The Eve of the Banquet

  The madam glanced at Song Lingluo, nodded slightly to signal her to calm down, and then accompanied a smiling face to say to the old madam: "Old madam, Lingluo is still young, and the palace's occasion is not suitable for her. I'm afraid that if she accidentally did something wrong, it would be bad."

  The old lady glanced at Song Lingluo, with some dissatisfaction in her eyes, and couldn't help but say sarcastically: "Still young? At that age, Lingyu had already attended banquets held by wealthy families and even the palace!"

  “Th...” The madam was momentarily speechless, and looked at Song Lingyu for a moment, hinting that she should help say something. Song Lingyu understood the madam's intention, so she smiled and said to the old lady: "Old lady, don't blame Linglong either. Although Linglong is indeed not young anymore, what mother said is also right, this is a palace banquet after all. If anything goes wrong, it will implicate our whole family. What you said is also correct, but I am the eldest daughter of the legitimate wife, so naturally I have to give face to the Song family in those situations. After going there several times, I got used to it."

  Song Lingyu's words were neither offending the Grand Lady nor the Old Lady, but they had a different flavor to them. It was true that Song Lingyu was not young anymore, and at her age, she should have been able to stand on her own, but she was like a delicate flower that couldn't withstand the wind or sun. Her own experience was far broader than Song Lingyu's. Moreover, this was a palace banquet, with strict rules, if anything went wrong, the whole family would have to apologize to the royal family for Song Lingyu's sake, which wasn't worth it.

  Song Lingyu accurately grasped the old lady's mind. The old lady had always been unhappy about Da Furen and Song Yuan being partial to Song Linglong, and she naturally heard the unintentional sarcasm in Song Lingyu's words. At this point, the old lady's face turned angry: "Fine! If you don't want to go, then don't go. I won't let outsiders say that I'm too harsh on you."

  Song Linglong was at a loss for words, she didn't know why the old lady suddenly got so angry, and she quickly knelt down: "Old lady, please don't be angry."

  The old lady glared at Song Lingyu fiercely, and Song Lingyu took a step back and lowered her head. The elderly lady saw the expression of the big lady and Song Lingyu's fear, and suddenly she slapped the case: "No need to say anything else, this time going to the palace, Linglong must go. This is a banquet hosted by the Empress Dowager herself, if Linglong doesn't go, wouldn't it be a slap in the face of the Empress Dowager?!"

  The lady of the house reluctantly nodded and didn't dare to speak again. Although the old lady was advanced in years, her status in this mansion was still higher than hers, and every time the lady thought of the old lady, she felt a twinge of resentment.

  Song Lingyu lowered her head, and no one noticed the smile at the corner of her mouth. In fact, it wasn't as serious as what Old Madam said, it was just a banquet after all. As long as Song Linglong could pretend to have a cold and be afraid of infecting others, everything would be fine. However, this time Old Madam wanted to teach a good lesson to both Eldest Madam and Song Linglong, so she was being so resolute, even bringing up the Empress Dowager.

  The old lady calmed down for a moment and sat back down, saying: "Except for Madame, all of you get out."

  "Yes." After everyone responded in unison, they all retreated and left. All the serving maids also withdrew except for Liu Mama who was beside Old Madam.

  After Song Lingluo and others left, Song Lingyu sent Zilan to secretly watch from a distance in Jia'an Garden, while she herself returned to Qianlu Garden. Before the tea in Song Lingyu's hand had cooled down, Zilan rushed back.