Chapter 92

Chapter 92: Repaying the Debt With the Duke of Dingguo having spoken so directly, Song Shulan could no longer open his mouth, and the rest of his words were all swallowed back down. Instead, he thought to himself that today's opportunity was rare—being able to drink with the Duke of Dingguo and Minister Qian—so he needed to make the most of it. After three rounds of wine, the Duke of Dingguo remained deeply worried, his brows furrowed. Qian Jin also had his own schemes. When Song Shulan went to relieve himself, he pulled the Duke of Dingguo aside and said, "Ah, my son has truly been unlucky. I don't know what Song Shulan is thinking—going to such lengths for a merchant's man, and not even his own brother-in-law at that!" "Exactly." The Duke of Dingguo was in a bad mood today, and hearing such matters only made him more irritated. "Duke of Guo, why don't you talk some sense into Song Shulan and tell him to stop meddling in Cui Zeyu's affairs? Isn't he just a merchant? Let him be exiled and done with it—why must this hurt everyone's feelings?" Qian Jin, afraid he couldn't clean up his own mess, wanted the Duke of Dingguo to step in. After all, there were few people who could suppress Xie Yunting, and the Duke of Dingguo was one of them. The Duke of Dingguo agreed readily. "Fine. Such a simple matter—I'll not only speak to Song Shulan, but I'll also teach that brat Xie Yunting a lesson when I see him!" With the Duke of Dingguo's word, Qian Jin felt considerably more at ease. The next day, Qian Jin went to the Rong Prince Mansion to find his sister. When the two met, Lady Wu happened to learn of it. Lady Wu brought her people to the shop and met with Cui Lingrong on the second floor. "I know what you're going to ask—it's about your adopted brother, isn't it?" Lady Wu spoke first. "My second sister-in-law and Rongjia grew up together. Today I saw Qian Jin at the Prince Mansion, so I imagine your adopted brother's matter has something to do with them." Cui Lingrong's light brows furrowed slightly, and she thought to herself, just as she suspected. "Sister Cui, I'll call you that, shall I? This isn't our first meeting, so let's be a bit closer." Lady Wu smiled lightly. "Your adopted brother is your money bag. Rongjia's move is quite clever—having the Qian family act on her behalf means no one would directly think of her involvement. Cut off your money bag, and there are many things you can no longer do. Has Rongjia grown a brain?" Cui Lingrong said it wasn't so. "When Wang Shanxi's Wife was still around, she was the one giving Commandery Princess Rongjia advice. Now that Chen De's Wife has come, she seems to have even more schemes. It should be her idea." Knowing that Commandery Princess Rongjia was the mastermind gave Cui Lingrong a target. She looked at Lady Wu and lowered her posture somewhat. "I beg the Hereditary Princess's Wife to point me in a direction. That younger brother of mine was raised by me—to me, he is like a blood brother." "Do you truly value him that much?" A mere adopted brother—Lady Wu couldn't quite empathize with Cui Lingrong's actions. "Yes, I value him greatly." Cui Lingrong's thin lips twisted into a bitter smile. "If I may say so without the Hereditary Princess's Wife laughing at me—my mother was a Successor Wife, and she passed away after giving birth to me. Not long after, my father remarried. The older brothers and sisters from the previous marriage were not close to me, and the ones after were even less so. The only benefit was that I obtained the status of a legitimate daughter, which allowed me to marry into the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion." The Cui family was not originally from Bianjing, so ordinary people wouldn't know such matters. By exposing her own wounds, she hoped to win Lady Wu's sympathy and get her help. Lady Wu was taken aback. That Cui Lingrong would speak so candidly showed that she was extending a gesture of goodwill. "No wonder Sister Cui values her adopted brother so much. A child you raised yourself would naturally be closer to you." Pausing to think for a moment, Lady Wu continued, "The root of this matter lies with the Qian family. That Qian Jin—true to his name—is especially fond of money. Over the years, his hands haven't been clean. If you can find someone to investigate him, he will surely stop pursuing this matter." But investigating a Minister was no easy task. Even if Song Shulan were to act, it would be difficult for him to have that kind of capability. Cui Lingrong had no choice but to go to Xie Yunting. When Xie Yunting learned of the matter, he immediately began investigating the Qian family's income. When Cui Lingrong returned to the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion, she was exhausted, and was summoned by Old Madame. After the start of spring, the weather was pleasant. In previous years at this time, Old Madame Song would organize a spring outing. In the past few days, she had sent people to Qiushuang Zhai but found no trace of Cui Lingrong. After learning of Cui Zeyu's matter, she immediately had people wait at the gate for Cui Lingrong's return. The moment she saw Cui Lingrong, Old Madame Song began to scold her. "Are you trying to disgrace our Marquis Mansion completely? Lady Cui, for the sake of an unrelated person, you keep going to see a man again and again. Have you no shame at all?" The words were too harsh, and Cui Lingrong's cheeks burned hot. Before she could reply, Commandery Princess Rongjia entered. "Sister Cui, don't blame Old Madame for being angry. I've heard about your matter as well. But I was afraid you might misunderstand, so I didn't dare rush to speak with my second sister-in-law." It was she who had passed the information to Old Madame, and she who had deliberately mentioned Xie Yunting. Now, she had come specifically to watch the show. Cui Lingrong looked up at her. "Commandery Princess, must matters between you and me drag in innocent bystanders?" "What do you mean?" Commandery Princess Rongjia pretended not to understand. Cui Lingrong said nothing more. She knew it couldn't be explained clearly, so she simply didn't bother. She rose, bowed to Old Madame, then turned to look at Commandery Princess Rongjia. "Commandery Princess, Zeyu's matter need not trouble you. As for yourself—Old Madame has been sending you nourishing tonics lately. Don't disappoint her expectations. Give the Marquis an heir as soon as possible, and only then can you prove you're capable of bearing children." With that, she left. Princess Rongjia hated it most when people brought up the topic of having children, and her face turned as black as coal. Old Madame Song didn't notice Princess Rongjia's expression, but was instead angered by Cui Lingrong. "Look at how arrogant she is! Before I've even finished speaking, she just walks away. Does she still have any respect for me as her mother-in-law?" She summoned Mama Xu. "Go and tell Lady Cui that if she won't even listen to my words, she can forget about being the eldest young mistress, and forget about managing the household. Hand over the account books and keys to you!" Mama Xu also felt that the eldest young mistress was somewhat insolent, and thought this was a good opportunity to put her in her place. Now that Old Madame had given the order, she immediately went to Qiushuang Zhai with an air of self-importance. When she arrived at Qiushuang Zhai and stated her purpose, the eldest young mistress showed no reaction at all. Mama Xu had no choice but to emphasize again, "Eldest Young Mistress, Old Madame said that since you won't even listen to your elder's words, you might as well not be the eldest young mistress. She asks that you hand over the account books and keys." "Handing them over is fine," Cui Lingrong said. "A while back, I calculated an account for the Marquis. Over these years, I've subsidized the Marquis Mansion with a total sum of silver. Old Madame gave me six thousand seven hundred taels, and the remaining seventy thousand taels—if Old Madame gives me that amount, I'll hand over the account books and keys immediately." Time and time again, did they really think she had such a good temper? Every time they had to drag the people around her into it. Since they wouldn't let her have peace, then from now on, the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion could forget about maintaining its dignified appearance. "What are you saying, Madam? That money was taken out by you of your own accord—no one forced you!" Mama Xu said. "Is that so?" Cui Lingrong sneered. "When the cloth shop first started showing promise, Old Madame came asking about its profits again and again, complaining about poverty openly and covertly, going on about how the Marquis Mansion was struggling. She even said that since the Marquis Mansion would eventually be my son's inheritance anyway, the money I spent to maintain its dignity was also for me and my children. And now? Will the Marquis Mansion still belong to me and Xuan-ge and his brothers?" Seeing that Mama Xu had no reply, she told her to go back and deliver her message. "Go and tell Old Madame that every person by my side is someone I hold dear. Since Old Madame thinks Zeyu is unimportant, then from now on, I'll withhold half of the Marquis Mansion's monthly allowance to repay my seventy thousand taels. Once it's fully repaid, I'll hand over the account books to her."