The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

Jiang Guo'er's eyes widened, and she lowered her voice, which trembled.

"...Could it be that the spirits of the old masters have returned?"

She hunched her shoulders and glanced around nervously.

"The old men wanted to see the great-grandson in the mistress's belly, but instead discovered that someone was plotting to ruin the Pei family's lineage..."

She had only spoken halfway when Jiang Guo'er hurriedly covered her mouth, looking terrified and unable to continue.

He stared at the two old women with only a pair of terrified eyes.

Hu Mama, who once taught Jiang Guo'er in the Marquis's mansion, once said that many people died unjustly in the deep palace.

Besides fearing their masters, what those palace maids and eunuchs feared most in secret was the vengeful spirits seeking revenge.

That really worked.

Upon hearing this, the color drained from the faces of Granny Liu and Granny Yu instantly.

The two were terrified, forgetting even their scratches, and were trembling uncontrollably.

"Stop pretending!"

Granny Liu's legs trembled, and she involuntarily retreated towards the door.

"Xue Lingyi! You attempted to murder a palace maid! We must report this truthfully to Her Majesty the Empress upon our return to the palace!"

Granny Yu dropped the pretense and revealed her true purpose for coming: "If you want to live, you'd better be sensible and ask to be divorced!"

Granny Yu left behind a harsh remark that was all bark and no bite, then grabbed Granny Liu and the palace maids and fled from the inner room as if they were escaping.

Watching their hurried retreating figures, Jiang Guo'er breathed a sigh of relief.

There are no ghosts or gods appearing there.

A few days ago, when cleaning the house, Jiang Guo'er discovered that the legs of the two armchairs had several deep cracks and looked like they were about to break.

She had specifically reminded Lingyi not to sit on it.

The steward hadn't had a chance to call the carpenter to fix it yet, and today those two old scoundrels got off easy!

However, this method can only delay things for a while.

Those two old women are shrewd people from the palace. Once they recover, they will quickly discover the problem. After investigating, they will find out the trickery behind the chair and then they will torment Lingyi even more severely.

No, we need to take drastic measures to make them suffer a complete loss.

Jiang Guo'er's eyes darted around, and she had an idea.

She pulled Lüyi, who was cleaning up the mess, close to her ear and whispered:

"Didn't the kitchen just kill two old hens this morning? Go get some chicken blood! Hurry!"

Lu Yi was taken aback at first, but then she understood and, without saying a word, turned around and ran to the small kitchen.

Judging that Lüyi would probably be back soon, Jiang Guo'er turned her head and leaned close to Xue Lingyi, lowering her voice:

"Quick, cover your stomach, lie down, and yell in pain!"

Xue Lingyi was intelligent and perceptive, and immediately understood her intention.

She bent over, clutching her lower abdomen tightly with both hands, her face contorted in pain.

"Ouch! My stomach...it hurts so much..."

Xue Lingyi slid to the ground and leaned against the threshold, sweating profusely from the pain and gasping for breath.

Just then, Lüyi came running back like a gust of wind, clutching a damp handkerchief in her hand.

"Madam! What's wrong, Madam?!"

In a panic, Lüyi rushed forward and hugged Xue Lingyi tightly.

Taking advantage of the moment when she was being helped up, Lüyi quickly stuffed the handkerchief in her hand into Xue Lingyi's underpants, and then grabbed it hard.

The bright red chicken blood instantly soaked through the light-colored underwear, spreading out in a large, shocking stain.

Just then, the door to the inner courtyard of the Pei residence was violently kicked open from the outside.

Old Madam Pei, leaning on her dragon-headed cane and supported by Granny Qin, rushed in, panting, with her entourage.

"Lingyi!"

Ever since she was stopped at the gate by the palace maid, she has not left and has been guarding the courtyard gate.

Upon hearing the screams and commotion inside, she immediately ordered her men to break down the door.

Upon entering, they saw Xue Lingyi slumped in a pool of blood, her face ashen white.

The worst part was that a pool of glaring red blood ran down her leg.

The old lady's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and her cane pounded the ground with a deafening thud.

She stared at the equally shocked Granny Liu and Granny Yu, her withered fingers pointing directly at their noses.

"You despicable thing! What a vicious heart!"

Old Madam Pei trembled all over, her voice sharp and piercing.

"She lied, claiming to be acting on the Empress's orders to teach my granddaughter-in-law manners, but her real intention was to harm the child in her womb!"

Before she could finish speaking, the old lady suddenly pushed Qin Mama aside and rushed forward.

She grabbed Granny Liu by the collar, swung her heavy dragon-headed cane, and smashed it down hard on the old woman's face.

"Bang!"

"Ouch!" Granny Liu saw stars as she was hit, and a large gash appeared on her forehead, from which blood gushed out.

The old lady was still not satisfied and, gritting her teeth, unleashed another flurry of blows with the stick.

"This is the eldest grandson that our Pei family has been longing for! Give me back my great-grandson! Give me back my great-grandson, ahhhhhh—!"

Those were genuine ironwood canes; a few blows were enough to leave the two old scoundrels bleeding profusely from their heads, howling like ghosts.

Granny Liu and Granny Yu were completely dumbfounded.

They covered their heads, their legs went weak, and they all knelt on the ground.

"Old Madam! This really has nothing to do with us. We didn't even touch her!"

"You didn't even touch her? My granddaughter-in-law was sitting perfectly fine in the house, and you came in and there was bleeding! And you still dare to deny it!"

The old matriarch threw aside her blood-stained cane and roared at the guards outside the door:

"Guards! Tie those two vile women up!"

The guards from the Prime Minister's residence rushed up with dark faces and quickly pinned several palace maids and servants to the ground.

"Granny Qin!" Old Madam Pei's face was ashen, her chest heaving violently.

"Go to Songhe Garden and fetch my first-rank imperial robes!"

She raised her finger and pointed directly in the direction of the Forbidden City, her anger blazing.

"Even if it costs me my life, I will go to the palace today to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager!"

"I'd like to ask you, what exactly is the Empress trying to do? What good will it do her to sever the lineage of the Pei family's main branch?"