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

She stared blankly at the man she should call her father, and found it inexplicably ridiculous. "You don't think I'm doing this to get revenge on Wang Shi and Grandmother, do you? Their life or death has nothing to do with me. I don't care what happens to them. My only goal from beginning to end is to clear my mother's name."

Fang Zhengyong questioned sternly, "But you've already gotten what you wanted, so why are you still being so aggressive?"

"Are they the ones being aggressive, or am I? Besides, what does 'getting what you want' even mean? Has my mother's reputation been salvaged? Have those who questioned and convicted her back then repented? Have they thought about clearing her name? Now that the truth is out, you know the injustice my mother suffered, yet you still want to suppress this matter and not let a word of it leak out. Is it really just the Fang family's reputation that you care about? No, you want to protect the Wang family, you want to protect Grandmother! They are the real culprits. Why should my mother suffer such an injustice?"

Fang Xiaoran's voice grew increasingly steady, her eyes filled with determination and resentment. She gritted her teeth and said slowly, "Since Father insists on favoring Mother, then I can only use my own methods to clear Mother's name."

Hearing Fang Xiaoran's tearful question, Fang Zhengyong's lips parted slightly, but he didn't know how to refute it.

He had come with a burning rage, but at this moment he was completely flustered. Perhaps it was Fang Xiaoran's questioning that was too sharp and direct, like a razor-sharp sword piercing the deepest pain in his heart. Every word seemed to tear at his soul, leaving him no way to avoid it. Her eyes, like burning flames, were filled with anger and disappointment, leaving him feeling utterly lost.

There was never a time when he would lose his composure like this in front of his daughter. Perhaps it was because he knew in his heart that he still owed Bai Qiqi something, so he couldn't argue with Fang Xiaoran, and there was nothing he could argue about.

After a long while, he slowly opened his mouth and said, "I know you have grievances in your heart, but it's time to settle things at this point. People shouldn't live in the past. In a few days, I will send someone to bring back your mother's memorial tablet and let her be placed in the Fang family ancestral hall."

"No need." Fang Xiaoran refused him outright and said indifferently, "Since Mother decided to leave the Fang family back then, she never thought of coming back. Even if her bones are buried in the sand and her soul has nowhere to rest, she would never want to return to this sad place. If Father still has any feelings for her, then don't bother her anymore."

These words were extremely resolute, leaving no room for negotiation, and one could clearly feel Fang Xiaoran's anger and hatred.

Fang Zhengyong seemed like a completely different person, shaking his head with a wry smile, "I thought so too, how could she possibly come back..."

He repeated those words over and over, then turned and walked away dejectedly. His back looked incredibly lonely, as if he had been abandoned by someone, even though he was the one who had abandoned him.

As he walked away, Fang Xiaoran suddenly called out, "Father, you knew all along that Grandmother had orchestrated the poisoning, didn't you?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Zhengyong paused for a moment, neither turning around nor speaking. But his silence spoke volumes. Fang Xiaoran could no longer control her emotions and asked sharply with red eyes, "Even if you and Mother had no feelings for each other, she still brought so much dowry to save the Fang family from crisis back then. Why, why do you still treat her like this?"

"Why?" Fang Zhengyong repeated her words, then threw his head back and laughed loudly, "You shouldn't ask me, you should ask her."

"So, does the father hope that his daughter will go to the underworld with her mother?"

The cold question snapped Fang Zhengyong back to his senses. He turned around blankly, looking helpless as he tried to explain, "I didn't mean that, Ran'er, I..."

"Father, there's no need to explain. Your daughter understands. You truly have no affection for Mother or me whatsoever. Rest assured, I will not let you have your way." After saying this, she turned and left, her steps heavy and resolute.

Fang Zhengyong felt a tightness in his chest, and a bitter feeling welled up inside him.

After a while, the Fang family was embroiled in rumors and gossip. Even Fang Zhengyong's colleagues heard about it and advised him not to keep this concubine by his side anymore, otherwise the family would never have peace. Moreover, Fang Huaihong's wedding was imminent, and if the Zhou family found out about this, the marriage might be affected.

Fang Zhengyong originally had no intention of arranging a marriage with the Zhou family. If it weren't for Madam Wang's insistence on interfering, he would have already found another suitable match for Fang Huaihong. In his eyes, even if this caused a lot of trouble, he wouldn't care. However, this might affect Fang Huaihong, which was something he didn't want to see.

Therefore, the Fang family has been keeping a low profile during this period, waiting for the rumors to pass.

With Fang Huaihong's wedding approaching, the Fang family recently purchased some health-boosting pills for the old lady, and their savings are running low, causing Liu a great deal of worry.

She didn't care about Fang Huaihong's marriage, but as Fang Zhengyong's most beloved son, Fang Huaihong was still hoped to be given a decent wedding, despite Fang Zhengyong's many dissatisfactions with the marriage.

Therefore, he instructed Liu to hold the event as grandly as possible and not to be overly frugal.

But a grand wedding requires money. The Fang family is in serious financial trouble and can't make ends meet. Where would they get the extra money to prepare for the wedding, let alone a grand one?

Since taking over the reins of the household, Liu has been trying to save money wherever possible. However, the old lady's illness requires the use of Yi Shen Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine), which is a huge expense. The combined salaries of Fang Zhengyong and Fang Huaihong are not enough to buy even one Yi Shen Dan, and they have to rely on the money collected from the farms and estates to make up the difference.

Where would they find the extra money to prepare for the wedding?

Having no other choice, Liu had to go to the old lady. Recently, the old lady had been eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers at Ci'an Hall and had not come out. At first, the old lady refused to see Liu when she came to pay her respects. Liu was forced to explain her purpose. When she heard that it was about Fang Huaihong's marriage, the old lady finally let her in.

Upon seeing the old lady, Liu, she began to pour out her grievances. After listening, the old lady understood. She had known about the Fang family's financial problems for a long time, otherwise she would not have gone along with Wang's wishes to ask Fang Xiaoran for the key.

Everyone knows that Fang Xiaoran is the richest member of the Fang family. She has a small savings account left to her by Bai Qiqi, and even the North Residence was renovated by Master Lin. You can imagine how wealthy she is.

But now that they've fallen out with Fang Xiaoran, how could the old lady possibly bring herself to ask Fang Xiaoran for help? Helpless, the old lady had no choice but to have Liu sell her fields, shops, and estates, and use her own savings to make up the difference, barely enough to prepare for the wedding.

Upon learning of this, Madam Wang took out all her savings. She had previously planned to hold a grand wedding, but unexpectedly lost control of the household. Now, she was really worried about letting Madam Liu plan the wedding. She knew the Fang family's situation better than anyone else. If Madam Liu couldn't come up with the money, she was afraid that not only would the wedding not be grand, but she would probably secretly sabotage it and make do with whatever she could.

So Wang sent someone to her parents' home for help, but the maid was sent back immediately, which made Wang so angry that she almost fainted.

"Because of them, I was almost kicked out of the Fang family. Is this how they treated me?"

Wang was heartbroken and filled with remorse, but it was too late.