Springtime Affairs in a Noble Family

Wutongyuan

Princess Rongjia couldn't sleep all night.

She had been a tyrant for thirty years and had never been so humiliated.

Chen De's wife and Wang Hechun's wife stayed with him all night, neither of them daring to breathe too loudly, especially Chen De's wife, because it was her idea to harm Cui Zeyu.

"Princess, would you like something to eat?" Wang Hechun's wife asked cautiously.

"County Princess?" Princess Rongjia chuckled. "You all call her that so easily, but it sounds awkward to me!"

She never imagined that one day she would become a county princess.

Wang Hechun's family immediately lowered their heads.

Princess Rongjia then asked, "Where did the Marquis go last night?"

Wang Hechun's family hadn't touched anything, so she didn't dare to say anything more.

"Speak up, are you all dead?" Princess Rongjia smashed her teacup, gave him a look, and Chen De's wife whispered to Hua Die.

"It's Hua Die again! He really dotes on that bitch!" Princess Rongjia grew angrier the more she thought about it. "You two, I've been gracious enough, but time and time again, when have you ever helped me?"

She called them incompetent.

Wang Hechun's wife said, "Princess, you should eat something first. As long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback. We lost this time, but it doesn't mean that Madam can win every time."

"Then tell me, when will I be able to outshine Cui Lingrong?" Princess Rongjia wished Cui Lingrong were dead right then and there. "Why are you all so quiet? Are you all mute?"

She could only vent the frustrations she suffered outside on the people inside the house.

Chen De's wife dared not offer any more suggestions. She finally understood why Wang Shanxi's wife had died. The eldest mistress was too clear-headed and had never been confused. She had underestimated the eldest mistress's abilities.

As for the master, if he were not a county princess, he would have been killed a thousand times over by the eldest mistress long ago.

She could only think these words in her heart; she dared not say them aloud.

"I'm telling you, only one of me, Cui Lingrong, can live in the Jiangyuan Marquis's mansion. If you can't think of a way, then you don't need to serve me. Cui Lingrong must die!" Princess Rongjia finished speaking in one breath, when a maid came to tell her that the eldest mistress had arrived.

Before Princess Rongjia could even begin to curse, Cui Lingrong went inside first.

Seeing the shards of porcelain on the ground, Cui Lingrong slightly curled the corners of her lips. "Why did the county princess take her anger out on the servants?"

"Why are you here?" Princess Rongjia asked.

"Yesterday, the official asked the county princess to pay compensation, but I waited all night and all morning and the princess did not send any money, so I had to come and ask for it." Cui Lingrong took out an account book. "The loss this time is 1,700 taels of silver, but the loss from the fire last time was greater, 19,700 taels of silver. I will compensate double that amount. Please take a look, county princess."

Doubling that amount would be over 40,000 taels of silver. Princess Rongjia's face turned ashen; she hadn't expected Cui Lingrong to come asking for money.

This is no small sum of money, and Princess Rongjia cannot come up with that much silver in a short time.

"Sister Cui, I..."

"As a county princess, I know this amount of money is nothing to you, so you certainly won't delay paying it, right?" Cui Lingrong said with a smile.

Princess Rongjia could sense Cui Lingrong's sarcasm, and she was about to lose her temper.

Chen De's wife stepped forward, "Madam, you and the county magistrate are family, why make such a fuss?"

"I'd also like to ask, why is the county princess so relentlessly pursuing me? Why insist on making it a fight to the death?" Cui Lingrong sneered. "Since the county princess harbored ill intentions from the start, I'm merely following orders to provide compensation. What's wrong with that?"

Her smile deepened. "Mama Chen, you're from the Rong Prince's Mansion. You wouldn't want the County Princess and the Rong Prince's Mansion to be accused of disobeying the imperial decree, would you?"

Double compensation is the Emperor's decree. As long as the Emperor is mentioned, even if Prince Rong were to come, he wouldn't dare to object.

"I don't have that much money," said the county magistrate of Rongjia.

"If you don't have money, you can use your land and shops as collateral. I heard that when the county princess married into the family, she had a dowry of ten miles. Surely she doesn't even have these things, right?" Cui Lingrong looked over. In her opinion, it was normal for the county princess to not have much cash on hand because she spent money extravagantly, but she must have a lot of land.

As a result, Princess Rongjia's expression froze, which made Cui Lingrong take a second look.

Could it be that Princess Rongjia's dowry was less than she had expected?

"Sister Cui, please be merciful. Give me a few days to recover, and I will definitely send you the silver notes." Princess Rongjia was practically grinding her teeth to pieces. People used to say that Cui Lingrong was good-natured, but where was her good-naturedness?

"no."

Cui Lingrong was there to make Princess Rongjia unhappy. "I want it today. If you don't give it to me, we'll go to the officials and settle this matter."

Hearing this, Chen De's wife wavered a little, glancing at her master as if to suggest that they give it to him instead.

As a result, Princess Rongjia got angry and slapped him across the face, saying, "What are you looking at? Am I the master, or are you the master? Do I need you to tell me what to do?"

Chen De's wife was stunned by the beating. She was a respectable mother, yet she was beaten in front of the eldest mistress. How could she possibly maintain her position in the Marquis's mansion?

Princess Rongjia, in a fit of rage, didn't think things through. She was determined to confront Cui Lingrong directly. "Do you think you can easily see the Emperor? Cui Lingrong, don't be so smug. Fortune changes every thirty years; only those who laugh last truly win!"

"Oh, so you're not going to pretend anymore, County Princess?" Cui Lingrong laughed. "I thought you'd be playing along with me for a while longer. To be honest, you're tired of pretending, and I'm tired of playing along too. Let's be frank: I can't see the Emperor, but others can."

She was referring to Xie Yunting.

Upon hearing this, Princess Rongjia felt even more resentful, but she also realized that Cui Lingrong had deliberately come to make things difficult for her today.

Their eyes met, neither willing to back down.

Cui Lingrong instructed Caixia, "Go to General Xie's residence and tell him..."

"I'll give it to you!" Princess Rongjia had no choice but to send someone to get the silver notes and the shop deed.

Cui Lingrong glanced at it and said, "I'll register it first. If the market price isn't enough, I'll come back to the county magistrate to make up the difference."

Seeing Princess Rongjia's predicament made Cui Lingrong feel much better. The suffering her daughter and brother had endured was far less severe than what Princess Rongjia was currently experiencing, and she still had a backup plan for Princess Rongjia.

"You! Don't go too far!" said Princess Rongjia. "My shop alone is worth a lot of silver. You only know how to make money, how could it not be enough? Cui Lingrong, you're very happy now, aren't you? But let me tell you, you won't be able to suppress me forever!"

"Yeah?"

Cui Lingrong got up and walked to the door, then deliberately turned back, "But there's one thing you'll never win against me. Princess, you can't actually have children, can you? I've known about this for a long time."

Before she could finish speaking, Princess Rongjia's face turned deathly pale.

How could Cui Lingrong know?

Where did she give herself away?

Will Cui Lingrong tell the Marquis?

Princess Rongjia panicked immediately. She looked at Cui Lingrong, then at Chen De's wife and Wang Hechun's wife, her mind a complete mess.

She suddenly felt that Cui Lingrong was terrifying.