Eunuch?
Old Lady Fang's eyebrows raised slightly, but she wasn't particularly shocked.
"...'s attendant," Miss Jun continued to speak, suppressing the scrutinizing gaze in her eyes.
Seeing that Old Lady Fang wasn't greatly taken aback by the mention of an eunuch, it was still better to say attendant.
If she mentioned the eunuch and Old Lady Fang happened to investigate through her own means, it could stir up the snakes in the grass and completely expose last night's actions.
"Would an eunuch's attendant go and serve someone else? Was this attendant brought by the eunuch himself or sent by the local officials to serve?" Fang Chengyu asked.
Miss Jun shook her head.
"I truly do not know," she said.
She indeed did not know whether Yuan Bao was still an eunuch serving the emperor or had the emperor gifted him to someone else? Whether his actions were arranged by the emperor or another.
"There's nothing particularly strange about it," Old Lady Fang said, "after all, our Ning Family has an imperial decree, so it is only right for the emperor to send an attendant to watch over things."
Miss Jun nodded.
On the way back, she had been pondering how to reasonably explain recognizing Yuan Bao, but she hadn't expected the Fang Family to bring out the imperial decree, which made things much easier.
Old Lady Fang proactively accepting it left not so many questions.
"Then are there any other doubts regarding this matter?" Old Lady Fang asked.
"The doubt is who is behind this," said Fang Chengyu.
Old Lady Fang frowned.
"The attendant might not be someone like Li Changhong," she said.
"Whether he is or not, this matter ends here," Miss Jun said.
Old Lady Fang turned to look at her, and Fang Chengyu nodded in agreement with gusto.
"Alright," he said, "for now, all we need to know is that there is someone behind the scenes. As for who that person is, it doesn't matter."
Old Lady Fang's frown deepened slightly.
"Do you mean that we need to handle it the way we did with Song Yunping and Li Changhong?" she said.
Miss Jun nodded.
"From the affair with Song Yunping and Li Changhong, it's clear they dare not openly and directly harm us; moreover, we have given them a harsh warning and lesson," she said. "Considering these two points, they will not make a move for a while, to make us believe that the enemy no longer exists and the crisis has been averted."
"We must also act as if the crisis has been averted," said Old Lady Fang. "Continue to fish for them."
"Yes, one should not harbor the intent to harm others, but one must always guard against the harm others might do," Miss Jun said, with a hint of lamentation, "In this world, there are no absolute preparations, nor are there unchangeable guarantees."
Old Lady Fang also let out a long sigh.
"This is also the pleasure of being human," she gathered her spirits again and spoke with earnest demeanor.
"Fighting against both heaven and men, the joy is endless," Fang Chengyu laughed.
"As for joy, it depends on whether you're the winner or the loser," Miss Jun said. "There's nothing joyful about being a loser."
Being hacked to death by chaotic slashes wasn't at all joyful.
Previously, as a loser who was victimized with a dead husband and son, there indeed was nothing joyful about that.
Both sides fell silent with their thoughts.
Only Fang Chengyu laughed heartily, and Old Lady Fang glanced at him sideways.
Every time she says something, you just foolishly laugh. What's there to laugh about?
"Alright, go and rest," she said, standing up herself.
But Miss Jun remained seated without moving.
"Grandmother," she said, "there's one more thing that I don't understand…"
Before she could finish, Old Lady Fang cut her off.
"There's no need for you to understand this matter right now," she said. "All you need to know is that our Fang Family truly has an imperial decree, and this decree is indeed genuine. As for the origin of this imperial decree, I cannot tell you."
"I know it's real, just why..." Miss Jun started to say again.
Old Lady Fang interrupted her once more.
"I do not wish to lie to you, but our Fang Family had already sworn an oath to keep the origin of this imperial decree a secret," she said.
There was a moment of silence.
"I am not saying you are an outsider," she continued, "but this matter can only be known by one person. From father to son, from son to grandson, the old Grand Old Master was too ill at the time to tell your uncle, so he told me instead. I have carefully guarded this secret, waiting to tell your uncle, but then..."
But then, her son died so unexpectedly.
"Now even Chengyu is not aware of this matter," Old Lady Fang looked towards Fang Chengyu, "I will tell you in a few days."
Fang Chengyu nodded with a smile, but said nothing.
"So when I do not tell you, it is not because I consider you an outsider," Old Lady Fang said to Miss Jun.
Miss Jun smiled.
"I understand," she said. "What I do not understand is not the origin of the imperial decree."
Not the origin of the imperial decree?
Old Lady Fang was taken aback.
What did she not understand then?
"I do not understand why my maternal grandmother decided to reveal the imperial decree at this time?" Miss Jun said, her expression complex as she looked at Old Lady Fang.
Old Lady Fang was stunned.
Was this her question? Did she not understand this?
What was there to not understand?
Because you are Jun Zhenzhen, you are my granddaughter.
Old Lady Fang opened her mouth to speak but then stopped, her complicated expression fading.
Is it because she's my granddaughter?
Back then, this granddaughter had fervently demanded that she approach the Ning Family to acknowledge the engagement, but even when she learned of her granddaughter's hanging in the inn, she did not think to bring out the imperial decree to seek justice.
And now, just because that girl Liu'er had loudly cried out that something was amiss, and because Fang Jinxiu said she went off with Registrar Lin, and furthermore, with Fang Chengyu stressing the great danger, she had unhesitatingly brought out the imperial decree, merely to find her.
She could scarcely remember now what she had been thinking at the time when she made that decision.
It was as if she had been dreaming.
"When my maternal grandfather was absent, you did not reveal the imperial decree, you even failed to tell my uncle; when my uncle met with trouble, you still did not reveal it..." Miss Jun continued.
"At that time, we did not know they had been harmed by treacherous villains," Old Lady Fang said rigidly, interrupting her. "What would be the point of revealing the imperial decree?"
"You could have asserted your identity with the imperial decree, letting the world know the depth of the Fang Family's roots," Miss Jun said.
Old Lady Fang snorted.
"How preposterous, do you think we could not carry on without the imperial decree?" she said. "You really look down on us."
Miss Jun laughed.
"Of course not, what I am saying is that you wouldn't have had to work so hard," she said, pausing for a moment. "Then later, when Chengyu was poisoned, you surely knew you were being targeted. Why not make use of the imperial decree to investigate..."
Old Lady Fang frowned, interrupting her.
"He had already been poisoned, what good would investigating do? It was not worth it," she said blankly.
"In that case, revealing the imperial decree now is even less worthwhile," Miss Jun took up the conversation, looking at Old Lady Fang. "Your enemies have been vanquished, Chengyu has recovered, and the danger I may face is still uncertain, so why bring out the imperial decree now?"
Old Lady Fang looked at her, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say, feeling inexplicably irritated by her words.
"What are you trying to say, do you not understand why I wanted to use the imperial decree to find you? There is nothing to misunderstand, it's simple, because you are still useful," she said with a frustrated face. "You were able to cure Chengyu, keeping you is very useful, do you understand?"
After her words ended, Miss Jun stood up, stepped forward, and hugged her.
What, what is this!
Old Lady Fang's body suddenly tensed, and she couldn't help but step back, startled.
This petite girl clung tightly to her shoulders, her soft, thick, slightly disheveled hair, carrying the scent of soil, brushed against her face.
"I understand," the girl's gentle voice said by her ear, "Maternal grandmother, you are so good to me, you all have been so good to me."
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Happy continued holidays on Monday.