More and more noble ladies gathered around. Lady Yang already felt completely overwhelmed, feeling both angry and anxious, as if her brain had turned into a bowl of mush.

She was the wife of the illegitimate eldest son, occupying an awkward position in the estate. Although Duke Yingguo valued this illegitimate grandson, they didn’t dare be too presumptuous. In the estate, they always kept their tails tucked, conducting themselves cautiously. She herself showed complete propriety and deference toward Lady He, her legitimate mother-in-law, always obeying Lady He’s every word.

But now something had gone wrong with Lady He’s guest, and what was fatal was that it even implicated their Xianyue Garden… She almost wanted to faint, frantically flailing about without any plan.

She knew that at this moment it would be best not to alarm the adults, that quietly suppressing this matter would be the proper thing to do. But this Miss Song the Sixth before her clearly had no intention of letting this go, and Miss Song the Fourth had already gone to find the Princess Consort of the Earl of Changning’s estate…

Shen Huixin didn’t understand what was happening. Looking at her sister-in-law and then at Miss Song the Sixth, she couldn’t get a word in.

When Song Chumi arrived, Great Aunt was conversing most pleasantly with Madam Cui—Cui Shi had been in the estate for five or six years, and during that time whenever Madam Cui came to the capital each year, it was she who entertained her. Therefore, they actually had quite a bit of private friendship. Now that Li Shi had died, she was sincere, and Madam Cui didn’t refuse, so it was very easy for them to talk.

Upon suddenly hearing that something had happened on Song Chuyi’s side, even though Great Aunt normally had a good temperament, she couldn’t help but become angry at the equally shocked Lady He: “How could this happen out of nowhere?!”

Madam Cui had already stood up. Although she hadn’t experienced the most dangerous moments of the Tongzhou incident, she had seen Song Chuyi’s composure when facing danger. Hearing that Song Chuyi had actually grabbed hold of a maid in anger this time, she knew the matter was probably not that simple. Glancing at the astonished Lady He, she said coolly: “Little Six is not a child without proper judgment. We should go see what exactly happened. There are many girls over there—having them gathered together is not good either.”

These words awakened Lady He. She looked at the Duchess of Yingguo, then hurriedly led Great Aunt and Madam Cui toward Jinxiu Pavilion.

The weather was cool today. The sun that had made people’s hearts panic in the previous days had already hidden itself in the clouds. The rising breeze made people’s hearts feel comfortable, but Lady He could barely maintain the smile on her face.

When she arrived at Jinxiu Pavilion and saw their confrontational stance on the balcony, she could no longer even smile. She turned and instructed a nearby nanny to lead the young ladies to Bishui Residence for boating and garden viewing, before following Madam Cui and Great Aunt upstairs to the second floor.

Seeing her mother, Shen Huixin hurried forward, anxiously grasping her hand at a loss as she explained what had happened. But she only knew bits and pieces and couldn’t really explain clearly. Lady He patted her hand to comfort her, but couldn’t help sighing in her heart—she had raised her daughter too simply. In the future when she goes to her in-laws’ home, who knows…

But now was not the time to lament about this. She softly instructed her daughter: “It’s alright, you lead your sisters to go play at Bishui Residence.”

Madam Cui had already stepped forward to take Song Chuyi’s hand, her gaze heavy as she glanced at the little maid whose face had turned deathly pale as if she would faint the next moment, then turned to ask Song Chuyi: “What happened?”

Great Aunt was also anxiously examining Song Chuyi from head to toe. Only after seeing she hadn’t suffered any harm did she slowly let out a breath—today’s outing was something she had pushed for. She and Lady He had always had a deep relationship. Under Old Madam Song’s thousand warnings and reminders, if she still let something happen to Song Chuyi, there would truly be no way to answer for it.

The people on the second floor instantly dispersed completely. Lady He’s anxious heart settled halfway. After inquiring about Song Chuyi’s wellbeing with a couple questions, she glanced unfavorably at the maid, then asked: “What happened?”

Song Chuyi opened her hand and passed over the squarely folded paper slip to Lady He, her tone steady without ripples: “This is what this elder sister gave me. She also delivered a verbal message to me, saying the Crown Prince wanted to see me at Xianyue Garden, and also said that as long as I give this to the old woman at Xianyue Garden, they would let me in.”

Everyone present couldn’t help but gasp. Lady He especially—she used all her strength to restrain herself from slapping the maid to the ground. With trembling hands, she received the paper slip from Song Chuyi’s hand.

“I haven’t looked at this paper slip, but I think I cannot look at it nor should I look at it.” Song Chuyi looked mockingly at the little maid and laughed once: “Just like how some words cannot be said nor should be said. Like how this elder sister said the Crown Prince asked me to go to Xianyue Garden. Although I’m young, I also know this doesn’t follow proper etiquette, and moreover is not something the Crown Prince would do. It only makes me suspect whether someone in the estate is playing a malicious prank…”

Lady He couldn’t help but get goosebumps all over her body. She looked at Song Chuyi in disbelief, suddenly feeling she had never known this Miss Song the Sixth.

Trembling, she opened the paper slip and glanced at it, then immediately turned pale with shock. As if afraid others would see, she crumpled the paper slip into a ball.

But before she could think about how to respond, Madam Cui and Great Aunt were already eyeing her like tigers from the side. She forcefully suppressed the alarm in her heart and smiled stiffly, nodding: “It must be some child in the estate who doesn’t know better… a prank…”

Madam Cui mocked coolly: “If the Crown Prince were to hear about this prank, I don’t know if he would be able to laugh about it.”

Great Aunt’s expression had also darkened to the extreme. Having been inexplicably dragged into such a whirlpool, how could she not see that there were probably other matters involved? She immediately rolled up her sleeves and coughed once: “Madam Shen…”

Lady He was so shocked by these two sentences she almost couldn’t stand. She immediately turned and pointed at the maid, angrily demanding: “What exactly happened?! Who told you to come deliver the message?! Who gave you this thing?!”

The little maid’s legs had already gone soft, and she slumped down along the railing onto the ground. Hearing this, she cried anxiously, biting her hand and stammering without being able to speak.

Lady He was so angry she had a headache. Losing her patience, she kicked the maid sprawling, pointing at her and demanding sternly: “Speak quickly! Which branch are you from, and who are your parents?! If you can’t explain this matter clearly today, I’ll immediately have your entire family sold off!”

The little maid was frightened into a daze by this torrent of scolding and threats. She knew Lady He’s temperament, and knew even more that she could do what she said. No longer daring to hide anything, she kowtowed and cried bitterly: “It was, it was the heir grandson and—”

Lady He’s eyes widened. As if afraid others would hear, she looked back, only to see Madam Cui and Great Aunt had already revealed shocked expressions, and Song Chuyi had a mocking smile hanging at the corner of her lips…

How could she have calculated everything but miscalculated about this son who always did as he pleased! Lady He felt her legs go weak, and only by gripping the shoulder of the nanny beside her did she barely avoid sliding to the ground.