Chapter 535 Who is she?

Fang's stomach was cut open. What happened?

Qin Nanyan stood frozen in place, her face filled with shock. She didn't hear a word Xu Da said afterward; she only saw his cold face, as if he wanted to devour her.

Despite having seen many big occasions, Madam Zhou was still startled by Xu Da's words and quickly defended her daughter, saying, "Lord Xu, there is a misunderstanding in this matter. My daughter Nanyan is very timid and wouldn't even dare to step on an ant. How could she possibly do something so heinous!"

"Cowardly? I don't think so."

Xu Da took this opportunity to settle a personal score. As the deputy commander of the Five Cities Garrison, he was being pestered by Qin Nanyan, a persistent pest, to the point of having to resort to back channels. It was a laughing stock. What angered him the most was that Qin Nanyan wasn't after him, but rather had the intention of using him to get on the good side of Prince Luo.

Although he looks down on Qin Nanyan, is he really that bad?

Xu Da, seizing the opportunity to exchange barbs, squinted and said, "Even if Miss Qin doesn't commit the crime, it doesn't mean she's not in cahoots with the perpetrators. Otherwise, what would she be doing at the waterside pavilion?"

The jade pendant happened to fall under the window, indicating that Qin Nanyan was standing under the window looking out, making her a suspect.

“The jade pendant is Miss Qin’s personal possession. Its presence under the windowsill indicates that she was here. Madam, you have no excuse.”

Xu Da crossed his arms and glanced at the mother and daughter. Judging from Fang's appearance, she was probably in grave danger.

Qin Nanyan had never seen anything like this before and was completely terrified. She huddled in Zhou's arms, unable to cry out, tears streaming down her face.

"Nanyan, don't be afraid, your mother is here."

Zhou gently patted her daughter's back. She didn't blame Xu Da; he was just handling the case impartially. Instead, she hated Qin Shi and Lin Yue'e, that mother and daughter were troublesome. Although her Nan Yan was a bit spoiled, she was honest at heart and hadn't been led astray by Lin Yue'e.

The soldiers of the Five Cities Garrison rode horses and took Doctor Yan to the Prince's villa. Yan Yan carried her medicine box. She arrived a little late. Although the Prince's physician pressed on Fang's skin to stop the bleeding, she was still barely breathing and on the verge of death.

"Dr. Yan, I want to see my mother one last time..."

Fang was parched and waved her hand. She knew she didn't have long to live and didn't want to waste her time. She didn't want to continue suffering before she died, so she refused Yan Yan's stitches. But she had something to say to Zhuang.

"Your Highness, look..."

Doctor Yan carried her medicine box out to consult with Prince Luo.

Da Qi had no external anesthesia, so he could only force-feed herbal medicine. However, Fang Shi was in such a condition that she couldn't drink anything. Yan Yan tried, but Fang Shi choked on the medicine from her mouth and nose, which only made her condition worse.

Having lost too much blood, Fang was left with only a faint breath, but she had no will to live, so it ended in tragedy.

Yan Yan examined the wound and concluded that the culprit must be Yu Zicheng.

"Young Master Yu truly lives up to his reputation as a descendant of the Yu family; he was born to study medicine. The wounds he made are getting smaller and smaller."

From initially being half an arm's length to later being only slightly larger than a palm, Yu Zicheng's cesarean section technique became increasingly refined after practicing on so many pregnant women.

If the response had been timely, Fang would definitely have had a chance to salvage the situation, but Fang herself refused to cooperate.

Are you confident?

Luo Wang's expression was very calm, and Yan Yan even noticed a hint of gentleness in his eyes. She shook her head, not because she was unsure, but because she was certain that the Fang family would perish within a quarter of an hour.

Upon hearing that her daughter-in-law wished to see her, Lady Zhuang took two steps forward, her madness replaced by an unprecedented composure. She knelt down and kowtowed to the Prince of Luo.

"Go and take a look; this was my oversight."

Luo Wang waved his hand. No one expected that Yu Zicheng would have such audacity. Instead of choosing to commit the crime at the Zhuang family's residence, he went to great lengths to choose the Wangfu villa, openly defying the laws of Daqi.

Zhuang got up, dusted herself off, and entered the room with a calm gait.

The two maids, Jasmine and Narcissus, were sobbing. Seeing that the two men had something to say, they wisely withdrew.

"Has she come back?"

Zhuang was half a meter away from Fang when she stopped, her eyes filled with terror.

It must be Madam Qi who has returned. Otherwise, how could a dead person torment her for so many years? Every first and fifteenth of the lunar month, Zhuang would have nightmares. It's been twenty years, a full twenty years.

"Mother, it's not her."

Fang learned about her mother-in-law's unresolved issue, which was also told to her by her mother. She held Zhuang's biggest secret in her hands. Even if she couldn't produce offspring for the Zhuang family after marrying into the family, Zhuang, as her mother-in-law, still wouldn't dare to mistreat her.

It was this seemingly kind mother-in-law who betrayed her best friend back then, and as a result, she was punished.

Fang felt a pang of sadness, unsure whether to feel sorrow or relief for herself. The past would eventually come back to haunt her, and she would have to pay for it with her life.

After her death, the two maids who had followed her, Jasmine and Narcissus, would not escape punishment and would be beaten to death, which was something Madam Fang did not want to see.

"Mother, I beg you, please spare Jasmine and Narcissus."

Fang was on her deathbed, and it took her a long pause to say a complete sentence. "Please let them go out and marry other people."

The three women, mistress and servant, grew up together and were as close as sisters. Fang originally wanted the two women to become her husband's concubines, but Zhuang refused, feeling sorry for her daughter-in-law.

The Fang family would face certain death if they returned home. After her death, the two maids could not remain by her husband's side and get in his way. This was Fang's last request.

"Mother, it's no one's fault, let it go."

Fang wanted to say more, but she was speechless. She wasn't without resentment; if the person at the door had called for help, she wouldn't have ended up like this…

"You mean someone saw it at the door but didn't report it?"

Zhuang was still grieving when she heard Fang's words. She immediately shouted angrily, completely abandoning her usual composure, "Who is it? Which lowly hussy..."

She clutched her chest and couldn't help but spit out another mouthful of blood.

Fang felt extremely tired. She stared intently at the gauze curtain above her head and finally closed it.

Inside the room, Zhuang's heart-wrenching screams came from inside. Doctor Yan immediately rushed in with her medical kit. She took Fang's pulse, lifted her eyelids, and finally sighed.

The person is gone.

It wasn't that the Qi family had returned; it was all a coincidence, yet it better illustrates what retribution means.

Zhuang scratched her hair; the stinging sensation on her scalp made her feel a little more alert. She called her personal attendants, Xiangye and Liuya, into the room and began to redo her makeup in front of the bronze mirror.

"Madam, your health is of utmost importance."

Xiangye sniffed. This was not the fault of the lady, but the fault of the wicked man.

She didn't know what happened twenty years ago, but she inexplicably noticed that the lady's condition was very strange.

Who exactly is the "she" that the lady is calling out?