Jun Jiuling

Chapter 170: No One Abandoned

Lady Fang’s screeches were unending.

Fan Yunxiu was currently speaking with Fang Yuxiu.

"Mother was the one who called her," Fang Yunxiu said.

"Did Mother personally call for her?" asked Fang Yuxiu.

Because Lady Fang had been so devoted to her grandson these days, she had not paid attention to affairs outside the household. In order to support the exchange firm, the young misses were running without their feet even hitting the ground.

The sisters, as before, had been verifying the accounting records and discussing everyday business when a manager came in and asked for instructions on something. Fang Yuxiu had gone out, and when she returned, Fang Jinxiu was no longer there.

Fang Yunxiu said that it was Lady Fang who had sought her out.

"How could Mother come here personally," remarked Fang Yunxiu. Her expression turned uneasy. "Is there something that’s not right?"

"Mother did not permit people to attend to her rooms. It’s best if we don’t go," advised Fang Yuxiu. She walked out. "Who told her to go?"

"Concubine Su’s servant girl came," said Fang Yunxiu, speeding away.

The two had just walked into the courtyard when they heard the screeches from Lady Fang’s courtyard nearby. Immediately, their scalps felt numb. Fang Yunxiu clutched Fang Yuxiu’s hand instinctively. The two looked at each other and watched the other’s face pale.

"We must hurry," said Fang Yunxiu.

Fang Yuxiu was already moving.

The sisters knew that something had happened; they would never stop.

That was their mother, their sister. There was nothing that they could not face.

Except they were stopped by someone.

Fang Yunxiu and Fang Yuxiu were stopped at the doorway of the courtyard.

Stopping them were several guards. They were kind of unfamiliar with them, and they were holding clubs.

"Per Old Lady’s orders, no one is allowed to pass," they said.

There were shrieks in Mother’s courtyard. They saw unfamiliar, weapon-bearing guards outside the gates. This was, undoubtedly, a scene from a nightmare.

Fang Yunxiu and Fang Yuxiu squeezed their hands together. Fang Yunxiu pushed Fang Yuxiu behind herself.

Fang Yuxiu did not refuse her older sister’s good intentions. She watched the guards from behind her back.

"Was this Grandmother’s order?" she asked gently.

The guards nodded their heads in response.

"Are you guards from the exchange firm?" Fang Yuxiu asked.

There were guards at the exchange firm?

Fang Yunxiu could not help but give Fang Yuxiu a look.

The guards also gave Fang Yuxiu a look, then nodded.

Fang Yunxiu felt Fang Yuxiu’s body relax immediately.

"It’s fine. This is Grandmother’s doing," she whispered into her ear.

Is that so?

It’s Grandmother’s doing.

Could this problem be verified so?

If Yuxiu said it’s fine, then it was fine. Fang Yunxiu relaxed, and looked past the courtyard gates.

There were guards everywhere in the Fang Family residence. Every courtyard was silent; there was no one moving.

"Mother." Lady Fang had long since been awake. She cast a look over to where Old Lady Fang was seated in front of the room and called out distractedly. When she called out, she thought something might happen. Immediately, her face became fearful and she peered into the room.

Lingzhi was lying on the ground, blood beneath her.

This was not a dream. This was not a dream. This was reality.

Lady Fang got to her feet.

"Lingzhi, Lingzhi," she cried out as she launched forward, searching for Lingzhi’s breath.

She was still breathing, so Lady Fang sighed. However, when she saw the blood-stained dress, she trembled.

"Why hasn’t the doctor come yet?" she cried, looking at the people standing in the room.

Concubine Yuan, Concubine Su, Fang Jinxiu, as well as the only one taking delight in this calamity, Liu’er.

There were no servants. Instead there were solemn-faced guards bearing clubs.

That’s right.

Lady Fang finally snapped into reality.

Lingzhi had been attacked; the person who had attacked Chengyu had appeared.

"Mother, who is it?" she asked, her eyes red and teary.

Old Lady Fang’s gaze swept over the people in the room.

"Say it. Which one of you did it?" she asked coldly.

Concubine Yuan fell to her knees.

"Old Lady, you accuse unjustly." She sobbed. "I-I was together with Lady the whole time. I did not even serve Miss Lingzhi any tea."

Old Lady Fang did not interrogate further. Her eyes moved to Concubine Su.

Concubine Su lowered her head and knelt.

"If everyone was honest, then there would be no problems in the world," she said.

At any time, she always would rather break than bend.

Concubine Yuan wiped her tears and looked at her with anxiousness.

The matter this time could not be unmasked with crying.

Lady Fang sat next to Lingzhi. Now that she had calmed down, she did not show any reaction to anyone present.

Obviously, Old Lady had been prepared. Or rather, there was already a target in her heart.

The target were them four.

Otherwise, today the four would not have appeared here.

This was a trap, a trap for each one of them.

To see who had the most cards.

But at the present, it seemed like Concubine Yuan had the least amount of chips. Last time she had been the one to send the servant girl who ended up proclaiming about Young Master’s issue to the world. Very suspicious.

Seeing the implications in Lady Fang’s eyes, Concubine Yuan immediately sobbed louder.

When she heard Concubine Su speak, Old Lady Fang did not say anything, her eyes moved to Fang Jinxiu.

Fang Jinxiu did not say anything but knelt.

Old Lady Fang turned to Liu’er.

Liu’er was still wearing a delighted expression. When she saw Old Lady Fang looking at her, she scoffed.

"I attacked her?" she said. "I do want to attack her. If it weren’t for my young miss forbidding it, she would have been lying there long before. Why wait till now?"

Fang Jinxiu punched her leg.

"Kneel," she hissed.

Liu’er, caught off guard, fell to her knees with an ‘aiyo!’.

"What does this have to do with me? Why do I have to kneel," she said, upset.

The atmosphere became slightly chaotic because of Liu’er’s loudness.

"Why did you come here?" Old Lady Fang slapped the table and said coldly.

Upon hearing this, Concubine Yuan looked at Lady Fang.

"Lady," she sobbed, her face entreating and sorrowful.

Lady Fang looked at them, then at Old Lady Fang.

"I called Concubine Yuan and Concubine Su here," she said. "Jinxiu…"

At this, she turned to Fang Jinxiu.

Although it was preposterous, after her son was poisoned, Old Lady Fang knew that what seemed preposterous was not.

Lady Fang would not be impulsive with the attack on her grandson.

She would not even treat a three, four year old child as a child, let alone a girl in her teens.

And moreover, when speaking of those who had her permission, the most unexpected person here was Fang Jinxiu.

Liu’er smiled effervescently to the side.

"I was called here by Concubine Su," said Fang Jinxiu, deadpan.

Concubine Su was stone-faced.

Even the cruel tiger would not devour its young. If Concubine Su really was the perpetrator, then why would she call her own daughter into the trap?

Or perhaps it was killing two eagles with one arrow?

Lady Fang looked at Concubine Su.

"You called her here?" she asked.

"Yes," Concubine Su answered without hesitation.

Lady Fang was suspicious.

"Lady," piped up Concubine Yuan timidly. "I-It was me who told Big Sister Su to call Third Miss here."

Her?

Everyone looked at her.

Concubine Yuan could not even raise her head.

"It was me, me." She didn’t know what she should say. She could only rub her tears. "I am always meddlesome; there’s no way you didn’t know."

She had become used to thinking on behalf of Lady Fang. She had to think of what other people thought, and she had to be the first to think of things that other people couldn’t. And now, she couldn’t think of why she had Concubine Su call over Fang Jinxiu.

Concubine Su didn’t say that it was her, but if she didn’t say anything, could she avoid it?

It would be better to simply admit it now, to avoid it coming out under later interrogation, which would be more suspicious.

Concubine Yuan rubbed her tear-filled face.

The dialogue in the room paused once again.

"Mother, everything has been asked." Lady Fang looked at Old Lady Fang. "All of it could go either way. We should shut them away and first save Lingzhi."

When she said this, she choked again. She lowered her head to look at her own dress which was stained red.

As a married woman, she knew that the child in Lignzhi’s stomach could not be saved. There was no hope at all.

Could it be that there really was a curse?

Otherwise why would the villains succeed time after time?

Lady Fang closed her eyes and pressed her palm to the blood. She tried to stop herself from fainting.

"Wait for Lingzhi to wake up. Then we can ask what happened," she said hoarsely.

Old Lady nodded.

"Yes, if we ask her we will know," she said, sweeping over the four people kneeling on the ground. She then smirked. "The human testimony and material evidence will have you won over."

She did not call for a doctor but waved a hand at one of the guards.

"Wake her."