Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1674 Solving the Problem
Fang Zilan cut to the chase: "Name your price, I want Bai Xiuniang."

"What?" Bai Chu was clearly taken aback, and after a long while, he said, "It's easy. May I ask which noble family has taken a fancy to my sister?"

"Are you deaf?" Fang Zilan said coldly, "I'll say it one last time, I want Bai Xiuniang."

"No..." Bai Chu looked puzzled and frowned, "Lord Fang, what would you, a woman, need my sister for?"

"Just name your price." Fang Zilan was too lazy to argue with Bai Chu any further, but to her surprise, he shook his head and said, "That won't do. My sister is going to be sold as a concubine. What kind of business is it to sell her to you as a woman?"

Fang Zilan was amused by his words, "Just take the money, why do you care if the other person is a man or a woman?"

“That’s only natural,” Bai Chu said matter-of-factly. “My sister is a widow, so she can only be sold. But even if she is sold, she can only be sold to a man. So what if you are the Duke of Yue? What are you, a woman, doing getting involved?”

Fang Zilan's face turned cold, but Bai Chu showed no sign of backing down. "Lord Fang, if you insist on getting involved, then find a man for my sister."

As he spoke, he looked Cao Hong and Zheng Yan up and down, "You have so many men under your command, any one of them could take my sister, it wouldn't be a big deal..."

"Shut up!" Fang Zilan sharply interrupted Bai Chu, stopping him from saying anything more. "Is it okay as long as he's a man?"

Bai Chu nodded, about to say something more, when Fang Zilan said, "Then you should write a written agreement. I can find a man, and I can pay for it, but if you want to renege on your promise later, you'll have to pay with your life."

"What?" Bai Chu said in disbelief, "Lord Fang, have you gone mad? You want me to pay with my life for my sister, a widow?"

"If you're unwilling, leave your life here now." Fang Zilan's expression turned cold. "I've lost count of the lives I've taken, one more won't make a difference."

Bai Chu's eyes widened suddenly. "Impossible! Killing someone without cause is a serious crime, Lord Fang..."

"You can try." Fang Zilan's lips curled into a cruel and cold smile. "As the Duke of Yue, I am second only to the emperor. In my eyes, you are nothing but an ant. Crushing you is a piece of cake. And as long as I have an explanation, who will bother to investigate how you died?"

Zhuge Yu spoke first, saying, "Sister Lan is being too impatient. Even if you don't want to tell General Dugu the truth, you shouldn't get angry with him."

"I have no grudge against General Dugu," Fang Zilan denied. Zhuge Yu smiled slightly, "If you have no grudge, why are you staying at an inn?"

"I don't like living under someone else's roof," Fang Zilan stubbornly insisted. Zhuge Yu wasn't annoyed. "Let's just assume Sister Lan isn't being stubborn. Since Sister Lan has already rejected Young Master Fang without any mercy, is there any other way to save Warners?"

Fang Zilan was taken aback by his question and murmured, "No."

Zhuge Yu smiled faintly, "If Sister Lan and Young Master Fang are both unwilling to compromise, then it will be an unsolvable dead end." "Does Ayu think that if I take a step back and am willing to exchange my life for Warners, this matter will end well?" Fang Zilan's face was ashen, and she said coldly, "The barbarians who have fled are all desperate criminals. Even if they use revenge as a pretext, they cannot hide their ferocious nature. To bargain with them is no different from asking a tiger for its skin."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "Besides, I have no relation to Warners, so why should I risk my life for hers? My life is very precious."

Zhuge Yu sighed softly, "Young Master Fang was forced into a corner. If there had been any other way, he would not have made a deal with the bandits."

Fang Zilan's lips curled slightly, her smile cold and indifferent. "Is Ayu going to speak up for Fang Liren?"

"What Sister Lan said to Young Master Fang just now was all reasonable, but it was also a bit too harsh." Zhuge Yu stopped smiling and said seriously, "Sister Lan, have you ever thought that if Young Master Fang gave up everything to marry Warners, would he still be the Young Master Fang that Warners loves? To risk everything for a love that is so intense is a bit too petty."

“Human hearts are inherently selfish; everyone hopes for a lifelong, monogamous relationship.” Fang Zilan sighed softly. “Some people try to control everything, while others are willing to become puppets who have lost themselves. Blame the Sassanid family for their excessive possessiveness, and for Fang Liren not being someone they can control.”

“However, no matter how shrewd and clever Fang Liren is now, he cannot escape the web of love that binds him.” Zhuge Yu’s eyes were somewhat vacant, and he looked absent-minded. “The word ‘love’ truly torments the human heart.”

Zhuge Yu spoke softly, each word barely audible, as light as a feather tickling Fang Zilan's heart. The unspoken itch mixed with a subtle sting made her feel increasingly alienated from her own heart.

After a long while, she slowly spoke, "Ayu looks as if she has gone through a love tribulation and has come to terms with it."

“It’s not that I’ve come to terms with it.” Zhuge Yu’s voice was low, as if he couldn’t control himself, and some words involuntarily escaped his lips. “It’s just that before I went to the capital, she said something similar to me. If I go to the capital, we will never see each other again in this life.”

"Ayu has finally gone to the capital," Fang Zilan added, her tone filled with unspoken regret.

"Yes." Zhuge Yu gave a bitter smile. "I thought she was just saying that in a fit of anger, and that I could go back to see her after I achieved success."

“She didn’t say it in anger, but out of selfish reluctance.” Fang Zilan’s voice was a little hoarse, with a hint of deep meaning as she said, “She secretly wanted you to stay, but she didn’t want to extinguish your ambitions. She seemed disappointed, but she still left a glimmer of hope. She put the choice in your hands, but in the end, she let you down.”

Zhuge Yu stared blankly at Fang Zilan and murmured, "Does Sister Lan think I have let her down?"

"Yes and no." Fang Zilan's tone was solemn and dignified. "What Ayu failed was the girlish feelings of a certain moment in the past, but what she did not fail was the heart she has always cherished. I remember when we were under the city walls of Liujin, Ayu told me that there are always things in this world more important than life. There are many people who are forced to do what they want, but Ayu has already done a great job of not failing herself."

Her words were like a ray of light, illuminating the darkest corner of Zhuge Yu's heart that he least wanted to look at, making him suddenly see the light and sighing, "So be it."

He immediately composed himself, changing his expression and reverting to his usual calm and collected demeanor as the Second Young Master Zhuge. "Let's not talk about my affairs. Sister Lan, what is your intention in presenting this scene today?"

(End of this chapter)