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

"Sixth Miss, what do you want to do?"

Having learned from Wang Mama's example, Zhou Mama immediately sensed something was wrong, and her voice began to tremble.

"I'm not doing anything, just telling you the rules of Beiju." As she spoke, a surge of heat rose from Fang Xiaoran's palm and instantly rushed into Zhou Mama's body, causing Zhou Mama to freeze in place and become completely unable to move.

She tried to shake her fingers, but her body was completely out of control.

Realizing her predicament, Granny Zhou immediately said, "Sixth Miss, aren't you afraid of being punished by the Old Madam for treating me like this?"

"That sounds familiar, but I'm not afraid. You've forgotten that Grandmother's illness still relies on the Yi Shen Dan, and I'm the only one in the entire Fang family who can get my hands on it."

Fang Xiaoran's words left Granny Zhou speechless. At this moment, the only thing Granny Zhou could do was to soften her tone and say with a fawning smile, "Sixth Miss, please don't hold a grudge against me. I was just anxious for a moment. After all, the old lady is urging us. Please let me off the hook."

"Did I do anything wrong? If Granny Zhou likes to stay in the North Residence, then she can stay there. Ziju, you come with me to Ci'an Hall. Qinglan is in your care."

After saying this, Fang Xiaoran headed straight for Ci'an Hall. Ziju quickly stopped her, saying, "Miss, you haven't washed up yet. At least put on a warm coat..."

"No need. Grandmother is in such a hurry. I want to see what she's worried about." Fang Xiaoran smiled faintly, not caring at all.

Seeing that Fang Xiaoran had already left Beiju, Ziju didn't care about anything else and quickly chased after her.

Soon, only Granny Zhou, kneeling on the ground, and Qinglan, who had brought a chair and sat at the door looking down at her, remained in the courtyard.

As the head nanny of the Fang family, Granny Zhou had never been treated like this before. She felt utterly humiliated, her old face turning bright red. However, she dared not utter any more arrogant words and could only endure it.

Soon Fang Xiaoran arrived at Ci'an Hall. As soon as she entered, she felt the atmosphere was somewhat heavy. The old lady was lying lazily on the soft couch, and the maid beside her was carefully massaging her back. There were more than ten people standing on both sides. It seemed that most of the servants of Ci'an Hall were here.

Seeing that the old lady was clearly going to hold her accountable, Ziju couldn't help but worry about her young lady. But since they had already come this far, there was no way they could leave. She could only pray that she was just overthinking things.

Fang Xiaoran walked over calmly, first bowing slightly and saying, "Grandmother."

The sound wasn't too loud or too soft to be inaudible, but the old lady didn't react at all, not even bothering to lift her eyes. It seemed like it was the same old story again, but this time Fang Xiaoran wasn't as submissive as before. Since the old lady ignored her, she simply stood up.

Ziju, who was following behind, was so frightened that her heart jumped into her throat. She wanted to stop them, but it was too late. She only heard the old lady coldly scold, "Kneel down."

These two words were unquestionable and full of authority, but because she was just recovering from a serious illness, she was not as imposing as before. Fang Xiaoran did not refute them and obediently knelt down, "Granddaughter, have you done anything to displease your grandmother?"

"You're asking a question you already know the answer to!" The old lady sat up and slammed her hand on the table.

Fang Xiaoran tilted her head and continued to play dumb, "Granddaughter really doesn't understand, please enlighten me, Grandmother."

The old lady demanded sharply, "I'm asking you, did you cause the injuries on Shufang's body?"

As expected, it was for her sake. Fang Xiaoran was not surprised at all. She just didn't expect the old lady to come and question her so soon after recovering from her illness. She really didn't know whether to say that she was too good to the servants or that she simply didn't like Fang Xiaoran.

"So that's what Grandmother was thinking about. Granny Wang was disrespectful and didn't know her place. I'm just giving her a small punishment."

"A few dozen strokes of the cane is considered a minor punishment? Besides, she's from Ci'an Hall. Even if she's committed a crime, she shouldn't have gone over my head. Do you even respect me as an elder?"

“Grandmother is an elder, but Granny Wang is not. She was wrong first and her granddaughter should be disciplined. Besides, it was only a few dozen strokes of the cane, and it was a weak maid who carried out the punishment. Granny Wang will recover in a few days at most. Grandmother has just recovered from a serious illness, why should she get angry over such a trivial matter?”

The old lady was so angry at her words that her face turned ashen, and her lips trembled. Her originally kind and gentle face turned extremely gloomy. Her eyes were fixed on Fang Xiaoran, and she said through gritted teeth, "How come I didn't know you were so sharp-tongued? No wonder Zhiyu was always at a disadvantage with you."

"Grandmother is joking. Aunt Wang has no shame. She committed such a crime, and all she got was confinement," Fang Xiaoran said coldly, her tone exceptionally firm.

The old lady's chest heaved with anger, and she roared with fury, "You ignorant brat! How dare you be so disrespectful and disregard your elders! Today I will teach you a lesson!"

Facing the old lady's anger, Fang Xiaoran remained neither humble nor arrogant, showing no fear in her eyes. "Grandmother, you've only just recovered from your illness, so please don't get angry so easily. After all, your health still depends on the Yi Shen Dan to improve. Yi Shen Dan is hard to come by, and if you fall ill again, Father won't be able to provide a second one."

"How dare you! Are you threatening me?" The old lady slammed her hand on the table, making the teacups on it jump.

Fang Xiaoran lowered her eyes slightly and said softly, "Your granddaughter is just thinking of you."

"Well, so you're thinking of me? You're only so arrogant because you have a way to get the Divine Elixir. The Fang family has treated you well, and I've never mistreated you, but what do you do? You dare to talk back to me like this and even threaten me with my life. The Fang family is truly blessed to have such a daughter."

The old lady was heartbroken and beat her chest in despair, her eyes filled with pain and helplessness, and even a hint of disappointment.

Disappointed? What right did she have to be disappointed? Fang Xiaoran gave a bitter smile, her voice tinged with bitterness: "When I first met Grandmother after returning to the Fang family, I felt that you were like an old sage, so kind and approachable. I have been wandering outside for many years, without a fixed abode, so I have a special attachment to the Fang family, and I have a deep respect and love for Grandmother from the bottom of my heart, because I cherish these hard-won days very much."

Her eyes revealed a deep sense of helplessness as she continued, "So even when facing Fang Xiaoqi, I tried my best to get along with her amicably, but things were far from as wonderful as I imagined. This place is not a warm harbor at all, but a place full of intrigue and deceit."

The old lady seemed somewhat moved by Fang Xiaoran's words, but only for a moment. Seeing the face so strikingly similar to Bai Qiqi's, any slight pity vanished instantly. She coldly said:

"What scheming and backstabbing? You're the one who started all this trouble. Nothing like this ever happened in the Fang family before you came back. Shouldn't you be looking for the cause within yourself?"