Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1419 Misstep

Li Shengxuan sighed, "You got hurt because of my negligence. But the New Year's Festival has a lot of implications. Although the person in charge is Prince Yucheng and the Ministry of Rites, the Empress Dowager and the various powerful people in the court are behind it. I can't touch the nobles and dignitaries who participated in the performance for the time being, so I can only let you down."

Fang Zilan was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Your Majesty, did you invite me here just to talk about this?"

She regretted her words only after she finished speaking, but Li Shengxuan nodded without any reaction and asked, "What else? What do you think I want to say to you?"

"Nothing." Fang Zilan shook her head. "I just think that it would be best if Your Majesty is willing to make the decision for me and give me justice. However, I also know that since these people are so bold as to dare to act in public, they must have someone to rely on and have nothing to fear. I don't think Your Majesty will stand up for me."

She paused as she spoke, her expression becoming a little lighter, with a natural coldness and arrogance, "If you encounter something like this again in the future, Your Majesty doesn't have to tell me if you can't do anything for me. After all, I am used to being alone, and I never need others to do anything for me. I will solve my own problems myself."

"You..." Li Shengxuan was choked by her and couldn't speak for a while. After a while, he spoke hesitantly: "I just..."

He opened his mouth, but swallowed back the worried words that followed.

Worrying about nothing you can do is nothing but hypocrisy.

Fang Zilan waited for a long time, and seeing that he didn't say anything, she couldn't help but ask, "Just what?"

As soon as she said this, even she found it funny. What on earth was she expecting?

Li Shengxuan remained silent. She said to herself, "Your Majesty, do you still remember Xiahou Yan? When your Majesty's former subordinates died with their eyes open in Fenghe Valley, I understood that your Majesty had no choice. If you are like this to the Xiahou family, how much more so to me?"

Li Shengxuan had a gloomy expression and opened his mouth as if he wanted to refute, but in the end no sound came out.

He let Fang Zilan continue talking, and heard her mocking every word, "In fact, who in the world doesn't have their own difficulties? It's just that I am unwilling to accept it. Your Majesty, don't worry about it..."

Before she could finish her words, there was a loud bang.

Hearing the sound, they both looked up to the window at the same time, and saw brilliant fireworks burning all over the sky, occupying their entire sight.

There were constantly burned-out fireworks sliding down, and more dazzling fireworks constantly lighting up the night sky. One after another, the colorful fireworks were dazzling.

Fang Zilan stared at it for a long time before lowering her eyes and whispering, "The New Year's Eve palace banquet is about to begin. Your Majesty is still busy. You don't have to pay attention to me. I'll leave the palace now." After she said that, she bowed, turned around and left.

Li Shengxuan did not try to keep her, but just watched her leaving quietly. He suddenly felt that the fireworks in the sky were so bland and tasteless, not even as dazzling as the one she set off in the Wind River Valley.

Fang Zilan left the palace and stopped on Zhuque Street to watch the fireworks for a long time. Her hands and feet were numb from the cold, but she still stood there motionless.

Amid the bustling scene with endless traffic, she was so quiet that she seemed out of tune with everything around her.

At first, she only felt that the world was cold and indifferent, so during the fireworks display in Wind River Valley, she vowed to be her own light.

Later she watched the fireworks many times.

However, under the overwhelming light, she felt as if she was in an ice cave, getting colder and colder.

  *

In just a few days, Fang Liren seemed to have become a different person. His face was pale and bloodless, and his eyes were less radiant and more disappointed. He was as thin as paper, and his clothes seemed much too big, loose and looked spiritless.

Seeing this, Zhuge Yu shook his head and said, "Why is Mr. Fang doing this?"

Fang Liren hung his head in dejection, his voice hoarse, "I agreed with the bandits who kidnapped Warners for a month. If I can't bring Lord Fang to them within a month, they will kill Warners. Now there are only two days left."

Fang Zilan sneered, "So you're anxious?"

Fang Liren was not annoyed by her exposure. He just looked up at her with a hint of pleading in his tone, "What do you want in exchange for Warners?"

"What?" Fang Zilan walked up to Fang Liren leisurely and looked at him steadily. "My life is a priceless treasure. It cannot be replaced by anything."

As she finished speaking, Fang Liren's eyes completely lost their luster, like a person who had fallen into a swamp and had just pulled out the last straw, helplessly watching himself sink deeper into the mud.

"Good, good! Good..." Fang Liren almost shouted out the three consecutive good words. Each word was heartbreaking and more desperate than the last.

After he uttered the last word "good", he fell to the ground like a kite with a broken string. His dead look was unbearable to look at.

"Fang Liren, I heard that you are a rare business genius. You lost your parents when you were young, and you relied on your own efforts to become the head of the Fang family in a den of tigers and wolves." Fang Zilan sighed, "But look at what you look like now?"

After she finished speaking, she squatted in front of Fang Liren, her expression cold and determined, "I won't exchange Warners, but I will go and rescue her."

"How can you save them alone?" Fang Liren stared at Fang Zilan in disbelief, as if he wanted to see something from her face, but he could see nothing.

"Even if we risk everything, we may still survive." Fang Zilan smiled. "This is my business. You just need to tell me where you and the robbers agreed to meet."

Fang Liren hesitated for a long while before whispering, "It's the forest thirty miles outside Xiguan City, where Dajing borders Persia."

"Okay. We'll set off tomorrow." Fang Zilan agreed without hesitation, "Don't worry, nothing will happen with me in Warners."

She stood up and prepared to leave, but she heard Fang Liren's voice, hesitant yet hopeful, "Are you really willing..."

"It's not a matter of willingness or not." Fang Zilan suddenly interrupted Fang Liren and paused with her back to him.

Zhuge Yu looked at her and saw that her face was expressionless, but the look in her eyes was extremely solemn and dignified. "There are always things that need to be done."

Some people with ulterior motives took advantage of her business to make a big fuss. When she was not in the North, they dragged those related to her into the water one by one, making it impossible for her to remain immune and eventually she was dragged into the deep pool.

  But what role did Fang Lihui play in this? Was he a sinister thug who helped the mastermind to stab her in the back, or was he an innocent person who was in the same boat with her?

(End of this chapter)