After being sentenced to death, she came to her senses.

"Do you know that falsely accusing an official's family is a serious crime? Aren't you afraid I'll send you to jail for such nonsense?"

Fang Zhengyong narrowed his eyes, his words full of threat, and his gaze at the man in black was incredibly oppressive, making the already frightened man even more guilty.

“It is precisely because I know it is a serious crime that I dare not speak nonsense. If Father does not believe me, he can take a look at the testimony and have Aunt Wang come to confront me. I believe she will give you an explanation.” Fang Xiaoran’s tone was firm, and she was not willing to back down in the slightest.

She knew that Fang Zhengyong was trying to protect the Wang family, which was why he was pulling her in this stunt. In the past, she might have been drawn into it, but not now.

With things having come to this point, Fang Zhengyong had no other choice. His face was extremely grim, and he read the testimony with an almost impassive expression. However, one person's testimony was clearly not enough; he also wanted to hear Wang's explanation.

"Bring the concubine over here." Fang Zhengyong's voice was unusually authoritative.

At that moment, Madam Wang was pacing back and forth in Manchun Garden, anxiously awaiting the result.

Why is the mansion so quiet after such a major incident? There's been no news of a fire either. Could it be that they failed?

Fang Menghe shook her head, "Mother, please stop spinning, it's making my head spin."

"You heartless wretch! If this gets out, your father won't let me off the hook!" Madam Wang said, getting more and more agitated. She kept peeking out to look around. Granny Qian whispered to comfort her, "Don't worry, there are only a few people in the North Residence. People usually avoid them like the plague. They'd rather stay far away than have them. I reckon even if there's a fire, no one will notice it immediately."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Wang nodded slightly, "That makes sense, but for some reason, I always feel very uneasy."

Just as she finished speaking, a maid came in and reported, "Madam, Granny Zhou from Ci'an Hall has arrived. She says that the master requests your presence at Ci'an Hall for questioning."

"Questioning? Did they say what it was about?" Madam Wang's expression changed slightly.

It should be noted that Granny Zhou and Granny Wang were the head maids of Ci'an Hall. They were the old lady's dowry maids and usually served by her side. The fact that Granny Zhou was sent this time clearly meant that it was not just a simple matter of asking questions.

The maid said, "Granny Zhou didn't say anything, she just told you to go as soon as possible and not to keep the master waiting."

Something was definitely wrong with those words. Wang Shi's heart pounded in her chest. She gripped Qian Mama's hand tightly, "Could it be...?"

"You must not lose your composure. No matter what happens, you must remain calm. After all, the bond between you and your master over the years is something that a wild girl like her can't compare to," Granny Qian comforted her.

Wang calmed herself down and said through gritted teeth, "Alright, I'll go right now. Xiaochun, go and fetch Steward Wu."

"Reporting to Madam, Steward Wu has been missing since nightfall, and we don't know where he went."

Xiaochun's words left Wang at a loss. "It's really unreliable for him to disappear at such a crucial moment." Suddenly, a thought struck her and startled her. "Could it be that he knew he'd been caught and ran away?"

"Madam, Granny Zhou is here again to urge you." At this moment, another maid came in and urged her.

Now, Madam Wang was completely at a loss and dared not go to see the master. However, since Granny Zhou was waiting outside, she couldn't keep delaying. Granny Qian reminded her, "Madam, you should go first. If you wait too long, the master might get angry. Anyway, given your relationship with the master, he will be lenient no matter what happens. If all else fails, you can cry. The master can't stand seeing you cry."

Wang said helplessly, "This is the only way for now. Meng'er, go find Steward Wu and tell him to come up with a solution quickly. If he can't extricate me from this matter, then he can forget about continuing to work for the Fang family."

Soon, Madam Wang arrived at Ci'an Hall. As soon as she entered the gate, she felt that it was very quiet. Although the lights were bright, there was not a sound. The key thing was that when she arrived at the inner hall, she saw several people from Cuiwei Pavilion standing at the door. Madam Wang thought to herself, why are Liu's people here? Could they be stabbing her in the back?

No, she has to go in and check right away.

Wang quickened her pace and rushed into the inner hall.

As soon as she entered, she was startled by the atmosphere before her. Fang Zhengyong was sitting upright in a chair, pinching his brow. When he saw Wang enter, his dark and deep eyes swept over her, and the coldness and intimidation made Wang shudder.

"What, what's wrong?" Madam Wang's palms were sweating, and she stammered as she cautiously approached Fang Zhengyong and asked helplessly, "Master, did you call me here because there's something wrong with Mother's health? Didn't we just have the doctor examine her?"

She feigned composure and slowly walked towards Fang Zhengyong. Just as she sat down in the chair next to him, Fang Zhengyong suddenly pointed at the man in black kneeling on the ground and asked Wang Shi, "Do you know him?"

"No, I don't know him. Who is he? Could he be a petty thief who broke into the manor? Did he lose something?" Madam Wang was startled and sat up abruptly.

"See for yourself." Fang Zhengyong didn't want to say anything more and simply threw the testimony at her. Wang Shi picked it up and glanced at it suspiciously. Her face changed drastically, and she cried out that she was innocent and knelt on the ground. "Master, you are innocent! How could I do such a thing? You know best what kind of person I am. Since Ran'er came back, I have treated her as my own daughter and never mistreated her. How could I do such a harmful thing?"

Seeing her crying so sadly, Fang Zhengyong felt sorry for her. His expression softened slightly, and he grabbed her arm to help her up. "This matter is not settled yet. I asked you to come here to find out if you really don't know this Wu Guicheng?"

Madam Wang shook her head. "I don't know him. I've never seen him before. Someone must be trying to frame me. Sir, you must do me justice!"

As she spoke, Wang knelt down again, her hands tightly gripping Fang Zhengyong's trouser leg. But this time, Fang Zhengyong did not help her up. Instead, he asked coldly, "You really don't recognize me?"

“I don’t know him, I’ve never seen him before…” At this point, Granny Qian quickly coughed and whispered a reminder, “You may not remember this lady, but he is Steward Wu’s cousin. He even came to the mansion last year to deliver charcoal.”

Realizing she had almost said the wrong thing, Wang quickly corrected herself, "Oh, it was him! I was wondering why he looked so familiar. But why would he want to harm me? I have never done anything like murder or arson. I wouldn't even dare to step on an ant normally."

"Yes, sir. Your concubine has been with you for so many years, you know her temperament better than anyone else."

The two of them, master and servant, were talking back and forth, which moved Fang Zhengyong somewhat. Seeing that the situation was not right, Fang Xiaoran said coldly, "Yes, I am also very curious. I have never offended my aunt. Why would my aunt do such a vicious thing? Is the key that my mother left me so coveted by you?"

"Ran girl, you can't say things like that. I did borrow money from you because your older brother is getting married soon, and I wanted to make it a grand affair. This was also for the sake of our Fang family. I could let it go if you refused to lend it back and insulted me, but now you've even colluded with Wu Guicheng to frame me. What are you really up to?"

"Verbal insults?" Fang Zhengyong's face darkened, his tone becoming somewhat unfriendly. Madam Wang quickly grabbed his leg, pleading, "Master, you don't know, this Ran girl's words are far too sharp and sarcastic. She said I'm just a concubine, not even worthy to carry her shoes, yet she dares to presume to manage the household..."