Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

After the three finished discussing the fabric shop, Cui Lingrong asked about her two sons, "The day after tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Will Xuan-ge and the others come back half a day early?"

Autumn's mother said yes.

"Did you see them when you went to the Imperial College last time?" Cui Lingrong hadn't seen her sons for more than three months and missed them terribly.

Madam Qiu said no, "The Imperial College is strictly managed and no one is allowed to enter or leave. I left my bundle at the guard post and couldn't even catch a glimpse of it from afar."

Song Yu also missed her younger brothers. "They'll be back soon, tomorrow. It would be great if Uncle Yu could come back tomorrow."

Cui Zeyu wasn't a proper member of the Cui family, and the Cui family wouldn't approve of him addressing her as such. After much thought, Cui Lingrong had the children call her "Uncle Yu."

Cui Lingrong nodded. She was tired of looking at the account books, so she asked Aunt Qiu to make plum tea.

Song Yu had long wanted to slack off, so he happily went out with them.

A moment later, someone lifted the curtain and came in. Cui Lingrong thought it was her daughter or Qiu Mama, but it turned out to be Caixia carrying a brocade box.

"Madam, this was sent by Young Master Yu." Caixia placed it on the table.

When Cui Lingrong opened it, she found several silver notes and a letter.

The letter stated that Cui Zeyu encountered a landslide on the road, forcing the caravan to stop and rest, delaying their return to Bianjing by five or six days. The silver notes were the quarterly dividends, totaling four thousand two hundred and eighty-one taels.

The profit-sharing ratio was 50/50. In addition to the initial 100 taels, Cui Lingrong also provided Cui Zeyu with a shop to run his business. Cui Lingrong didn't have to worry about the rest. Originally, she didn't want such a large share of the profits, but Cui Zeyu insisted on a 50/50 split, so she kept a portion for Cui Zeyu to use for building his own business.

When Qiu's mother returned, Cui Lingrong told her to put away the silver notes.

Song Yu looked at her mother expectantly, "Since Mother doesn't need to contribute to the public funds, could you buy your daughter a ruby ​​hairpin? Last time I went to the Su family, Su Er wore one and showed it off for quite a while."

As the young lady grows up, she likes to dress up, and Cui Lingrong never objected. "Tomorrow, when your brothers come back, I'll ask them what they want, and then I'll have Caixia buy it for you. Is that alright?"

"That's wonderful, you're so kind!" Song Yu hugged her mother affectionately. "It's perfect timing, the autumn banquet is coming up soon, I'll wear it to Su Er and see if she's still so smug!"

Old Mrs. Song's surname is Su. The Su family that Song Yu mentioned is Old Mrs. Song's maternal family. The two families are very close, but Song Yu and the second daughter of the Su family do not get along. The two have been compared since childhood and often bicker.

Cui Lingrong was delighted to see her daughter, who was charming and adorable.

The next morning, Cui Lingrong had someone prepare her sons' favorite foods, and after noon, she asked Qiu's mother to wait at the main gate.

Instead of his two sons, he was greeted by Huadie, the maidservant of Princess Rongjia.

"Greetings to the eldest mistress. The princess sent me to ask her something." Hua Die had a pair of alluring eyes. Now that she was the Marquis's concubine, she was quite arrogant. She looked around and didn't pay much attention to Qiu Shuangzhai. "Yesterday, Young Master Yu's letter arrived. I wonder when this month's dividend will arrive. The public funds are waiting for this money to hold the autumn banquet for the old lady."

"What profit sharing?" Cui Lingrong asked.

"The cloth shop's profits... the ledgers show that the cloth shop sends profits to the Marquis's residence every quarter. Now that the Prefectural Steward is in charge, does the Eldest Madam intend to embezzle this money?"

Cui Lingrong raised her eyebrows slightly. "If it's not written in the account book, it's the Marquis's money. The cloth shop is my private property. In the past, the Marquis's family was in trouble, and since I was the steward, I always subsidized the Marquis's family. Now that you are in charge of the county government, I believe that you are more capable than me and must have other ways to make money without having to use my private property."

"How is that possible?" Huadie didn't believe it. Who would be so kind as to give so much silver to the public? She glared at Qiushuangzhai, completely forgetting to show respect.

Caixia scoffed, "How dare you! Who is the master, you or the eldest mistress? Even if you are the princess's person, it's not your place to question the eldest mistress. If you really don't believe me, let the princess investigate, or let her ask the old lady herself, and then everything will be clear."

Hua Die was stunned. She looked at Cai Xia, then at Grandma, and stormed off in a huff.

Back at Wutong Courtyard, Huadie added fuel to the fire, saying, "You didn't see it, but the eldest mistress kept saying the cloth shop was her private property. That Caixia in her courtyard is even more arrogant, saying if you were capable, she'd let you earn that much money too. Princess, I don't believe it. That girl from Qiushuangzhai is definitely angry with you. We have to go and reason with the old lady!"

Princess Rongjia was furious. "Does Consort Cui really refuse to pay?"

The painted butterfly nods as if pounding garlic.

"I refuse to believe that Cui Lingrong would embezzle this money!" With that, Princess Rongjia got up and went to Shou'an Hall. After taking a few steps, she thought that Cui Lingrong wouldn't be that stupid. After a moment's thought, she sent someone to invite Jiang Shi over.

Upon seeing Jiang, Princess Rongjia sighed first, then brought up the profit sharing from the cloth shop, "I know Sister Cui has a grudge against me, but one thing is one thing. We are all from the Marquis's mansion. She can't embezzle public funds, don't you think?" Princess Rongjia wanted to get information out of Jiang and also encouraged her to file a complaint.

Jiang looked troubled. "Princess, actually... the cloth shop is really the private property of my sister-in-law... Qiushuangzhai."

Jiang Shi quickly swallowed the words "elder sister-in-law" that were about to come out. She called Cui Lingrong "elder sister-in-law," but what about the one in front of her?

Isn't she her sister-in-law?

Princess Rongjia immediately put down her face. Before marrying into the family, she only knew that the Song family had been doing quite well in recent years. Old Madam Song would hold banquets from time to time. If they didn't have family wealth, they couldn't afford to spend money like that.

But she didn't know that it was Cui Lingrong who was subsidizing the Song family.

"Princess, what do you think? Why don't we go to the old lady?" Madam Jiang didn't dare let Princess Rongjia also contribute to the public funds, so she cautiously tried to suggest, "The one from Qiushuangzhai has been contributing to the public funds for many years, and suddenly the money has stopped. The old lady will definitely be unhappy. Why don't we have the old lady ask for the money herself? With filial piety on her mind, the one from Qiushuangzhai won't dare to refuse."

If she were to go to the old lady for money, it would make Princess Rongjia seem penniless. She had just opened her private treasury to reward the servants in the manor; if she were to go to the old lady now to put pressure on Cui Lingrong, wouldn't people say she was putting on a brave face?

Over the years, my father has spent a lot of time bribing people in the court regarding the matter of the crown prince.

She had squandered most of her dowry.

This dowry of forty-eight loads was given by my mother, who pressured my brothers to give it to her. She was told that she couldn't afford to live on her own because she was giving so much money to the public treasury every year.

Princess Rongjia loved extravagance and never hesitated to spend money. Seeing Jiang Shi carefully examining her, she put on a smiling face, "Since it's private property, how could I possibly ask Sister Cui to take it out again? However, without such a large sum of money, we can't skimp on the money from the old lady and the marquis, so we'll just have to suffer."

Jiang was displeased. She didn't like Cui Lingrong, but when Cui Lingrong was in charge of the household, nothing was ever lacking. Princess Rongjia meant that if she wanted to maintain her current good life, she would have to play the villain.

Let her file a complaint, but she can't be used as a pawn for nothing.

"I don't mind living a little harder. I can just have a couple less new clothes made and buy less cosmetics. I'm just worried that the men will look less impressive and be laughed at when they go out. After all, we are a Marquis's mansion, and we can't live too shabbily, don't you think?" Jiang said with a smile, as she negotiated with Princess Rongjia.

Princess Rongjia immediately understood, "You're right, Second Master works hard. I have some top-quality ginseng and deer antler; take them back for him to nourish himself. I also have two bolts of jade silk; I'm wearing something too bright, so why don't you take them back, Second Sister-in-law? They'd suit your complexion perfectly."

"How could I possibly accept this?"

"We're family, no need to be so polite with me."

"Then I will respectfully accept your offer." Having received the benefits, Madam Jiang left Wutong Garden and went to Shou'an Hall.

She always knew how to please the old lady, massaging her legs and pouring tea for a while before bringing up the matter of profit sharing from the cloth shop. "Actually, my sister-in-law is unwilling to give it, and we can't say anything to her. It's just that the supplies here can't be reduced. I'm afraid that the second master and his family won't have any decent clothes when they go out, and people will laugh at them."

Old Madam Song paused in her tea-serving hand, then understood Cui's thoughts: she was still resentful and unwilling to yield to Princess Rongjia.

However, the cloth shop was indeed Cui's private property, and Old Madam Song was extremely concerned about her reputation, so she would never ask Cui for money. But having finally achieved a decent life, she could never go back to a few years ago.

Old Madam Song saw through the Princess and Jiang's little schemes at a glance. She looked down at Jiang and said, "What you said makes sense. The Marquis's mansion can't be laughed at. Now that the Princess is in charge of the household, she must have a way to solve this. Please pass on a message for me, saying that I believe the Princess will definitely find a way to increase income."

After a pause, Old Madam Song smiled and patted Jiang's hand. "You're quite capable. There will be a time when you'll be in charge. Why don't you give the Princess some advice? Our Marquis's mansion can't be accused of misappropriating our daughter-in-law's private property, don't you think?"

"I……"

"Go ahead, I trust you." Old Mrs. Song instructed the servant to escort Jiang out, not giving Jiang a chance to speak. They're trying to scheme against her, don't they even know if they have the ability?

However, Cui's actions did indeed make her somewhat dissatisfied.