The room of Old Lady Fang fell silent.
"Your courage is indeed great," Old Lady Fang suddenly smiled and said. "No wonder you dare to do so many unimaginable things."
Miss Jun also smiled.
"I am merely seeking justice," she said.
Old Lady Fang nodded.
"Justice, as they say, comes with gains and losses. To speak of it, your great-grandfather was merely a penniless commoner, scratching a living from the land with a small business, often running around just to fill his stomach. In years of famine and calamity, he couldn't even feed the children at home; your great-grandmother fell ill and couldn't afford a doctor or medicine and merely died." She spoke, sitting up and gesturing around the room with her hand, "Look at today, any item in this house could be exchanged for a year or even a lifetime of a poor family's meals."
She then looked outside.
"Eating flavorful food, wearing gold, and being adorned with jewels. Here in Yangcheng, here in Shanxi, now known throughout the world as respected and untouchable."
She smiled at Miss Jun.
"Zhenzhen, is this justice? I don't think this Jun is wrong; it's the Fang Family's own choice."
With those words, her expression gradually turned serious.
"Even if it's a dead-end road, we have to continue walking."
Her look was resolute, yet Miss Jun discerned a hint of despair in it. Indeed, if the ruler demands the subject's death, then the subject is bound to die, which also is a form of desperation.
All land under heaven belongs to the king; every man within these shores is the king's subject. If that ruler wants to put you to death, how can one escape?
Rather than struggling in vain and involving the younger generations, one might instead decide resolutely to die, and perhaps in this way, leave a chance of survival for descendants.
She somewhat misjudged Old Lady Fang, causing Miss Jun's eyes to mist slightly.
"Great-grandmother, you still don't understand what I mean," she said. "What I meant is the ruler you believe in is not the current ruler. You forget, this decree was given by the first emperor."
Old Lady Fang looked at her.
"Yes, it was given by the first emperor, but a ruler is a ruler. What's the difference?" she said.
"Of course there's a difference, a ruler isn't just one person. I don't believe the first emperor intended for his officials to die," Miss Jun said. "What the current ruler is doing now, violates the intentions of the first emperor, which is why I say your belief is misplaced."
Really?
Old Lady Fang sat up straight, examining her.
"Why do you think so?" she asked. "What do you know?"
Because the current emperor killed his brother and forced the first emperor to death to seize the throne.
"Because he is a bad person," Miss Jun said.
Old Lady Fang chuckled.
"You really..." she said.
The childish words remained unsaid.
This young lady who has achieved so much can hardly be described as naive; she spent considerable time in the capital, interacting with the emperor many times, perhaps something happened that gives her this awareness.
"Zhenzhen..." her expression softened a bit and she sat up straight, "This matter..."
"Great-grandmother, the Fang family's money business was started for the first emperor, right?" Miss Jun picked up where she left off and asked straightforwardly, "You were conducting business on behalf of the first emperor."
These words finally laid things bare.
Though everyone was already aware.
Old Lady Fang remained silent.
"It's not something you told me; it's something I guessed. It's easy to guess. There's the decree from the first emperor, and your sudden prosperity twenty years ago," Miss Jun continued without waiting for Old Lady Fang's response.
Yes, producing the decree would expose half of the Fang family's secret, which is why it had been preserved and never revealed for so many years, until searching for Jun Zhenzhen.
Old Lady Fang smiled slightly.
"I don't see anything bad about this, so it's strange that your grandfather and uncle Chengyu suffered successive murders," Miss Jun said, looking at Old Lady Fang, "Great-grandmother, you wouldn't even consider that the ruler wants you dead, because it doesn't make sense rationally or emotionally."
Yes, Old Lady Fang's eyes were lost in thought.
"Therefore, Great-grandmother, I am not saying the ruler wants the officials dead and they resolutely not die; we can die, but at least die understandingly," Miss Jun leaned closer and held Old Lady Fang's knee, looking at her earnestly, "Know why you're dying, know who wants us dead, don't remain ignorant; this is not necessarily loyalty to the ruler, and is in fact very likely to violate the ruler's orders--the orders of the first emperor."
Old Lady Fang looked at her, her expression finally softening a bit.
"Zhenzhen, but now the first emperor is no longer here," she said.
"One leaves behind a name, like a bird leaves behind its cry; even if the first emperor is no longer here, it's not for the current emperor to do as he pleases," Miss Jun said.
Again with childish words, Old Lady Fang bitterly smiled again.
"Isn't it just as he pleases? So what can be done?" she said.
"Something can certainly be done. If he didn't fear you, why would he be so cautious and stealthy in his actions?" Miss Jun said. "Going through so much effort to obtain the decree and then cautiously asking you to open the Tianzi vault is clear evidence of fear."
Old Lady Fang's expression changed momentarily.
"Then, what should be done?" she said.
"Other matters are unclear for now, but for the moment, do not give them what they want," Miss Jun said, gripping Old Lady Fang's hand tightly.
So, Old Lady Fang pondered.
"Even if we use the family inheritance dispute as a delay, it won't last long," she hesitated for a moment and said.
She finally relented, and Miss Jun couldn't help but release a sigh of relief, her face breaking into a smile.
"Delaying as much as possible is good, and this delay might force them to expose more actions, revealing more of their true motives," she said, "After all, now we are in the shadows, and they are in the light; we are no longer fish waiting to be slaughtered."
Old Lady Fang sighed gently, not saying anything further.
"Also, Great-grandmother," Miss Jun took hold of her hand again, "I won't ask about the untold matters of the past. Could I take a look at the Tianzi vault?"
Old Lady Fang's expression slightly changed, as her hand, held by Miss Jun, clenched.
Miss Jun did not release her hold and leaned closer to Old Lady Fang.
"I just want to see what they are so urgently and cautiously trying to take," she said, "And this is also exactly what we can use to threaten them."
Old Lady Fang was silent for a moment, then laughed.
"Actually, there's nothing extraordinary, just what you have guessed," she said. "Back then, it was said that only one person in the Fang family could know this secret; only when I die could I tell Chengyu."
As she spoke, she seemed to resolve something, and undid a string of keys, looking at Miss Jun.
"You're not part of the Fang family."
.......
........
The night descended, and the Fang family's lights appeared somewhat dimmer than usual, mirroring the emotions of the Fang family members these days.
The squabble among siblings over the family inheritance is always an unpleasant affair.
The East Cross Court was even more devoid of people, appearing dimly lit, but it was actually the most guarded place, where no one could easily approach, for it was where the entrance to the Tianzi vault lay.
Torches suddenly blazed up in the courtyard, the sizzling sound of burning fat illuminating the silhouettes of an old person and a young person.
"Actually, this is my second time entering this vault," Old Lady Fang said, her face lit by the torch's glow reflecting on her memory, "The first time was when your great-grandfather was dying."
"This time, none of us will die," Miss Jun said.
Old Lady Fang smiled, bending down to manipulate the keys on the Big Green Stone several times, reaching to press down firm on the sculpture of the lion's mouth on the Big Green Stone holding a ball.
The Big Green Stone suddenly sank, revealing an entrance, its interior surprisingly not pitch black, with faint rays of light visible.
"Come on," Old Lady Fang said, holding onto both sides and slowly sliding down.
The secret of the Fang family was finally about to be revealed. No, to be precise, it was the secret of the imperial grandfather, Prince Qi's secret. If it were not for being reborn, she really wouldn't have known that such a distant place, such an ordinary family's affairs could be connected to the imperial family.
Miss Jun, holding the torch, agilely jumped inside.