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

The fourth young master, Zhong Shichu, is now working for the third branch of the family.

Although it was called a job, it was really just serving as a servant to a few boys in the third branch of the family. Their daily tasks included serving tea and water, grinding ink and laying out paper. If they made any mistakes, they would be beaten and punished. Their lives were not even as decent as those of more respectable servants.

The commotion caused by the eldest son's family today is so great. The old lady not only invited the eldest son and his wife into Songhe Hall, but also blocked the mistress of the Marquis's mansion from entering the gate, leaving her humiliated.

What kind of personality does Lady Hou have?

They are the most vengeful and protective of their own!

She can't get into Songhe Hall, and she can't do anything to the eldest son's family and their servants, so how could she not deal with a fourth young master who makes a living in the third son's family?

"uncle……"

Granny Zhou swallowed hard, a faint pallor creeping onto her face.

When Zhong Tingyuan saw Zhou Mama's expression, his heart, which was already hanging in mid-air, instantly felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave.

"Granny, I know there was a lot of unpleasantness outside Songhe Hall today. Third Sister-in-law was upset and will definitely not let it go. Chu'er... he's dull and doesn't know how to please others. If he stays in the Third Branch, I'm afraid he'll suffer a lot!"

"Please, Granny, think of a way to go to the third branch of the family. Even if... even if we can't bring Chu'er to Songhe Hall to benefit from Mother's favor, even just finding an excuse to get him out of the third branch would be fine. Just don't let him stay there and suffer..."

By the end, Zhong Tingyuan's voice had choked up and was no longer coherent.

He was a cripple, not even qualified to stand up and protect his wife and children, and now he could only place his hopes on a servant.

on the bed.

Wen Jingxian leaned against the pillow, having just swallowed a mouthful of warm bird's nest porridge, her pale face still showing little color.

She slept soundly all day and was unaware of the standoff that took place outside Songhe Hall that afternoon.

But her maternal instincts gave her a natural sensitivity to her son's situation.

"Husband..." Wen Jingxian said weakly, "Chu'er... Now that Mother has taken pity on us, could... could Mother please have mercy and let Chu'er move in as well, even if he just squeezes into a side room, at least he can have a few hot meals..."

She gazed longingly at her husband, then at Granny Zhou, her tear-filled eyes revealing a mother's most humble plea.

Hearing the First Madam's naive words, Granny Zhou secretly groaned inwardly.

Although the old lady acted strangely today and protected the eldest son's family, who knows how long this strange wind of the old lady can last?

Besides, the lady is currently seething with anger and has nowhere to vent it. If she, as a servant, were to go to the third branch of the family to demand someone, wouldn't that be like pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth?

But looking into the old man's bloodshot, pleading eyes, Granny Zhou couldn't refuse him directly.

After all, right now, in Songhe Hall, the old lady is truly protecting the eldest branch of the family.

If she refuses now, she will be in trouble when the old lady asks about it in the future.

"Master, Madam..." Granny Zhou's face was solemn. After hesitating for a long time, she lowered her voice and said, "This old servant will go to the third branch of the family to take a look. However... you know Madam's temper. This old servant can only say that she will try her best to find a pretext. As for whether it will work, this old servant... this old servant really dares not guarantee it."

Zhong Tingyuan knew the danger involved.

After all, Granny Zhou was just a servant. Once she left Songhe Hall and lost the old lady's remaining influence, she certainly wouldn't get along well with Zhao Lihua.

"It is already a great favor that you are willing to go, Granny Zhou." Zhong Tingyuan nodded deeply to Granny Zhou. "Just do your best... If it is impossible, please do not force it, so as not to implicate yourself."

"Ah, this old servant understands." Granny Zhou sighed, turned around and left in a hurry.

Lanxi Garden.

After Zhao Lihua returned to the main room, the gentle smile on her face completely disappeared.

She sat in front of the dressing table, letting Dongmei remove the hair ornament from her head.

One by one, the gold hairpins fell into the box, making a crisp clinking sound, but the simmering anger in her chest did not dissipate in the slightest.

"Madam, please have some calming tea."

Liu, Zhao Lihua's personal wet nurse, carefully approached with a teacup to serve tea.

Zhao Lihua did not answer.

She gazed at her dignified and beautiful face reflected in the bronze mirror, her eyes swirling with dark emotions.

The Marquis will definitely return to his residence tonight.

Zhao Lihua gently stroked the edge of the vanity table with her fingertips.

and so on.

She can wait for the Marquis to return.

But before that happens, Songhetang's arrogance must not be allowed to continue to rise like this.

Otherwise, if Mother wakes up and is completely swayed by that wild girl who appeared out of nowhere, she might change her mind.

From now on, I'm afraid the third branch of the family will have no say in the entire Marquis's mansion.

"Madam?" Liu Mama called out softly when she saw that Madam remained silent for a long time.

Zhao Lihua's gaze slowly shifted to the multi-treasure cabinet in the corner.

She reached out and took down a gold bracelet from the top shelf.

The gold bracelet was made entirely of pure gold, with a lotus scroll pattern carved on the surface. The petals were openwork and connected, and it was heavy and had a great weight to it.

The inside of the bracelet is engraved with a small character "Zhao". It was a dowry item that her mother specially commissioned a goldsmith to make for her before she got married.

Zhao Lihua held the gold bracelet in her palm and asked casually, "Granny Liu?"

"This old servant is here."

"Is there anything amiss at Lanxi Garden today?"

Granny Liu's heart skipped a beat: "Which part of what Madam said is inappropriate?"

Zhao Lihua sighed softly and placed the gold bracelet on the dressing table.

"Today, all the masters in the courtyard have gone to the Cheng'an Marquis's residence, leaving only a few servants inside and out. With so few people around, it's inevitable that some people will have inappropriate thoughts."

She looked down at the gold bracelet, her voice very soft.

"I always kept this gold bracelet in my makeup box, but I couldn't find it when I was tidying up my jewelry just now."

Granny Liu's expression immediately became serious.

"This was part of my dowry from my mother," Zhao Lihua said calmly, lightly tapping the bracelet with her fingertip. "But the courtyard is so noisy today. If someone really takes advantage of the master's absence to sneak into the inner room and rummage through things, then it won't just be a matter of losing a bracelet."

As she said this, she looked up at Granny Liu.

Those gentle almond-shaped eyes were now devoid of any warmth.

What do you think?

Granny Liu lowered her head, a knowing glint flashing in her eyes, and immediately became serious.

"Madam is absolutely right! If this audacious servant isn't brought to justice, he'll dare to steal anything in the future. This old servant will immediately take men and thoroughly search every inch of Lanxi Garden!"

After saying that, she took the gold bracelet with both hands and left.

Watching her departing figure, Zhao Lihua picked up the jade comb from the dressing table again and began to comb the strands of hair at her temples.

Zhong Shichu.

That little bastard who always kept his head down and served tea and water to the boys in the third wife's family.

Now that the eldest son dares to block her door under the pretext of his mother's orders, he should know what price he will pay.

She wanted to see if Zhong Tingyuan, that cripple, would still be able to hide in Songhetang after Zhong Shichu was beaten black and blue!

Soon, a jumble of footsteps echoed through Lanxi Garden.

"Stop right there!"