Free Web NovelChapter 409: Chapter-409
The Grand Madam finally turned her ancient, piercing gaze toward the bleeding young man on the floor. She looked at him with the exact same expression one might use when looking at a cockroach that had scurried across a dining table.
"I see a stray dog that barked at its master and got kicked," the grandmother stated coldly. "If he is so pathetically fragile that a single shove from a mere estate guard shatters his face, how exactly is he supposed to protect or serve my granddaughter? He is useless."
The Marchioness gasped, covering her mouth in absolute horror.
The Grand Madam shifted her gaze back to the terrified servants, who were still completely frozen mid-task, holding various expensive vases and silk cushions.
"What are you all standing around for?!" the grandmother barked. "Did my granddaughter not give you an order? Strip these rooms bare! If this courtyard is not completely cleared of this ridiculous bamboo and these stolen luxuries by sundown, I will sell every single one of you to the salt mines!"
That was all the motivation they needed.
The Marchioness gritted her teeth, utterly humiliated but unwilling to back down in front of the servants. She looked at the Grand Madam, her voice trembling with barely contained outrage.
"Mother, you do not understand," the Marchioness pleaded defensively. "This girl—"
"I don’t understand, huh?" the Grand Madam interrupted, her raspy voice slicing through the air like a poisoned blade. She slammed her cane into the ground again. "Who the hell gave you the power to shout in front of me? You dare scold my granddaughter for being ’uncivilized’ and spouting nonsense, but the very first person I saw shouting in this courtyard was *you*. You are screeching like a banshee! What the heck are you supposed to be, a noblewoman or a fishmonger?"
The Marchioness’s face flushed a violent, ugly shade of red. She clenched her fists so tightly her manicured nails dug into her palms. "Mother... she started it! Without even asking me, without telling anyone, she is violently cleaning out their quarters. How is this acceptable? They are her fiancés!"
The grandmother sneered, looking at the Marchioness as if she were completely stupid.
"Yeah, they are her fiancés. *Just* fiancés," the Grand Madam stated coldly. "And even if they were legally married to her, as long as she wants to, she can beat them black and blue and not a single person in this empire is going to say a damn thing. Without even asking her *why* she is doing this, you dared to rush in here and shout at her?"
The Marchioness paused. Her chest heaved, but she forced her mouth shut. She knew that fighting this terrifying old woman was literal suicide. If she dared to push back any further, the Grand Madam could easily strip her of her title, kick her out of the estate entirely, or subject her to a torturous punishment. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"Fine," the Marchioness choked out, bowing her head in bitter defeat. "Then please ask her, Mother. Ask why your so-called ’good’ granddaughter did something like this, making our family’s face rot into the mud."
The Grand Madam scoffed loudly. "I *can* ask her that. I do not need your permission."
She then slowly turned her ancient, venomous glare toward her towering son. The Marquis stiffened.
"And you," the grandmother pointed her weathered finger directly at his chest. "Control your loudmouth wife before I beat *you* up instead."
The mighty Marquis of the estate visibly trembled.
"And another thing," the Grand Madam added, casually dropping an absolute, world-shattering bomb. "Your father is arriving back from the borders tomorrow. He will deal with you."
The color completely vanished from the Marquis’s face. His broad shoulders violently shuddered, and a look of genuine, unfiltered terror flashed in his eyes.
Standing a few feet away, Heena watched this exchange with keen interest. *Look at that,* she thought, her lips curving into an amused smirk. *If a single mention of the man’s name can make this domineering, arrogant Marquis tremble like a frightened child... my grandfather must be a truly formidable monster.*
Having thoroughly crushed the two most authoritative figures in the household, the Grand Madam slowly turned to look at Heena.
In the span of a single second, her terrifying, demonic expression completely vanished. Her deeply wrinkled face softened, her eyes crinkling into a sweet, incredibly doting smile.
"Now, my sweet dear," the grandmother asked, her voice dripping with pure honey. "Why did you kick these boys out of their rooms?"
Every single servant, guard, and groom in the courtyard stared at the old woman in absolute, mind-numbing shock. *What kind of two-faced monster is this?!* they all screamed internally. *Even a chameleon doesn’t change its colors this ridiculously fast!*
Heena didn’t miss a beat. She matched her grandmother’s sweet tone flawlessly.
"Grandma, it is just like you said. They are merely my fiancés, not my husbands. Yet, look at how much wealth they have hoarded in these courtyards." Heena gestured to the massive piles of silk, gold, and expensive furniture the servants were dragging out. "They are bleeding your estate dry while contributing nothing."
She then turned and pointed an accusing finger at the stunned Fourth Groom and his sprawling courtyard. "And not only that... look at what he did. He planted *bamboo*, Grandma."
The Grand Madam blinked. Like most elderly nobles who never had to do a day of hard labor or landscaping in their lives, she didn’t immediately see the issue. She looked at the green stalks swaying peacefully in the wind.
"What is wrong with the bamboo, baby girl?" the grandmother asked softly, genuinely confused. "Do you just not like the way it looks?"
Heena smiled patiently, turning her gaze toward the Fourth Groom, who was still glaring at her.
"Grandma, bamboo isn’t just a pretty tree. It is technically a type of highly aggressive grass," Heena explained, her voice carrying clearly across the courtyard so everyone could hear her perfectly sound logic. "Once it is planted directly into the ground like this, its roots spread like wildfire underneath the soil. They go incredibly deep and multiply rapidly."
She stepped forward, pointing at the stone foundation of the courtyard walls.
"In just a few short years, those roots are going to burst straight through the stone. They will completely shatter the foundations, crack the walls, and destroy this entire wing of the house," Heena declared, shaking her head in mock sorrow. "Do you know what the commoners will say when our walls come crumbling down because of a weed? They will laugh and say this is not the grand Marquisate’s estate... this is just a giant bamboo hut!"
Even though the Grand Madam truly had no idea if what Heena was saying about the bamboo was scientifically accurate or not, it simply did not matter. If her precious granddaughter said it was a destructive weed, then it was a destructive weed. Honestly, Heena knew that if she had looked at her grandmother right now and calmly stated that the Marquis was actually a woman in disguise, the old madam would have instantly believed it and ordered him to buy a dress.
