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

"Your Highness, you have been rude." Fang Xiaoran forcefully broke free and distanced herself from him. Zhao Jin's hand hovered in mid-air for a moment, then he smiled faintly and withdrew it, completely as if nothing had happened.

He maintained his composed and elegant demeanor, and said with a smile, "I've heard that there have been quite a few troubles at the Fang residence. Has it affected you? If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me anytime."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I will remember it." Fang Xiaoran bowed slightly, but he stopped her, saying, "You don't need to deliberately distance yourself from me. This is Yancheng in the capital. The Fang family will not be your support, but I can. Do you remember when we first met, I told you that people here are complicated and only I can truly help you?"

If she had heard these words in her past life, she would have been deeply moved. But now she only found them laughable. Every word he spoke was a lie, and he had never been sincere towards her.

Fang Xiaoran did not respond to these words, but simply nodded slightly. Seeing her silence, Zhao Jin said nothing more. The servants then brought tea and snacks and placed them on the stone table, and Zhao Jin invited her to sit down. Strangely, Zhao Jin did not try to get closer to her as he had before, but instead drank tea with her and talked about trivial matters.

In her past life, she rarely sat and chatted with Zhao Jin like this. For some reason, she felt a strange sensation. At the same time, an unnamed anger rose from her chest. If she hadn't tried her best to suppress it, her murderous intent would have already poured out.

"It's getting late, and I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now. Please forgive me, Your Highness." Fang Xiaoran stood up and gave a slight bow.

Zhao Jin held a teacup in his hand, his eyes deep and unfathomable, a faint smile playing on his lips. He nodded slightly and said, "Go."

After descending from the Moon-Viewing Pavilion and walking to the shore, a small boat was already waiting there.

This time, the person in charge of the boat was clearly different, and the aura emanating from him was completely different, making Fang Xiaoran feel a little dazed. She had thought that if she saw him again, she would definitely observe him carefully, but who would have thought that it was a different person.

Back in the carriage, Fang Xiaoran remained silent, and Wu Guicheng dared not ask any further questions, silently driving the carriage back home.

Over the next few days, the Fang family was unusually peaceful. The old lady stopped interfering in the Fang family's affairs and handed everything over to Liu. Although Liu was happy, she was also extremely busy. As for Wang, although she was unwilling, she did not dare to show her face easily. She could only wait for Fang Huaihong's wedding and the arrival of his new bride before things would turn around.

Fang Xiaoran didn't care about these people. What she was waiting for was for Fang Zhengyong to give her mother an explanation. So far, Fang Zhengyong hadn't made a move, and not a word about the Fang family's affairs had leaked out, as if nothing had happened.

Fang Zhengyong suppressed the matter because he was concerned about the Fang family's reputation and wanted to protect Wang Shi. Now that Wang Shi has committed such a serious crime, she still has someone protecting her. Back then, when Bai Qiqi was framed and her reputation was damaged, no one except her grandfather stood up for her, and some even wanted to kill her.

Just thinking about this made Fang Xiaoran hate it to the core. Since Fang Zhengyong didn't want the opportunity she gave him, then he shouldn't blame her for giving up.

A day later, gossip began to circulate about Wang using her husband's family's money to subsidize her own family. Some even added fuel to the fire, saying that Fang Zhengyong favored his concubine over his wife, forcing his first wife to leave the Fang family and allowing a concubine to enjoy the status and treatment of a principal wife.

"Lord Fang usually appears upright and stern, never one to expect him to favor his concubine over his wife..."

"Not only that, do you all remember the incident more than ten years ago when Madam Fang poisoned her mother-in-law? It was quite a big deal back then. But guess what? The poisoner was someone else, whose goal was to drive Madam Fang away and become the head of the household herself."

"But speaking of which, the Fang family has recently dismissed quite a few servants, and it seems they were all from this concubine's courtyard."

"Could it have been done by this concubine? But I heard the evidence was quite convincing. We can't really wrong Madam Fang, can we?"

"Why not? Let me tell you, I have a distant relative who works for the Fang family. I heard that a few days ago, something big happened to the Fang family, and they even invited the great-grandfather of the old house. We wouldn't dare trouble him with such an important matter."

"What is that old man Fang going there for?"

At this point, the man, who had been speaking eloquently, first looked around, then beckoned to the group of people who were listening intently. "Come closer, everyone. Come on, let me tell you," he said. "My distant relative secretly told me that Grandfather Fang went there to interrogate this concubine. To clear her mother's name, the sixth daughter of the Fang family re-examined what happened back then, and found all the witnesses and evidence to prove her mother's innocence, and pointed out that this concubine had secretly instigated the framing..."

The rumors spread incredibly fast, and even storytellers began to weave the story into narratives, recounting it eloquently and captivatingly in teahouses, leaving listeners feeling indignant and resentful. Halfway through the story, someone angrily slammed their fist on the table, protesting for Madam Fang's injustice.

Soon these rumors reached Fang Zhengyong's ears, which angered him so much that he stormed into the North Residence.

At that moment, Fang Xiaoran was sitting by the pond feeding the koi. When she saw Fang Zhengyong arrive angrily, she sprinkled the last handful of fish food into the pond, stood up and bowed slightly. "Father, why did you come so suddenly? You look so hurried, is there something important?"

Fang Zhengyong had already reached his limit. He glared at Fang Xiaoran, trying his best to suppress his anger, and growled, "Did you spread those rumors outside?"

"What rumors? My daughter doesn't understand." Fang Xiaoran tilted her head slightly, looking very innocent.

This infuriated Fang Zhengyong. He strode across the stone bridge to her side, his face terribly grim. His fists were clenched tightly, and his body trembled slightly. He was clearly on the verge of exploding. His eyes were filled with anger and disappointment as he stared straight at Fang Xiaoran. "Damaging the Fang family's reputation will not benefit you. Why go to such lengths?"

As expected, he came to interrogate her. Fang Xiaoran was already used to this and replied calmly, "If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. Does Father really think you can suppress this matter? There are dozens of people in the Fang family. How can you silence all the gossip?"

Fang Zhengyong said coldly, "If someone hadn't deliberately spread rumors, no one would have known about this."

"So Father means that as long as you want, the Fang family won't leak any information. If that's the case, how did Mother's affair get out back then? Did you instruct her to do it?"

"Don't talk nonsense! That was just an accident, and I didn't expect it to get out." Fang Zhengyong's tone softened noticeably as he said this, seemingly trying to quell Fang Xiaoran's anger.

He said with a hint of helplessness, "You've achieved your goal. Both Wang Zhiyu and your grandmother have received their due punishment. Isn't that enough? What do you want? Does your family have to fight to the death?"

Hearing these words, Fang Xiaoran gave a cold laugh. "What do you mean by 'my goal has been achieved'? Does Father even know what his daughter truly wants?"