the matter drop.

Old Mrs. Song pondered why Princess Rongjia would act this way.

After a while, Princess Rongjia brought up her sister-in-law's matter first, "When we get to the Sun family later, let's give Zhizhi a good talk. She's a daughter-in-law of the Sun family now, so she should try to get along better with Old Madam Sun."

"Indeed." Thinking of her daughter, Old Mrs. Song couldn't help but sigh. "I've raised Zhizhi to be quite immature. Yesterday, Old Mrs. Sun brought up divorce papers. I don't know what she was thinking, how could she say such a thing?"

"I suppose it was just a casual remark, please don't take it too seriously. Zhizhi has been married into the Sun family for so many years. With Qin'er about to get married, Old Madam Sun wouldn't divorce Zhizhi at this time. It's inevitable for a family to have disagreements sometimes, it's best to talk it out." Rongjia County Director Ran was still shaken.

However, she didn't mention it, and Old Mrs. Song didn't ask again. On the surface, the two of them acted as if nothing had happened.

The moment Old Madam Song bumped into the carriage, it caught Cui Zeyu's attention. Seeing that it was a carriage from the Jiangyuan Marquis's residence, he followed it.

Seeing the carriage parked at the Sun residence, but not seeing his sister, he was about to leave when a large hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, startling him.

"It's me!"

Seeing Cui Zeyu clench his fists, Xie Yunting quickly spoke up, "What are you doing sneaking around like that? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were following some young lady!"

"Brother Xie, what are you doing here?" Cui Zeyu didn't explain.

"Don't even mention it. I just came out of the Qin residence. Do you know what the Qin family wanted to see me about today?" Xie Yunting became more and more angry as he spoke. "They said that the imperial marriage didn't specify which Qin family daughter it was. Originally, it was assumed to be the third daughter, but now they want to change it to the fourth daughter."

Xie Yunting grew increasingly angry as he spoke, "Do you think I'm the kind of person who'd do anything for anyone? The Qin family thinks they can fool me? No way! Come on, you're coming with me for a few drinks!"