The whole family is reborn, and their five-year-old child becomes the darling of the entire capital.

"What did you say? Say it again?" The Duchess disregarded all decorum, stood up and strode to Xiao Yuxi's side. As soon as she squatted down to look at her, tears welled up in her eyes and dripped onto the ground.

"Good child, what did you just say?" The Duchess asked her in a softer tone when she saw that she was frightened.

"The more I cry out in pain, the harder Mother hits me. As long as I stop crying out in pain, Mother won't hit me anymore." Although Xiao Yuxi was startled by her actions, she obediently repeated the words.

This aunt seems to have about the same authority as this grandmother; the only two people around are sitting in chairs.

"How...how dare they?" The Duchess held her small hand and carefully pulled up her sleeve a little. There were bluish-purple whip marks, some new and some old, with not a single piece of good flesh left.

She couldn't even imagine whether the marks on her body would be worse than those on her arms.

"Auntie, why are you crying?" Xiao Yuxi wanted to wipe her tears with her hand, but found that her hands were still dirty and hadn't been washed off. She quickly put her little hands behind her back. "Does it hurt somewhere? Yuxi will blow on it for Auntie."

The Duchess hadn't shown such outward emotional fluctuations in a long time. The first time she saw this young girl was on a victorious afternoon, when she laughed with unrestrained abandon, a kind of abandon she had never seen in this mansion.

At the time, she wondered what kind of family could raise such an outstanding and cheerful girl.

The truth is now laid bare before her.

How could such a family raise a girl like Yu Xi?

The old lady slowly rose, calmed herself down, and said in a gentle voice, "Qingcui, go and call the family physician."

She wanted to see for herself just how much suffering the Mu family's children had endured at the hands of those people.

Seeing that things were turning out this way, the maidservant of the First Madam became quite flustered. If she didn't handle this matter properly for her mistress, she feared she would be beaten half to death when she returned home.

"Madam, you must stand up for our lady! If she hadn't been pushed, how could she have lost her baby and bleed? Although our lady comes from a merchant family, she is also the only daughter in the family and has been pampered since childhood. Now that she has suffered such a great injustice in the Mu family, you can't be biased!"

The Duchess understood the old lady's signal, picked up Xiao Yuxi, and sat her down on a chair. She picked out a small, delicate pastry, held it in a clean silk handkerchief, and personally fed it to Xiao Yuxi, saying, "Try it and see if it's good."

Xiao Yuxi was a little confused by what was happening, but she couldn't resist the pastries and was quickly distracted, eating them bite by bite.

Delicious!

It tastes even better than what my second sister has!

Seeing that she liked it, the Duchess smiled slightly. Everything on the Old Madam's side was the best of the Duke's mansion, and the pastries were naturally the most delicious. She knew she would like it.

The Duchess raised her hand to wipe the crumbs from her mouth. "Eat slowly, there's no rush."

The maidservant who was attending to her quietly withdrew her handkerchief. Looking at the cousin in the Duchess's arms, she thought to herself, the Duchess always complained that the Third Young Master was dirty, and she had never been so affectionate. It seemed that she had to reassess the cousin's status.

"So what if I'm biased?" the old lady said calmly, looking at the kneeling maid with mockery in her eyes.

The maid was stunned and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Aunt Min was also somewhat at a loss. Why was everyone suddenly siding with that girl when they were the victims? "Madam..."

"Shut up." The old lady glanced at her. Didn't you see how frightened the little girl was by her voice earlier? And she still dares to speak?

Aunt Min immediately knelt on the ground, not daring to say another word.

"Is your lady's health so delicate? How could such a small child knock her over?" The old lady saw Qingcui bring the family doctor into the main hall, and then looked at Xiaoyuxi, who was happily eating with her daughter-in-law. Well, let her eat first and deal with the matter first.

“Our lady didn’t see it, and she just bumped into it…”

"Alright, Qingcui, take a dozen men and break down the door of the eldest daughter-in-law's house. I want to see what's going on with that child."

"Yes." Qingcui led her people in a grand procession towards the young master's courtyard.

The people inside looked at each other in bewilderment. Why had the old lady suddenly broken ties with the people over there?

Aunt Min looked at the old lady in disbelief. The old lady had always been very tolerant of her. Even though her son had married a merchant's daughter, she had never separated him from the family. Instead, she had always supported him. Now, she had brought people, including male members, to break into the eldest daughter-in-law's room. Was she humiliating her?

Aunt Min had always thought that marrying a merchant's daughter wouldn't elevate her social status, but at least her family would be wealthy. Now, she suddenly felt resentful towards her daughter-in-law, wondering why she insisted on going to the garden; it just showed how low her status was. If her son had married a daughter of a high-ranking family, she wouldn't have to suffer this humiliation today.

Now that she has lost her child, she doesn't know if she can have children again. If she can't have children, she still needs to make plans for her son in advance.

"It should be almost over now. Let's go see what's going on." As soon as the old lady finished speaking, Aunt Xu, who was standing to the side, hurriedly stepped forward to act as a maid and support the old lady.

What a joke! She'd finally gotten her chance to slap Xu Min in the face, so of course she had to be at the forefront. Besides, with the madam taking care of that little maid, this opportunity to curry favor with the old lady had presented itself, and she was determined to seize it.

Besides the wife, the most authoritative person in this family is the old lady.

Now that Xu Min has fallen out of favor, it's the perfect time for her to rise to power. Her daughter is also of marriageable age. If she can win over the old lady, she might be able to marry into a family of lower social standing and become the principal wife, ensuring a life of comfort and security.

The Duchess wiped Xiao Yuxi's messy face with a silk handkerchief. "Should we go take a look?"

"Is it the aunt who was hit?" Xiao Yuxi asked, puzzled. She didn't understand what they were up to.

"Yes, Yu Xi, would you like to go and take a look?" The Duchess smiled gently.

Xiao Yuxi lowered her head and thought for a while before speaking decisively, "Yes, that auntie looks like she's in a lot of pain. It's all Yuxi's fault, Yuxi bumped into the auntie and hurt her."

But she clearly checked and there was no one there before she dared to run. How could she have bumped into someone? But a bump is a bump, she must have just not seen clearly.

Yingrui, who had been kneeling for a long time, finally stood up and curtsied. "Madam, let me carry Miss."

The Duchess glanced at her, then pulled Yu Xi into her arms and said calmly, "No need."