The message never got delivered?
Just like that?
Is this excuse too hasty?
The room was silent.
"Isn't this a bit too coincidental?" someone couldn't help but blurt out.
Miss Jun didn't show a trace of displeasure but nodded in agreement.
"It really is too coincidental," she said. "It's unbelievable even to myself."
If you can't believe it yourself, what can we say?
The room fell silent once again.
But someone made a sound of realization.
It was a servant from the Fang Family standing in the corner.
"Speaking of children," he suddenly remembered, "there was indeed a child who came to our doorstep, but that was when Old Lady Fang and family had just returned. People were busily going in and out, dealing with the preparations for the memorial service. When the child approached, everyone assumed he was just an onlooker and scolded him a few times, and then the child turned and ran."
For a household like the Fang Family, as Miss Jun described, if it were a woodcutter's child from the countryside, inevitably timid and easily frightened, he would not just run off at the sound of scolding.
So that was what happened.
Incredible indeed.
I don't even know what to say anymore.
But clearly, Miss Jun had something to say. She looked towards Old Lady Fang, her eyes flickering.
"Do we really have an imperial decree?" she asked.
Can an imperial decree be fake? If it was fake, wouldn't showing it be like seeking one's own death?
And is now really the time for childish curiosity?
Instead of apologizing for her reckless actions, she's only interested in asking about this.
What do you need the decree for?
To use it to force the Ning Family to agree to the marriage?
People in the room couldn't help but wildly speculate.
"Of course it's real, I held it myself all night," Fang Chengyu said, his joy and sincerity childlike as he looked at Old Lady Fang, "Grandmother, Grandmother, please show it to my cousin."
So it really was an imperial decree.
The people in the room thought again.
At the time, everyone was preoccupied with executing orders, without a moment to think. Now that they had calmed down and thought about it, their minds spun, feeling as if they were in a dream.
The Fang Family actually possesses an imperial decree bestowed by the former emperor.
"Yes, it's indeed an imperial decree," Fang Chengyu said with a smile. "So don't worry, we have nothing to fear, everything is fine, and you're alright."
He said it casually, as long as you're fine.
Smashing the Lin Family's front gate, turning Yangcheng upside down, alarming the officials of Taiyuan Prefecture who hastened back overnight, from elderly women with white hair to young girls scurrying around searching, none of these matters.
The people in the room looked at Fang Chengyu with even more complicated expressions.
Everything's fine, you're fine...
Is this really fine?
Prefect Ma snorted heavily.
Since we're talking about the imperial decree, let's discuss that.
"Fang, maiden name Cao," he said gravely. "How do you plan to explain last night's events to the public?"
They had entered the house by then, but the frightened townspeople were gathered in the streets waiting for a plausible explanation.
The displayed imperial decree was spreading like the wind.
The origin of the decree, the origin of De Sheng Chang, all would become the focus of public debate, sparking a huge commotion that would sweep through Yangcheng and then spread. It wouldn't take long to reach the capital, to reach the ears of the emperor.
It's likely that the moment Old Lady Fang displayed the decree last night, the Jinyiwei of Yangcheng had already sent the news out.
Logically, having an imperial decree should be cause for joy and exhilaration, but for some reason, everyone felt an inexplicable anxiety.
Perhaps it was due to Old Lady Fang's subdued demeanor, perhaps because of their merchant status, or perhaps because Miss Jun's mistaken message rendered last night's actions absurd.
A silence fell in the room.
Then suddenly, someone knelt down with a thump.
"It's all my fault, Old Lady," a woman's voice said.
Everyone seemed to then notice the girl standing in the corner by the door and the unfamiliar man beside her.
Who is this person? How did he get in?
Seeing everyone looking over, Seventh Chen felt embarrassed.
"I, I.." he didn't know how to introduce himself, but on seeing Miss Jun looking over, he exclaimed joyfully, "Young Lady, you know, I am a candy seller."
Candy seller...
Indeed, each year holds its oddities, and today they were especially plentiful.
First, the Fang Family had produced an imperial decree from the former emperor, followed by a candy seller boldly standing in their grand hall.
"Seventh Chen!" a manager scolded in a low voice, "Do not speak nonsense."
"He came in with me," Fang Jinxiu said.
Just now, Old Lady Fang and her entourage had also immediately left for home. Although it wasn't specified to invite her back, Fang Jinxiu, after hesitating for a moment, followed them back anyway.
She had thought she would never step into the Fang Family home again, at least not for a while, but unexpectedly, just a day later, she was back.
Whether it was the women of the Fang Family, the guards, managers, maidservants, or servants, no one stopped or questioned her entry as if it was all perfectly natural.
Or perhaps it was simply deemed insignificant.
Because he was closely following Fang Jinxiu, Seventh Chen, too, was ignored and thus entered, even finding himself in the hall of the Fang Family, where not just anyone could enter.
"Actually, I didn't want to come either." Seventh Chen mumbled embarrassedly, "It would be awkward to leave after entering."
Paying no further attention to Seventh Chen's interruption, Fang Jinxiu spoke as she kowtowed to Old Lady Fang.
"It was I who caused this," she said. "I accept the punishment."
Old Lady Fang glanced at her without a word. Lady Fang hadn't looked at her from the start, Concubine Yuan's expression was complex, and Fang Yunxiao and Fang Yuxiu's eyes showed a bit of worry.
"How can you blame yourself?" said Miss Jun.
"It's her fault. Miss, it was she who said you were captured by Registrar Lin, prompting us to create a disturbance," Liu'er sobbed, "She must be jealous that you have secured your position in the family while she was kicked out.."
A servant standing at the back glanced at Fang Jinxiu.
So this was the concubine-born daughter placed in the Fang Family, indeed she has no standing here now, having been driven out, what a pity, jealousy and resentment are quite normal.
She said Registrar Lin captured Young Lady Fang? What story is this? What entanglement?
Prefect Ma and the officials frowned at this, such troubles always increase with more women!
Miss Jun did not elaborate on questioning this story but simply smiled and stroked the maid's head.
"No, it's not her fault," she said, "What she said was true. I indeed spoke with Registrar Lin, and coincidentally both Registrar Lin and I didn't go home. Even more coincidentally, there are old grudges between Registrar Lin and me. Anyone would think the same under these circumstances, wouldn't you?"
Liu'er gasped, reminded of the events of the previous night, and shuddered.
"Yes," she nodded and cried.
As Fang Jinxiu was about to say something else, Old Lady Fang banged her hand on the table to cut her off.
"Everyone be quiet!" she shouted, then turned to Prefect Ma, "What's there to explain? It's quite normal for me to seek help if my child might have been kidnapped by villains, isn't it?"
Prefect Ma laughed out of sheer irritation.
"Normal?" he said, raising his eyebrows, "Your Fang Family, holding an imperial decree and rampaging through Yangcheng, causing chaos, this is what you call normal?"
Old Lady Fang's expression remained impassive.
"Yes, indeed, the first emperor bestowed the imperial decree upon our family to protect us and to resolve our troubles when we face difficulties," she said.
This shows how nonsensical and illogical women's ideas can be.
This is what happens when there are no men in the household.
Prefect Ma pointed at Miss Jun, then at Old Lady Fang.
"Difficulties," he repeated. "Difficulties, these are your so-called difficulties."
With that, he scoffed disdainfully, flinging his sleeves dramatically.
"Fang, maiden name Cao, since your actions are sanctioned by an imperial decree, I have no means nor the authority to explain this to the public. You explain it yourselves."
With these words, he turned, flinging his sleeve and strode away.
The crowd gathered in front of the Fang Family home watched as the officials came bustling out, rushing forward to hear the long-awaited news.
However, the officials, under the protection of soldiers, mounted their horses and dispersed the crowd without uttering a single word as they departed.
A louder uproar arose among the people at the gate of the Fang Family, prompting the departing officials to turn back and look, their expressions equally complex.
Who would have thought, truly unforeseen.
The servant, however, did not turn back but resumed his earlier obedient demeanor, closely following behind the officials.
"Really unforeseen."
In the Fang Family's hall, after seeing the officials off, the Fang Family members still lingered, and Miss Jun, observing the imperial decree Fang Chengyu presented, also showed a complex expression as she spoke.