Jiang Yuancheng leaned on the railing and watched as a perfectly fine person, while walking, suddenly curled into a ball and rolled down.

“Heh, it really works!”

Of all the people to provoke, they just had to pick his sister.

Jiang Yuanxi poured a cup of wine, dipped her fingers in it, and began drawing talismans on the table—one after another.

When her fingertips were dry, and the cup was empty, she licked her tongue and continued drawing.

【Huh? Why does my head feel dizzy?】

“Fourth Brother,” Jiang Yuanxi wobbled as she stood up.

Her feet tangled together. “Huh? Fourth Brother is flying!”

Jiang Yuan Cheng turned his head just in time to see his sister collapsing toward him.

“Yuanxi!”

At the Jiang Residence.

Jiang Yuan Cheng knelt outside, accepting his punishment without complaint.

It was all his fault for not taking care of his sister properly.

On the bed, Jiang Yuanxi’s face was flushed red, and she was mumbling something in her sleep.

“Doctor Sun, how is she?” Jiang Feng Yuan asked anxiously.

Doctor Sun took her pulse, then bent down to sniff her breath.

“My lord, the young miss is drunk.”

Jiang Fengyuan took a deep breath. “Jiang Yuancheng!”

Jiang Yuanxi remained drunk until the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the An Guo Mansion was in utter chaos.

The servants and maids couldn’t stop the mob.

The intruders smashed everything in sight, and upon seeing valuable items, they took them all.

“You lowly commoners! This is the An Guo Mansion!” Wu Cuirou shouted in rage.

“There! The woman in the green dress with the pink flower in her hair—that’s her!”

Among the crowd were many women who had suffered from Fa Cai Ju’s poisonous cosmetics.

Even with veils covering their faces, they were determined to seek justice.

Now that they had found the culprit, they wanted nothing more than to tear her apart.

“Sisters, charge!”

Wu Cuirou didn’t have time to run before she was tackled to the ground.

The furious women punched and kicked her mercilessly.

Even her trusted servant, Madam Zhao, was beaten badly.

Inside the mansion, Jiang Ruo Wei was contemplating how to resolve the crisis when the door suddenly burst open.

A group of enraged women stormed in. “Are you Jiang Ruowei?”

Seeing the weapons in their hands, Jiang Ruowei stood up in fear.

“Yes, I am.” She maintained the dignified demeanor of a noblewoman.

How had these lowly people managed to break into the mansion?

“Sisters,” the leading woman called out. “There’s another one here!”

---

By the time the Ministry of Justice soldiers arrived, the An Guo Mansion had been thoroughly ransacked.

Looking around, the masters of the house looked even worse than the servants—especially the lady in the green dress.

The Ministry official led his men to arrest the rioters.

After counting, there were two to three hundred of them.

He had no choice but to take them back and wait for further orders.

“Arrest them all—every single one—execute them!” Wu Cuirou screamed hysterically.

She no longer had the composure of a noblewoman.

Her hair was a mess, her makeup was smudged, her outer robe was wrinkled, and parts of it had been torn. Her entire body was in pain.

“Madam!” Madam Zhao, an old servant, had been beaten badly.

She crawled toward Wu Cuirou.

“Madam Zhao!” Wu Cuirou was filled with grievance.

“How dare these lowly people cause trouble in the An Guo Mansion! His Majesty will not let them go!”

Commoners had the audacity to create havoc in the noble house? Unforgivable!

“Madam!” A maid ran over in panic. “The old madam has fainted from anger!”

Under the care of the imperial physician, the old madam slowly regained consciousness.

Seeing the people around her, she nearly fainted again.

Her hands trembled as she pointed at Wu Cuirou, her expression filled with disappointment.

“Our Jiang family must be cursed! How did we end up with a daughter-in-law like you?!” she cried bitterly.

Beside her, Duke An slightly moved his fingers.

Among everyone in the mansion, only Duke An had escaped the disaster.

The rioters had assumed that a paralyzed man was no threat, so they hadn’t laid a hand on him.

Lying in bed, he had been aware of everything happening around him.

Now, he was furious.

His once-proud noble household had been reduced to ruins by these two wretched women.

If he did not act now, the Jiang family’s honor would be lost forever.

Under the shocked gazes of his family, he slowly sat up.

“H-Husband!” The old madam gasped in terror.

“Father.” Wu Cuirou stammered. “Y-You… You can move?”

Hadn’t the doctors said he would be bedridden for life?

How could this be?

Duke An’s eyes were cold and filled with murderous intent.

“Wan Zeng, station guards around the mansion. Take these two disgraceful women and throw them into the woodshed!”

If it weren’t for that miraculous doctor who treated him, he would have remained bedridden forever—unable to see the true faces of those around him.

“Father, you can’t!” Wu Cuirou pointed at the old madam. “It was all her doing! It has nothing to do with me!”

“Nothing to do with you?”

“Since you took charge of the mansion, you’ve indulged in extravagance, borrowed money everywhere, and even sold off family heirlooms to pay off debts. Because of this, my son was forced to accept bribes to survive! When a profitable business opportunity arose, you secretly altered the formula with poisonous ingredients, leading to the public outcry!”

“Tell me!” Duke An roared.

“Which of these things has nothing to do with you?!”

“Men, send this foolish woman to the Ministry of Justice!”

The servants rushed in and dragged Wu Cuirou away.

Duke An then turned to the old madam.

“And you!” he said with deep sorrow.

“You poisoned me in an attempt to murder your own husband—an unforgivable crime!”

“Have I ever wronged you?!”

For years, he had never once raised his voice at her.

For her sake, he had even turned a blind eye when she mistreated his late wife.

And yet, her response was betrayal.

The old madam sneered. “After all these years, you’re still just as hypocritical.”

“For the sake of ‘reputation,’ you forced me to live as a concubine for twenty years!” Her hatred was bone-deep.

Back then, she had pleaded with him time and time again, but he always used that woman as an excuse.

Used empty promises as an excuse.

But that woman had been dead for over twenty years!

Duke An sighed. “But you were the only mistress of this house. You had all the rights, wealth, and status of a noblewife! What difference did it make whether you had the official title?”

The old madam gripped the bedside for support and stood up. “Difference? You hid me away while pretending to honor that wretched woman! Do you think the world was blind?”

“You are the most hypocritical man alive!”

“Foolish woman! Foolish woman!” Duke An trembled with rage.

He regretted everything.

“How could I have fallen for a woman like you?!”

Had it been his first wife, she never would have done something like this.

She had been kind and considerate, always thinking of him.

Even on late nights when he returned from court, there was always a warm bowl of soup waiting for him.

But now…

The old madam laughed coldly.

“You coveted your first wife’s wealth, yet couldn’t bear to hear others say you married up!”

“Tell me—who is more selfish and hypocritical, you or me?”

“Enough!” Duke An roared. “Don’t mention her again! You can never compare to her!”

The old madam smirked.

“Now you remember her?”

“But in the end, it was you who killed her.”