Song Chuyi followed the Princess Consort of Zhennan’s slender jade finger and saw Ye Yunxiu’s face full of indignant anger.

The dispute from her previous life surfaced in her mind—Ye Yunxiu was the legitimate eldest daughter of the Prince of Zhennan. At age five, she had been personally granted the title of Princess by imperial decree, making her one of the most prestigious young noblewomen in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

In her past life, when she had visited Lady Li’s home, she had gotten into a huge quarrel with Ye Yunxiu over Shen Qingrang and had even scratched Ye Yunxiu’s neck with her hand. Ye Yunxiu, furious at being humiliated in public, had cried all the way home.

What happened afterward—she herself had been shunned by Old Madam Song, then came the conflict with Song Chumi. Step by step, she had walked down the path of self-destruction that Lady Li had paved for her, never able to turn back.

Old Madam Song glanced at Song Chuyi imperceptibly and said with a smile, “Children’s quarrels—our Little Sixth has been spoiled by me since childhood and doesn’t know her limits. I hope the Princess Consort will look at this old woman’s face and forgive her this once.”

Both Song Chumi and Song Chubin looked up at Old Madam Song in disbelief, never dreaming that she would actually take responsibility by attributing everything to her having “spoiled” Song Chuyi.

The smile on the Princess Consort of Zhennan’s face also paused for an instant, but when she turned her head, her smile became even sweeter, her eyes curving into crescents. Taking Song Chuyi’s hand and pulling her forward, she chided, “Look, the Old Madam says you’ve been spoiled and have a bad temper. Do you admit it?” After a pause, she smiled again, “You absolutely mustn’t say you did nothing wrong. Our A’Xiu cried at home until even her eyes were swollen—this time she came specifically to ‘take revenge’ on you.”

The Prince of Zhennan held military authority over three guards—the Fūjūn Guard, Fūjūn Rear Guard, and Fūjūn Front Guard—and was simultaneously a hereditary prince of a different surname. His status could not be considered anything but noble.

Yet the Princess Consort of Zhennan gave Old Madam Song complete face.

Song Chuyi knew why—the Prince of Zhennan’s legitimate second son would soon be going to Fujian to command troops, and the Fujian Commander-in-Chief Cui Shaoting was from the direct line of the Boling Cui clan, which was connected by marriage to the Earl of Changning’s Manor. In a place like Fujian, infested everywhere with pirates, one careless move could cost him his life, so establishing connections was necessary.

Not to mention the Prince of Zhennan’s heir—Ye Jingkuan, who had now married Princess Rongcheng. If he wanted to seek a position in the Governor’s Office in the future, he would also need to maintain good relations with Song Chengru, who currently served as Minister of Revenue.

The Princess Consort of Zhennan spoke openly and directly, clearly stating that Ye Yunxiu had returned home aggrieved, yet she said absolutely nothing else. She agreed with the Old Madam’s explanation of children quarreling, giving Song Chuyi complete face.

Song Chuyi naturally understood the principle of taking advantage of the situation. Her face immediately flushed bright red as she went shamefacedly to apologize to Ye Yunxiu.

She sincerely and earnestly performed a courtesy before Ye Yunxiu, which so startled Ye Yunxiu that she kept backing away.

The Princess Consort of Zhennan couldn’t help but look at Song Chuyi a few more times, suddenly feeling moved, “I don’t know why, but seeing her today, I seem to see Tingting from years past. Little Sixth is growing more and more to resemble her mother.”

Cui Tingting, the legitimate daughter of the Boling Cui clan and Song Chuyi’s mother, was famous throughout the capital for both her beauty and virtue, always endearing herself to others.

Old Madam Song understood the meaning in the Princess Consort of Zhennan’s words and simply nodded with a slight smile.

Ye Yunxiu was so shocked by Song Chuyi’s apology that she couldn’t speak for a long moment. When she finally reacted, her face flushed red with anger, “Who wants your apology! You, you…” She wanted to say “two-faced villain” but thought better of it and didn’t dare say it aloud.

Setting aside the previous grievances over Shen Qingrang, Song Chuyi actually quite liked Ye Yunxiu. Ye Yunxiu was truly a pampered daughter of a great family—when she liked something, she liked it; when she didn’t, she wouldn’t use her status and position to make things difficult for you, nor would she pretend to like you while stabbing you in the back.

At this moment, being disdained by Ye Yunxiu didn’t make her feel awkward. After all, previously for Shen Qingrang’s sake, she had scolded Ye Yunxiu until she cried all the way home. Thinking of this, she felt somewhat ashamed. After all, counting everything, she had already lived over forty years—about the same age as the First Madam. It wasn’t right to bully a girl who was only eleven or twelve years old.

“What happened last time was truly my fault. I spoke without thinking.” Song Chuyi shamelessly went to take Ye Yunxiu’s hand, looking at her pitifully with large, grape-like eyes distinct in black and white, “Sister Yunxiu, please forgive me. If you really can’t let go of your anger, hitting me a few times would be fine too.”

Her pitiful appearance resembled exactly the fat, plump Persian cat Ye Yunxiu kept at home, which always showed this same expression after secretly eating dried fish.

Ye Yunxiu’s heart softened. The little resentment she had left dissipated like smoke. Uncomfortably withdrawing her right hand, she pursed her lips, “Fine, considering you’re young and don’t understand things, I won’t hold it against you.”

The Princess Consort of Zhennan couldn’t help but laugh, glancing at Old Madam Song while inwardly murmuring to herself.

This Sixth Miss Song was truly a little shrewd operator, actually knowing her daughter responded to gentleness rather than force, as if she had Ye Yunxiu completely figured out.

Old Madam Song’s face also revealed a satisfied expression—able to bend and stretch, knowing when to yield—this was called understanding the times.

The First Madam also smiled and beckoned Song Chuyi to her side, embracing her while smiling at Ye Yunxiu, “This little girl has a sharp tongue but an excellent heart. Our Princess Yunxiu is magnanimous—please forgive her this once. Otherwise, when we return, the Old Madam won’t know how to punish her!”

Ye Yunxiu had heard that the Earl Manor had strict rules. Though she had indeed hated Song Chuyi so much her teeth itched before, she wasn’t angry anymore. Upon hearing this, she glanced at her own mother and lowered her head with a slightly flushed face, “I’m not angry anymore.”

The First Madam’s last sentence successfully eliminated even the final knot in Ye Yunxiu’s heart. The Princess Consort of Zhennan looked deeply at the First Madam, unable to help sighing that the Song family members were truly shrewd operators among shrewd operators.

First Madam Su laughed heartily at just the right moment, her tone very light and cheerful, “Young ladies in the inner chambers quarreling and making up is the most normal thing. Back when I was this age, I caused quite a few of my close friends to get angry.”

Everyone nodded with smiles.

“Since the young ladies have made up, why not go out and play? We’re going to watch an opera in a while, and you young ones probably don’t enjoy staying with us. It just so happens our manor’s garden has several swings set up—you can go swing. I’ll have servants tidy up the garden for you, whether you want to swing or go boating, it’s up to you.” First Madam Su looked at the young ladies with a smile.

No one had expected the Su family would let the young ladies play by themselves. They couldn’t help but cheer with delight. Such opportunities were very rare. Even Princess Yunxiu couldn’t help but smile and look at her younger sister beside her.