Chapter 279

Chapter 279: Mud and Clouds "Cui Lingrong, where are you going again?" Song Shulan shoved open the wooden window of the carriage. "Don't tell me you still refuse to come back?" "I'll go back, but I'm not riding in the same carriage as you!" Though she was furious, Cui Lingrong still composed herself and walked forward with Nanny Qiu. Song Shulan stormed down from the carriage. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the clatter of hooves and turned to see Xie Yunting's hauntingly familiar face. "Why is it you again?" Cui Lingrong also turned to look. "Marquis Song is quite arrogant. Did you pave this road, or is there a rule that only you may travel it?" Xie Yunting pressed his thin lips together, raised an eyebrow at Song Shulan, then leaped down from his horse. "Sister Cui, go have some tea at the teahouse. I'll call a carriage for you." He couldn't have been more attentive if he tried. Song Shulan and Cui Lingrong had just been arguing about Cui Lingrong and Xie Yunting, and now Xie Yunting was following them all the way. He felt as though a green hat were being placed upon his head. "See? You still say there's nothing between you two? Do you take me for a dead man?" Cui Lingrong also felt that Xie Yunting's actions were somewhat inappropriate—too intimate by far—but Xie Yunting had already dashed off so quickly that she had no chance to refuse. She could only shoot Song Shulan a fierce glare, then turned and boarded the carriage. Leaning out, she stopped Song Shulan. "I said there's nothing, so there's nothing. Since the Marquis insists on making an issue of it, why don't you stay here and have a chat with General Xie yourself?" Before Song Shulan could respond, Cui Lingrong ordered the driver to move on. The carriage kicked up clouds of dust, and Song Shulan got a face full of it, stumbling back several steps. "Cough, cough." When Song Shulan lowered his hand, he saw Xie Yunting's unpleasant face again. "Xie Yunting, do you know that men and women should keep their distance?" "So what?" Xie Yunting gazed toward the end of the road, not even looking at Song Shulan. "Cui Lingrong is my wife. Whether or not you truly have designs on her, please stay away from her!" Song Shulan couldn't beat Xie Yunting in a fight, or he would have thrown a punch or two. "Marquis Song is truly petty. I merely happened to encounter Sister Cui and thought to see her off, and you're already jealous and angry. With such a small heart, how will you ever accomplish great things?" Xie Yunting's words were full of provocation, and he clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I forgot—your promotion wasn't earned by your own merit either. It was thanks to a woman." "Xie Yunting, you go too far!" Song Shulan pointed at Xie Yunting, only to have Xie Yunting grab his finger and yank him forward, nearly sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt. Xie Yunting's tone grew heavier. "And what can you do about it? Impeach me? Or how do you plan to take revenge?" Xie Yunting had just won a great victory in battle. As long as he didn't attempt to usurp the throne, the Emperor would protect him. Even if Song Shulan tried to impeach him himself, or even if Song Shulan rallied every minister in the court, it would be useless. As for revenge, Song Shulan could barely manage his own affairs right now, let alone have the ability to retaliate against Xie Yunting. Xie Yunting was utterly arrogant. Their eyes met, and Song Shulan looked away first. "I'm telling you, Cui Lingrong will be mine for life. Don't you dare even think about it!" "Oh?" Xie Yunting released Song Shulan and mounted his horse without looking back. Song Shulan was left standing there, and it took him a long while to realize he had been humiliated by Xie Yunting yet again. Burning with rage, he returned to the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion. He went to Qiushuang Zhai, but Nanny Qiu blocked him at the door. "Marquis, the Eldest Young Madam said she will not see you today." "Why won't she see me? I am the master of this mansion! The entire mansion is mine, including Cui Lingrong herself!" Song Shulan bellowed at the top of his lungs. "You're nothing but a servant. If you want to live, get out of my way. The Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion doesn't keep servants who have no sense of propriety!" Despite Song Shulan's outburst, Nanny Qiu stood her ground. "Marquis, this servant belongs to the Eldest Young Madam." Her meaning was clear: whatever the Eldest Young Madam commanded, she would only obey the Eldest Young Madam. Song Shulan was driven mad with fury today. Seeing that words were useless, he shoved Nanny Qiu aside and barged in. "Cui Lingrong, you... you still have the nerve to sit here reading?" After entering the room and seeing Cui Lingrong lounging at ease, Song Shulan snatched the book from her hands. Cui Lingrong said flatly, "If the Marquis insists on saying that General Xie and I are having an affair, then produce the evidence. If you have no evidence, then don't slander my reputation. Even if you don't care about me, think of Yu-jie." "You have the audacity to mention Yu-jie? If your Cui family hadn't come and interfered, why would the marriage I had arranged for Yu-jie have fallen through?" Song Shulan had originally been interested in two families, but both had come to nothing. Cui Lingrong said, "What kind of good family is the Fu family? The Marquis only thinks of marrying Yu-jie into a grand household. Have you ever considered that a family where the younger brother-in-law carries on with his sister-in-law—what kind of good family could that possibly be?" Speaking of this, Cui Lingrong was also angry. "It's better that it fell through. Otherwise, with the mess inside the Fu family, how long could Yu-jie survive after marrying into that household? You keep saying that my Cui family affected Yu-jie's marriage prospects, but at least think about Yu-jie for a moment. She's your first child. Don't use her to climb the social ladder—you'll end up with nothing but an empty basket trying to scoop up the moon from the water!" The Fu family Song Shulan mentioned was Fu Ze's family. Later, when the incident with Fu Ze came to light, Song Shulan was secretly relieved that Yu-jie hadn't married into that family, but on the surface, he still wanted to find a reason to condemn Cui Lingrong. Unfortunately, Cui Lingrong was no longer what she used to be. After several heated arguments, Song Shulan gained nothing. The two quarreled until both were red in the face. Cui Lingrong no longer yielded to Song Shulan, and she could pick out all sorts of faults in him. "You... are you saying I'm vain? That I don't love Yu-jie?" "Isn't that the case?" "Fine, fine, fine. So that's how you see me now. I was wondering why you've changed—turns out you have someone else in your heart." Song Shulan was furious. "Let me tell you, you'd better drop that notion. You, Cui Lingrong, married into my Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion, and you'll be my woman for the rest of your life. Besides, what status do you have, and who is Xie Yunting? Wake up—he's just toying with you casually, yet you treat him like a treasure. How foolish can you be!" "Song Shulan, get out of here!" Cui Lingrong raised her teacup and hurled it at him. The tea soaked Song Shulan's trousers. The teacup shattered on the ground into pieces, just like the relationship between them. "Even if you wanted me to stay, I wouldn't. But you wait—you'd better not do anything out of line, or even if Cui Zeyu and Zhuang Huaiming kneel and beg me, I'll divorce you!" Song Shulan finished speaking and stormed off in a huff. He slammed the door heavily, stirring up a gust of wind. Cui Lingrong flushed from her cheeks to her neck, her fists clenched tightly. It wasn't until Nanny Qiu came in that she took a deep breath. "Clean up the floor. I have no appetite tonight—I won't eat." Nanny Qiu wanted to say something but swallowed it back. In the end, Nanny Qiu still went to the kitchen herself and made a bowl of plain noodles. "Madam, you should eat something. These past days, accompanying the Second Madam of the Jiang family, you haven't eaten well. No matter what, you still need to take care of your health." Only then did Cui Lingrong get up and take a couple of sips of the soup, but she truly had no appetite and only ate half. When she lay down, for some reason, she thought of Xie Yunting on horseback, gazing at her. She hoped it was just Song Shulan being unreasonable.