The Valued Lady is Truly Dominant

Chapter 253: Chapter 253 Madam Song is Very Anxious

The Duke Madam was surrounded by a crowd of madams as they strolled through her garden, listening to the compliments from those around her, a smile across her face, until a maid rushed forward to greet her, an anxious expression on her face.

The Duke Madam slightly tilted her head, and the nanny beside her immediately stepped forward, pulling the maid aside for questioning. After learning what the maid reported, she furrowed her brow and quickly returned to the Duke Madam to report.

Although the words exchanged between the nanny and the maid were inaudible, the crowd had always been good observers. Seeing the nanny’s expression, they couldn’t help but raise their eyebrows, a spark of gossip igniting in their eyes.

Could there be some scandal brewing in the inner chambers of the Duke Mansion?

The Duke Madam, having heard the matter from her trusted nanny, paused for a moment and instinctively glanced at several madams in the crowd, her eyebrows lightly furrowing.

Their hearts skipped a beat.

It felt like something was amiss.

One person, bold enough, directly asked, ”What’s wrong?”

The Duke Madam laughed and said, ”The girls had a bit of a quarrel, causing a ruckus.”

The crowd’s tense hearts relaxed. Just a quarrel, not a scandal, that’s good.

However, the Duke Madam’s next sentence made the crowd sway slightly.

”Madam Song is there now reprimanding them; shall we also go take a look?”

The crowd: ”...”

It’s over. What sort of quarrel could have alerted her?

Madam Song trembled as she clutched her handkerchief, feeling somewhat frantic—was her mother about to unleash her fury again?

The young girls at the center of the topic crowded together in a panic, trembling as they greeted Song Ci and Niu Pan’er.

Lin Zhiying and the young lady beside her, named Qian’er, were ashen-faced, their bodies swaying.

They had gossiped behind others’ backs, never expecting it all to reach the ears of those involved, and more importantly, to reach the elders. What to do now?

Their legs were all shaking, their faces pale with fright.

”Ma—Madam,” the illegitimate daughter from the Duke Mansion, Qi Wan, also thought to herself that this was not good. She had been hosting this group of noble ladies, yet let such a matter occur. Later, her mother would surely ground and punish her.

She truly felt Lin Zhiying and the others had driven her to ruin.

Song Ci turned away from her, looking at the crimson-dressed girl, and said, ”Whose young lady are you?”

Lin Zhiying’s face flushed red, her lips trembling as she tried to reply, but not a single word could come out.

”Weren’t you eloquent just now? How come you can’t say a word now? Even unable to reply?” Song Ci laughed.

Her smile didn’t reach her eyes at all, making it particularly chilling to hear.

Lin Zhiying was about to cry, dropping down to her knees: ”Madam, Commandery Princess, I was wrong.”

Qi Wan stepped forward and said, ”Madam, she is a young lady from Viscount Xiangyang’s family. We just had a few cups of floral wine and started babbling nonsense.” She then looked at Niu Pan’er, earnestly curtsying: ”Please, Commandery Princess Dongyang, be merciful and forgive us this once.”

Niu Pan’er looked at these trembling young girls and sighed slightly, holding Song Ci’s hand and said, ”Madam, they are still children, after all. Why bother holding a grudge against them? May I accompany you back for some tea?”

”Commandery Princess, it’s not that I wish to argue, I merely feel that even as children, they must know right from wrong, understand their family and country, and learn what respect is.” Song Ci said, ”One can ignore greater truths, but at the very least, they must know gratitude. Only by appreciating one’s blessings can one receive more. Do you think they understand?”

”Madam, how did these little brats manage to upset you? Shall I punish them to toast and apologize?” The Heir’s wife, Mrs. Lu, walked briskly over, smiling as she tried to smooth things over.

As she arrived, the Duke Madam and the others also arrived shortly after.