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

Chung Shih-chu is only five years old.

But children from poor families mature early, especially when trying to survive in the ruthless mansion of a noble family. He had long understood the importance of proper separation between men and women, and the concepts of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame.

Now, in front of so many people, including his grandmother and mother, he was being asked to take off all but his underwear. How could he possibly do that?

Zhong Shichu instinctively clutched his collar and shrank back, trying to avoid the nanny's hand.

But the moment he caught a glimpse of his grandmother out of the corner of his eye, his resistance was instantly overwhelmed by fear.

For some reason, my grandmother took pity on me and saved him today. If I am so ungrateful and anger her, what will happen if my parents are punished?

Their clothes were completely removed.

The flickering candlelight inside the room illuminated the battered little body on the bed even more clearly.

"hiss--"

Granny Wu gasped, feeling sorry for the fourth young master.

Wen Jingxian stared intently at her son's back, her legs went weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground.

She could no longer suppress the grief surging in her chest, and a mournful sob burst from her throat.

"My poor Chu'er..."

This is not the body of a five-year-old child!

Besides the new caning wounds he sustained today, his thin, bony back was covered with countless old scars that had been there for years!

There were thick, long, bluish-purple sticks, ugly, centipede-like cuts left by sharp instruments, and charred burns from being branded by red-hot tongs!

Even her thin arms were covered with bruises and swellings of all sizes caused by being hit by heavy objects.

Zhong Shichu had been keeping it a secret and never took off his clothes in front of his parents, so Zhong Tingyuan and his wife had no idea that their son's injuries were so serious!

Zhong Tingyuan gripped the armrests tightly with both hands, his eyes were so red they were almost bleeding, and tears fell silently onto his clothes.

He's a useless person!

He couldn't even protect his own flesh and blood, letting those beasts torment his son into this inhuman state!

Wen Jingxian was trembling with sobs, and she was about to collapse onto the bed.

Zhong Tingyuan caught a glimpse of his mother's expressionless face out of the corner of his eye, and his heart trembled violently. Overwhelming fear instantly overwhelmed his grief.

He hurriedly reached out and grabbed his wife's wrist tightly.

"Jingxian!" Zhong Tingyuan lowered his voice, his eyes filled with sorrow, "Don't cry... Don't disturb Mother..."

Wen Jingxian was jolted awake from her breakdown by her husband's pull.

She was so frightened that she immediately covered her mouth with both hands.

Tears streamed down her pale face like broken beads, but she dared not utter a sound, only letting her thin shoulders convulse violently.

Zhong Shichu, who was lying on the couch, heard his parents' suppressed noises and turned his head away with difficulty.

He forced a smile, trying to appear nonchalant and relaxed, his voice youthful yet revealing a maturity beyond his years.

"Mother, don't cry, Chu'er really doesn't feel any pain." He blinked, trying to clear the tears from his eyes. "Chu'er is very healthy, as strong as a little calf! These injuries look scary, but they'll be fine in a couple of days."

"Mommy has a little baby in her belly, so please don't get excited. If you scare your little brother or sister, Chu'er will be angry."

These comforting words, so thoughtful yet heartbreaking, hurt Wen Jingxian more than if her flesh had been ripped out with a knife.

She cried even harder, her nails digging deep into the soft flesh of her cheeks, tightly sealing her lips, afraid that even the slightest sob would escape and provoke the old lady's fury.

With her back to the group, Guoguo secretly used her spiritual eyes to carefully examine Zhong Shichu's body.

Upon seeing this, Guoguo's inner fire was almost impossible to suppress.

Beneath those obvious bruises and burns, in hidden places that are extremely difficult for ordinary people to notice—the most delicate and secretive places such as between the toes, under the armpits, the inner thighs, the buttocks, and even behind the ears—there were countless tiny needle marks!

Some of the needle marks had already formed tiny scabs, while others were still oozing yellow fluid.

This method, while not outwardly causing serious injury, can inflict excruciating pain, and is specifically designed to torment the weak who have no power to resist.

The most serious injuries are not the numerous needle marks and old scars.

Guoguo's gaze fell on the center of Zhong Shichu's back.

There was a purplish-black bruise running across the spine, swollen high, and the surrounding flesh was faintly tinged with a deathly blackness.

These are the marks left from the three heavy blows I received tonight!

A flash of murderous intent crossed Guoguo's eyes.

The guard who committed the crime was extremely vicious. He had accurately predicted the location of those three blows, aiming straight for Third Brother's vital points!

If you hit it a couple more times, its spine will shatter on the spot.

Even if he survives by sheer luck, he will spend the rest of his life as a cripple with no feeling below his neck, unable to even turn over, a hundred times more miserable than his father!

The third wife's family has such a vicious heart!

Guoguo gritted her teeth, suppressing the rage in her heart that wanted to tear that family apart, and quickly reached into her small purse.

She took out the medicine box again.

Then she pulled out a few more pieces of yellow paper.

These talismans are completely different from the mantra talismans used to extract confessions before. The runes on them are more complex and ancient, and they faintly exude a warm vitality.

Along with the talisman, a small, exquisitely carved wooden doll, about the size of a palm, was also taken out.

Guoguo took a deep breath, concealing the murderous intent in her eyes, and her expression became extremely focused.

She opened the medicine box and picked up the silver needles.

With a slight flick of the wrist, the needle precisely pierced nine major acupoints around Zhong Shichu's back.

With each stitch, Zhong Shichu's tense muscles relaxed imperceptibly.

Then, Guoguo picked up a tiny knife as thin as a cicada's wing.

She lightly ran her fingertips along the blade.

A pure golden light flowed from his fingertips, instantly covering the blade and cleansing away the filth and impurities that had clung to the ordinary iron.

Guoguo took out a substitute talisman and stuck it on the little wooden puppet's body.

After doing all that, Guoguo picked up the little wooden puppet and reached out to hold Zhong Shichu's right hand, which was so thin it was practically just skin and bones.

The knife flashed coldly and gently made a very thin cut on the tip of his index finger.

A drop of bright red blood gushed out.

Guoguo carefully dripped the drop of blood onto the little wooden puppet's forehead and onto the substitute talisman.

"What are you doing!"

A roar suddenly exploded inside the room.

This scene, as seen by Zhong Tingyuan and Wen Jingxian, was even more terrifying than seeing a ghost!

They truly do not understand those profound and unfathomable Taoist arts.

But over the years...

They had witnessed their mother using these strange methods right in front of them many times!

Every time the mother forcibly took their blood, disaster would inevitably follow!

Is it...