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

A few months ago, the border war was intense, with flames of war raging across the land, causing Emperor Zhao to lose sleep day and night.

In the imperial court, the ministers argued endlessly, but could not come up with a perfect solution.

The battle reports from the North were becoming increasingly urgent, each one dripping with bloodshed.

At this critical moment, Gu Yuming led three thousand light cavalry, like a sharp knife piercing straight into the enemy's heartland.

He first feigned a retreat, luring the enemy deep into the canyon, and then used fire to cut off their retreat.

In that battle, flames illuminated half the sky and burned for three days and three nights.

With the enemy's main force annihilated, the siege of the northern border was lifted.

On the day the news of victory reached the capital, Emperor Zhao's hand trembled slightly as he held the battle report, and he said "good" three times.

Emperor Zhao attached great importance to the triumphant return of the soldiers and personally came to the city gate early to welcome them back.

Fang Xiaoran remembered that after this war, Gu Yuming was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Qing'an. The Gu family had two marquises, which was an unparalleled honor. However, despite such merits, Emperor Zhao did not promote the old marquis to the rank of duke, which was obviously due to some fear.

However, the fact that the Gu family has two marquises is enough to make others envious.

Moreover, there is also the Third Young Master Gu. Gu Yuchen also possesses the ability to be an imperial tutor, but he is still young and traveling abroad. If he returns one day, it is unimaginable what kind of glory the Gu family line will enjoy.

When the carriage stopped at the back gate, Fang Xiaoran got off and intended to go straight back to the courtyard. As soon as she stepped into the gate, a maid came over and stopped her with a smile. "Young Madam, the Second Madam said that she has many things to take care of at the family banquet today and hopes that you can go and help her."

"Okay, I'll pack up and go." Fang Xiaoran didn't refuse. After all, she was the daughter-in-law of the Gu family, and she couldn't just ignore everything. Although she didn't know what Jiang Yuke meant, she still had to give her face.

Of course, she could never forget those "unique" gifts from this person.

Back at Qingxin Residence, Gu Yuqing was not there. Ziju said that he seemed to have been summoned to greet the eldest young master.

That makes sense; with Emperor Zhao personally welcoming them, how could the Gu family be absent?

"Princess, I heard that the Duke of Rongguo intends to marry his daughter to the eldest son. I heard that she and our son-in-law..." Qinglan ran over and said dejectedly.

Upon hearing this, Ziju immediately interrupted her, "Don't talk nonsense. It's hard to tell what's true or false in the past. Do you really believe those jokes?"

Recently, Ziju noticed that Gu Yuqing cared a lot about Fang Xiaoran. Although their relationship started out uneventfully, like they were just living together, and even sleeping in separate rooms, they were still husband and wife, so how could they allow such rumors to spread?

There were indeed some rumors about Wei Mingyue and Gu Yuqing, and she had even heard about them in her previous life, but the two did not end up together. She didn't know if the rumors were true.

In this life, she and Gu Yuqing became husband and wife.

Fang Xiaoran originally didn't mind this matter, and she didn't think that there could be any extra feelings between her and Gu Yuqing. But for some reason, when she learned that Wei Mingyue was going to marry into the Marquis's mansion, a strange emotion inexplicably arose in her heart.

Do I mind?

That shouldn't be the case; her heart should have been sealed away long ago.

“Princess, the Second Madam has sent someone to urge you again. If you don’t want to go, I will refuse her.” Ziju suddenly spoke up.

Fang Xiaoan shook her head slightly, "No need. As a member of the Gu family, how can I avoid it? Besides, they are all trivial matters."

Organizing a family banquet is not difficult; in her previous life, she had even organized state banquets, let alone a family banquet.

The necessary items had already been prepared; all that was needed was for Fang Xiaoran to supervise. Jiang Yuke seemed worried that Fang Xiaoran wouldn't do a good job, so she deliberately lowered the difficulty level, as if she wanted to train her to be the next matriarch.

As a result, many servants gossiped, feeling that the Second Madam was too concerned about Fang Xiaoran and his wife. Even though they were not her biological son, she treated them as her own. They felt that Gu Yuqing's actions back then were too much and he was simply inhuman.

Fang Xiaoran had overheard these words before and initially didn't want to pay them any attention, but they kept going too far, prompting Fang Xiaoran to decide to teach them a lesson.

"I never knew that it was your place, servants, to gossip about the affairs of the master's household. It seems that the rules in this household are too lax, making you forget your duties."

Fang Xiaoran's voice was neither loud nor soft, but it made the faces of several old women who were gossiping in the corner of the corridor turn pale instantly.

She slowly emerged from behind the plum tree, a red plum blossom still tucked between her fingers. Her moon-white skirt swept across the snow without making a sound.

"Young...Young Madam..." The head of the group, Zhang Mama, suddenly knelt down in the snow.

Fang Xiaoran glanced at the person kneeling on the ground, casually crushing the red plum blossom between her fingers. "Granny Zhang has been working in the mansion for over twenty years, and your son manages the warehouse in the East Courtyard. Do you think you have the power to gossip and spread rumors?"

"No, no, no, this servant wouldn't dare. We were just joking. We hope the young mistress won't take offense." Zhang Mama wasn't sure about Fang Xiaoran's temperament. She rarely came to the front courtyard and naturally didn't know her well.

Unexpectedly, Fang Xiaoran suddenly sneered, "A joke? You think you can just make jokes about the master? Since you're just being a smart aleck, then I might as well cut off your tongue as a warning to others."

Her casual remark instantly turned everyone's faces pale.

No one expected that Fang Xiaoran would cut out their tongues right away. Even the usually arrogant and domineering Fourth Miss would not do such a thing.

This terrified Zhang Mama. She suddenly knelt down, kowtowing and wailing, "This servant will never dare to do it again. Please, young mistress, have mercy on this servant this time. This servant deserves to die. This servant should not have spoken nonsense."

She kept slapping herself in the face, as if afraid that Fang Xiaoran would cut off her tongue.

Although she hadn't had much contact with Fang Xiaoran, she knew that Fang Xiaoran was quite highly regarded in the Marquis's mansion, at least not like the Second Young Master. Even the old Marquis had summoned her many times, so who would dare to offend her easily?

They were just saying it casually, but they never expected Fang Xiaoran to overhear it.

She had clearly heard that the couple did not get along, so she shouldn't be defending the second young master like this.

Granny Zhang was filled with remorse. In the past, she would have just said it, but she had to run into Fang Xiaoran.

The sound of the slap was particularly crisp in the quiet courtyard, sending chills down the spines of the others. They all lowered their heads, not daring to look Fang Xiaoran in the eye, for fear of being caught in the crossfire.

Fang Xiaoran looked calmly at Zhang Mama, showing no intention of telling her to stop.

Since they did something wrong, they should be punished, otherwise they would only get worse in the future.

Fang Xiaoran had already given them a chance, but they couldn't figure it out themselves, so they can't blame anyone else.

Fang Xiaoran didn't tell her to stop, so Zhang Mama naturally didn't dare to stop. Her whole face was swollen, blood was flowing from the corner of her mouth, and her forehead was bruised and swollen, with bloodstains visible.

Even though it was very painful, Granny Zhang had to do it. Compared to this suffering, losing her tongue was the most terrible thing.

"What are you all standing there for?" Fang Xiaoran finally spoke, but she addressed the others.

Upon hearing this, the group was taken aback at first, then realized what was happening and immediately began smearing their own faces.

In the courtyard, the sound of slaps rose and fell, causing a sharp pain to those who felt it.

Fang Xiaoran leaned against the pillar in the corridor, watching them with a faint gaze, until the heavy snow fell from the branches, then she slowly said, "That's enough."

The two words, spoken lightly, brought the clapping that had been echoing in the courtyard to an abrupt halt.

Several old women collapsed to the ground, their faces already a bloody mess. Zhang Mama was in the worst condition, her right eye swollen shut and a bloody gash on the corner of her mouth.

Fang Xiaoran walked slowly up to them, looking down at them with an exceptionally cold voice, "Remember today's lesson. If there is a next time, it won't be as simple as cutting out your tongue."

"Yes, yes, yes, this servant deserves to be punished..."

A group of people quickly echoed their agreement. Fang Xiaoran glanced at them and slowly walked away.

As soon as she left, the group breathed a sigh of relief, slumped to the ground, their heads buzzing.

She seems so gentle and serene, how could she be so terrifying?