The Shen family had been tormented to the point where they no longer had the strength to fight back.

  No matter how capable Shen Xiaohai was, he was no match for the unrelenting fists of Marquis Wuning. The marquis had beaten him so severely that he even lost two teeth. The pain left him in such a miserable state that he no longer had the energy to entertain his new favorite concubine, Yuqian. Instead, he slumped around like a defeated stray dog.

  Shen Qingrang’s condition was even worse. He was the cause of everything—after all, he had been the one to strike Marquis Wuning’s precious son.

  The Marchioness of Wuning had pounced on him like a wild beast, scratching his face and leaving deep marks on his neck. Several fresh wounds still oozed with blood.

  At this point, Lady He no longer had the strength to deal with the mess. She sat in her chair, her hands covering her face, sobbing. There was nothing left for her to do but cry.

  What had she done to deserve this?

  How had their family ended up with such a scourge?

  She recalled how she had once worried about Song Chuyi’s ill fate at the hunting grounds, yet looking back now—it was Tong Shao who was the true harbinger of disaster.

  Ever since that woman became engaged, Duke Ying’s Residence had not had a single peaceful day.

  Just then, Shuilian came running in, panic-stricken.

  “Terrible news! Terrible news, My Lady—!”

  Lately, the phrase ‘terrible news’ had become the most common thing Lady He heard.

  Every day, something was going wrong. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. There was never a moment of peace.

  She irritably wiped her tear-streaked face with a handkerchief, her swollen eyes widening in frustration. Her voice was still hoarse from crying as she snapped,

  “What now?! What could possibly be wrong again?!”

  Shuilian’s voice faltered under her scolding, her hands wringing nervously at her sleeves.

  “The Old Lady… went to see the Seventh Young Master…” she hesitated, then cautiously added, “…and ran into our… our Young Mistress.”

  “The Old Lady said a few words to her, and she got angry… She pushed the Old Lady and the Old Lady fell…”

  Lady He bolted upright, her voice shrill with disbelief.

  “What?! That’s impossible!”

  No matter how uncultured or ill-mannered Tong Shao was, surely she wasn’t blind enough to y hands on a sixty-year-old woman?!

  “It’s true…”

  Shuilian was so terrified that she was on the verge of tears. “My Lady, please go see for yourself! The Old Lady was carried back unconscious… She hit her head on the steps and fainted on the spot!”

  One disaster after another!

  Lady He didn’t even have time to change her clothes. “Quick! Quickly send a message to the Imperial Physician with the Heir’s token!” she ordered Chunmei frantically.

  Then, turning to Qianju, she instructed, “Go inform the Heir—tell him the Old Lady has been injured and that he must hurry to her courtyard!”

  By the time she rushed over, the entire household was in utter chaos. Even the Old Lady’s most trusted maids were standing aside, weeping helplessly.

  Overcome with rage and urgency, Lady He snapped at them,

  “Are you all dead?! The Old Lady has always treated you well—why didn’t any of you step in?!”

  Shuisheng, one of the senior maids, looked utterly devastated, her eyes rimmed with red.

  She turned her head slightly, revealing a deep, bloody gash on her face—so severe that her flesh was exposed.

  Her sobbing voice trembled as she replied, “My Lady! If I hadn’t stepped in, the Old Lady might not have survived…”

  “The Young Mistress… she was completely unreasonable!”

  She had only accompanied the Old Lady to visit the Seventh Young Master, and hadn’t even stepped into the room.

  Yet, Miss Tong had accused her of being a seductress, insinuating that she was trying to seduce the young master.

  And as for pushing the Old Lady—that had been an indirect attack, as the real target was actually her.

  Lady He stood frozen, utterly stunned.

  After a long moment, she let out a deep sigh of resignation, her exhaustion weighing heavily on her.

  “Go have Nanny Liu tend to your wound,” she said tiredly, waving her hand dismissively.

  “For now… just rest at home. Don’t bother coming to serve for the next few days.”

  Leaning against the doorframe, Lady He felt lightheaded, her body swaying slightly before she steadied herself.

  Just then, word came that Shen Xiaohai had arrived.

  Shen Xiaohai **had always been attentive toward his mother—**even if he wasn’t naturally filial, he had to be.

  After all, she was the only one in the family with any real connections to the imperial court.

  It was only thanks to Concubine Dowager Zhuang’s influence that Shen Huizhi was granted the title of a County Princess and sent off for a political marriage.

  The moment he arrived, he demanded, “Has no one called for an imperial physician yet?”

  Then, upon seeing the bloody wound on the Old Lady’s forehead, he nearly colpsed from shock.

  He turned on Lady He, his voice trembling with fury.

  “You—you’re absolutely useless! You can’t even protect Mother?!”

  Even as he scolded her, he clutched his jaw, wincing in pain—his teeth still ached from the beating he had received.

  Lady He felt deeply wronged, and her tears fell instantly.

  “You’re bming me?! If I could control that wretched girl, would I be in this state?!”

  “I told you from the start she was nothing but trouble—”

  Shen Xiaohai cut her off impatiently, waving his hand dismissively.

  “What’s the use of saying all that now?! Where is she?!”

  Of course, he was asking about Tong Shao.

  Lady He felt like she was about to cough up blood.

  Her teeth clenched, her voice dripping with bitterness.

  “She must have realized she made a huge mistake—she’s already gone.”

  What kind of bride-to-be behaved like this?

  One moment she was fighting Shen Qingrang to the death, and the next, she was shamelessly cozying up to him again.

  One day she was quiet, the next she was causing chaos again.

  Who could endure such endless torment?

  Lady He felt like she was going insane.

  At this point, Duke Ying’s Residence had practically become another Marquis Wuning’s household.

  People came and went as they pleased, without so much as a formal notice.

  Even after such a massive transgression, not a single competent servant had been left behind to clean up the mess.

  They had made it painfully clear—they didn’t respect Duke Ying’s family at all.

  And they certainly didn’t care that Tong Shao had pushed the Old Lady into unconsciousness.

  Shen Xiaohai’s jaw throbbed with pain once more.

  The humiliation from the previous beating flooded his memory.

  Tong Shao’s violent tendencies were clearly inherited.

  With a grandfather and uncle who resorted to violence without a second thought, how could she possibly be a proper dy?

  Marquis Wuning’s household was nothing but a den of bandits!

  His heart sank into utter despair.

  With a vicious kick, he sent the charcoal brazier crashing to the floor.

  Then, his voice rang through the room—“Hurry up and call the physician again!”

  If his mother died, he’d have to observe three years of mourning.

  And even worse—Shen Qingrang’s career would be utterly ruined.