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

Zhao Lihua nearly bit her teeth to pieces when she heard the official tone coming down on her head.

That damned old lunatic!

She had already thrown away all dignity as the matriarch of the household and pretended to faint in public, but this old geezer still wouldn't let her go!

They're even forcing the authorities to interrogate people who have fainted; this is an attempt to wipe them out completely!

Zhao Lihua was filled with hatred, determined to keep quiet.

As long as she keeps her mouth shut and pretends to be innocent, would Wei Changgeng dare to have someone use torture instruments to torture her, a county princess with an imperial title?

However, before the thought had even fully formed in her mind, a sudden surge of intense heat erupted in Zhao Lihua's chest.

The force was extremely brutal, rushing straight into the throat.

Her eyes were tightly closed, and her cheeks twitched violently and uncontrollably. Her lips, which were originally tightly closed, seemed to have been forcibly pried open with an iron crowbar.

"I...I know!"

"I personally handed the bracelet to Granny Liu, instructing her to frame the Fourth Young Master!"

The servants around were so startled that they all took a half step back.

The person who fainted actually spoke!

Wei Changgeng's eyes suddenly sharpened: "As an elder, why would you use such insidious methods to frame a five-year-old child?"

"Because I hate it! I can't swallow this!"

"Just now at Songhe Hall, that old bastard didn't give me any face at all, actually protecting those two good-for-nothings from the first wife's side! Those two scumbags from the first wife's side dote on this little bastard the most!"

"I want to torture this little bastard! Spread the word that I'm going to beat him to death. If the eldest son's family dares to step out of Songhe Hall, I'll send guards to detain them! I want them to watch their own son be beaten to death!"

"However... I only instructed Granny Liu to set up the trap. I didn't inquire about how to find false evidence or bribe witnesses; those were all handled by the servants themselves!"

The courtyard erupted in uproar.

The old women and servants kneeling on the ground felt a chill run down their spines upon hearing this.

This is no virtuous and kind mistress of the Marquis's mansion; she is clearly a man-eating demon!

Wei Changgeng's face darkened as he listened.

He turned his head, his sharp gaze piercing Liu Mama, who was lying paralyzed to the side.

"Woman Liu! Your master has already confessed, but you just recanted your testimony, falsely accusing the old lady of practicing witchcraft. What was your purpose then? Tell the truth!"

After the second mantra talisman entered Liu Mama's body, she was on the verge of collapse.

Looking at Zhao Lihua, who was pretending to faint but was still shouting, she felt utterly hopeless.

She stumbled forward two steps, her forehead slamming heavily onto the stone slab.

"My lord! This old servant confesses! This old servant confesses everything!"

"The false testimony was bribed by this old servant, and the show of beating the Fourth Young Master to death was also orchestrated by this old servant! The reason this old servant dared to make baseless accusations against the Old Madam just now... is because... because the death contracts of my entire family of seven are all in the hands of the Madam!"

"Madam is extremely ruthless. If this old servant had implicated her, my husband and three sons would have been sold to the lowest of the low to be tortured to death tomorrow! This old servant only dared to recant her testimony to save the lives of my entire family!"

At this point, she kowtowed several times in the direction of Zhao Lihua, her face covered with blood mixed with the mud from the blue bricks.

"Madam! This old servant has taken all the blame I can. I beg you, please spare my child, for the sake of all the years I have served you, even if I have not done anything meritorious, I have still worked hard! I will repay you by serving you like a cow or a horse in my next life!"

Wei Changgeng turned to look at the five witnesses kneeling in the corner, trembling with fear.

"You witnesses, was there any falsehood in what you just said? If you also believe you've been bewitched, I can ask the old lady to bestow a few more mantra talismans!"

The five witnesses were terrified, shaking their heads like rattles.

Xiao Tao crawled forward two steps on her knees, crying, and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Honor, every word we said is true! There is not a single lie! Please, Your Honor, see the truth and please don't put up those deadly talismans anymore!"

When the officials arrived, Zhong Tingyuan was pushed along by Granny Zhou.

He remained quietly in the dim light, watching intently, wanting to see how his mother would handle the situation this time.

But now, hearing that his third sister-in-law was plotting to frame his son, he could no longer tolerate it.

Then he had Granny Zhou push him over.

"Zhao Lihua! You vicious woman!" Zhong Tingyuan glared at Zhao Lihua, who was sprawled on the ground, his eyes bloodshot. "Chu'er is only five years old! How could you be so cruel? Not only did you pour dirty water on him, but you also wanted to beat him to death!"

Over the years, he has endured being stripped of his title and having his leg broken.

But these people wouldn't even spare his skinny son!

After scolding Zhao Lihua, Zhong Tingyuan turned his gaze to Old Madam Zhong.

In the past, the way my mother looked at their eldest son's family always revealed disgust and coldness, as if they were rotten mud that she couldn't get rid of.

But today, she didn't side with the third wife. Instead, she used her miraculous methods to tear off the mask of this wicked woman and give Chu'er justice.

Zhao Lihua uncontrollably revealed the reason.

"Who told that old hag to favor the first wife for the past few years! My status is clearly higher than that bitch Wen Jingxian's! So why does she live a more glamorous life than me!"

"That old bastard has finally changed his mind and is favoring the third wife, so of course I'll seize every opportunity to crush you all!"

Zhong Tingyuan remained silent.

This reason was within his expectations.

But he never expected that his third sister-in-law would be so jealous that she wouldn't even spare a five-year-old child!

Zhong Shichu, who had been clinging to the servant's back the whole time, stared intently at everything that was happening in the yard with his wolf-like eyes.

He watched helplessly as his once most wicked grandmother used that yellow talisman to force Granny Liu and his third aunt to reveal all their wicked schemes.

The charge of theft that had been weighing on his head was so easily wiped clean.

The little boy's tense back suddenly relaxed, and the excruciating pain from the cane wounds seemed to have subsided.

The tough exterior she had been maintaining shattered the moment she saw her father in the wheelchair.

"Father..."

Chung Shih-chu struggled to slide off the servant's back, his legs trembling as soon as they touched the ground.

He stumbled and lunged at the wheelchair, grabbing Zhong Tingyuan's numb legs, tears streaming down his face.

"Daddy! I didn't steal anything... Chu'er didn't do anything bad!" He buried his face in his father's knees, sobbing uncontrollably. "They framed me... Chu'er isn't a bad child, Daddy, don't be sad..."

Seeing his son's miserable state, Zhong Tingyuan's eyes instantly reddened, and warm tears blurred his vision.

He bent down and reached out to hug his thin son tightly.

"Father knows that Chu'er is the best girl. Chu'er is definitely not a bad child."

He pressed his face close to Zhong Shichu's ear: "Chu'er, remember your father's words. If you ever encounter such a deadly situation again, don't worry about your reputation! You must do everything in your power to escape!"

"Staying alive is more important than anything else! Understand?"

Zhong Shichu looked up at his tear-streaked face, gazed into his father's red eyes, and sobbed as if he understood, nodding heavily.