Are you really willing to live like a widow at such a young age?

Mu Xinci's gaze shifted to the little one Lydia Miles was holding. How did Yuna end up with her?

"Mother, your granddaughter is hurt like that, and you can still smile?" Lilian Rowe said angrily. "And your beloved grandson, Youbei, was just tossed into the lotus pond by this woman. He's always been frail; he's sure to get sick."

"Yes, no matter how justified you think you are, you can't harm the family's grandchildren," the old lady lectured Lydia.

"She's your granddaughter, and that chubby boy is your grandson. What about the one lying upstairs? Isn't he your grandson too?"

"And him," Lydia gestured to the child she was holding, lifting his shirt sleeve to reveal old and fresh wounds. "Doesn't it hurt you to see him like this? Don't you love him at all?" Lydia's voice grew more emotional and angry with each word.

"This child is... Yuna?" The old lady had just returned to the Grand Palace residence a couple of days ago.

She was old and hadn't seen Yuna in a long time, plus he was dirty, so she didn't recognize him immediately.

Being a devout Buddhist who often stayed in temples, she wasn't very familiar with the household affairs.

Seeing the child's injuries now, her heart naturally ached.

Lydia didn't respond immediately, instead holding Yuna tightly and said to the old lady, "It's been a long time since you've seen him, hasn't it? He's your great-grandson. You probably haven't seen your 'living dead' grandson in ages. Since you're here, you should go upstairs and take a look."

With that, she headed upstairs directly.

Over the years, Lydia had met many people, and the old lady seemed kind-hearted, likely to handle the matter fairly.

"You, come with me," the old lady ordered Lilian Rowe, asking Mu Xinci to assist her as they went upstairs together.

As soon as they stepped into the bedroom, a nauseating stench hit them, forcing them to cover their noses and mouths with their hands.

Lydia Miles gently placed Yuna, whom she had been carrying, on the floor and continued speaking to the elderly lady, "Take a look at him, and then at the granddaughter you mentioned. Or better yet, compare him to the servants outside who are just here for the spectacle. You can smell the awful odor in this room, can't you? The air is stifling. This room may look luxurious, but it's worse than a beggar's den. There's nothing here except a bed and a cabinet for monitoring equipment, not even a chair!"

As soon as Mu Xinci entered, she noticed everything in the room.

Her eyes welled up with tears, and she struggled to hold back her pain.

She knew her son wasn't living well, but as a woman in the family, her influence was limited.

She had done everything she could to keep Chase alive and to occasionally see Yuna and care for her.

This time, to help Chase marry, she was willing to give up all the second family's assets in the family.

Money meant nothing to her; she just wanted someone to care for Chase after she was gone and to ensure Yuna wasn't bullied.

"What is going on here?" the elderly lady demanded, tapping her cane on the floor as she questioned Lilian Rowe.

"Maybe the servants thought that since Chase only needs nutritional fluids to stay alive, he doesn't need anything else, so they took the old stuff away," Lilian Rowe replied evasively.

"And what about his hygiene, the air in this room? Doesn't he need those too?" Lydia Miles pressed on, not letting the woman off.

"What hygiene? Chase looks fine to me, quite spirited," Lilian Rowe retorted, staring at the man lying on the bed.

"Right." Lydia Miles kicked a basin at the foot of the bed toward Lilian Rowe.

Inside were the clothes, diapers, and other items she had just changed for Chase, along with hair and beard clippings.

The clothes were filthy, and the sight made Lilian Rowe cover her nose and mouth in disgust.

"You useless thing, clean this up immediately," Lilian snapped at the servant nearby.

"Lilian Rowe!" the matriarch's voice rang out sharply.

"Mo... Mother," Lilian stammered. Despite being the lady of the house, the true matriarch of the family was still the old lady.

"A month ago, you insisted that Xin accompany me to the temple, and I entrusted the entire estate to you. Is this how you care for the second young master of the family?"

"Grandmother, don't be angry. Given Second Brother's current state, he doesn't feel anything. Why get so upset? He's used to the smell by now. He's practically a living dead; alive, he's a waste of resources, and dead, he'd be free..."

A sharp slap echoed as the matriarch struck Charlotte across the face.

"Mother, please don't be angry. Charlotte is too young to understand," Lilian quickly pulled Charlotte behind her.

She had deliberately sent Xin away with the matriarch to avoid the woman's interference, but she hadn't expected Xin to win the old lady's favor during that time.

"I... I didn't know about the situation here before. I just found out now. These servants deceived me, kept me in the dark. Please don't be angry, Mother. I'll have the servants clean this up immediately and make sure..."

"No need to clean. Move Chase to the room next door," the matriarch interrupted, giving orders. "Charlotte is right; you'll get used to the smell. You and your daughter can stay in this room today and get a whiff of it yourselves."

"Mother, you can't do this. I'm the lady of the house. How will I maintain authority in this family if you do this..."

"Are you trying to undermine my authority? Or do you want me to have my son deal with you personally?" the matriarch scolded her furiously.

"... I wouldn't dare."

The old lady scoffed, pulling Yoon away. The new granddaughter-in-law was right; Yoon was her great-grandson, and she needed to look after him.

After settling Chase in another bedroom, the sky outside was already darkening.

With so many people around earlier, Mu Xinci hadn't had the chance to speak with Lydia Miles.

Now, with just the two of them in the room, she couldn't help but ask, "Lydia, may I call you that?"

"Of course," Lydia replied. Although she didn't understand why Mu Xinci, Chase's biological mother, could watch him suffer here without speaking up in front of everyone, she sensed there was more to the story.

She had noticed Mu's eyes were red and her face was choked with emotion while caring for Chase earlier.

"Do you really want to marry Chase and be his wife? The doctors said he might never wake up. You're so young and beautiful; why would you choose to marry him and live like a widow?"