"Who wouldn’t think so," Mrs. Ning exhaled a long breath, "But now I find it increasingly troublesome. The handwriting on it feels like needlepoints, piercing me, leaving me unsure of what to do."
Jin Zhu looked into her deep eyes, "Why don’t we just tell Granny the truth? After all, even General He’s son has set his sights on the old master’s death, and the He family is quite entangled with the Xu family."
Mrs. Ning frowned tightly, "It’s said that the current Empress is compassionate and wise, but having never met them, I dare not assert so.
"And the Pei and Liang families hold such high positions and power, like fire cooking oil. It’s completely inadvisable to get involved in such disputes..."
Fu Zhen was pressed against the wall, listening intently to the conversation inside.
She frowned at the night sky, then straightened up slightly, peeking through the crack of the opened window into the room.
The unease on Mrs. Ning’s face, visible in the bronze mirror, was the same as when Fu Zhen first awoke. Yet, ever since the separation, everything was peaceful for her, and after the alliance with the Pei family, nothing seemed to cause her such worry anymore.
"I’ll think about it first. You go make the bed."
Mrs. Ning dismissed Jin Zhu, then got up and stuffed the letter into her dressing table box.
Fu Zhen remained hidden in the moon’s shadow until the lights in the room went out and all was quiet. Only then did she gently open the window and slip inside.
The dressing table box was right there; she could easily reach and grab it.
The moonlight faintly illuminated the room, not enough to be considered bright, but surely enough for a familiar "family thief." Besides, Mrs. Ning never guarded these boxes against Fu Zhen, who had always known how to open its hidden latch.
The hidden latch opened with a familiar and slight "click," and the darkness was dispelled, lighting up the room!
Fu Zhen suddenly looked up, shocked to see Mrs. Ning standing there holding a gigantic Luminous Pearl!
Her hand loosened, and the box nearly fell to the ground!
Fu Zhen swore she had never been so embarrassed. After months of painstaking practice, she had regained half her skill. She could maneuver adeptly at Baihe Temple facing Xu Yin and the people of Prince Rong’s Mansion, and even come and go at the Zhe family with ease, but never expected to be caught red-handed in her own mother’s room!
How should she explain her actions?
She glanced at the calm Mrs. Ning and got up to place the box back on the table beside her.
"Mother, I was just... curious..."
"When did you come back?" Mrs. Ning looked at her, her expression and tone still very calm.
"Two qianquarters ago."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Ning raised an eyebrow, "Looks like Jia brother opened the door for you."
Fu Zhen was so uneasy that her toes began to curl into the ground.
Not only did she become a family thief, but also coaxed Ning Jia to cover her tracks—wouldn’t that be an additional offense?
But how could Fu Zhen be the kind to cower?
Since things had come to this point, she steeled herself and asked, "Mother, could it be that you already knew I was coming? Did you purposely turn off the lights to wait for me? You’re incredible! How did you find out?"
"I’m not a deity. How could I have known?"
Mrs. Ning sat down and casually lit the nearby lamp, then quietly watched her, "Bring the box over to me."
Even when loath to part with it, Fu Zhen couldn’t disobey.
When the box reached Mrs. Ning’s hand, she opened it for a glance, took out the letter inside, and slowly said, "I didn’t know you were coming, but I felt you would.
"After Ming Zhi left me, she went to find Manager Su and them. I knew about these things by this afternoon.
"You two are very persistent and meticulous, but today I brought up the matter of your grandfather, then immediately appeared He Qunying, which led to all this trouble." Read complete version only at novel⁂fire.net
"Mother!" Fu Zhen stepped forward and grabbed her arm, "At this point, are you still going to hide it from me? How did Grandpa really die? If he was murdered, we must avenge him!"
"This revenge, I fear you cannot achieve."
Mrs. Ning didn’t rush to answer; she pulled out a silver hairpin and trimmed the lamp wick, then looked at Fu Zhen, "The Baiyu Lane massacre, until now, we only know who the perpetrator is, what the deceased’s identity is, nobody knows, right?"
By the candlelight, her gaze grew even deeper, so deep it reminded one suddenly of that night in blood-soaked Baiyu Lane.