Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1417 Temporary

"Your Majesty means that I will be responsible for all arrangements during the stay of Prince Rong'an and the Princess in Beijing?" Fang Zilan looked at Xiahou Zhang, who came to the government office to deliver the decree, in disbelief. He nodded decisively, "Yes."

This short and powerful word made Fang Zilan feel breathless. She gritted her teeth and said, "You are going to enter the capital tomorrow, and you want me to go to the city gate to greet you personally?"

"Yes." Xiahou Zhang's usually serious face now looked even more serious in Fang Zilan's eyes. She gritted her teeth and took the imperial edict from Xiahou Zhang's hands. "Your Majesty, Fang Zilan, accepts the order."

After Xiahou Zhang left, Fang Zilan summoned all the officials in the government office to arrange all matters related to welcoming Prince Rong'an and the princess. In order to prevent Prince Rong'an from finding fault, she finalized every detail until everything was confirmed to be correct.

On the second morning, Fang Zilan took several relatively free adults from the government office to guard the city gate. She had not originally planned to ask other people from the government office to come with her, but after thinking about it, Prince Rong'an was Li Shengxuan's uncle after all, and he was the only one among the clan members, so there had to be some pomp and circumstance.

So she asked Zheng Yan to pick some palace soldiers, and added the soldiers from the camp outside the capital assigned by Li Shengxuan. The number of people was quite considerable, so the scene was naturally grand.

But she changed her mind and realized that they were all warriors. Standing at the city gate looked more like they were going to arrest someone than to welcome them. It was really too majestic.

As a last resort, she could only find a few less busy officials from the government office and ask them to support the occasion.

Therefore, when Prince Rong'an and the princess arrived outside the capital, they saw from afar a large crowd of soldiers lined up in neat rows. After seeing their carriage, they all greeted them in unison. Their voices were so loud that the horses couldn't help but neigh a few times.

Seeing this, the coachman hurriedly tightened the reins and soothed the horse. After the horse calmed down, King Rong'an came out of the carriage and looked at Fang Zilan with a gloomy expression. She saluted without being humble or arrogant, as if the previous show of power had nothing to do with her.

"Lord Fang, long time no see." Prince Rong'an's expression relaxed a little, and he exchanged a few words with Fang Zilan in a distant and polite manner.

"The prince is well, but I don't know how the princess is..." Fang Zilan deliberately paused and looked towards the carriage.

Prince Rong'an blocked her view and said veiledly, "I have always been weak and have never seen such a grand scene. I am afraid that I have not yet reacted. Lord Fang, please do not blame me for being impolite."

Fang Zilan waved her hand and said, "Your Highness, you are too polite." But she thought to herself that even if this incident had not happened, Princess Rong'an would probably not show up.

After the epidemic, Princess Rong'an stole the credit from Yun Qinghan and, under the confusion of King Rong'an, she became a living Bodhisattva in the hearts of the people in the southeast.

Bodhisattvas have always been detached from worldly affairs and have never been worshipped by the world. How could they openly appear before the public? Therefore, the true identity of Princess Rong'an was rarely known in the southeast. It was only rumored that she looked like a fairy and was a fairy-like figure.

"Lord Fang is here after all." The middle-aged man turned around, his tightly pursed lips could not hide his sternness, and his sharp eyes revealed sophistication, which was roughly the same as the Lu Tang that Fang Zilan imagined.

As she thought about this, she slowly said, "Master Lu Tang has been waiting for you for a long time. If I don't come, wouldn't it be a disrespect to him?"

"Lord Fang is smarter than Shangguan Yu expected, and more resourceful than I expected, forcing me to see you now." Lu Tang said as he sat on the main seat and motioned for the two of them to sit down. After the two of them sat down, Fang Zilan spoke again: "I don't know what I did to force Lord Lu Tang to invite me here."

"Master Fang, why do you have to pretend to be confused in front of me?" Lu Tang frowned, "If it weren't for your instructions, how would Zhong Yao dare to arrest Huo Sanniang?"

Fang Zilan smiled slightly and said, "I prefer the word 'support' to 'instruct'. After all, arresting Huo Sanniang is a good thing for everyone."

Lu Tang snorted coldly, "Lord Fang is good at speaking, why not tell me what he has to say?"

"I can't say I'm good at speaking, but I can see the situation more or less clearly." Fang Zilan's smile did not fade. "Lord Lu Tang, why don't you guess what Shangguan Yu said to me?"

She asked instead of answering, and Lu Tang frowned even more tightly, "At this point, what else can Shangguan Yu say?"

"Shangguan Yu told me everything." Fang Zilan said without hiding anything, "From colluding with the barbarians to drive wolves and kill Shangguan people, to the assassination at the night banquet in Jinxi Tower, to now torturing and killing Shangguan women and trying to frame me, he told me everything."

Lu Tang's expression darkened. "Shangguan Yu has told us everything. Can Lord Fang still let him go?"

Fang Zilan replied fluently: "Of course not. But Shangguan Yu proposed a deal to get out of the crime, which tempted me."

"What deal?" The colder Lu Tang's expression became, the more Fang Zilan smiled. "Lord Lu Tang should be able to guess that this deal is related to Huo Sanniang. In this case of Shangguan's murder, as long as we say that Shangguan Linglan and Huo Sanniang colluded with each other, and put all the blame on these two people, we can get away with it."

Lu Tang sneered, "This is just a childish trick. What benefits did Shangguan Yu promise to Lord Fang that could make Lord Fang interested?"

"As for the benefits." Fang Zilan sat lazily in her seat, "Lord Lu Tang must have heard that His Majesty wants to build a Protectorate in the Northern Territory. This is a big deal for the Lord of the Northern Territory. However, I have no money and no connections, so I naturally need help from others. Otherwise, if I don't do my job well, I won't be able to keep my position. Now that someone is willing to provide money and people for me, of course I will be tempted."

"With just these few empty words, Lord Fang was moved. Who would believe it if I told them?" Lu Tang relaxed his brows, and his tone became a little more sarcastic. "I am not someone who can be fooled so easily. Lord Fang, please tell the truth."

Fang Zilan chuckled, "This is the truth. If Lord Lu Tang doesn't believe it, I have no choice. I know what Lord Lu Tang is thinking. If Shangguan Yu doesn't have the support of you old Shangguan people, he will be nothing more than an insignificant kid. It's better for me to negotiate with you than to make a deal with him. Am I right?"

Lu Tang raised the corners of his lips slightly, "Master Fang is indeed a wise man, so why are you still tempted by the conditions he proposed?"

"That's because Lord Lu Tang made a mistake." Fang Zilan stopped smiling and looked more serious. "Shangguan Yu no longer has you, Lord Lu Tang, as his backer. There are still other Shangguan people willing to help him. After all, he is the only male with the Shangguan surname who is useful. Therefore, if you, Lord Lu Tang, abandon Shangguan Yu as a puppet, you will have no excuse to stir up trouble in the North, let alone drag me down from the position of Lord of the North?"