The old lady's face was extremely pale, but she tried her best to remain calm. "What you're saying is getting more and more absurd. Have you been frightened into losing your mind?"

Old Madam Cui knew that her granddaughter was naive and couldn't have made up such stories, so she believed Cui Yihuan.

She had long known that the old lady didn't have genuine feelings for Xie Tingzhou, and sensed something was amiss.

The old lady of the Marquis's mansion isn't trying to find a wife for the young master; she's trying to send him to his death, all while using her silly maid.

The granddaughter was only drowned, yet the Marquis of Zhongyong wouldn't let her go. If she really plotted to murder the heir, wouldn't the Cui family be wiped out by the Marquis of Zhongyong?

The old lady of the Marquis's mansion is trying to ruin the Cui family.

"Old sister, my granddaughter isn't very clever and is easily fooled, but she's also honest and not good at lying."

Madam Cui's face darkened. "We're all grandmothers. I understand that you love your grandson, but it's unkind of you to drag my Cui family into this mess."

She tried to pin all the blame on the old lady, making the Cui family the victims instead.

She then said to Marquis Zhongyong, "My lord, now that things are clear, my girl was instigated by your mother."

But she was ultimately kind and incapable of evil, which is why she was so frightened that she fell into the water. The Cui family, who had happily attended the banquet, were instead used as pawns and nearly lost their jobs at the hands of the Marquis. They begged the Marquis to give the Cui family an explanation.

Cui Yihuan was wrong to believe the old lady's slander, but the old lady, as an elder, was even more sinister in deceiving the younger generation.

The other onlookers also vaguely sensed something, and their gazes toward the old lady were filled with scrutiny, speculation, alienation, and even anger.

Although the banquet was not explicitly stated as a search for a wife for Xie Tingzhou, the old lady did not deliberately hide it.

Everyone knew the truth, so they all had their younger relatives dress up carefully and come over, only to find out that they were just there to make up the scene, to make up for an old maid who couldn't get married. How could the proud ladies not be angry?

Since the old lady had already chosen Cui Yihuan, why was she playing games with them?

Some people wondered, if someone truly loved their eldest grandson, why would they choose a girl from the Cui family for him, and even resort to methods like drugging him?

If she's so heartless towards her grandson, it's better to cut ties with such an old lady.

Everyone's thoughts were written all over their faces, and when the old lady saw them, she felt dizzy.

She had enjoyed a glamorous life for most of her life and cared a lot about her reputation, so she never expected to suffer such a setback.

"Miss Cui is probably suffering from hysteria. I have never said anything like that to her."

She insisted on denying it.

But Xie Tingzhou scoffed, "Grandmother is truly my good grandmother. She didn't hesitate to have someone drug me in order to help me find a wife."

But when did her grandson ever tell his grandmother that he didn't want to get married?

He spread his arms and twirled around like a peacock, saying, "If my grandson didn't want to get married, why would he be dressed up so carefully today?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she scanned the entire room, finally landing on Ye Zhen unintentionally. "My grandson is still unmarried because he hasn't met the right person yet."

But her grandmother called him a blockhead who was hard to understand. Her grandmother's habit of talking nonsense had not changed for many years.

Years ago, I was knocked unconscious and thrown into a fire, and I clearly heard my stepmother, Liu's, voice.

He gave a sneer, “Grandmother sided with Liu, insisting that it was her grandson’s own playfulness, as certain as if she had seen it with her own eyes.”

These words reminded everyone of the time he was disfigured, and they all looked at his face.

Cui Yihuan also looked up, her face contorted with anguish.

Her hands, clenched tightly beneath the cloak, revealed that her child had been murdered by Madam Liu and the old lady.

Those two wicked women.

She struggled to hide the heartache in her eyes and exclaimed in shock, "So, Madam, you lied to me? You weren't doing this for the young master's sake at all?"

Everyone then thought that the eldest daughter of the Cui family was indeed a bit silly.

Amidst the pitying and contemptuous gazes of the crowd, Cui Yihuan suddenly went berserk, rising up and tightly gripping the old lady's hand.

"Madam, how could you, as an elder, be so despicable as to deceive a junior like me?"

Before my mother died, she repeatedly told me not to do evil. I thought that the Crown Prince really did not want to marry, and that you really valued me as your granddaughter-in-law, so you had no choice but to do this.

In addition, I am getting old, and if I don't get married soon, I will have little future. That's why I agreed to your request.

But you, you actually want me to harm people. If I succeed today, and I find out the truth later, how will I face my deceased mother's memorial tablet? How will I live?

I have no grudge against you, why are you treating me like this?

Her knuckles turned white, as if she wanted to crush the old lady's wrist. The old lady was in pain from her grip, which cleared her dizzy mind.

"Was it Tingzhou who sent you to slander me?"

She endured the pain, her face full of helplessness, "Tingzhou is disfigured and feels indignant. For so many years, he has taken his anger out on me and misunderstood me."

You deliberately spilled the teacup, wetting your clothes. After changing, you cried to me about how the Cui family treated you badly. I couldn't bear it, so I gave you clothes and jewelry.

But actually, this was all your scheme, designed to make people misunderstand that I kept you here and was giving you orders, wasn't it?"