After being divorced, she overturned the capital and seized the empress's position!

Song Hengchuan, holding the whip in his hand, angrily swung it away from Song Yao and Yuan Fuling: "Today I will teach you a lesson in place of my deceased mother."

Looking at Song Hengchuan's gritted teeth, he didn't seem like he was disciplining his stubborn younger sister, but rather like he was dealing with an enemy.

Yuan Fuling pulled Song Yao aside, feigning reluctance.

Song Hengchuan raised his whip high and lashed it at Song Yue.

Song Yue stood there, motionless, a hint of sarcasm playing at the corners of her lips.

The whip's scream didn't come; instead, Ling Yi caught it steadily and, using all his inner strength, broke the long whip made of dragon bone into several pieces, which scattered casually on the ground.

Song Hengchuan was stunned: "How dare you! Who are you to destroy my whip!"

That was something he had commissioned from renowned craftsmen and spent several months building, believing it to be indestructible, yet it was easily destroyed by a mere guard.

"He's my guard. What's wrong with him protecting me when I'm in trouble?" Song Yue curled her lip and glanced disdainfully at the whip that was broken into several pieces.

"you!"

The Dowager Lady of the Duke's Mansion rushed over and interrupted the noise in the courtyard with a scolding.

"enough!"

Everyone fell silent.

With the slap mark on her face, Song Yao approached the Grand Madam and said aggrievedly, "Grandmother, it's one thing for Sister Yue to hit me, but she also talked back to my elder brother and insulted Mother."

Looking at the handprint, the old lady frowned, her solemn face flashing with displeasure as she looked at Song Yue: "You did this?"

"Yes," Song Yue readily agreed.

Song Yao didn't expect this silly boy to admit it so quickly. She covered her face and sobbed, looking even more aggrieved.

The old lady's breath hitched.

“Song Yao openly slandered me for being raped, she deserves to be beaten. Secondly, I never insulted my mother, I was just teaching a disobedient aunt a lesson. As for talking back to my elder brother…” Song Yue pondered for a moment, then pointed to the broken whip on the ground: “I was just protecting myself.”

Seeing her sharp-tongued rebuttal, the old lady became even angrier. Over the years, how many juniors had dared to be so presumptuous in front of her?

"Who told you she was just a concubine? You've been raised in the countryside for years and don't know any manners!"

When the Grand Madam reprimanded Song Yue, everyone else gloated.

Yuan Fuling, in particular, had tears welling up in her eyes and choked up, saying, "Mother, please calm down. Yue'er is young and doesn't know the rules. When I have time, I will definitely teach her the rules properly."

"You think you're worthy!" Song Yue pointed at Yuan Fuling without any politeness, sneering repeatedly: "If you're the legal wife, then what is my mother, Princess Jia Hua?"

Yuan Fuling was breathing rapidly. She quickly glanced at the old lady's gloomy face and cursed her inwardly for being so nonsensical.

The old lady spoke in a deep voice, her eyes fixed on Song Yue with a gloomy gaze: "What did you say!"

Song Yue scoffed and said to the Grand Madam, word by word, "The Duke's Mansion owes its current status entirely to my mother, Princess Jia Hua. Grand Madam, you insist on elevating a concubine. Where does that leave my mother's contributions?"

"You!" The old lady was so angry that she couldn't speak. Her vision blurred, and her fingertips trembled as she pointed at Song Yue.

Song Yue was not afraid at all, and with that face again, in the eyes of the Grand Madam, it was clear that Princess Jia Hua had returned.

Thinking of Princess Jia Hua, the Grand Madam couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

“Grandmother…” Song Yao shook the old lady’s arm aggrievedly: “Sister Yue is too outrageous. Now she doesn’t even respect you anymore.”

Song Yue, however, was not afraid at all. She knew that the Grand Madam was also very anxious. Since the Northern Chu Emperor ascended the throne, she had been on tenterhooks every day, fearing that the Northern Chu Emperor would find a reason to take action against the Duke of Jingguo's mansion.

If anyone were to slander Yuan Fuling today, she certainly wouldn't stand idly by.

But Song Yue, with that face and having returned in a huff, made a big fuss about it. In a few days, the Emperor of Northern Chu would want to see Song Yue, and what if Song Yue said something else nonsense?

Therefore, the old lady gently pushed Song Yao's arm away: "Yao'er, you are a lady of a respectable family, not a shrew from the streets. How could you say such things to your younger sister?"

Song Yao was stunned.

"Hurry up and apologize to Yue'er!" the Grand Madam scolded.

Song Yue was not surprised at all. She looked at Song Yao with a half-smile. In her previous life, Song Yao had married into the Zhennan Prince's Mansion with her. Although she was a concubine, her treatment was no worse than that of her, the legitimate wife.

As soon as she entered, Song Yao took over the housekeeping duties.

Pei Zhao favored him daily.

Confined to the courtyard, she was frequently bullied and humiliated by Song Yao.

In places where she couldn't see, Song Yao instructed the nanny to prick her with silver needles, which was painful but wouldn't leave any marks.

She personally sought to settle this score.

“Mother!” Song Yao looked at Yuan Fuling with a wronged expression.

Yuan Fuling opened her mouth, but was interrupted by the Grand Madam: "Yao'er!"

Seeing that the Grand Madam was angry, Song Yao had no choice but to bite the bullet and apologize to Song Yue: "Sister Yue, I was just being blunt. Please forgive me this time."

Song Yue nodded seriously: "As long as Sister Yao doesn't say anything wrong, I won't hit you easily."

"You!" Song Yao gritted her teeth in anger.

That silly girl, she's so angry!

Seeing that she had done her job, Song Yue respectfully curtsied to the Grand Madam, saying, "Greetings to Grandmother."

The old lady did not make things difficult for Song Yue, as if the unpleasantness from earlier had never happened. She smiled and helped her up, saying, "Good child, you've suffered."

Song Yue pouted, feeling wronged: "I have indeed been quite frightened these past few days. Grandmother, you must stand up for me. And those rumors, I don't know where they came from, they're practically driving me crazy."

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener, and Yuan Fuling felt a chill run down her spine.

The old lady nodded perfunctorily: "You've just returned, you should rest well. This concerns the reputation of the Duke's Mansion, we cannot tolerate this. Someone, take the Third Miss away to rest."

“Grandmother!” Song Yue smiled sweetly at the Grand Madam. “I want to live in Mother’s Moonflower Courtyard.”

"No!" Song Yao hurriedly refused: "That's my mother's courtyard. Your courtyard has been arranged in Yuhan Courtyard."

Ignoring Song Yao, Song Yue stared intently at the Grand Madam.

"Song Yue, don't push your luck and cause chaos in the house!" Song Hengchuan threatened through gritted teeth.

Song Yue looked at Song Hengchuan with a wronged expression: "Big brother, I have never seen my mother since I was born. I have finally come back and want to live in the courtyard where my mother used to live, to bask in her presence. Is that wrong?"

Song Hengchuan choked up, his face somewhat embarrassed. He turned to look at the disappointment on Yuan Fuling's face and quickly said, "My mother's belongings are still here. I'll have someone pack them up and send them to Yuhan Courtyard later."

"Relics?" Song Yue raised an eyebrow. It seemed that Song Hengchuan was still unaware of the truth.

What a fool!

She was a thief who acted as her mother, and she was completely fooled without even realizing it.

The old lady had a feeling that Song Yue must know something, so she quickly tried to smooth things over: "You can stay at Yuhan Courtyard for now. If you're not used to it, you can move later."

Song Yue knew she couldn't move in today. Since she was already back, there was no need to rush things. As for Yuehua Pavilion, she was determined to have Yuan Fuling vacate it herself.

“Okay, I’ll listen to Grandmother.” Song Yue nodded obediently, as if the arrogant and domineering girl from just now wasn’t her.

Before leaving, she glanced at Yuan Fuling.

The other party simply stopped pretending and looked back at him with a pair of malicious eyes.

Song Yue smiled and went to Yuhan Courtyard led by her maid.

Yuhan Courtyard isn't bad, it's just that the location is rather remote. The courtyard is very clean, and the layout is exactly the same as in my previous life.

It looks magnificent, but the whole house is actually full of fakes!

In her past life, she was tormented by Wang Guihua, became illiterate, and had a poor mind, so she couldn't tell the difference between good and bad things.

It wasn't until he recovered from his illness and was personally taught by the Grand Tutor of the Northern Chu Emperor for over a year, which allowed him to catch up on a lot of knowledge, that he learned to distinguish between good and bad things.

"Third Miss, this is a top-quality cashmere blanket. Why did you step on it directly?"

A gasp interrupted her thoughts.

Song Yue recognized the person as Zhang Mama.

One of Yuan Fuling's capable nannies.

Granny Zhang was staring at Song Yue with disdain, her heartache for the cashmere blanket on the ground was palpable.

Song Yue lowered her eyes and looked at the faint footprints on the cashmere blanket. She lifted her foot, and the marks quickly disappeared. It was just a blanket; why make such a fuss?

"Third Miss may never have used such a precious blanket before. This blanket is for looking at, not for stepping on. Even if you want to step on it, you must take off your shoes and socks," Zhang Mama explained in a serious tone.