The eldest daughter of the Du family was already married, the second daughter was awaiting marriage, and the third daughter was still young. If she voluntarily divorced and left the family, the futures of these three daughters would be utterly destroyed. She had been enduring all this pain solely for the sake of these daughters, and naturally, she would rather die than leave the family.

Du Shi had married into the Wenren family for more than twenty years. She had borne children, managed the household, been filial to her in-laws, and cared for her husband’s younger brother. Even if she hadn’t done everything impeccably, she hadn’t committed any serious faults either…

Divorce would stain Wenren Zhongyong’s reputation. He wanted both a good public image and personal pride, no matter the cost to his wife or daughters, revealing the ruthlessness of his heart.

Xiao Cao’s eyes turned ice-cold. Wenren Zhongyong was even more despicable and rotten than she had anticipated. If not for Han Shi quickly holding her back, she might have erupted right then and there.

Han Shi understood her mother-in-law well. She was not someone who would blindly protect her children and grandchildren without discerning right from wrong. She was wise, with keen foresight into how to ensure the family’s prosperity. Since this second son had dared to speak such despicable words, he was bringing doom upon himself. The mother-in-law would definitely deal with him, sparing Xuan’er the need to be the bad person and say anything unpleasant.

Sure enough, after Wenren Zhongyong had blurted those words in haste, his face turned slightly pale, and he didn’t dare meet his mother’s eyes directly.

“I didn’t give you a legitimate son, so you don’t care for me. I used to think that, because you hadn’t just poisoned me to death and remarried, you must have had some lingering feelings for me as a wife. But now I see, it’s not because you’re merciful, but because you didn’t want to dirty your hands. After all, if such a thing were exposed, your reputation would be ruined, wouldn’t it? So, you’ve opted to torment me like this — either dragging me to death or forcing me to divorce you myself. Wenren Zhongyong, you’re so incredibly heartless. So heartless. Aren’t you afraid of retribution?”

Du Shi woke up at some point, her face as pale as paper, tear-streaked and sorrowful, her expression one of utter despair, as if she were bleeding from the heart.

Du Shi ruthlessly pulled out the acupuncture needle and threw it onto the ground, spitting out, “Wenren Zhongyong, if you want me to leave the family, don’t even think about it. I’d rather die today and see if you can cover it up. Let the world see your hypocritical, vicious face. Let’s see if any decent family’s girl would marry you after that! Dream on if you ever want a legitimate son in this lifetime!”

With overwhelming hatred filling her, Du Shi stared fixedly at Wenren Zhongyong. If she could, she would probably drag him down to hell with her. Her words seemed like a curse, infecting his heart and startling Wenren Zhongyong so much that he staggered back two steps, only recovering with a surge of extreme anger. “You wretch, how dare you—!”

“Ah! Mother, you’re bleeding! You’re bleeding so much, Mother…” Wenren Xi yelled in terror as she threw herself beside the bed, her body trembling, helpless and panicked.

Xiao Cao quickly shook off Han Shi’s hand and rushed forward in several swift strides.

However, Du Shi pushed away Xiao Cao’s attempts to save her.

But in her current state, Du Shi was too weak to resist Xiao Cao, who deftly applied acupuncture to knock Du Shi unconscious again. This time, Xiao Cao didn’t pull out the needles, ensuring that she wouldn’t wake up.

“Fourth sister, save my mother, please save her…” Wenren Xi’s face was drenched in tears, her voice pitifully pleading.

“Fifth Sister, be good, don’t worry,” Xiao Cao reassured her, focusing on treating Du Shi.

Yan Shi, who had been standing nearby, quickly came over and took hold of Wenren Xi. “Xi’er, don’t stand in your fourth sister’s way.”

Xiao Cao continued to work, occasionally instructing the maids to assist. With her commanding the scene, everything proceeded calmly and orderly.

Meanwhile, Old Madam Wenren covered her face with one hand, hiding her grief-stricken eyes, muttering to herself, “It’s all my fault… it’s all my fault…”

She had known that there were issues within the second household, but since she normally didn’t bother with such affairs, no one had come to her with such troubling matters. As a result, she hadn’t realized how severe the problems had become. If she had just stepped in earlier, things might not have escalated to this point.

Han Shi was standing nearby, listening clearly. Compared to other families, their mother-in-law really wasn’t so bad.

A moment later, Old Madam Wenren lowered her hand, her emotions neatly tucked away, leaving only a sharp and stern demeanor. She swept her gaze to her second son, “Eldest daughter-in-law, go have the eldest son open the ancestral hall. Today, I will invoke family law.”

Wenren Zhongyong was stunned, as if refusing to believe it. But seeing that his mother wasn’t joking, panic surged through him. He quickly knelt down. “Mother, I know I was wrong, I truly know I was wrong! Please spare me this time, Mother…”

Old Madam Wenren remained utterly unmoved. She stood up, wobbling slightly, and Han Shi hurried to support her. She didn’t stubbornly refuse the assistance. “Xiao Cao, treat your second aunt well. If you need good medicine, don’t be frugal. If anything is lacking in the storeroom, you may take it from my personal stash.” Old Madam Wenren’s wealth couldn’t compare to Han’s, but she was making her stance clear.

Xiao Cao nodded. “Rest assured, Grandmother.”

Old Madam Wenren nodded back and walked out, with Han Shi following. As she passed by Wenren Zhongyong, she didn’t even spare him a glance.

What could Wenren Zhongyong do? Defy his mother? Refuse the family punishment?

In the end, Wenren Zhongyong left of his own accord, sparing himself the indignity of being dragged out by servants. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had even a shred of face left.

Xiao Cao paid no attention to how the Old Madam dealt with Wenren Zhongyong. After much effort, she finally stabilized Du Shi’s condition, had her cleaned up, and put her in fresh clothes. The bed was also tidied up.

At this moment…

“Fourth sister, how’s my mother?” Wenren Xi asked cautiously, worried about the situation.

“She’s stabilized now. Don’t worry, as long as she’s well taken care of, recovering seventy to eighty percent is certainly possible.”

“Thank you, Fourth Sister. Thank you.” Tears streamed down Wenren Xi’s face. “But… I’m afraid she’ll do something foolish when she wakes up.”

“Xi’er, don’t worry. Your mother was just overwhelmed. If you stay by her side more, she’ll get better,” Yan Shi consoled. She glanced at the unconscious Du Shi, thinking that this second sister-in-law was pitiable but also foolish.

Yan Shi couldn’t help but snidely remark to herself: among the five sisters-in-law, except the eldest, who lived joyfully? To say there was no jealousy would be a lie. How could the fates of five brothers born of the same father be so drastically different? But jealousy was pointless — it was all destined.

Fortunately, she had come to accept things a long time ago and didn’t rely on her husband for her happiness. Moreover, the Wenren family had strict rules against favoring concubines over wives. No matter what background a concubine came from, they had to behave themselves. If they acted out of line and got caught, they were punished swiftly.

As for the concubines in the fifth household, they were even fewer in number than those in the eldest household and were quite submissive, which made Yan Shi’s life easier.

“An emotional injury requires an emotional cure. Your mother’s heartache… is actually quite easy to treat. I’ll have a talk with her later.”

Not only was Wenren Xi curious, but so was Yan Shi, who glanced at Xiao Cao with intrigue.

Xiao Cao simply smiled without explaining further.

Once the medicine had been prepared and brought over, Xiao Cao finally allowed Du Shi to wake.

Perhaps due to her weakness, Du Shi didn’t move, her face still lifeless, as though bereft of hope. She refused to take the medicine.

Wenren Xi, at her side, was so anxious that tears were falling continuously.