Chapter 392: Chapter 393: Confrontation

Ning Yuchen felt like his head was about to explode with rage. He had been out and about, putting on a stoic face and pretending nothing was wrong, wishing he could just draw a clear line between himself and Xiao Wanyu.

But what had his own mother done? She had actually taken her maids to the Shuntian Prefecture to add fuel to the fire.

No matter what, Xiao Wanyu was still his, Ning Yuchen’s, concubine. Dragging Ms. Xiao’s reputation further through the mud would only give people another reason to laugh at them.

"My son, Mother isn’t talking nonsense. I truly feel uncomfortable all over. I suspect that woman hasn’t given up her wicked intentions and is definitely plotting to get rid of me and Fang Yuan." Old Mrs. Ning had become a broken record, grabbing anyone she saw to relentlessly tell her story.

Ning Yuchen said, "Mother, you’ve been all over the Capital City these past few days. The doctors have all said there’s nothing wrong with you. Please stop scaring yourself.

Right now, the most important thing for our family is to keep as low a profile as possible. Once this whole affair blows over and becomes a closed Chapter, you can cause whatever scene you want, and I won’t stop you."

Old Mrs. Ning felt terribly wronged. ’Why can’t anyone understand me?’ she thought. ’Now even my proudest son is accusing me of making a scene.’

The old woman suddenly lost all her spirit. Leaning on her cane, she staggered back to her room.

Ning Yuchen stared at the empty courtyard, then shouted towards Fang Yuan’s room, "Mrs. Fang, is this how you act as the matriarch of the household? You need to take charge of matters big and small. Letting things run wild like this... what does this look like?"

After settling her two children, Fang Yuan came out with a grim expression. "Didn’t you say before that Mother would be in charge of all household matters? Besides, you were afraid I would interfere in Aunt Xiao’s affairs. My staying out of it is exactly what you wanted, isn’t it?"

Only then did Ning Yuchen recall what he had said a few days ago. It took him a moment to find his words. "Mother isn’t feeling well right now. You should at least hold this family together."

Fang Yuan didn’t argue with him. She turned and gave orders to the servants, and within moments, the entire household was restored to order.

Although Ning Yuchen felt the courtyard looked much better, he was still fuming. "Mother went to the Shuntian Prefecture, and you didn’t even try to stop her?"

"Could I have stopped her?" Fang Yuan spread her hands. "All matters, inside and outside this house, are decided by you and your mother. You always said I just needed to take good care of the two children. What now? A problem comes up, and you’re blaming everything on me?"

Fang Yuan’s words left Ning Yuchen speechless. She gave a scornful laugh and turned back to her room.

’I admit I’ve been doing this on purpose lately,’ she thought. ’If I don’t let them make a mess of things, Ning Yuchen will never know just how destructive his dear mother can be.’

’Even if the entire Ning Family becomes the laughingstock of the Capital City, I don’t care. By the time my children are grown, who will even remember any of this?’

Xiao Wanyu adamantly stuck to her previous testimony. She had repeated it so many times that she was starting to believe it was the truth herself.

"Gu Lang and I were deeply in love. If it weren’t for Mrs. Gu Jin’s intolerance, I wouldn’t have ended up in this situation."

"So, is that set of jewelry the only evidence you have? Where did you two usually meet for your trysts? Do you have the times, places, and witnesses?" Gao Ning stared intently at the woman before him, who seemed to have descended into madness. The more he looked, the more he felt something was truly wrong with her.

"I don’t remember. I grew up in the rear courtyards. My father’s main wife rarely allowed me to leave the residence.

Whenever I did go out, I was always followed by maids and old servants, so I never paid attention to places."

Gao Ning slammed his gavel. "Ms. Xiao, even now, you continue to lie.

Do not forget, I also have your personal maid in custody. What you do, your daily activities... she knows everything clearly."

Xiao Wanyu bit her lip. "Gu Lang and I always met in secret. Naturally, I had to avoid her. It’s perfectly normal that she wouldn’t know."

"It seems you won’t confess until you’re faced with hard evidence," Gao Ning sneered. "I have also thoroughly investigated the origin of this jewelry set of yours.

Did you think you could just mumble that you don’t know and absolve yourself of all responsibility?

But don’t you forget, the artisans who made it are still around."

Xiao Wanyu’s pupils contracted. ’I can’t believe Mr. Gao is so meticulous,’ she thought. ’It’s a journey of several days. Did he really manage to find out the truth?’

Thinking about the travel time, she immediately shook her head. "I don’t know what you mean. But that jewelry set was truly a gift from Gu Lang.

He said he had two sets made at the time—one for his wife, and one for me. It was to show that in his heart, I was his wife, just like Mrs. Jin. Otherwise, I never would have been so ruthless as to poison the master on his orders."

Gao Ning said, "What a coincidence. The officials I sent to investigate the case happened to bring that shopkeeper back with them.

Why don’t you two confront each other face-to-face? We’ll see just where this jewelry set came from."

Having spent many years with Xiao Yunhai during his official posts, Xiao Wanyu was naturally familiar with their investigative tactics. Believing this was just another attempt to bluff her, she straightened her back and said confidently, "I am willing to confront him."

Gao Ning narrowed his eyes at her, then suddenly laughed and clapped his hands. "Very well. As you wish. Bring him in."

Soon, a government official led a middle-aged man inside. Xiao Wanyu’s hands immediately clenched into fists. She recognized the man before her; he was the one who had handled the sale of her jewelry.

"It seems you recognize him," Gao Ning said, turning directly to the shopkeeper. "Now, tell us about the headdresses from your shop. Can you guarantee that they are all one-of-a-kind?"

Manager Luo knelt before Gao Ning, trembling with fear. "Your Excellency," he replied, "headdresses are generally made according to a set pattern. Although they may look largely the same, they are hammered out piece by piece by old artisans, so there are bound to be slight differences.

However, I still remember that the headdress Your Excellency showed us was a custom order from the daughter of the Prefect at the time. She was very fond of the design she chose and demanded that the pattern not be leaked, nor were we to make a second headdress of that kind in our shop.

Because she was the daughter from the Prefect’s house, our owner agreed."

Gao Ning glanced at Xiao Wanyu. "Take a look. Is this the person?"

Manager Luo studied her carefully for a moment. Although the woman before him was disheveled and covered in grime, he could still faintly recognize her. "It is indeed this young lady."

"You’re lying!" Xiao Wanyu gritted her teeth, glaring fiercely at Manager Luo. "If I had it custom-made, it would be a unique piece. How could that Mrs. Jin have an identical set?"

"That was due to a mistake on our shop’s part," Manager Luo admitted, not daring to hide anything. "An employee, unaware of the circumstances, sold that very headdress early one morning.

Our shop tried our best to retrieve it, but we searched all over Dao City and couldn’t find the person who bought it."

At this point, Manager Luo glanced at Gao Ning. Seeing that the official was listening quietly, he quickly continued.

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