Chapter 62

Chapter 62: The Imperial Betrothal As for Huadie, Cui Lingrong had never considered winning her over, because Huadie was too foolish and her status too low. Allying with someone like that would only bring trouble upon herself. Madame Jiang was not clever, but she was not entirely stupid either, and as a mistress of the second branch, she had status and position. There was no need to win her over, but she could be used. Cui Lingrong smiled lightly. "The Old Madame wants to take in a Noble Concubine for Second Master because she wants him to have a son. As for you, not wanting to see a concubine's son born first is only natural. If Second Master understands you, and the two of you stand together as husband and wife, you can weather this." "Who says otherwise." But Song Shucheng and Madame Jiang were hardly of one mind. "Second Sister-in-law, Second Master is a man who loves his pleasures. Purely quarrelling with him in anger won't do. As for the Noble Concubine matter, you can delay things through your natal family, but you cannot delay it forever. The key is that if you can have a child first yourself, the Old Madame won't bring up the Noble Concubine again." Seeing that Madame Jiang still did not understand, Cui Lingrong added, "Rather than watching others, it's better to focus on nurturing your own health." Madame Jiang said she had been taking medicine for years without cease. A breeze blew through the garden, and Cui Lingrong felt a chill. Her mind was full of schemes, but her face betrayed nothing. "Medicine must be prescribed according to the ailment. If Second Sister-in-law is truly willing to accept my kindness, when I was in Suzhou, I knew a female physician who specializes in regulating women's health. I can send a letter on your behalf and invite her to come examine you." Hearing this, Madame Jiang quickly nodded. "I beg First Sister-in-law for your help." Cui Lingrong gave an "mm" in acknowledgment and returned with Nanny Qiu and the others. When Song Yu came to Qiushuang Zhai, Cui Lingrong was writing a letter to an old friend. She asked her mother in confusion, "Don't you dislike Second Aunt? Why are you helping her?" "I help her because she is useful, not because I wish to befriend her." Cui Lingrong said, "Madame Jiang often goes to Wutong Yuan. I want her to serve as my eyes. I don't need her to report every detail to me—just that at critical moments, she can give me a heads-up, and that will repay my kindness." Song Yu understood. "Second Aunt is really a fence-sitter, showing goodwill to whoever she needs help from. But come to think of it, she is rather pitiable—so many years without a child, and I can't even count how many chambermaid concubines Second Uncle has in his rooms. And on top of that, she was betrayed by her closest cousin. Mother, is there still no news from Miss He?" Cui Lingrong shook her head. "Not that fast. It will take some more time." After sending the letter out, Cui Lingrong brought her daughter along to learn household management. In the blink of an eye, half a month passed, and it was now November. The weather grew colder and colder. Fortunately, Cui Zeyu had sent a great deal of charcoal, enough to keep the floor heating grates burning in Qiushuang Zhai. The room was warm and cozy, with Xuan-ge and his brothers, along with Yu-jie, all crowded into Qiushuang Zhai. Cui Lingrong was giving instructions to the steward matrons. Just as she finished her work, Cui Zeyu happened to arrive. Cui Zeyu was wrapped in a rabbit-fur neck scarf. After returning to Bianjing and recuperating for over two months, his skin had grown much fairer. Entering the room, he briskly removed his hat and such, while Caixia brushed the snowflakes off his great coat before he took it off and handed it to her. The moment he arrived, Caiyue quietly withdrew. Caixia brought hot tea, and Cui Zeyu took a sip before the warmth returned to him. "It's been snowing for two straight days. Last night, the grape trellis in the courtyard was crushed." "If it's crushed, it's crushed. But your new house—when will it be ready?" Cui Lingrong asked. "That's actually what I came to tell you about today, Sister." When Cui Zeyu smiled, his teeth were white and bright, radiating sunshine. "It's all done. If it weren't for the snow, I would have wanted you to come over and take a look, to see if anything needs to be added." As he spoke, Song Mingjin ran out from the room. "Uncle, when can we go play at your new house?" "In a few days." Cui Zeyu also had a fondness for his nephew. He pinched the boy's cheek, then looked at his sister. "I was thinking of inviting some friends and guests for a house-warming ceremony before the new year. But Sister knows I'm no good at hosting. I'd like to ask for your help." "If you'd just marry a wife, you wouldn't need to ask—someone would be managing all this for you." Seeing her brother frown again, Cui Lingrong changed the subject. "What day have you settled on?" "The fifteenth of this month. Xuan-ge and his brothers happen to have a holiday, so they can all come along." Cui Zeyu said. Cui Lingrong nodded in agreement. "Tell me clearly how many people you plan to invite, how much you intend to spend, and which guests are of higher status." She happened to have time now, so she had Caixia bring paper and brush to take notes. Cui Zeyu added, "There's one more thing—Brother Xie is betrothed." He meant Xie Yunting. Cui Lingrong asked, "Which family's daughter?" "She's from the Qin family. The Emperor helped make the match." Cui Zeyu said, "Actually, Brother Xie didn't want a civil official's daughter—he felt they wouldn't have much to talk about. But the Emperor said that since Brother Xie has no roots in Bianjing, he must marry into an established family to stand firm. If it were anyone else, Brother Xie would have dismissed such talk out of hand, but since the Emperor issued the decree, he had no choice but to accept." After a pause, Cui Zeyu added, "She's the granddaughter of Minister Qin—the natal family of the Duchess of Dingguo. Do you know them, Sister?" "The Qin family?" Cui Lingrong thought for a moment. "I'm not very familiar with the Qin family, but I did see some of them when I attended a banquet. From what I know, the third and fourth young ladies of the Qin family are both of marriageable age. However, the third young lady is of legitimate birth while the fourth is concubine-born. Since the Emperor is bestowing the marriage, it must be the third young lady of legitimate birth." Cui Zeyu said the wedding date was set for the middle of next year. "Brother Xie's intention was to marry sooner, but the great households have all sorts of formalities to observe, which is why the date was pushed back. Brother Xie asked me to tell you, sister, that once he has completed the betrothal rites, he will send you a wedding invitation, and you must come." "I'll definitely go." Cui Lingrong said with a smile. "No matter what, this is a good thing." Xie Yunting had been alone in the world, and now he would have a family after marriage. Cui Lingrong felt genuinely happy for him. But none of them could have imagined that with time, things would change, and Xie Yunting's marriage would encounter such twists and turns. At this moment, Cui Lingrong went to see her younger brother again. She hesitated repeatedly but did not press him further about marriage. Just then, Caixia brought paper and brush, and Cui Zeyu began listing the people he wanted to invite. The Song Yu siblings were feeling cooped up inside the house. She wanted to go out and play in the snow, but Song Mingxuan didn't want to move, so she dragged Song Mingjin out instead. Half an hour later, Song Yu came back fuming, followed by a sobbing Song Mingjin. "What's wrong with Jin-ge?" Nanny Qiu crouched down to look and saw a red mark on Jin-ge's cheek. "Did he fall?" "I..." Song Mingjin glanced at his sister and didn't dare speak. Song Yu said crossly, "He's too embarrassed to say it, so I'll say it for him." She slapped a jade bi disc onto the table with a bang. "When we went out just now, I noticed he kept reaching into his pocket. I asked him what he was feeling for, and he couldn't say—that alone was suspicious. Turns out it was this thing. Guess who gave it to him?" Seeing how angry her daughter was, Cui Lingrong still spared her son's dignity and sent Caixia and Nanny Qiu out of the room. "It was Princess Rongjia who gave it to him!" Song Yu grew angrier as she spoke and turned to glare fiercely at her younger brother. "Have you never seen anything nice before? You'd even accept gifts from that vile woman—do you want to see Mother and me die of anger?" Hearing the words "vile woman," both Song Mingjin and Song Mingxuan froze. Their sister scolded them on ordinary days, but she had never used such language. Song Mingjin explained between sobs, "Lots of people at the Guozijian have nice accessories. If I don't have any, I'm afraid they'll laugh at me." "You're there to study, not to compete with others. It's your poor performance in your lessons that will make people laugh at you!" Song Yu was about to explode. She could no longer hold it in and told them about what had happened at the Wutong Courtyard that day. "Do you know that Princess Rongjia used such despicable means to harm me and force Mother to leave the Marquis's residence?" Cui Lingrong had never told her two sons about this matter. Now that Song Yu had spoken of it, Song Mingxuan's brows knitted tightly. Song Mingjin was still young and couldn't process so many things at once, but when he heard that his sister had been punished to kneel and kicked by their father, he carefully tugged at his sister's sleeve. "Sister, don't be angry. I won't pay any attention to the Princess from now on." "You'd better remember that!" Song Yu turned and sat down, not wanting to deal with her brother. Cui Lingrong looked at the jade bi disc, then at her young, still-innocent younger son. She had been strict with Jin-ge, yet Princess Rongjia had been secretly indulging him. Suddenly, she understood. Princess Rongjia could never truly care for Jin-ge's wellbeing, nor would she want to raise her children properly. Rather, she intended to raise Jin-ge and Xuan-ge to be spoiled and corrupted. To outsiders, Princess Rongjia appeared to have the heart of a loving mother—when Jin-ge wanted extravagant accessories, she gave them to him. But if this continued, Jin-ge would develop a taste for extravagance and spend all his time at the Guozijian competing with others in vanity. Then Jin-ge would be ruined. Cui Lingrong took a deep breath. Fortunately, it wasn't too late. Now she needed to make her two sons recognize this problem themselves. Seeing that her younger brother was about to speak, Cui Lingrong turned to the older Xuan-ge. "Xuan-ge, what do you think the Princess's intention is in doing this?"