Chapter 226: Torment

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Madam Pei shoved the bald man out the door.

“Put on your monk robe! If anyone finds out, it won’t end well for any of us!” She glanced around cautiously before personally fastening his robe.

The man smirked, his demeanor frivolous.

“So what if they find out? Lu Yuan Ze doesn’t meddle in these affairs. You rule this household.”

“His children have been cast out of the family records. Only your son will inherit the household name. Who in this estate dares to defy you?” He playfully tugged at Madam Pei’s hair.

She let out a cold laugh.

But this was not the prestige she had wanted.

She had envisioned Shi Yun leaving in disgrace, humiliated beyond measure, trampled beneath her feet.

Yet instead, Shi Yun thrived.

And she, Madam Pei, was trapped in a cage of her own making.

A faint, incessant wailing reached her ears, making her frown in irritation. “That wretched old hag is still crying? Can’t someone shut her up?”

The bald man idly followed her as she strode towards De Shan Hall.

Before she even stepped inside, a pungent stench assaulted her senses. She waved a hand in front of her nose, eyes filled with disgust.

A maid at the entrance greeted her anxiously. “The Old Madam has been lying on the floor, shivering violently. She urinated on herself—it must be the cold…”

Madam Pei had ordered the brazier extinguished. The second month of winter was biting, the chill seeping into one’s very bones.

Even the young wrapped themselves in cotton-padded coats. How much worse for a paralyzed old woman who feared the cold above all else?

“Cold? What cold? She wails day and night—she must be burning up inside,” Madam Pei sneered.

The maid kept her head bowed, not daring to speak further.

“Leave. I’ll personally tend to the Old Madam.” Madam Pei dismissed her with a glance.

The maid hesitated, glancing at the trembling figure on the ground before retreating.

The bald man took the opportunity to shut the door.

The Old Madam lay clad in thin garments, her trousers soaked with urine. The damp fabric clung to her frail frame, ice-cold against her skin.

Snow swirled outside. Inside, not even a single ember burned. The frigid air was merciless.

The moment she saw Madam Pei and the bald man, the Old Madam’s body tensed, a deep-seated hatred flaring in her eyes.

But she could only writhe feebly on the ground like an old, helpless caterpillar.

“Don’t look at me like that!” Madam Pei snapped, slapping her across the face.

“Tormenting me, were you? Making my life miserable, were you?!”

When she had first been paralyzed, Lu Yuan Ze had assigned several senior maids to tend to her around the clock.

Yet night after night, the Old Madam demanded food, drink, the chamber pot—keeping everyone exhausted. Madam Pei herself grew haggard from the ordeal.

Morning and night, she had to massage the Old Madam’s legs, her hands trembling from the effort.

And the Old Madam, in her malice, would deliberately soil herself, forcing Madam Pei to clean up after her—robbing her of her appetite for days on end.

“No child is dutiful to a bedridden parent for long. How long has it been since your son last visited you?” Madam Pei smirked.

At first, Lu Yuan Ze had visited daily.

But as months passed, he stopped asking about her altogether.

The Old Madam glared at her with venomous eyes.

“Did you think I was Shi Yun? That if you fell ill, she would sit by your bedside all night, fetch you water at the slightest cough, massage your shoulders, and coax you gently?” Madam Pei slapped her again.

“I have no such patience. I am no one’s lowly servant.”

“Shi Yun may have bowed and scraped, served you night and day, but I won’t.” Madam Pei admired her own freshly manicured nails, ignoring the Old Madam’s sobs of regret.

Tears streamed from the Old Madam’s murky eyes. How could she not regret?

Shi Yun had been gentle, dutiful—an aristocratic lady who humbled herself to please her mother-in-law.

She had never served anyone before, yet she had learned, step by step, never showing displeasure, never flaunting her noble lineage.

Afraid of being looked down upon as a mere village woman, the Old Madam had tormented Shi Yun under the guise of authority. But Shi Yun had never once complained…

Without comparison, one never realized the depth of their mistakes.

Now, she regretted. She hated herself.

Why had she driven Shi Yun and her grandchildren away?!

She had torn apart her own family.

The Marquis title was lost.

Drool dribbled from her lips as she sobbed. If Shi Yun were here, wouldn’t she be tended to with the utmost care?

Madam Pei scoffed, seeing the remorse in her eyes but dismissing it without care.

“What’s the point of that pitiful look now? I’m not Shi Yun. I won’t pity you. I won’t wait on you hand and foot.”

“If you truly cared for me, you wouldn’t have abandoned me for eighteen years. Do you think I owe you gratitude?” Her eyes were cold.

“Don’t bother looking toward the door—Lu Yuan Ze isn’t coming.”

“Lu Jing Huai stole Lu Yan Shu’s writings. Lu Yuan Ze fainted from the shock. Oh, you didn’t know, did you? Lu Jing Huai’s so-called genius—he stole it from Lu Yan Shu.”

“You really are lucky, you know. The Marquis Manor had a true prodigy, yet you cast him out.” Madam Pei knew exactly where to strike, stabbing at the Old Madam’s deepest wounds.

Sure enough, her face contorted in agony.

She clawed forward bit by bit.

“Ah! Ah! Poison… Poison…”

Poisonous woman!

She howled in fury, eyes locked on Madam Pei.

But she couldn’t control her body. Not even a complete word left her lips.

“Poisonous? Compared to you, I’m an innocent lamb.”

“Did you really think yourself kind and blameless? You’re crueler than I ever was.” Madam Pei spat on her face.

She sneered.

“The Old Marquis fought for the empire, earning the Emperor’s favor. He was gifted several concubines, each more talented and beautiful than the last…”

“You wept, screamed, and threatened suicide until he dismissed them. But what did you do after?”

“You came from a backwater village, crude and unrefined, unable to compare to those women.”

“Yet, once they were gone, you had their faces ruined.”

The Old Madam flinched. The memory was almost forgotten.

“And that was just the start.”

“Do you recall your own maidservant?”

“Li Qiao, was it?” Madam Pei had uncovered every secret of the manor in her first year here.

“Afraid that the capital’s noble ladies would steal the Old Marquis’s heart, you pushed your own maid into his bed to keep him under your control.”

“He had no interest in concubines, but you drugged him, and so it was done.”

“Afterward, he pitied Li Qiao, making her a concubine. And you—” Madam Pei chuckled, “—you regretted it.”

“Seeing the Old Marquis tender with her, cherishing her, you had her drowned in the moat while she was eight months pregnant!”

“One corpse, two lives!”

Behind her, the bald man’s breathing grew harsh, his fists clenched tight, eyes rimmed with red, barely suppressing his fury.

“Eight months along, so close to birth… You were merciless.”

“The Old Marquis never forgave you. Even Lu Wan Yi—you only conceived her by getting him drunk…”

“Time has muddled your memories, hasn’t it? Do you still think yourself a good person?”

Madam Pei pinched her nose in disgust.

“Li Yuan Xi, hurry up and toss her into the ice bath.” She shot a glance at the bald man.

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