Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1731 Pomp
"What does your master mean by this?" The boy's eyes widened. "Three hundred thousand taels! How could Cheng Zhiming be worth so much?"

"It's only three hundred thousand taels," the woman said casually. "Cheng Zhiming once served as the head of two prefectures, just a step away from the capital. Even if he's not worth much silver, he should still be more valuable than Fu Congnan, shouldn't he?"

"That was then," the boy said aggressively. "Right now, Cheng Zhiming is just a commoner, and he's even implicated by Cheng Zhiyan. Whether he'll live or die is another matter entirely..."

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, his face turning pale and then red, clearly realizing he had made a slip of the tongue.

"Why did you stop talking?" Fang Zilan looked at the boy with great interest, but her eyes seemed to be covered with frost. "You think 300,000 taels is too much, but do you think 100,000 taels is too little? You always talk about tens of thousands of taels. Do you know that an ordinary person may not even be able to earn a thousand taels in his whole life, let alone tens of thousands of taels?"

"Since you're sitting here, why pretend to be so friendly?" the boy said indignantly. "The so-called high and low social status is something ordinary people can't even dream of..."

"You're just a fox borrowing the tiger's might." Fang Zilan said without any politeness, "If today's bet wasn't Cheng Zhiming, but you, how much silver do you think your master would be willing to put up as a wager?"

The boy turned completely pale. The maid who was in charge of the gambling quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Now that the game is about to begin, are there any other guests who would like to join?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Zilan glanced at Dugu Linxiu, who stood in front of the gambling table, hesitant to make a move.

"They're just using someone else's power; they're not using their own money," Fang Zilan said calmly. "Or do you think Cheng Zhiming is worth 510,000 taels?"

Dugu Linxiu glanced sideways at her, "Miss Zhen, do you think it's worth it?"

Fang Zilan composed herself and casually pointed at Dugu Ming, "Do you think he's worth 510,000 taels?"

Dugu Ming frowned, about to say something, when he saw Fang Zilan's gaze fall on him, and then she changed her finger and pointed at Dugu Linxiu, "Do you think she's worth 510,000 taels?"

"Why must a perfectly good person be valued in terms of silver?" Dugu Ming said in a deep voice, "If I like him, he is priceless. If I don't like him..." He paused, his hands clenching into fists.

Fang Zilan curled her lips into a smile. "Is she as worthless as grass?"

Dugu Ming remained silent. Dugu Linxiu pursed her lips and reached out to take back the 510,000 taels of silver from the gambling table.

“It seems it’s not worth it.” As soon as Fang Zilan spoke, she saw Dugu Linxiu’s hand pause for a moment, but she didn’t care and continued, “Then I have no need to get involved.”

Seeing that no one else would join the game, the maid started another. After one round, the woman won, and the boy's face grew increasingly grim. He stomped his foot, turned around, and ran back to the private room.

Instead of taking Cheng Zhiming away, the woman turned to Fang Zilan and said, "Madam Zhen, even if you win the previous bet and take Mr. Wan away, it will be of no use."

Fang Zilan didn't react at all, she just stood up and said to Wan Jun, "I'm leaving."

The ignored woman gritted her teeth, "Mr. Wan won't live much longer..."

"It's just poisoning, isn't it?" Fang Zilan impatiently interrupted the woman, her voice as cold as ice. "What, are you afraid I won't know, so you're blatantly provoking me like this?"

The woman was taken aback. "You knew all along?"

"There is no poison in the world that can kill the young master of Wanhua Manor," Fang Zilan said with an air of authority. "Even if there were, Qianjin Fangzhu could cure it."

After she finished speaking, she took a step toward the woman, forcing her to retreat repeatedly, while she still tried to appear calm. "What are you going to do?" Fang Zilan stopped and said, word by word, "Go back and tell your master that if he dares to set his sights on Qianjinfang again, don't blame me for being impolite."

“Madam Zhen, do you know who my master is?” the woman asked boldly. Fang Zilan sneered, “What kind of gods could there be in the Southeast? Even Cheng Zhiming, who is not even worthy of the capital, is treated like a treasure. I suppose your master is just a little devil in the night, only able to bully others in this dark gambling den.”

"What a grand display." Fang Zilan scoffed, just as Mingxiang, who had returned to her room, overheard her. Curious, she came over and asked, "Who is Master talking about?"

Fang Zilan did not answer, but simply raised her chin, gesturing for Mingxiang to look out the window.

Mingxiang peeked over and chimed in, "Luxury cars and fine horses, even the night rain can't hide their splendor, what a grand display indeed."

"Suzhou is prosperous, and the Drunken Moon Pavilion is extravagant." Fang Zilan stretched lazily. "The Jiangnan region is indeed..."

"Yin Quanzhang is here." Li Shengxuan's voice interrupted Fang Zilan. She didn't turn around, but just waved her hand. "I know, come and see what's going on."

“Your room has a nice view.” Li Shengxuan walked to Fang Zilan’s side and saw her smile. “The Zhen family of Qianjinfang naturally has to provide the best of everything.”

“You deserve it.” Li Shengxuan said, taking off his cloak and draping it over Fang Zilan’s shoulders, saying gently, “Be careful not to catch a cold.”

Fang Zilan raised her hand to adjust her cloak, and then took Li Shengxuan's hand in hers. "Why are your hands so cold?"

"I went out for a bit," Li Shengxuan said succinctly. Fang Zilan didn't press him further, but placed her hands over his. "This will warm you up."

Mingxiang coughed lightly, about to take her leave, when Fang Zilan instructed, "Mingxiang, I will not see anyone tonight, including Fang Lihui."

Mingxiang's expression hardened, she nodded in agreement, and quietly withdrew.

Li Shengxuan sat down next to Fang Zilan, their fingers intertwined. "Are you trying to avoid trouble for Fang Lihui?"

"I don't like trouble, so I'll avoid it if possible." Fang Zilan watched as a figure got off the carriage and was welcomed into Zuiyue Tower by Fang Lihui. It was undoubtedly Yin Quanzhang.

"Speaking of which..." Fang Zilan asked casually, "Do you know anything about Yin Quanzhang?"

"Your question came later than I expected." Li Shengxuan curled his lips, while Fang Zilan shrugged indifferently. "You may not have met all the officials in the various prefectures. Most of them are appointed based on their political achievements, so even if I asked, I didn't expect an answer. In that case, what difference does it make whether it comes sooner or later?"

“There is a connection.” Li Shengxuan’s smile widened. “I have not only met Yin Quanzhang, but I have also dealt with him.”

"What did you say?" Fang Zilan, who had been leaning against the railing, suddenly sat up straight. "Then why..."

Li Shengxuan put his arm around Fang Zilan's shoulder reassuringly, "There's no turning back now. As long as Yin Quanzhang doesn't see me before the Spring Gathering ends, it'll be fine."

Fang Zilan leaned back against the railing helplessly and asked, "When was the last time you saw Yin Quanzhang?"

“At that time, I was the Prince of Xiang, and Yin Quanzhang was the magistrate of Fengyu County.” Li Shengxuan said, then added as if remembering something, “During the plague in the southeast, the Lin Family Village you went to was part of Fengyu County.”