Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1709 Trading
"I didn't do it for you." Fang Zilan gritted her teeth. Murong Qing nodded. "I know, but I owe my sister something."

Fang Zilan's already dwindling patience was worn thin by Murong Qing. "Murong Qing, if you don't tell the truth, I don't mind using some methods to make you talk."

"Sister, are you really willing to lay a hand on me?" Murong Qing softened her tone, which was both ingratiating and ambiguous.

Fang Zilan grabbed Murong Qing's wrist with her other hand. The slender, white section of her wrist resembled a lotus root, as if it could be easily broken with a gentle twist.

Murong Qing frowned slightly and murmured softly, "It hurts."

Fang Zilan remained unmoved. "I killed Mr. Zuo, and you will never forgive me for that. You are one of the people who wish me dead."

"Sister, what I like most about you is your stubborn nature. Even knowing you'll suffer a lot, you're still unwilling to give up until you're dead." Murong Qing suddenly smiled, her eyes sparkling like a thousand stars.

He paused for a moment, then calmly said, "Since you want to hear the truth, then I will tell you the truth. I do have something to do with you, but it's not for now, it's for the future."

"The future?" Fang Zilan repeated the word, her face ashen.

"With your intelligence, elder sister, you must have already guessed it." Murong Qing's smile widened, while Fang Zilan's expression grew colder. "What makes you think I can hold onto this position that my elder sister walks on thin ice?"

"Your ruthlessness and decisiveness surpass even that of your elder sister," Murong Qing said bluntly. "If I am destined to be the ruler of the world, then the future empress can only be you."

"Is Your Highness joking?" Fang Zilan sneered. "I am stubborn and have many injuries. I am neither capable of winning people's hearts with my social skills nor of being an empress and continuing the family line. What is it about me that Your Highness sees in me?"

Murong Qing's expression was solemn as she solemnly said, "Sister, I am asking you to become my empress in the future, not for these reasons."

"Request?" Fang Zilan found the word "request" strangely novel coming from Murong Qing's mouth. However, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. "So young yet so cunning. Such flexibility and adaptability. No wonder he is the one foretold by the High Priest."

Seeing that Fang Zilan remained silent, Murong Qing added fuel to the fire, saying, "Sister, as long as you agree, what harm would it do if all the business in the world were to fall into the Fang family's hands?"

“Your Highness, there’s no need to make such boastful claims. The Fang family is self-aware and has no reason to be so greedy.” Fang Zilan said indifferently, “Besides, even the ruler of the world has no right to control all businesses.”

"Sister, do you not believe I will become the ruler of the world, or do you not believe..." Murong Qing deliberately paused for a moment before saying, "I will protect you and safeguard the Fang family?"

Fang Zilan looked down at Murong Qing with an arrogant expression, "In the eyes of the young master, am I only fit to depend on others and be protected by them?"

“Of course not.” Murong Qing met Fang Zilan’s gaze. “But under the circumstances, you have no choice but to do this, sister. Young women have always been able to use themselves as commodities and marriage as a transaction to make as much profit as possible, but this is not a deal that can be settled in one fell swoop.”

Fang Zilan and Hong Tai looked up at the same time and saw a man standing by the railing, looking down at them.

"You are Qian Wenxiang?" Fang Zilan tightened her grip on the plum-shaped sword. The man bowed and said, "Cheng Zhiyan from Suzhou Prefecture."

Before he could finish speaking, Hong Tai stepped forward, shielding Fang Zilan behind him. "Lord Cheng, it's been a long time." "It's kind of you, Chief, to remember me." Cheng Zhiyan straightened up, looking down at the two people with a half-smile, his gaze finally settling on Fang Zilan. "This must be Miss Zixiu, right?"

"Yes." Fang Zilan took a step without making a sound and stood boldly next to Hong Tai, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

"I heard from my men that you two are looking for a skeleton?" Cheng Zhiyan asked with a playful expression. "I wonder whose skeleton it is that would warrant the head of Feiling Mountain and Miss Zixiu's attention, prompting you two to break into Suzhou Prefecture at night?"

"The remains of Prince Rong'an." Fang Zilan made no attempt to conceal her intentions and asked directly, "Does Lord Cheng know their whereabouts?"

“I know.” Cheng Zhiyan nodded and pointed casually, “There it is.”

Fang Zilan glanced sideways and saw the body buried under the bushes. Cheng Zhiyan's easygoing manner only aroused her suspicion. "Lord Cheng, why are the remains of Prince Rong'an here?"

"Miss Zixiu, why pretend to be confused when you know the truth?" Cheng Zhiyan chuckled. "I have already shown you what you two want. As for whether you can take it away, that depends on your abilities."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zilan's expression hardened. From Cheng Zhiyan's words, she realized that he knew she couldn't take away the remains of Prince Rong'an, which was why he was so fearless.

"What are these flowers and trees?" Hong Tai asked in a deep voice. Cheng Zhiyan frowned as if in distress. "This humble official can't remember. The chief should know that there are countless rare flowers and exotic plants in the southeast, and this humble official is not familiar with every single one."

"These flowers and trees, do they not belong to your Suzhou Prefecture?" Although it was a question, Fang Zilan spoke with absolute certainty. Cheng Zhiyan heard this, raised his eyebrows and smiled, saying, "Miss Zixiu, as expected of someone from the Ghost Gate, you are accustomed to secret medicines and poisons..."

“Lord Cheng, there’s no need for you to flatter me.” Fang Zilan drew her plum blossom sword and brushed away the soil around the bones. “These flowers and trees can devour the remains of Prince Rong’an.”

Hong Tai was too late to stop her and watched helplessly as Fang Zilan quickened her pace and removed a piece of bone. He could only grab her other wrist and shout sternly, "Don't touch it!"

Cheng Zhiyan's smile widened. "Miss Zixiu, although I would like to advise you to listen to the chief and not to get involved."

He paused for a moment, then said, "But it was too late."

"Is that so?" Fang Zilan shook off Hong Tai's hand, her expression indifferent. "Does Lord Cheng still want to persuade me to discard this sword?"

Before she could finish speaking, she had already leaped forward, her plum-sword pointing directly at Cheng Zhiyan. The dazzling silver light caused him to involuntarily take a step back. "This is impossible..."

"What's impossible?" Fang Zilan raised the corners of her lips. Cheng Zhiyan steadied himself and looked at her hanging on the railing, his voice trembling involuntarily. "With the poison of these flowers and trees, swords and knives will inevitably be corroded when they enter the soil..."

"Zi Xiu's sword is just like her, and it is no ordinary sword." Fang Zilan twirled her sword, then leaped down and landed in front of Cheng Zhiyan. "Lord Cheng, are you so confident that you believe there is no other evidence besides the remains of Prince Rong'an?"

"What do you mean by that, Miss Zixiu? I don't understand." Cheng Zhiyan's expression turned cold. Fang Zilan sheathed her sword, her expression arrogant. "Lord Cheng, even if Prince Rong'an's body turns to ashes tonight, I can still send out a message."