Chapter 480: 327. The Fang family has a daughter who doesn't pit her father

327. The Fang family has a daughter who doesn't pit her father

Books that had accumulated dust for years on the bookshelf were opened one by one and checked page by page.

The walls, floors, and ceilings near the bookshelf were tapped carefully to prevent any hidden compartments from being missed.

The library on the attic was crowded with professional investigating lady officials, who were turning the place upside down.

The dust that had been sealed for years rose with the pages, filling the air in the attic.

It was a bit choking.

Fang Yuwu's face was bloodless, his mouth wide open, staring blankly at the crowd, not even realizing he had a mouthful of dust.

Rong Zhen, with her hands tucked into her sleeves, turned around in the library, raised her plain hand, covered her nose slightly, and walked over to push open a small, tightly sealed window.

Immediately afterward, she walked toward the door with an expressionless face, passing by Fang Yuwu, who was already scared silly and speechless, and waved her hand as if casually:

"Since the Master of the Fang family wants to find something, our Censorate will help you find it. You're welcome. Come, why don't you hurry up and help the Master of the Fang family up and invite him out first."

Two lady officials stepped forward, pulled Fang Yuwu up, and dragged him downstairs.

Rong Zhen walked down the stairs with her hands in her sleeves and said flatly:

"Why is the Master of the Fang family's legs shaking so much that he can't even walk? Are you that afraid of our Censorate's lady officials? Just now, when you saw me, you were scared until your legs went soft?"

"Heh, in the Great Hall of the Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Cishi's Office this morning, did I say all those words in vain? I already said that our Censorate and the Xuanwu Camp will not affect good citizens. Everything is based on evidence. We will never wrong a good person, nor will we let go of anyone harboring evil intentions. Can the Master of the Fang family rest assured now?"

"Let's go, your beloved Jiangzhou Cishi Magistrate Ouyang is waiting for you in the main hall, chatting happily with your wife."

Rong Zhen left the heavy work of searching the attic to the lady officials and took Fang Yuwu, who had a gray face and was speechless, away from this three-story building for the time being.

Arriving at the main hall of the Fang family manor.

Fang Yuwu saw his wife, three sons, concubines, and old stewards all there.

They were all sitting in rows on the two rows of chairs in the center of the main hall.

In the seat of honor at the top of the main hall, his wife was accompanying a handsome young man in a scarlet official uniform to drink tea.

The handsome young man had a kind face and a gentle tone.

It could be seen that the black-armored soldiers who came with him had also retreated far away, away from this main hall, instead of surrounding it heavily like the Xiao Niangzi Historian did when she "talked about two small things" in the Jiangzhou Cishi's Office in the morning.

Fang Yuwu discovered when he came in that the eldest son, second son, third son, concubines, and stewards sitting in the main hall all had relatively calm expressions, and the atmosphere was somewhat harmonious, without the chaotic panic he had imagined.

He saw this young Jiangzhou Cishi turn his head and look over, sizing him up.

"Master, what is this..."

Fang's wife also saw her husband's gray-faced, desperate appearance, and her face turned pale with fright, causing her to drop her teacup.

With a "clatter."

The atmosphere in the main hall, which had been harmonious, suddenly fell into a dead silence.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's kind smile didn't change much. He turned his head to look at Rong Zhen and handed a cup of tea to her at the same time.

Rong Zhen nodded slightly.

After seeing this, Magistrate Ouyang Rong still sighed.

His eyes looking at Fang Yuwu were a bit complicated.

Rong Zhen first took out a list of confessions with ink marks from her sleeve and handed it to Magistrate Ouyang Rong, then took the teacup and moistened her pink lips.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong looked at the list. Fang Yuwu's name had already been circled by the Xiao Niangzi Historian with a vermilion brush. The vermilion ink marks on the paper were still fresh and not yet dry; they must have been drawn casually on the way to bring Fang Yuwu here.

Directly sentenced to death.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong moved his gaze away from the list and looked up, finding Rong Zhen glancing over sideways while sipping tea.

Staring at him.

This Xiao Niangzi Historian had an expressionless face.

It seemed like she was urging something.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong didn't get up for the time being and asked softly:

"What about the Xiao Niangzi Yunmeng Order?"

"Searching. It's right there in the library. This Master of the Fang family hid it quite deeply, but he is an impatient one. He took the bait as soon as he was hooked."

"Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan, your suggestion was quite good. Although I know you are trying your best to shield and favor them, it has indeed reduced a lot of trouble for our Censorate."

Rong Zhen said stiffly, her pretty face showing some expressions of disgust and boredom.

However, the Xiao Niangzi Historian didn't know that her own impatient gaze glancing at Magistrate Ouyang Rong was somewhat exceptionally bright and luminous.

"This manor is also quite large. If we really search it directly, three days won't be enough. If this Master of the Fang family is as stubborn as that Li Yu, like picking up a stinky stone, it would be a waste of time."

After saying this, without waiting for Magistrate Ouyang Rong to speak again.

Rong Zhen turned her head and spoke coldly to Fang Yuwu, who had a dazed face, and the silent Fang family members around:

"I know you might still be harboring luck, closing your mouth and not speaking all the way, hoping for that one-in-ten-thousand chance, hoping that our Censorate wouldn't know even if we found the Xiao Niangzi Yunmeng Order."

Rong Zhen took out a bronze short sword carved with an evil dragon from her sleeve and shook it in front of everyone.

"Hmm, after all, for those who haven't seen it, no one would think that the Xiao Niangzi Yunmeng Order looks like this. It might be ignored as some strange collection. Don't you think so, Master of the Fang family?"

She nodded slightly and said:

"Sorry, I lied to you this morning. I actually don't like to lie, but when I know I've been lied to first, I make an exception."

Fang Yuwu felt like he had been struck by lightning and trembled all over.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who was on the side, didn't know why, but he glanced at the back of the cold-looking young girl in palace attire.

Under Rong Zhen's calm gaze like a judgment, Fang Yuwu buried his head deeply, curled up his body, and put his head on the ground, his tone hard to hide his trembling.

"Grass... grass people don't know..."

"Good."

Rong Zhen nodded, put away the Xiao Niangzi Yunmeng Order, and drank tea while waiting.

When Rong Zhen took out the Xiao Niangzi Yunmeng Order, Magistrate Ouyang Rong's gaze swept around at the expressions of everyone else present.

"Jiangzhou Cishi!"

At this time, Fang's wife, who was over forty, rushed forward, knelt at Magistrate Ouyang Rong's feet, and cried out for injustice:

"Jiangzhou Cishi, what crime did Fang Lang commit to offend the Xiao Niangzi Historian?"

"Fang Lang definitely didn't mean it. The Fang family's account books have been managed by me all these years. We have absolutely never done anything like tax evasion, nor have we had any transactions with the rebels in the Southwest. We know the rules of the imperial court."

"Is there any misunderstanding? What is this Xiao Niangzi Yunmeng Order, and what is this short sword?"

"Is it that you found the wrong person, or is it that disaster comes from the mouth? Although Fang Lang likes to talk big and occasionally brags in front of the younger generation, he is just talking about it. He definitely doesn't have the guts."

Fang's wife cried and poured out everything she knew like beans from a bamboo tube:

"Those things he did in the underworld when he was young were all bragging. I heard from my father-in-law that he actually just went out to spend money to make some fox friends, saying they were chivalrous knights, but they were actually just drinking and meat-eating friends. He took him around to brag. It's impossible that he really had any night robberies to save heroes, or any one sword against a thousand troops..."

"Even the children and nephews in the family believed it, but these are all bragging. He can't even beat me..."

This plea from the crying woman was heartfelt and vivid.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong was stunned for a moment.

The onlookers, who had been scared pale, looked at each other.

Having his old bottom exposed in public, Fang Yuwu, who was burying his head in despair, immediately turned his old face red.

"Ju Niang, you..."

A person lives for a face. In the eyes of Fang Yuwu, who believes in the creed that "the identity outside is given by oneself," this kind of public social death was not as good as killing him directly.

"Fang Lang, shut up. When is it, and you are still stubborn? The Jiangzhou Cishi is broad-minded and benevolent, treating the people like his own children. If you have any grievances, say them quickly. What exactly is this Yun-something Order? Hurry up and resolve this misunderstanding!"

"Yes, Father! Hurry up and explain! You can't bear this injustice in vain. We have Jiangzhou Cishi Magistrate Ouyang to make the decision..."

Other sons, concubines, and stewards knelt down one after another, holding Fang Yuwu to persuade him.

Fang Fang Yiwu acted as if he hadn't heard, maintaining his turned posture, gazing at his long-suffering wife who was still unaware of the truth and desperately trying to explain for him.

His eyes were red, his expression hard to hide his guilt, and his choked voice sounded like a dream:

"Ju Niang... Ju Niang..."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong watched for a while, turned to Rong Zhen, and pondered:

"Xiao Niangzi Historian Rong, the others should be unaware and don't recognize this object. I just chatted with Fang's wife and the others. If they knew and had ghosts in their hearts, they wouldn't have had that enthusiastic attitude of receiving me just now. Presumably, they are also kept in the dark. Searching for the Xiao Niangzi Yunmeng Order and interrogating Fang Yuwu alone will do. It can be considered that one person does the work and one person takes the responsibility."

Cries and pleas for mercy suddenly sounded in the main hall. Hearing this, Rong Zhen frowned slightly, looked at the messy and unclear scene, and was about to speak.

"Xiao Niangzi Historian, the search is over."

At the door, a middle-aged lady official covered in dust from the attic walked in hurriedly, holding a small wooden box in both hands.

"Our people turned the attic upside down and found this, hidden in a secret compartment. As for the Xiao Niangzi Yunmeng Order... it was not found."

The main hall, which had been crying and pleading, suddenly fell silent.

Rong Zhen was about to get up to take the small wooden box found, but at this moment, her movements stopped.

"Didn't find the Xiao Niangzi Yunmeng Order? Are you sure?"

She asked earnestly.

The middle-aged lady official nodded vigorously, her expression solemn:

"No, the subordinate checked it several times personally. There is indeed no Xiao Niangzi Yunmeng Order... Anyway, that attic is definitely not there. As for whether it is in other places in this manor, I don't know. Xiao Niangzi Historian, should we search other places?"

Rong Zhen didn't answer and slowly turned her head, staring straight at Fang Yuwu, who was lying softly on the ground, as if trying to find some subtle expression on his bearded face.

Fang's wife, Fang's sons, and concubines and stewards all turned to look at him, but they had expressions of relief and joy at finally clearing their names.

"Ah?" Fang Yuwu's expression also seemed dazed.

Rong Zhen asked with a straight face:

"You have a guilty conscience and rushed back. What were you looking for?"

Fang Yuwu opened his mouth wide and stammered:

"Grass people looking for what... grass people looking for what... that's right, looking for what, I, I don't know..."

His expression was dazed and confused, only feeling like he was in a dream, having walked before the gate of hell.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong looked around at the crowd who were staring at each other with Xiao Niangzi Historian Rong, his expression inevitably revealing a little strangeness that made Fang's wife and others feel confused.

"Not the Xiao Niangzi Yunmeng Order, then what is this?"

He stepped forward, opened the wooden box directly, and saw a thick stack of letter paper inside. He took it out curiously.

Rong Zhen also stepped forward immediately, lowering her head to look at it with Magistrate Ouyang Rong.

After watching for a while, she frowned: "What kind of letter is this? Colluding with rebels?"

The middle-aged lady official on the side shook her head:

"Not with rebels, Xiao Niangzi Historian. They are some ordinary letters. The sender is from Yangzhou. It should be an old acquaintance..."

She paused, didn't look at Fang Yuwu, and the middle-aged lady official sighed slightly, continuing:

"Our people checked it word by word. They are all some flowery, sentimental, and long-winded content... and have nothing to do with the matter we are investigating."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen finished flipping through this stack of letter paper quite quickly.

After putting down the letter paper, the two looked at each other, and immediately afterward, they looked at Fang Yuwu, whose face was flushed red, with strange expressions that made Fang's wife and others feel confused.

"Ahem."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong covered his mouth and coughed, stuffed this stack of letters back into the box, and then placed the wooden box on the nearest table.

"No wonder you came back to flip through it... it really needs to be kept well..."

Everyone vaguely heard the handsome young man in the scarlet official uniform mutter in a low voice. Immediately afterward, they saw him turn his head to ask the cold-looking young girl in palace attire whose pretty face was tense.

"Does Xiao Niangzi Historian Rong want to search anymore?"

Rong Zhen didn't answer. She walked over and stared down at Fang Yuwu, who was lying softly on the ground, as if trying to find some subtle expression on his bearded face.

She was about to speak when a small black-armored and black-robed general ran in from the door at high speed.

"Report! Jiangzhou Cishi, Xiao Niangzi Historian, according to the arrangements made by the two of you, Registrar Qin led the soldiers to raid the Guo Mansion on the list and captured the Guo family head who had just rushed back from the Jiangzhou Cishi's Office to sell the stolen goods. He was caught on the spot, with stolen goods and evidence, and the evidence is conclusive."

"This Guo family head really hid a Xiao Niangzi Yunmeng Order privately. When he was arrested, he wanted to throw this order into the lake to hide it, but he didn't expect our people to be faster and followed him..."

After the black-robed general finished reporting, he looked around at the dead silence in the main hall and asked in a low voice:

"Jiangzhou Cishi, how is the situation here with the Xiao Niangzi Historian? If there is nothing, Registrar Qin asks the two of you to go over. The Guo family head has been taken to the state prison, and Old Yang is interrogating him. The involvement this time might be quite extensive..."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen exchanged glances.

After a short silence, the two turned around almost simultaneously and walked out of the main hall, followed by a group of lady officials.

Fang Yuwu was helped up by his son. His expression was dazed, and he let out a long breath.

"Master, it's fine. Get up quickly. Thanks to the wisdom of the Jiangzhou Cishi and the Xiao Niangzi Historian..."

The eldest son said happily. He was about to nod and say a few words.

Suddenly, a team of lady historians rushed over from the back courtyard, escorting a sneaky-looking man, and reported.

"Xiao Niangzi Historian, our people found a sneaky guy in the courtyard next to the library. It's this person who deliberately hid from us."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen stopped instantly and cast their eyes over.

Fang Yuwu almost had his legs go soft and fell down. Fang's wife walked up, looked at the young man in young master attire being escorted to the door, and said with an apologetic expression:

"Jiangzhou Cishi, Xiao Niangzi Historian, this is the young master of the Li family in the Xiu Shui Ward in the city. He has been coming to the door recently, saying he admires my eldest daughter, Xiu Niang, and even brought a handwritten letter from his elders to propose marriage. I think he is sincere, so I arranged for them to meet today, but I didn't expect..."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong saw this young master Li raising both hands, his face a bit awkward:

"My lords, I am really not a villain, nor a flower-picking thief. I just met the eldest lady of the Fang family on the Lantern Festival street, and her elegant posture and literary talent were unforgettable, so I couldn't help but follow her to get to know her. Although I had a small unpleasant conflict with the second lady of the Fang family later, this is not important..."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong saw this young master Li rubbing his back, which seemed to be sore, while speaking affectionately.

Rong Zhen couldn't be bothered to pay attention. She looked back coldly and questioned the direction of the main hall:

"By the way, I remember your Fang family has two daughters. Where are they?"

Fang's wife's face was a bit ugly, and she said embarrassedly:

"They both disappeared early in the morning and ran out together. The second girl even left a letter saying she wanted to enter the underworld uprightly and wouldn't come back until she made a name for herself... You say, what kind of trouble is she running out to make? However, according to my past experience, she will have to come back in half a month, obediently eating."

Everyone was speechless after listening. Rong Zhen's lips also twitched slightly. What kind of messy things were in this family?

Under the urging of the black-robed general, Rong Zhen turned and left.

However, before leaving, she gave a cold order and left a team of lady officials behind.

The Fang family members were not allowed to leave the main hall for the time being and had to wait for this team of lady officials to thoroughly search the manor before they could be cleared of suspicion. In addition, they had to immediately send a letter to call back or send someone to find the two Fang daughters. When they returned home, they had to report to the Censorate immediately... The Fang family members agreed one by one.

The suddenly empty main hall had experienced such a thrilling time.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Fang Yuwu wiped the sweat hanging on his forehead with his sleeves and buried his head low. He didn't hear the congratulations and comfort from the people around him, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Fang's wife asked curiously:

"What's wrong with the Master's face?"

"When did Xiu Niang and Fang Shengnan leave?" Fang Yuwu asked urgently in a low voice.

"They ran out of sight early in the morning. It was mainly Fang Shengnan who was naughty. Xiu Niang was so quiet, she was all instigated by her..."

Fang Yuwu frowned, not knowing if he had listened or not. He turned his head to ask the old steward behind the crowd: "Did the eldest lady and the second lady go anywhere in the manor before leaving this morning?"

The old steward said weakly: "It seems they went to the back garden where the Master reads to find the Master, but you weren't there. They came out quickly, took some silver and documents from the old slave, and left..."

Fang's wife sighed: "Fang Shengnan must have wanted to ask you about some underworld things. Hey, who didn't have some wild thoughts when they were young? Didn't the Master also... Don't be angry. When they come back, see if I don't teach them a lesson."

Fang Yuwu's face didn't show any anger, and his eyes became thoughtful.

He lowered his head and rubbed his face, muttering imperceptibly: "No wonder... so that's how it is... fortunately... fortunately... this daughter was not born wrong, she can really save her father..."

Fang's wife asked curiously: "What is Fang Lang saying? What save the old father."

"No, nothing."

Fang Yuwu swallowed secretly. Under the scrutinizing and supervising gaze of the lady officials at the door, he held his head high and kept his eyes straight.

After a while, the image of his old wife, who had disregarded her own safety to protect him during the thrilling and dangerous scene just now, flashed before his eyes again. Fang Fang Yiwu's eyes could not help but move, and he choked up silently:

"Ju Niang, you have worked hard this time..."

He turned his head back with a face full of emotion, his eyes full of deep affection, but he saw that his wife had stood by a table at some point, holding the letter paper in the wooden box with both hands, lowering her head and flipping through it page by page.

Before Fang Yuwu's face could change drastically, a wooden box had already flown over and hit him in the face.

A scream of "Ah."

But it couldn't hide the roar of Fang's wife with her hands on her hips:

"Good you, Fang Yuwu! Fang Big Head! You are still reminiscing about the past and whispering sweet nothings with that dog-shit female knight you hooked up with when you were young. She is already married in Yangzhou, and you two are still reminiscing about the past. You are truly shameless!"

"The upper beam is not straight, the lower beam is crooked. Look at how Fang Shengnan was led astray by you, shouting every day to go out to the underworld to find some messy Sword Marsh... surnamed Fang, you are truly shameless, truly a sin..."

Fang Yuwu:...

Looking at the embarrassed figure of the big man being chased and scratched by his wife who was roaring like a lion.

The Fang family sons, concubines, stewards in the main hall, and the Li family young master who just came to propose marriage were all dumbfounded.

The lady officials watching at the door also looked at each other.

Can this family be rebels? ===== CHAPTER 481 =====