Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1679 Bait
"Has Your Majesty considered this?" Wen Ya took a deep breath and said slowly, "If he knew that the Third Miss had survived this ordeal, wouldn't he be even more ruthless and unscrupulous?"

“He won’t,” Fang Ziqin said firmly. “From now on, with the Fang family around, no one will have the chance to hurt her.”

“Since Her Majesty the Empress has given her instructions,” Wen Ya bowed respectfully, “then I will do as she commands.”

"Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Wen." Fang Ziqin raised her hand in a gesture of invitation, and watched Wen Ya stride in before finally letting out a sigh of relief. She then leaned back on the phoenix throne and slowly sat down.

Palace maids kept coming and going, and soon Li Shengxuan also brought the imperial physician. Fang Ziqin forced herself to greet him, then looked up and glanced around. Almost the entire Imperial Hospital had come, standing in a grand procession that filled almost half of the hall.

"What did Mr. Wen say?" Li Shengxuan's voice was relatively calm, but the obvious worry in his eyes had already revealed his emotions.

Fang Ziqin shook her head and said in a low voice, "Mr. Wen has not come out since he went in."

Li Shengxuan's expression was inscrutable. After hesitating for only a moment, he walked towards the inner hall, but was stopped by the imperial physician beside him. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid the smell of blood inside is too strong..."

"Move aside." Li Shengxuan glanced sideways at the imperial physician who had spoken, causing him to shiver involuntarily. He cautiously said, "Your Majesty, this Miss Fang inside is, after all, the Empress's own sister. This... is truly inconvenient..."

He spoke haltingly, and Li Shengxuan understood. Fang Zilan was the daughter of the Prime Minister, a pure and innocent girl. Now that she was injured, she would naturally have a doctor to treat her. Even if he was the ruler of the world, he was still her brother-in-law. If word got out that he had barged in so rashly, her reputation would be ruined.

Seeing that Li Shengxuan had stopped, the imperial physician who had spoken quickly said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to share your burden and lend Mr. Wen a helping hand."

"Go ahead." Li Shengxuan waved his hand, and the imperial physician who spoke nodded in agreement. Another imperial physician beside him also went with him.

Fang Ziqin remained silent throughout, not because she was afraid of blood, but because the thought of the girl she had grown up in front of her lying lifeless inside caused her heart to ache uncontrollably.

Humans aren't plants or trees; how can they be without feelings? Even if we've been estranged for over a decade, seeing each other day and night will inevitably leave some affection between us, not to mention...

"Empress." Li Shengxuan spoke suddenly, pulling Fang Ziqin back to reality. She replied, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

"The Empress was assassinated, and the Prime Minister's daughter was seriously injured. This is not a good omen." Li Shengxuan said with an air of authority, "You are here by my decree to go to Baiye Temple and invite Master Liaoyuan to perform a Buddhist ceremony for the palace."

Fang Ziqin was taken aback, but her expression remained unchanged. "Your Majesty, I will go now."

After she finished speaking, she walked out of the Phoenix Palace. Her capable female official, who was following her, quickened her pace and volunteered to go to her, saying, "This servant will go and deliver the decree on behalf of Your Highness."

"No need," Fang Ziqin said calmly. "Prepare the carriage; I will go myself."

Fang Zilan walked calmly to Fang Liren and looked at him intently. "My life is priceless and cannot be bought back."

As soon as she finished speaking, Fang Liren's eyes completely lost their light, like someone who had fallen into a swamp and pulled off the last straw, helplessly watching himself sink deeper into the mire. "Good, good! Good..." Fang Liren almost shouted out the three "good"s, each word piercing his heart and bleeding, each word more desperate than the last.

Until she uttered the last "good," she seemed like a kite with a broken string, fluttering lightly to the ground, her heart ashen and her appearance unbearable to look at.

"Fang Liren, I've heard you're an unparalleled business genius. You lost your parents at a young age and rose to the position of head of the Fang family through sheer hard work and ruthlessness." Fang Zilan sighed. "But look at what you've become now?"

After she finished speaking, she squatted down in front of Fang Liren, her expression cold and firm, "I will not go to replace Warners, but I will go to save her."

"How can you save her all by yourself?" Fang Liren stared at Fang Zilan in disbelief, as if trying to read something from her face, but he couldn't see anything at all.

“Going all in and fighting with our backs against the wall might not be the end of the world.” Fang Zilan smiled slightly. “That’s my business. You just need to tell me where you and those robbers agreed to meet.”

Fang Liren hesitated for a long time before whispering, "Thirty miles outside Xiguan City, in the forest where Dajing borders Persia."

“Okay. We’ll leave tomorrow.” Fang Zilan agreed without hesitation. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine in Warners with me here.”

She stood up to leave, but then heard Fang Liren's voice, hesitant yet full of hope, "Are you really willing..."

“There’s no question of whether I want to or not.” Fang Zilan abruptly interrupted Fang Liren, her back to him pausing for a moment.

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

Upon hearing this, Fang Liren stood up shakily, straightened his clothes, and bowed respectfully. "Fang Liren is here to express his deepest gratitude to Lord Fang."

“Young Master Fang, there’s no need for thanks.” Fang Zilan turned around, looked at the person in front of her who was sincerely convinced, and said loudly, “Now that I have inherited the title of the Great Capital, I must do my best to help the people of the Great Capital.” After she finished speaking, she turned and left, and Zhuge Yu followed her out of the house.

"What did you say?" The bandit leader turned his head in disbelief to look at Fang Zilan behind him, only to see her smile cruelly. His voice trembled involuntarily. "Didn't Fang Liren only bring a few of you with him?"

"To avoid arousing your suspicion, only a few of us will lead the way, while General Dugu and his men will set off later. As for the time, it was all calculated by A-Yu, so it shouldn't be wrong." Fang Zilan spoke casually, but with each sentence she uttered, the bandit leader's face paled a little more.

Although the midday sun in autumn still carried a hint of warmth, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, as if his body was wrapped in thick ice and snow, freezing him so that he could not move. He could only let the person in front of him smash the ice and snow on his body, along with his flesh and bones, until only a pile of fragments remained.

Was Lucia in such despair before her death?

Soon, the sound of orderly footsteps echoed through the woods, accompanied by the tremors of the ground, announcing the arrival of a large and imposing army and foreshadowing the complete defeat of the bandits.

Seeing that Dugu Xin was personally leading his troops, the bandits lost all will to fight and scattered in all directions, but they still could not escape the encirclement and suppression by the well-trained soldiers.