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

His proposal undoubtedly gave both sides a way out, subtly pleading for leniency and buying time for the Wang family, while also ensuring that Fang Zhengyong and the old man could accept it.

To have achieved this much, one can only say that he is indeed smarter than Wang Shi and Fang Menghe.

If you simply plead for mercy, Fang Zhengyong will definitely not budge, and it will only provoke his anger. But that would be a different story.

Even the Grandfather couldn't find the slightest fault. If they were unwilling to agree to even this, it would be too heartless. Besides, Fang Huaihong would be heading to the frontier in a year and a half. If this matter wasn't handled properly, it would inevitably affect him, which was definitely not something Fang Zhengyong and the Grandfather wanted to see.

Seeing Fang Zhengyong's slightly somber expression and the fact that the old man showed no sign of reacting, Liu was extremely anxious and quickly looked at Fang Xiaoran. However, Fang Xiaoran only glanced at her calmly, acting like a bystander and having no intention of taking action.

Did she intend to let Wang Shi go? Liu Shi was completely confused.

In fact, Fang Xiaoran has already achieved her goal. What she needs to do next is to clear her name and, of course, the best outcome would be to bring down the Wang family as well. Now that the Wang family is unlikely to recover, why bother to step forward at this critical juncture?

Fang Huaihong thought he had bought some time, but there was less than a month left before his wedding. In such a short time, he was afraid he would have a hard time finding a way to exonerate Wang Shi. Besides, even if he could vouch for her with his own strength and forcibly keep Wang Shi in the mansion, he would eventually have to go to the frontier. At that time, who could protect Wang Shi?

"Fine, I'll grant her some leeway for your sake. From now until your wedding, she shall be confined to Manchun Garden and shall not be allowed to leave without my permission!" Fang Zhengyong flicked his sleeves, stood with his hands behind his back, his voice cold, and did not glance at Madam Wang again.

Hearing this, Madam Wang finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately knelt down to express her gratitude, "Thank you, sir, thank you, great-grandfather..."

Fang Zhengyong acted as if he hadn't heard her words and coldly said, "Take Wang Shi away."

Wang closed her eyes in pain, no longer struggling, and let the servants take her away. Fang Menghe saw this and hurriedly chased after them without even bowing.

"I failed in my duty to supervise, and such a traitor has appeared in our household. Please punish me, Grandfather." Fang Zhengyong knelt down before his great-grandfather, his face full of self-reproach and shame.

Now that things had come to this, the old man didn't want to be too harsh on him. After all, this was a blow to Fang Zhengyong as well. He said slowly, "You are the one in charge of the family. You are in charge of all matters concerning the Fang family. I will no longer interfere. In the future, you must remember not to favor one child over another. They also contributed to building this great family business. You also owe Qiqi a lot. Now that she has passed away, do not let her die with regrets. Do not let her continue to bear the burden of crimes that were not hers."

"Yes, grandson understands," Fang Zhengyong replied.

"As for you." The old man's gaze fell on the old lady, startling her. So much had happened that the old lady had almost forgotten the crimes she had committed and was now waiting for the old man's punishment.

After being called out, the old lady quickly kowtowed and said, "Your daughter-in-law will do as you please."

"You're getting on in years, I'm too lazy to punish you anymore. From now on, just stay in the mansion, eat vegetarian food, chant Buddhist scriptures, and recite sutras for Qiqi."

Upon hearing this, the old lady was greatly shocked. Her great-grandfather actually wanted her to fast and chant scriptures for his daughter-in-law? She immediately felt wronged, but she had indeed done such an absurd thing, so how could she not punish her? However, the punishment was far too severe.

The old lady raised her head sadly, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over Fang Xiaoran. She saw a cold glint in Fang Xiaoran's eyes, but the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, giving her a composed demeanor. At that moment, the old lady seemed to understand the great-grandfather's punishment. If it was not severe, how could the anger in the child's heart be quelled?

“In that case, I will not stay any longer. Ran’er, let’s go and take your great-grandfather to see the North Residence that you have renovated.”

"Yes." Fang Xiaoran stepped forward to help the old man up and left with him. When they reached the door, the old lady suddenly called out to Fang Xiaoran and said to her, "I know you have a grudge against me, but your mother's death really has nothing to do with me or Yong'er."

"Is that so? But my granddaughter doesn't believe me." With that, Fang Xiaoran and her great-grandfather left the ancestral hall, leaving the old lady and Fang Zhengyong to exchange a helpless sigh.

Although that's what she said, Fang Xiaoran knew very well that these assassins were not sent by the old lady.

Given the old lady's current status and power, she simply couldn't possibly dispatch such a powerful assassin. However, the reason she insisted that it was the old lady's doing was simply to let the old lady experience the feeling of being misunderstood and wronged.

It was already afternoon when they returned to the North Residence. Fang Xiaoran ordered someone to light the candles, and the small North Residence was suddenly as bright as day. She carefully helped her great-grandfather and reminded him to watch his step.

"This must be your first time visiting Beiju, great-grandfather. Let me introduce you to the place." Fang Xiaoran smiled sweetly, as if the heated debate just now had nothing to do with her.

The old man shook his head helplessly and flicked her forehead in annoyance. "You heartless little brat! I came to the North Residence to hold you when you were a month old, but you've completely forgotten about it."

Fang Xiaoran stuck out her tongue, "My granddaughter was only so young back then, how could she remember?"

“I can’t remember things from when I was little, and I’ve forgotten most of them since I grew up. You’ve been away from home for many years and it’s not easy for you to come back, but you don’t even come to visit this old man at the old house. I wanted to know how you and your mother were doing, so I sent someone to inquire, but I couldn’t find them.” The old man deliberately put on a stern face and pretended to be angry.

Fang Xiaoran frowned upon hearing this. "Is that so? My granddaughter really didn't know anything about it."

It seems that someone had been preventing her from associating with her great-grandfather, fearing that she would gain an unexpected powerful backer. After all, her great-grandfather had always been good to her and her mother, so he would naturally protect them.

However, the same thing will not happen again.

"Alright, I'm relieved to see you're safe and sound. It's just a pity for Qiqi..." The old man's voice suddenly choked up as he said this. He shook his head. "Let's not talk about this anymore. If you ever need anything in the future, you can come to the old house to find me anytime. Although I'm old, I can still protect you."

"Granddaughter understands, thank you, Grandfather. Ziju, go and get the ointment and pills I prepared. Qinglan, prepare the fire. It's still a bit chilly in early spring, so we must not let Great-Grandfather catch a cold."

"Do you really think I'm not healthy enough?"

Seeing her great-grandfather glance at her, Fang Xiaoran smiled and said, "You're very healthy, it's just that your granddaughter is worrying too much."

Although that's what she said, Fang Xiaoran didn't waste a moment. She immediately invited her great-grandfather into the house and personally served him.

Grandfather was concerned about Bai Qiqi and had many questions to ask, but seeing Fang Xiaoran shed tears over the past, he couldn't bear to let her bring up sad things again, so he casually asked her about some recent events.

Although the two were from different generations, they got along very well. Even after finishing a bowl of tea and several plates of pastries, they were still chatting away. If Fang Xiaoran hadn't inadvertently noticed the weariness in the old man's eyes, they probably would have continued talking.