This was a walkie-talkie function that Meng Qing had recently added to the lip language bracelet for executing missions in an era without mobile phones.
It turned out that during their noon investigation at Tianxiang Tower, Fang Fuguang had returned home for lunch. Fang Chengyun had asked Fang He to invite Fang Fuguang to his room. When Fang Fuguang returned to his own room, he angrily questioned Xue Siniang, “Siniang, do you know that Chengyun broke his leg because Wen Da sabotaged him?”
Xue Siniang, who already knew about this in the morning, was not surprised and instead said, “Chengyun is talking nonsense.”
He has no evidence, just imagining things out of thin air. How can he splash such dirty water on Wen Da? This morning, Wen Da was tripped by a stool in Chengyun’s room and hit his head.
Fang Fuguang, seeing she already knew about this and was arguing eloquently, thought she was hiding something and protecting Wen Da. He became more suspicious and angrily criticized, “If Wen Da has done something wrong, he should be punished. How can you defend him with such sophistry? A loving mother spoils her son. Just like you were back then. If this continues, she’ll become an old maid and never get married.”
This struck a sensitive spot for Xue Siniang. Furious, she turned pale and ordered Chun Qiao to pack things and return to her parents’ home.
They were in the same county, and the Xue and Fang families were quite close. The carriage journey took just over a moment.
The Xue family ran a martial arts school, with the school gate facing the street. Xue Siniang pulled Yu Yi through the gate, passed the screen wall, and saw a huge courtyard.
In the central yard, over ten disciples were practicing martial arts, with an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face watching them, his expression serious, occasionally reprimanding.
Even in the midst of the punching wind, the old man could still hear Xue Siniang and the others’ footsteps. When he turned his head and saw Xue Siniang, he raised his white eyebrow, thinking to himself that Siniang had quarreled with Fugui again. Seeing his granddaughter beside her, his originally serious face softened with a kind smile, and he waved to Yu Yi, saying, “Zhu’er has grown taller and has become a young lady.”
Yu Yi stepped forward and paid her respects, affectionately calling out, “Grandfather.”
Xue Siniang said from the side, “Father, Zhu’er is already fourteen this year, she is already a young lady.”
Xue Jingsong snorted, “Hmph, you never usually bring Wenda and Zhu’er back to see me. Only when you’re at odds with Fugui do you return home. It’s only at times like these that I can see my grandchildren.”
Yu Yi listened to Xue Jingsong reprimanding Xue Siniang, and as a junior, she couldn’t laugh. She secretly glanced at Xue Siniang, thinking that Xue Siniang had brought her daughter as a shield.
Xue Siniang caught Yu Yi’s glance and glared at her fiercely. Then she said to Xue Jingsong, “Father, let’s go inside and sit for a while.”
Once seated in the main hall of the inner courtyard, Xue Jingsong looked at Xue Siniang and said, “Speak.”
Xue Siniang then recounted the events of the day in full detail.
After listening, Xue Jingsong criticized her, “Siniang, you are too impulsive. You brought Hanchu back in a fit of anger, leaving Wenda behind. If Wenda is truly wrongly accused, isn’t that letting him be punished by Fugui for no reason? If Wenda did something wrong, then your return is also a mistake.”
Xue Siniang had met Wenda and his siblings when she left, and the first person she encountered was Hanchu, so she had simply pulled Hanchu along without much thought. Now being reprimanded by Xue Jingsong, she deeply regretted it, but wouldn’t soften her stance: “Father, please ask my elder brother to go and bring Wenda back. Daughter will definitely not return to the Fang family.”
Xue Jingsong nodded, “Let your elder brother go and fetch Wenda. Since you’re here, you and Zhu’er can stay a few more days.”
He was also angry that Fang Fugui had believed Cheng’yun without reason and not trusted Wenda, so he decided to let his two grandchildren stay home for a while.
Meng Qingdao said: “Father, today I went to Tianxiang Tower and brought back a piece of evidence that can prove my innocence. To let my elder and second brother know about this, could you ask Father and Second Brother to move to the eldest brother’s residence?”
Fang Fugui agreed and sent someone to inform Xingye to come as well. Fang Fugui and Meng Qing arrived at Fang Chengyun’s room first.
Fang Chengyun leaned sideways on the bed and called out “Father” but did not give Meng Qing a good look. Meng Qing was not offended and still respectfully greeted “Elder Brother and Sister-in-law”, then asked Fang Bao to unwrap the cloth covering the handrail.
Fang Chengyun looked at it coldly. The moment the cloth was removed, he was slightly surprised, “This is from Tianxiang Tower…”
Meng Qing said: “This is the handrail that caused the elder brother’s injury.”
Fang Chengyun sneered: “Yes, it was the handrail that caused me to fall, not Wen Da.”
At this time, Fang Xingye arrived, saying to Fang Fugui: “Father, I’m late.” He then greeted Fang Chengyun and his wife.
Fang Fugui nodded and pointed to the handrail on the table: “Not late.”
Wen Da just showed us the handrail from Tianxiang Tower and hasn’t said anything yet.”
Fang Xingye was stunned, looking at the handrail on the table and then at Meng Qing, waiting for him to explain why he brought the handrail.
Since Fang Chengyun was sitting on the bed, Meng Qing turned the end with old cracks towards the bed and said: “Father, Elder Brother, Second Brother, and Sister-in-law, look. Here are traces of termite damage, with the center mostly rotted. Many guests passing by and leaning on it daily would gradually cause the handrail to crack. Over time, the cracks would grow larger and eventually break. Most of the crack is dark brown, indicating it started cracking long ago, with only a small section being lighter in color, which broke when the elder brother leaned on it.”
Fang Chengyun asked: “If the cracks were getting larger, how could no one notice? Before I leaned on it the other day, I didn’t see any cracks. If there were, how would I have leaned on it?”
Meng Qing explained: “Although the handrail was mostly cracked, it hadn’t completely broken because it was firmly supported by brackets at both ends, and the crack was at the bottom, not easily visible.”
He rotated the handrail half a turn, facing the other end towards Fang Chengyun, and continued: “This end is completely newly cracked. Both ends are naturally broken. If you want to say Wen Da tampered with it, he would have had to start breeding termites in the wood years ago, with eyes that could see through wood to know exactly when the handrail would break under the elder brother’s weight. But Wen Da rarely goes out, and he had never been to Tianxiang Tower before. To predict the termite damage and cause harm would be impossible.”
Fang Chengyun, not being unreasonable, saw the analysis was logical and supported by evidence. He felt remorseful and said: “Wen Da, I was wrong to blame you. These past few days, I’ve been cold towards you, which was unbecoming of an elder brother. I’m now immobilized and can only apologize.”
Meng Qing smiled: “Elder Brother, just don’t be angry with Wen Da. There’s no need for apologies.”
Fang Chengyun insisted: “No, no. Does Fourth Brother’s study lack writing materials?”
Qin Shi also asked: “Does Fourth Brother need any clothing or shoes?”
Meng Qing waved his hand: “No need. Speaking of buying things, Elder Brother, when Wen Da went to Tianxiang Tower today, he also took care of something.
