The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Granny Cai was speechless, choked by Gu Taohua's words.

She glared at Gu Taohua, realizing she had underestimated this brat.

Gu Taohua's words drew sighs of dismay from many onlookers.

She's right. For a pregnant woman to have an upset stomach and not go to the doctor immediately, but instead argue with Peach Blossom Dessert, is just bizarre.

Moreover, the young mistress of the Zheng family and Gu Taohua have never gotten along since childhood.

It's likely that after marrying into a wealthy family, she learned the cunning and scheming of the inner quarters, which she then used against Gu Taohua.

"There is indeed a woman named Xu Zaohua from Qinghewan who married the eldest son of the Zheng family in Pingchuan County," someone who knew the inside story said.

"Why would a family like the Zheng family be willing to marry someone from the countryside?" some people expressed their doubts.

"There's a reason for this. The eldest son of the Zheng family was frail from birth, so which wealthy family's daughter would be willing to marry him? Not long after Miss Xu married into the family, the eldest son of the Zheng family passed away. Now she's pregnant with the eldest son's posthumous child. Miss Peach Blossom is right; she should be incredibly precious. Why isn't she rushing to see a doctor after getting a stomachache? Instead, she's here arguing with Peach Blossom Dessert. I don't believe she's not deliberately causing trouble for Peach Blossom Dessert."

The chatter of these two bystanders reached everyone's ears.

Many people have started to side with Gu Taohua.

"Grandma said that Xu Zaohua got a stomachache from eating my hazelnut pastry, which makes me think that Xu Zaohua is deliberately framing me because she doesn't like me." Gu Taohua was quite satisfied with her public opinion campaign and pressed on, "Of course, this is all based on my experience of dealing with Xu Zaohua since I was a child, and I may be wrong. If Xu Zaohua really got a stomachache from eating my hazelnut pastry, I am willing to bow to her and apologize."

Granny Cai felt that things were starting to slide in an unexpected direction and wanted to pull them back to a favorable situation. She said, "It is precisely because I sent someone to invite a doctor that I came to Peach Blossom Dessert Shop to demand an explanation. If my young mistress is alright, everything is fine. But if something happens to her, Peach Blossom Dessert Shop will not be able to escape the consequences once the master and madam investigate."

Now that she had been brought here, Granny Cai insisted that Xu Zaohua had gotten a stomachache from eating hazelnut pastries.

Ignoring Granny Cai's nonsense, Gu Taohua stood with her hands on her hips and shouted in the direction where the Zheng family's carriage was parked, "Xu Zaohua, do you dare to come out and argue with me?"

Xu Zaohua sat in the carriage, clutching her stomach.

She naturally dared not dismount from the carriage and confront Gu Taohua.

If she angers Gu Taohua and gives her a serious injury, she'll never be able to recover in the Zheng family.

At this moment, all she wanted was to escape from the conflict between Granny Cai and Peach Blossom Desserts.

She somewhat regretted encouraging Granny Cai to cause trouble for Peach Blossom Desserts.

The only saving grace now is that He Chao hasn't come out.

"Alright, alright, Granny, come back. I'm incompatible with Peach Blossom Dessert's hazelnut shortbread, I'll just accept my bad luck." Xu Zaohua peeked through the carriage curtain, revealing a tired face, and waved to Granny Cai.

Granny Cai felt ashamed for being outdone.

Now that the show has already begun, how could she possibly admit defeat?

Moreover, her main goal was to force He Chao away.

Granny Cai stopped dwelling on the hazelnut pastry issue and instead said to Gu Taohua, "Why don't you dare let Manager He come out and answer? Are you afraid he's at the Zheng family's?"

"Thief, we've finally caught you."

Before Granny Cai could finish speaking, she was tackled by someone who suddenly appeared from the crowd.

Gu Taohua stared wide-eyed, completely dumbfounded by this sudden turn of events.

Was the nanny in the Zheng family a thief?

The person who knocked down Granny Cai had his back to Gu Taohua.

Gu Taohua couldn't see his face, but from his back, he appeared to be a young man.

Gu Taohua thought that it was probably a stooge sent by her second brother. Since Granny Cai framed Taohua Dessert, then Taohua Dessert would frame her back.

Who else but her second brother could come up with such a wicked trick?

Granny Cai was knocked down and fell face-first into the mud. She was stunned for a long time. After struggling to get up, she was furious.

Who dares to accuse her of being a thief?
Before Granny Cai could stand up, the young man pulled a money pouch from her sleeve in front of everyone and asked her, "Is this your money pouch?" Granny Cai had never seen this money pouch before.

The surprise on Granny Cai's face was clearly a sign of her guilt after the incident.

"You're supposed to be a respectable old woman from a wealthy family, so why are you doing such petty theft? It's so shameful. Three days ago, I came from the prefectural city to visit relatives in Yanguan Town. My carriage broke down on the way, and you happened to pass by and invited me to ride in your Zheng family's carriage. I thought you were a kind-hearted person, but I never expected you to drug me and steal my purse. I searched for you for two days and finally found you. Luckily, my purse is still here, otherwise I would have been punished by kneeling when I got back."

"I don't know you, who are you?"

He didn't even know this person, so how could he be so sure she stole the money?

They even made up stories that were incredibly detailed and believable.

Because the incident happened so suddenly, Granny Cai was dizzy from being shoveled and couldn't react for a moment.

When he opened his mouth, he realized that his lips had been cut and were in excruciating pain, and he could not speak clearly.

Good heavens, she had no idea who had put the money bag in her sleeve, and how this young man had managed to pull it out.

"You stole my money and I don't even dare to admit it?"

"Stop pretending to be innocent. Everyone saw clearly that the money bag was pulled from your sleeve. My mother embroidered this money bag for me. You can take the money if you want, but why did you take my money bag? If my mother's things are not found, my father will beat me to death."

"Oh dear, my five hundred taels of silver notes are gone. This old woman, you can take my silver notes, but why did you take even the loose change?"

The young man went all out, his cold, star-like eyes fixed on Granny Cai, giving her no chance to speak.

Granny Cai secretly groaned.

We've run into a tough opponent.

She had been living in the Zheng family for many years, accompanying Madam Zheng to social gatherings in wealthy households. Judging from the young man's understated attire, it was made of fine silk from Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Few people in the entire Pingchuan County could afford it; even the Zheng family only had one made when their eldest son was put to a coffin.

This young man's background is definitely extraordinary.

No wonder Widow Tong's Peach Blossom Dessert Shop swallowed up Crispy Food Garden; it turns out she'd latched onto a powerful backer.

It seems this person is here to support Peach Blossom Desserts.

"I don't know how this money bag ended up in my sleeve. I didn't steal any money."

Granny Cai took a deep breath and tried her best to explain.

His tone implied a pleading tone.

"Sir, you've mistaken me for someone else. How could I possibly steal your purse?"

"A thief will naturally deny being a thief," the young man said loudly to the crowd. "You must be wondering why this old woman stole my money. I've found out all about it. Her son lost money gambling, and she saw my money bag and decided to steal it in order to pay off his gambling debts."

Everyone suddenly realized.

Back then, Manager Feng of Su Shi Yuan was kicked out of the restaurant because his adopted son gambled and stole money from Su Shi Yuan.

This old woman, like Manager Feng, was willing to take risks for her son.

"That old woman is wicked. Not only did she steal the silver, but she also tried to extort it."

"Exactly! Why did she choose Peach Blossom Dessert? Because Peach Blossom Dessert sells pastries, which are easy to rip off. Luckily, this young man ran into her, otherwise Peach Blossom Dessert would be in deep trouble, like having shit on their clothes."

"There are all kinds of people in the world. Some people may look respectable, but they specialize in doing disgusting things like petty theft and staged accidents."

Everyone pointed and whispered about Granny Cai.

"My son doesn't gamble," Granny Cai said in a panic.

Granny Cai looked embarrassed and couldn't defend herself. (End of Chapter)