Chapter 352: Punish Her
The Duke's wife saluted the Dowager Lady, and Li Lanchun and Qin Xiaoning followed suit. The Dowager Lady raised her eyes and glanced at Qin Xiaoning, then smiled and said to the Duke's wife, "Now that you have such a good daughter-in-law, you are even more blessed."

Having been a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for so many years, the Duke's wife knew her mother-in-law's character very well.

He is extremely proud and looks down on others, yet he still wants to maintain a good reputation.

Faced with the lady's sarcastic words, the Duke's wife simply pretended to be dumbfounded and said, "Thank you for your praise, mother. However, I am not as experienced as you. When it comes to training a daughter-in-law, I still need to ask you for advice from time to time."

The lady gave her daughter-in-law a cold look and said nothing more.

After a long while, she slowly opened her mouth and asked, "Old man, do you know why I asked you to come here today?"

The Duke's wife smiled and replied, "Come to think of it, I haven't come to visit mother for a few days. Mother suddenly asked someone around to call me. I thought you missed me, but then I thought something was wrong. We have been mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for so many years. You have always disliked my noise, so you probably don't miss me coming here. After thinking about it, I think you probably want to see your great-grandson's wife."

Qin Xiaoning had come to pay her respects to the old lady for several days in a row, but was always turned away. Now, when the Duke's wife said this, the old lady's face immediately became a little unhappy.

As she spoke, the Duke's wife turned her head to look at Qin Xiaoning who was sitting beside her, then smiled at the Madam Dowager and said slowly, "You have always disliked my carefree personality, so Ji'er found a gentle and quiet daughter-in-law. I think Ah Ning's personality must be in line with your preferences, mother."

The lady smiled coldly at the words of the Duke's wife: "You are good at praising your daughter-in-law."

The lady took up the teacup, took a sip, and asked slowly, "It seems that you are going to accept this woman?"

After saying this, he glanced at Qin Xiaoning beside him.

The Duke's wife smiled when she heard this and said, "Mother, what are you talking about? Ah Ning is my son's legitimate wife, and she has done nothing wrong. Why shouldn't I accept her?"

When this was mentioned, the lady smiled coldly: "Ji'er married a wife secretly, and this matter caused a lot of uproar in the city. You are quite open-minded about it."

"What can I do if I can't let it go?" The Duke's wife retorted, "I only have one biological son. Can I disown him just because he disobeys me?"

The lady rolled her eyes at him secretly and snorted coldly, "After all these years, you haven't changed at all. You have no manners when you speak."

Seeing this, the Duke's wife quickly apologized: "I am just such a reckless person. I hope mother will forgive me."

Then he sighed and said, "I'm old now, and I can't change it."

The lady was choked, but after being mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for decades, she was used to it.

"I came to you today because of Feng Yi's matter."

Perhaps she didn't want to waste any more words talking to the Duke's wife, so after going around in circles for a while, the lady finally got to the point.

"Because of Feng Yi's matter?"

The Duke's wife continued to play dumb: "Isn't Feng Yi going to marry next month? We have already sent people to carry the gifts to the Wang family. What else could be going on?"

When the lady saw this, her face turned unhappy.

"Old man, are you really unaware of the situation, or are you deliberately confusing me here?"

The Duke's wife began to confess her crime again.

"Mother, please don't be angry. You know me. I'm a straightforward person. If you have something to say, just tell me directly. I'm really confused by the way you're playing tricks on me." The old lady breathed a sigh of relief. Nanny Li at her side hurried over to help her, but was stopped by a look from the old lady.

"A Ning——"

The old lady turned to look at Qin Xiaoning and called out. Qin Xiaoning responded, "Grandma, what do you want to call me for?"

The lady asked, "What happened in the palace yesterday was caused by you. You should know the most about it."

Qin Xiaoning nodded: "Grandmother, are you talking about the dispute between my husband and Miss Wang in the palace yesterday?"

As soon as Qin Xiaoning said this, the lady slammed the table in anger and said sternly, "You are so good at shirking your responsibility."

As soon as these harsh words came out, there was a loud "bang" and the lady was so frightened that she was stunned.

The teacup of the Duchess's wife fell to the ground, porcelain pieces flew everywhere and shattered into pieces.

"Old lady, what do you mean by this?" The lady's face turned cold: "As a daughter-in-law, do you want to hit me in the face in public?"

The Duke's wife hurriedly apologized, "Mother, how could you say that? It was obviously because of your harsh words just now that I was frightened and my hands shook, and that's why I accidentally broke the teacup."

As the Duke's wife said this, Li Lanchun beside her cooperated by patting her chest. Both the aunt and the niece looked frightened.

The lady was so angry that she couldn't speak for a long time.

In the deadlock, Li Lanchun said, "Grandma, what happened yesterday is not Ning's fault."

"Shut up." The lady snorted coldly, "You have no right to interrupt here."

Then, she pressed Qin Xiaoning again: "A Ning, let me ask you, since the third daughter of the Wang family has given you the position of wife, why are you still so aggressive and embarrassing Feng Yi in public?"

Facing the pressure from the lady, Qin Xiaoning remained calm. She slowly replied, "Although my husband and I were engaged, it was only after the Lu and Wang families broke off the engagement that my husband married me. Grandmother said that it was the Wang family's daughter who gave up her position as wife to me. This doesn't make sense."

As she spoke, she secretly glanced at the Duke's wife, who was looking at her with encouragement in her eyes. Qin Xiaoning then continued, "As for yesterday's incident, Grandmother must have listened to the one-sided story of the Wang family first, so she believed it. In fact, I didn't want to humiliate Miss Wang. It was Miss Wang who first brought up the issue of superiority in front of the Queen Mother, with a provocative intention. The Queen Mother originally wanted to settle the matter peacefully, but later the cousin insisted on making things clear, which annoyed my husband and caused the disturbance."

After Qin Xiaoning finished speaking, the Duke's wife said awkwardly, "So that's how it is."

She looked at the old lady and said bluntly, "That must be because Feng girl was holding a grudge against our family because of something that happened in the past. She wanted to make things difficult for Ning first, but she never expected that it would backfire on her."

The lady said angrily, "What nonsense! Fengyi is not that kind of person."

The Duke's wife said, "She was jealous at first and found a scoundrel to come to our house to humiliate Ah Ning. Mother believed in her character, but I didn't."

"Where in the world can you find a daughter-in-law like you?" The old lady was so angry that she slammed the table again and said, "For every word my mother-in-law says, you will contradict her ten times."

The Duke's wife then began to forgive sins again.

"Mother, I am telling you the truth, please don't be angry."

Knowing that this daughter-in-law was difficult to deal with, the old lady snorted and turned her head away, only to attack Qin Xiaoning: "A Ning, no matter what, this matter was caused by you. You caused such a dispute as soon as you came in, and ruined the reputation of my Wang and Lu families. According to the family rules, you should be punished. Do you accept it?"