Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

When Cui Lingrong returned to the Jiangyuan Marquis's residence, it was already late at night. As soon as she entered the courtyard, Caiyue ran out and whispered, "Madam, the Marquis has been waiting for an hour, and his expression is very unpleasant."

"I understand, you can go and rest," Cui Lingrong said.

Caiyue then asked about Qiu's mother.

"She's with Young Master Yu." Cui Lingrong walked into the room and saw Song Shulan, whose face was ashen. She didn't greet her but sat down and asked Caiyue to prepare some food.

"Can you still eat?" Song Shulan slammed her hand on the table.

"Why can't I eat? My brother has been exonerated, and I'm not the one being punished. I didn't do anything wrong. Shouldn't the Marquis be criticizing Rongjia... Princess Rongjia?" Cui Lingrong paused deliberately. She had a premonition that the relationship between Song Shulan and Princess Rongjia wasn't simply about career advancement, as Song Shulan claimed.

Cui Lingrong knew Song Shu well; he was somewhat timid and disliked arguing.

If it were just for the sake of future prospects, there would be no need to beat around the bush; Song Shulan would have been much better at handling things perfunctorily.

"You!" Song Shulan glared at Cui Lingrong. Seeing that Cui Lingrong showed no remorse, she stood up angrily. "Fine, fine, you have a powerful backer now, and you don't listen to me or Mother. But have you ever thought about it? Xie Yunting is arrogant and domineering, offending countless people in Bianjing. When he falls, will you still be as tough as you are now?"

"My lord, I have established myself in Bianjing City without relying on anyone for support. If you think I am wrong in any way, you can ask the clan elders to come, but you did not, because you know in your heart that you are in the wrong." As Cui Lingrong spoke, Caiyue and Caixia brought in food. She then gave them the order to leave, saying, "It's late, I won't keep you. Go find your Princess Rongjia."

"Cui, you'll regret this!" Song Shulan thought Cui Lingrong would say something conciliatory, but "It's one thing if you don't care about yourself, but if you're going to commit adultery, don't ruin my Yu'er's reputation!"

"Having an affair?"

"Yes, don't think nobody knows. You and Xie Yunting are exchanging glances; even a blind man can see that Xie Yunting harbors filthy thoughts about you!"

"My lord, don't assume everyone is the same. General Xie and I have a completely innocent relationship, and there has never been anything inappropriate between us!" Cui Lingrong also stood up.

She and Xie Yunting?

What a joke.

She only treated Xie Yunting as a younger brother, and Xie Yunting treated her with utmost respect and never behaved badly.

Looking at Song Shulan again, Cui Lingrong felt that this person was unreasonable and could come up with anything.

"You better be like that!" Song Shulan said, then walked away with a dark face.

Caixia and Caiyue dared not utter a sound. After a long while, Caiyue finally spoke up for her mistress, "The Marquis himself refused to rescue Young Master Yu, and because General Xie is kind-hearted, he mistook General Xie for someone with ill intentions. If you ask me, the Marquis has completely changed since marrying Princess Rongjia; he's utterly unreasonable!"

As servants, they wouldn't dare to speak ill of their masters unless they absolutely couldn't help it.

Since being politely rejected by Young Master Yu, Caiyue has felt quite reckless. She doesn't care about anyone else and will spend the rest of her life with the eldest mistress.

Caixia winked at Caiyue and then reminded her, "Grandma, please eat something first, or you'll get cold."

Cui Lingrong then looked at the food on the table. Although she had no appetite, she knew she had to eat, otherwise her health would collapse, which would please her enemy.

She sat down and ate a full bowl of rice, then asked Caixia and Caiyue to prepare medicinal herbs to be sent to the Xie residence early the next morning.

Song Shulan went to Hua Die's place. He knew that Princess Rongjia must be in a bad mood, and subconsciously he didn't want to face her.

Hua Die was overjoyed today. Having learned that Princess Rongjia had lost her title, she had been eager to find out what had happened. Seeing the Marquis arrive, her mood improved even more. Unable to contain her laughter, she took his arm and led him into the house. "My lord, what's wrong? You don't look well. Are you tired? Or are you troubled by the Princess's affairs?"

"What's the government saying now?" Song Shulan frowned.

Hua Die didn't understand at first, and it took her a while to realize, "Are you talking about the county princess? Everyone in the manor is curious and doesn't understand how the county princess could be promoted from a county princess to a county princess. The eldest mistress isn't in the manor, so no one is doing anything about it."

After a pause, Huadie couldn't help but ask, "My lord, what exactly happened to the county princess?"

Song Shulan was already annoyed. He came to Hua Die's place hoping to relax in her gentle embrace, so he immediately showed an impatient expression. "Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."

He closed his eyes, tapped his shoulder, and gestured for Huadie to massage it for him.

Hua Die immediately understood and helped Song Shulan massage her shoulders. "Then I won't ask anymore. It must be something that's bothering you. I'm not capable of relieving your worries, but I'll be happy if I can make you feel a little more comfortable."

Song Shulan nodded in satisfaction and hummed contentedly.

However, Hua Die remembered that Princess Rongjia had harmed her child, so she wouldn't let this opportunity slip by easily. The next day, upon learning that a palace maid had come to keep an eye on Princess Rongjia and had placed her under house arrest, she couldn't wait to go to Qiushuangzhai.

"Grandma, what exactly happened yesterday? Why was Princess Rongjia confined to her quarters and then became a princess again?" Huadie asked curiously.

She had just finished asking when Jiang and Li arrived with their people, all for the same reason.

Hua Die quickly stood up. "Second Grandmother, Third Grandmother, are you well?"

Li and Huadie nodded in return.

Jiang ignored Hua Die and went straight to Cui Lingrong. "Sister-in-law, what happened to Princess Rongjia... no, I mean the County Princess? The Emperor summoned you and the Marquis to the palace. What's the important matter?"

Madam Li also said, "After you and the Marquis went to the palace yesterday, the Third Master and I were very uneasy. We waited for you to return, but it was too late. So we came here today to ask about the situation."

They were all afraid that something would happen to the eldest son's family, as the Jiangyuan Marquis's mansion was now entirely supported by the eldest son's family.

If the main branch of the family falls, the Jiangyuan Marquis's mansion will also decline.

Even Song Shucheng went to Jiang's house early in the morning to ask her to come and inquire about something.

Seeing Cui Lingrong calmly handling the matter, Li relaxed a little, but Jiang still frowned.

"It's nothing serious. Princess Rongjia framed Zeyu with the Qian family, but General Xie caught her red-handed. The Emperor learned that Princess Rongjia had repeatedly harbored ill intentions, so he demoted her to a county princess." Cui Lingrong said, observing the expressions of the people in the room. "As for the maids from the palace, they were there to teach Princess Rongjia manners."

Jiang was incredulous. Princess Rongjia had the backing of the Rong Prince's Mansion, yet she was defeated by Cui Lingrong.

Just how capable is Xie Yunting?

Li remained silent. Now that Cui Zeyu was alright, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief. As for opinions or views, she would absolutely not express them, since Jiang Shi and Hua Die were both present, and she didn't want to cause herself any trouble.

Hua Die couldn't help but laugh out loud. Realizing she shouldn't have laughed like that, she covered her mouth and said, "Excuse me, I wasn't laughing at the county princess. Please don't misunderstand."

The more she said that, the more obvious her attempt to cover it up became.

Cui Lingrong said, "That's all there is to it. As for how to tell others, you can decide for yourselves. I'm not as forgiving as before. Princess Rongjia has harmed me time and time again. I won't protect the Marquis's family's reputation for her sake."

Upon hearing this, both Jiang and Li understood that Cui Lingrong and Princess Rongjia had completely broken off relations.

Hua Die asked naively, "You can really say whatever you want?"

"As long as you can take responsibility for your words," Cui Lingrong said, gesturing for them to leave.

Hua Die twisted her body and left first. Since the eldest grandmother hadn't told her to shut up, she was definitely going to talk a lot.

Jiang was a little smarter than Huadie, and only planned to tell her family.

Li only spoke to Song Shuhe, and did not intend to mention the matter to her own family or anyone else.

After the three Lis left, Cui Lingrong finished sorting out the accounts and then called Caixia and Caiyue, "Let's go. The Emperor said that Princess Rongjia should compensate Zeyu for double the losses. Since there's still no word from Wutong Garden, let's go and ask for it."