Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

Dingguo Gongfu.

The Duke of Dingguo and Lady Qin had just finished arguing.

Both of them remained silent.

Two of the men sent by the Duke of Dingguo to find his son were murdered, but the third escaped and returned. Only then did he learn that it was Qin Shi who had committed the heinous act.

"I don't understand. You'd rather let someone who has no relation to either of us inherit the Duke's mansion than let my son inherit it." The Duke of Dingguo's words were full of helplessness. "When my son comes back, he will call you Mother just the same, and he will be your son too."

"My son? Do you think that's possible?" Madam Qin couldn't swallow her anger. "Tell me, how have I wronged you all these years, yet you keep a mistress to disgust me!"

"You've made me childless, and you still say you've done right by me?" The Duke of Dingguo lost his patience. "Let me tell you, just because you're jealous is enough for me to divorce you!"

"You want to divorce me?" Madam Qin stood up in disbelief. "You're saying you want to divorce me?"

Madam Qin laughed twice. "Heaven has no eyes! What kind of family were you back then? How glorious was my Qin family? My parents married me off to you and supported you to where you are today, and now you want to divorce me?"

Qin felt she had been blind all her life to have married such a terrible man and lived most of her life without love or affection.

"Yes, I have received favors from your father. If it weren't for that, I would have divorced you long ago! Over the years, I've given you all the respect you wanted; I haven't wronged you in any way." The Duke of Dingguo spoke harshly, "Anyway, let me tell you, adoption is impossible. I have to find my son first. If I find out again, I will definitely send you back to the Qin family!"

Madam Qin smashed her teacup, completely abandoning her dignified demeanor as a member of a prominent family. She roared like a madwoman, "Even if you find your son, I will kill him! Let me tell you, as long as I'm here, you will never find that bastard!"

Knowing Qin's condition, the Duke of Dingguo immediately summoned his guards. "The Duchess is ill. From now on, no one in her courtyard is allowed to leave the house. Her meals must be delivered at the appointed time each day, and she is not permitted to see anyone else!"

The Duke of Dingguo made up his mind to find his son.

He had finally achieved the highest rank in his life, and if he had no children to carry on the family line, how could he face his ancestors?

Duke Dingguo pretended not to hear Qin's curses; in his eyes, Qin was clearly a jealous woman.

Back in the front courtyard, the Duke of Dingguo summoned his attendants. "Wasn't there news in Yi County? What's the situation now?"

"Your Excellency, the young master did beg in Yi County for a few days. Later, he was driven away by the local beggars and left Yi County, and his whereabouts are unknown."

"Since we have news, let's go around Yi County and inquire everywhere. Someone will surely have seen my son." The Duke of Dingguo took a deep breath. "I've let them down. Ah, you must go quickly and find him as soon as possible."

Otherwise, if the clan keeps insisting that he be adopted, he won't be able to withstand the pressure in the long run.

After his entourage left, the Duke of Dingguo was feeling down and thought he would find one or two friends to drink and chat with.

He rode his horse to the Qian family's house and learned that Xie Yunting had also come. He immediately asked someone to lead the way.

At this time, in the Qian family's backyard, the doctor had already given a diagnosis.

"Young Master Qian has indeed been poisoned. This kind of poison is usually found in dyes used in small workshops, but the normal dosage would not be enough to cause this level of poisoning."

Xie Yunting asked, "Does this mean you want to go beyond the scope of ordinary fabric dyeing?"

The doctor said, "Normal dyeing of fabric doesn't require such a large quantity."

Xie Yunting went to see Qian Jin, a seasoned veteran with countless lives on his hands.

Even a single glance from him was filled with murderous intent.

Qian Jin trembled subconsciously, but having served as an official for many years, he was not so easily frightened.

"Then we should ask Cui Zeyu where the poison cloth came from!" Qian Jin said angrily.

"What about the cloth?" Xie Yunting asked.

"It's already been sent to the government office. Why would I keep such a harmful thing?" Qian Jin said.

"That makes sense." Xie Yunting glanced at it. "Lord Qian, my presence here today signifies that I will see this matter through to the end. No one can bully my brothers, and I will thoroughly investigate the source of that cloth."

Xie Yunting was about to leave with the doctor when they happened to run into the Duke of Dingguo in the courtyard.

As fellow military officers, Xie Yunting held the Duke of Dingguo in high regard and greeted him first.

When the Duke of Dingguo saw that Xie Yunting had brought a doctor with him, he asked what was going on.

Before Qian Jin could speak, Xie Yunting explained the situation first, "That's roughly what happened. Someone's about to die, so I had to bring people to take a look."

"He's just a merchant; it's not worth your trouble." The Duke of Dingguo, being an experienced man, couldn't help but add a few words upon seeing the promising young general. "Yunting, you're a rising star in the court and favored by the Emperor. I acknowledge your abilities, but you can't stray from the proper path. You should associate with respectable people instead of wallowing in self-pity and calling merchants your brothers!"

Xie Yunting didn't like hearing this.

"Merchants are people too. They earn a living through their own skills, so why are they considered inferior?" Xie Yunting, who had been looking down, now met the Duke of Dingguo's gaze directly. "Besides, if merchants have been wronged, can't their grievances be redressed?"

He pointed to himself, "Lord Duke, before I became a general, I was practically a local ruffian. I didn't come from a respectable background either, but in my entire life, Xie Yunting, I've never done anything against my conscience!"

He never cared about saving face, and he was never embarrassed to mention the past.

Xie Yunting still calls his old friends brothers and will give money to the old woman who left him leftovers every year.

Xie Yunting may have committed robbery and plunder, but he was an unjust person and never went against his conscience!

But the Duke of Dingguo couldn't understand Xie Yunting's words. In his view, merchants were only interested in profit, their very nature tainted with the stench of money, and they were inherently lowly and unworthy of respect. "You..."

"Alright, Your Excellency, we don't see eye to eye, there's no need to say more." Xie Yunting turned and left. Even if it was someone he respected, he would never flatter someone whose views differed from his own.

Qian Jin watched Xie Yunting's retreating figure and sneered, "That Xie Yunting is the most arrogant person ever. Look at him, even though there's a government office investigating a case, he insists on bringing a doctor to take his pulse. I wouldn't let him in, and he started causing trouble. A scoundrel is a scoundrel, destined to be a lowlife!"

As he spoke, Qian Jin asked the Duke of Dingguo how he had come over.

The Duke of Dingguo couldn't tell anyone that he was keeping a mistress; he could only say that he was feeling down and came to Qian Jin for a drink.

Qian Jin was also annoyed, so the two of them agreed to go to Fanlou.

Upon arriving at Fanlou, Qian Jin was about to sit down when he noticed his third brother sitting with someone else. As he approached, he recognized Song Shulan and went up to greet him.

When Song Shulan saw Qian Jin enter, he hurriedly invited him to sit down, saying, "Master Qian, you've come at the perfect time. I have a favor to ask, and I hope you'll be lenient with me."

"You didn't come here for Cui Zeyu too, did you?" Qian Jin asked.

"Also?" Song Shulan immediately thought of Xie Yunting, his brows furrowed, but he did not refute it.

Qian Jin was immediately confused. Princess Rongjia wanted his sister to deal with Cui Zeyu, but Song Shulan came out to talk to his third brother.

Sure enough, the couple's hearts were no longer connected after marriage. Qian Jin thought to himself for a moment, then said with a dark face, "Lord Song, my son might lose his life. How can you expect me to forgive him?"

Song Shulan thought to herself, "My son is dying, how can he still come to drink?"

It seems that the illegitimate son of the Qian family isn't too serious. He dislikes Cui Zeyu, but he doesn't want Cui Lingrong to become increasingly distant from him, since he truly can't come up with 70,000 taels of silver.

Before Song Shulan could speak, the Duke of Dingguo said first, "Foolish. You are all so foolish. He's just a merchant; why should you all lower yourselves to beg him?"