Listening to her daughter's heartfelt words, the pregnant Lady Hou went on a killing spree.

At this moment, Aunt Qiu was nothing like the cautious and timid woman she used to serve every day. Her face was sallow, and she looked like she was being oppressed.

Her skin was so white it seemed to glow, and everything she wore and accessorized was exquisite. Her eyes, in particular, sparkled with life.

She looked younger than her, and there was no difference between her and a woman in her twenties.

"You madwoman, if you dare harm a single hair on Yi'er's head, I'll kill you!"

Ji Xian's loud shout came from behind, and Aunt Qiu understood immediately.

"Sister, you're really useless. I've been wondering when you'll find out, but I've waited for so many years, and even after your own daughter has died, you still haven't found out."

That's why I said you're stupid.

Hearing Aunt Qiu mention her own daughter was another devastating blow to Madam Chen.

Aunt Qiu felt that this was not enough, so she continued, "You don't know, do you? Since she was little, I only fed your daughter one meal a day, half a bowl each time, just enough to keep her alive."

Not only that, I beat her every day. No matter how much I suffered from you, I will take it out on your daughter many times over.

But sister, I'm not as ruthless as you. At least I spared her life.

But what about you? You cut off her path to life and killed her, hahaha...!

At this point, Aunt Qiu burst into laughter, and Chen could no longer hold on and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, her body falling straight backward.

Ji Xian breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Chen Shi faint.

"Lock the lady in the west wing and tell everyone that she has gone mad and that she must not be released without my order."

"Yes, sir."

Cui Mama, who was originally serving Chen Shi, respectfully responded and summoned two servants to help Chen Shi, who was lying on the ground, away.

Chen probably never dreamed that Cui Mama, who had served her since childhood, would now betray her.

By now, she has reached the point where everyone in the Ji family has turned against her.

No one in the manor sympathized with her, despite the instigation of Ji Xian and Aunt Qiu, who had hired a wandering Taoist priest to claim that the two sisters were incompatible.

If Madam Chen could treat her own second daughter so harshly, she certainly wouldn't treat the servants in her household any better.

The servants in the mansion had long been dissatisfied with her, and with Aunt Qiu's usual small favors given to them, her fate was already sealed.

Aunt Qiu stepped forward with tears in her eyes.

"Sir, is our daughter alright?"

"Fan, the old nanny by Princess Qingyang's side, took her daughter back. With Princess Qingyang protecting her, her daughter is safe."

"Master, we were so secretive about switching the children back then, how did Ji Yueru find out?"

Aunt Qiu was very clever. After a little thought and considering why they left the mansion today, she knew who had said it.

"Do you think her current strange behavior might be because she also knows about the Marquis of Anshun's child?"

Ji Xian raised his hand to interrupt Aunt Qiu's next words and glanced at the servants in the courtyard.

Aunt Qiu understood his meaning and stopped talking.

When the two returned to the house, Ji Xian's face was still burning with pain.

"The season of Ji Yue cannot be kept."

The two exchanged a glance, and everything was understood without a word.

When the court session began at the Kyoto Prefectural Government Office, Marquis Anshun sat in a carriage outside the office with his two children, instructing Changqi to observe the proceedings and report back to him if anything came of it.

However, after the arrival of the Ji family, things did not go in the direction they had initially agreed upon; instead, they developed in an irreversible direction.

Although he was exceptionally intelligent, he was powerless to change the situation. Fortunately, when he first noticed something was wrong, he sent someone to inform the Prince of Qingyang's residence, which was a small favor to Chun Jiao.

Once the matter was settled and he knew that Ji Chunjiao was alright, he rushed to the Marquis's residence.

Whether Ji Chunjiao was a legitimate daughter or an illegitimate daughter was irrelevant to him; he loved her as a person, not her social status.

"My lord, you're finally back."

Steward Zhao wiped the sweat from his forehead and stepped forward. If the Marquis doesn't return soon, the situation at the Marquis of Anshun's mansion is truly in turmoil.

"This morning, the lady returned to the manor with dozens of servants. Previously, the lady had more than half of the servants in the manor sold off."

Even the young lady and all the servants who served the old lady were sold off, and several of the servants in your courtyard, Your Excellency, were also sold off.

"If you, my lord, don't do something about this, the manor will likely become the domain of the madam!"

Steward Zhao spoke earnestly, for he had never felt so frustrated since he became the steward of the Marquis's mansion.

"Outrageous! How dare she? Doesn't the old lady intend to do anything about her?"

When the old lady was mentioned, Butler Zhao's voice became increasingly hoarse.

"The old lady was so upset by the lady that she fell ill. The doctor just came to see her and said that half of the old lady's body is paralyzed, and she will probably have to live in bed from now on."

"How could that be!"

Marquis Anshun took two steps back, seemingly in disbelief.

The two little ones clutched their bottoms, their faces contorted in pain.

"Daddy, my bottom hurts so much, please find me a doctor right away."

"Father, it hurts so much tonight too."

The two children weren't too concerned about the grandmother's illness mentioned by Butler Zhao; what they were really worried about was their sore bottoms and when they could get a doctor to take a look at them.

"Butler, take the young lady and young master back first and get them a doctor to treat their injuries. I'll go see the old lady first."

"Yes, my lord."

In fact, Steward Zhao had just noticed that the Marquis had a bruise on his face, but since the matters at home were more urgent, he didn't ask first.

Now there's no need to ask anymore. Even the young master and young lady got spanked, so it was probably the madam who did it.

He's not saying this outright, but nowadays, women are incredibly audacious; they'd probably dare to cause a huge disaster if asked.

Marquis Anshun hurried into Anju Courtyard and went straight to his bedside.

When he arrived at the bedside and saw the old lady's appearance, he was so angry that his eyes turned red.

At this moment, the old woman lying on the bed had a crooked mouth and eyes, and half of her body was lying straight. When she saw her son, she raised her other movable hand.

He mumbled something incoherently, but his words were not very clear.

Marquis Anshun quickly squatted down in front of the bed and held his mother's hands in his own.

"Mother, how are you? Are you feeling better?"

The old lady mumbled incoherently, but couldn't make anything out of her mouth, and saliva dripped from the corners of her mouth down her neck as she spoke.

"Mother, don't worry, I know, I know everything. Butler Zhao told me everything."

"Don't worry, I will definitely kill Ji Shi to avenge you. Just be patient for now. Within a month, I will make sure she and the bastard in her belly die."

With her son's gradual reassurance, the restless old lady slowly calmed down.

Marquis Anshun did not mind and took a handkerchief to wipe the drool from the corner of the old lady's mouth.

"The Minister of Justice is about to be transferred, and the higher-ups are very keen for me to take on the position of Minister of Justice."

At this critical juncture, nothing can happen to our Marquis of Anshun's residence. Once I assume the position of Minister of Justice, I will immediately have Lady Ji killed.

When he came in, he had driven all the servants out of the house.

He spoke very softly, almost whispering in the old lady's ear, not afraid that people outside would hear him.

What he didn't know was that the maid waiting at the door had excellent hearing and had overheard the entire conversation between the mother and son.

When Ji Yueru returned to the front of the Marquis's mansion from the clinic, Steward Zhao was personally waiting for her at the gate.