A grandmother and granddaughter swap souls, causing chaos throughout the entire court.

"This is outrageous! They even dare to stop me!"

Outside the vermilion gate of Songhe Hall, the second wife, Zhang Xuerong, held a gold-leafed fan and questioned the guards.

The noise grew louder as it approached, so sharp it hurt the eardrums.

Zhang Xuerong had just finished lunch and was planning to go to the back garden to admire the flowers and digest her food when she heard several maids whispering to each other under the eaves.

This is incredible!

The old lady actually brought that good-for-nothing couple from the eldest son's family to live in Songhe Hall!

What made her even more envious was that the old lady actually had someone withdraw a thousand taels of silver from the accounting office to renovate the dilapidated outbuilding of the eldest son's house, which even dogs couldn't live in!

One thousand taels!

Although Zhang Xuerong's family were merchants and they were not short of money, it was still her dowry, and every bit she spent was a bit less.

In the Yongning Marquis's mansion, the silver in the public accounts was tightly controlled by the old lady and the third branch of the family. Normally, if the second branch wanted to receive an extra bolt of high-quality Shu brocade, they had to be mindful of the old lady's mood.

Now that the two destitute members of the eldest son's family are barely alive, how can they possibly pocket a thousand taels to repair the courtyard?

The more Zhang Xuerong thought about it, the more her anger flared up. She lost all appetite and, accompanied by her two personal maids, stormed into Songhe Hall.

"Second Madam, please don't make things difficult for me." A man guarding the gate stood with his arms crossed, blocking the steps like an iron tower, without even lifting his eyelids. "The Old Madam has given strict orders that the First Madam has been frightened and needs to rest. No one is allowed to enter this courtyard for the next few days."

"Are you blind?" Zhang Xuerong snapped her fan shut and pointed at the other woman's nose. "I am the second mistress of this household! I heard that my mother has collapsed from exhaustion, and as her daughter-in-law, I have come to care for her and fulfill my filial duty. Is that something you lowly wretches can do to stop me?"

She took two steps forward, her perfumed scent mingling with her aggressive demeanor as she lashed out: "Get out of my way! If anything happens to Mother today because no one is there to serve her, you'll all have your heads chopped off!"

If this had happened a few days ago, the servants might have hesitated a bit if Zhang Xuerong had put on this masterly air.

But things are different now.

Everyone in this courtyard knows that the old lady is now determined to protect the eldest son's family.

If the visitor were a marquis, he might dare to go in and announce his arrival.

Is a second wife possible?

They were just following behind the third branch of the family, picking up scraps. How could they have the audacity to ask them to risk their lives to disobey the old lady's death order?

"Second Madam, I dare not accept such words." The servant remained unmoved, his face bearing a fake respectful smile. "But before the Old Madam fell into a deep sleep, she personally declared that anyone who dared to disturb the eldest son's rest would be skinned alive."

"We servants are of lowly status, but to dare disobey the old lady's death order is truly a death wish. If you, Second Madam, are truly filial, you should go back and copy more Buddhist scriptures to pray for the old lady's well-being, so as not to stand under this sun and ruin your delicate skin."

"You—you bitch!"

Zhang Xuerong was so enraged by the sarcastic rebuke from a servant that her face turned ashen, her chest heaved violently, and she nearly snapped the fan in her hand.

The noise outside was deafening, and the sounds drifted into the east wing.

Bed.

With the body of a five-year-old, Old Madam Zhong took a long breath, her eyelids twitched violently a few times, and she finally woke up.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she immediately felt a pain in her forehead.

Reaching up to touch his forehead, his fingertips barely touched the raised, purplish-blue lump when a piercing pain shot up his scalp and into his brain.

"Hiss—you little bastard!"

Madam Zhong gasped in pain and cursed under her breath.

She subconsciously looked at her hands.

It was still those same pair of fair, round hands, the hands of a five-year-old child.

She couldn't get it back!

Madam Zhong lay slumped on the couch, her eyes fixed on the duster above her head, her molars grinding together.

The excruciating pain that felt like the soul was about to be shaken out of the body only caused the small body to faint; it did not allow the two souls to return to their respective places!

Where exactly did things go wrong?

She forced herself to endure the dizziness and tried to process the events of that night in her mind.

Last night, the wild girl was just brought to the mansion.

She had her eye on the rare, extraordinary fortune that this brat possessed, and wanted to use the secret methods of the South China Sea Taoist lineage to extract this fortune and transfer it to her most beloved son.

To ensure everything went smoothly, she even set up a luck-stealing formation in her inner room.

However, just as the formation was being activated, a strong rebound suddenly erupted from the wild girl's body. The two forces intersected, leading to this bizarre and unexpected exchange!

"Could it be that... mere physical injury is insufficient to detach the soul?"

Madam Zhong's eyes darted around rapidly, and her expression looked particularly strange on her innocent and carefree little face.

"That's it! Since the bodies were swapped due to the intertwined formations, to switch back, we must set up an identical formation again, lure that brat into the formation's core, and forcibly activate the secret technique so that they can return to their original positions!"

Having figured this out, Madam Zhong felt a little more at ease.

But then, the harsh reality hit them like a bucket of ice water.

Setting up an array requires a great many magical objects and mediums, and they must be placed in specific locations.

Now, she is under constant surveillance, with no magical artifacts of her own and no magic in her body!

What will she use to break the deadlock?

Just then, the sharp noise from outside the window drifted in again.

"...Second Madam, please leave! No one is allowed to enter this door without the Old Madam's permission!"

Madam Zhong paused, then pricked up her ears to listen carefully.

Judging from the noise, it must be Zhang Xuerong, the merchant girl from the second son's family who is always good at changing her tune.

Madam Zhong got out of bed and staggered to the half-raised window, peering out through the crack.

A moment later, a bright idea suddenly flashed into her mind.

Although she is now isolated and helpless, unable to even leave this courtyard, aren't there still the second and third branches of the family in the mansion?

We have to find a way to get the message to the second son's wife.

As long as she conveys the strange news about Songhe Hall to the third branch of the family, there is still a chance for things to turn around!

The third son's wife, Zhao Lihua, was the rightful mistress of the Marquis's mansion. She came from a noble family and was shrewd and ruthless.

Even those lackeys from Songhetang would never dare to be too presumptuous in front of the mistress of the house.

As long as the third son's wife can get involved, she is absolutely confident that she can ruin that wild girl's scheme!

Thinking of this, Madam Zhong could no longer contain herself.

Like a mouse, she crept stealthily to the door, pressed her little ear against the door panel, and held her breath to listen carefully.

It was quiet outside; there wasn't even a sound of footsteps.

Madam Zhong was overjoyed. She stretched out her two short, chubby little hands and struggled to pull the latch open little by little.