Chapter 194 A Trumped-up Charge (Part One)


    Essie was working on her design in the garden pavilion. She was expecting Mary toe, so she


    schooled her expression into one as cid as a pool without any ripples.


    "I know that Zac wants to help you, but everything is clear to me. I didn''t expect you to be so


    unscrupulous that you would n such a thing to harm Valery''s child!" The older woman had a cold


    frown on her face, and her usually gentle mask waspletely shattered. In her eyes, she was able to


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    find a diplomatic way to settle the matter, thus making Essie feel like she was easy to deal with... it was


    Essie who took advantage of her kindness and bullied her beloved daughter-inw and her adored


    grandson. ''Today, I am going to show that little bitch what thedy of the house is really like.''


    With a face still devoid of expression, Essie replied, "You are already determined to burn me at the


    stake anyway, no matter what I say. Say whatever you want, I don''t care..." Her voice trailed off as a


    smack resounded when Mary''s hand made contact with her face. The p was so hard that a red hand


    print instantly appeared on her cheek.


    "Let this be a small warning to you. In this family, you can''t just do whatever trouble you want. If you


    touch one hair on the heads of Valery and her baby, I will kill you."


    She was still talking when a voice resounded from somewhere close, "Mommy, what are you doing?"


    It was Walt who spoke up. Albert was standing beside him. They were strolling about the grounds,


    talking about business, when they happened upon the confrontation between the two women.


    There was a gloomy expression on Albert''s usually pleasant face.


    As Essie''s mother-inw and the matriarch of the Rong family, Mary was supposed to teach her vicious


    daughter-inw a lesson. She did not see anything wrong with what she was doing, so she remained


    calm.


    Essie knew how pathetic she appeared, with tears streaming from her eyes and so very weak that she


    was almost weaving on her feet. Her wounded heart wept with righteous indignation because of how


    unjust her mother-inw was treating her.


    Her tears fell unchecked. She turned her head and wiped them off surreptitiously with her fingers so


    that the two men wouldn''t see. Of course, they saw her action.


    Heart bleeding with pity for Essie, Walt walked up to her and offered her a handkerchief. He then


    turned to his mother and asked, "Mommy, are you angry about the crabs?"


    "This is just a small punishment. If I didn''t do this, then there would be no peace and order in this


    family." Mary harrumphed.


    "Actually, I also wanted to eat crabs yesterday, but Zac had already told the kitchen staff to cook them


    before I did. Thank goodness, or else somebody would have used me of attempting to hurt Valery,"


    Walt said slowly in a half-joking tone, but his words implied that he was protecting Essie.


    Mary was slightly taken aback by Walt''s defense. "You are not like her! She has hated Valery''s baby for


    a long time. Last time, when she got Valery to catch a cold, I forgave her. This time, she actually tried to


    harm Valery''s baby by feeding her crabs. If I just sit idly by, she could end up killing Valery''s child


    sooner orter!" She said these things to deliberately discredit Essie in her father-inw''s eyes and to


    reveal the true colors of that evil woman.


    "It is better for the child to be gone, then, so that the family could live in peace," Albert unexpectedly


    said in a low but aggressive voice.


    Mary''s jaw dropped in shock. She didn''t expect that her husband would say something like that.


    "He is our eldest grandson!" she whispered harshly.


    A cold light shed in Albert''s eyes.


    ''Whether he is our grandson is a question!'' he thought to himself.


    He knew his son; he was sure that there was more to the situation than what they knew.


    "You will apologize to Essie for what happened just now," he said in an imperious tone that brooked no


    argument.


    ''What?''


    Mary''s head exploded. Did she hear that correctly? How could she, the mother-inw, apologize to her


    daughter-inw?


    "I see nothing inappropriate in the way I handled this problem," she responded stiffly through gritted


    teeth.


    "Essie did not force Valery to eat the crab or ce it in Valery''s bowl secretly so that she would


    consume it without her knowledge. You are only ming her because of your prejudice against her.


    You are thedy of the manor, yet you have failed in your duty to uphold justice in this family." Albert''s


    tone was full of reproach.


    "That doesn''t mean she is innocent. You cannot deny that she has the motive," Mary said stubbornly.


    She would never admit that she was wrong.


    "You yourself have a hidden motive. Why did you bring Valery into this house? Are you afraid that the


    family will be too peaceful? You used the crabs to use someone. If you''re so tired of feeling


    suspicious all the time, then just send Valery back to the Xu family so we can all live in peace." Albert


    had put up with it for a long time. Mary was smart and capable, but her biggest shoring was that


    she liked to go to extremes. Once she went too far, he had to do his best to rescue her out of the mess


    of her own doing.


    Mary''s face turned pale out of embarrassment. Albert had once taught her an unforgettable lesson


    many years ago over his first love, Luce. This time, he was doing it again for their daughter-inw.


    Beside her, Walt stayed quiet,pletely not speaking to her. He had always been the sweetest and


    most obedient son—the opposite of Zac, who always went his own way. Today, Walt was different. Did


    he also think that she was wrong?


    She red at Essie anew, ''This woman is a femme fatale! She has seduced all the men in this family


    that they all have gone mad! Now, they can''t even tell right from wrong!''


    She would never be swayed by that woman... and she would rather die than apologize to her.


    She was her mother-inw and the family matriarch, and she was entitled to a certain dignity that


    befitted her station. Even if the bitch got pped wrongly, it was because she was asking for it.


    Albert saw her hesitate, and a small glint of anger shed in his eyes. "Well, then... if you don''t intend


    to apologize, then I will do it for you..." Essie interjected in a low voice, "Daddy, it is okay. I''m fine.


    Mommy was only angry at me because of a misunderstanding. If doing so would help her calm down,


    then it''s okay for her to p me a few more times. I''m a junior member of the family... I should be filial


    toward the elders and share their burden."