The old lady returned to Ninghui Hall in a daze, sitting in a chair panting heavily, her mind filled with the image of Princess Jiahua's every smile and gesture.

"It's so similar, it's uncanny..."

Before the old lady could even sit down properly, a servant outside announced that the madam had arrived.

The old lady composed herself, gave a wink to the maid, and a moment later Yuan Fuling came in carrying a list. She bowed to the old lady and said, "Mother, your daughter-in-law has prepared a list of betrothal gifts. Please take a look."

The list was handed over, and the old lady took it and glanced at it briefly. Although the list was long, many of the items on it were worthless; to put it bluntly, it was just a list of shoddy goods.

"After all, Chuan-ge'er is the eldest grandson of the Duke's mansion. After his marriage, he should be granted the title of heir. We must not be careless. Last year, the heir of the Marquis of Zhongyi presented a betrothal gift to the Sun family. Although the betrothal gift was only fifty loads, each load was substantial. Our Duke's mansion cannot be compared to the Marquis's mansion."

The Dowager placed the list on the table and said earnestly, "There are many rumors circulating about our household now. If Lian Chuan's marriage is criticized, it will be a disgrace to our Duke's mansion."

Yuan Fuling's face was tense, and all she could say was that she was complaining that she hadn't received enough.

“Add another forty percent,” the Dowager said.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Fuling was both angry and shocked, and even her voice trembled slightly: "Mother, the Duke's mansion still has a large family to support. There are many expenses inside and outside the mansion. Just take the Duke's daily food, clothing and daily necessities, everything is of the finest quality. Every month, the ink collection alone costs a thousand taels of silver. Chuan'er is also the first in this generation to get married. I am worried that the other legitimate descendants will feel resentful when they compare themselves to him."

The old lady remained silent, scrutinizing Yuan Fuling with her gaze. Yuan Fuling felt her scalp tingle under her gaze and had no choice but to compromise: "Mother, I regard Chuan Ge'er as my own son. I am willing to take 10,000 taels from Yao Jie'er's dowry to add to Chuan Ge'er's betrothal gifts."

This statement was so well-reasoned that no one could find fault with it.

Normally, the Grand Madam would definitely have given Yuan Fuling a dressing down, but today she was frightened by Song Yue, and the marriage came too suddenly, so she hadn't had time to think about these issues carefully and had no choice but to compromise.

"This matter..."

"The lady's selflessness is truly moving."

A cool, clear voice drifted in.

Then Song Yue appeared before them. She had changed into her own clothes and stood in front of the Grand Madam, letting her look her over.

Looking at Song Yue's face, the old lady became even more certain that she had misjudged her, and her expression softened considerably.

“I am still young, and my elder brother and I are siblings. Why don’t I give all of my dowry to him as a betrothal gift? As the eldest daughter of the Shen family, my elder brother’s wedding must be grand and magnificent.” Song Yue smiled slightly at Yuan Fuling.

It's as if they've forgotten the unpleasantness of yesterday, acting like nothing happened.

Yuan Fuling frowned deeply; she had no intention of giving Song Yue a dowry at all!

The old lady felt a little awkward upon hearing this and coughed lightly: "What is yours is yours. What do you mean by giving it all to your elder brother? The Duke's mansion is not so poor that it cannot even afford a betrothal gift."

Then the old lady looked at Yuan Fuling: "Add another 30%! Send it over after the list is finalized."

Yuan Fuling angrily clenched the handkerchief in her hand, her anger rising in clusters, and glanced at Song Yue.

Song Yue returned the smile, her eyes filled with undisguised sarcasm, which infuriated Yuan Fuling even more. Unable to do anything about it, she had no choice but to give in: "Yes, daughter-in-law will go and prepare it right away."

She couldn't wait to leave, afraid that staying any longer would make her sick with anger.

After everyone left, the Grand Madam looked at Song Yue and then remembered the purpose of her visit to Yuehua Pavilion that morning. She pointed to a chair next to her and said, "Sit down, I have something to say to you."

Song Yue sat up obediently.

"What did you say to Madam Shen yesterday?"

Song Yue had already prepared her explanation. She was certain that Minister Shen would not tell Madam Shen all his secrets. Yesterday, she was just trying to scare Madam Shen: "At yesterday's banquet, I got lost at the Shen family's house. I overheard two ladies talking about suing the Shen family, so I thought I'd say something to scare them."

Upon hearing this, the old lady frowned deeply; "So you dare to threaten Madam Shen based on hearsay?"

“I heard it with my own ears, but it was just a reminder. If Madam Shen believed it, then she must be feeling guilty. So, it must be true,” Song Yue explained.

The old lady was speechless with anger. She picked up the teacup, held it in her hands, and then put it down again. She had been on tenterhooks all night, thinking that Song Yue really had some kind of leverage over her, or that the Emperor of Northern Chu had said something. But it turned out that she had only overheard a few words from behind the wall.

Furthermore, Madam Shen is truly foolish, daring to invite just anyone to her residence.

"Then what you said yesterday, invoking the Emperor to say that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was already being feared by the Emperor, was also false?" the Grand Madam asked.

Song Yue shook her head: "No, it's not that. The Emperor told me personally that the Duke's Mansion is restless and unruly. If it weren't for our old friendship, they would have been exiled far away long ago, so as not to stay under his nose and get in his way!"

This was obviously something Song Yue made up.

Even if you gave Duke Jingguo ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to go to the palace to question the Emperor of Northern Chu.

The old lady's expression, which had just calmed down, darkened again. She took a deep breath and looked at Song Yue. Seeing the carefree smile on the other's face, she couldn't help but ask, "You are also a member of the Duke of Jing's Mansion. The Emperor is wary of the Duke of Jing's Mansion, so didn't you say anything in support?"

Song Yue despised the Grand Madam's hypocritical behavior. The Duke of Jingguo's mansion had repeatedly mistreated her, yet they still expected her to speak up for them.

It's good enough if they don't kick someone when they're down.

Song Yue rubbed her face, the slap mark on her face was still swollen. She said softly, "When I first came to the Duke's mansion, I thought everyone was nice to me, but since I came back, there hasn't been a single day of peace. They clearly promised to take me to visit guests, but I still ended up being schemed against for no reason."

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