Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1754 Covering up
“If it weren’t for Mr. Xie’s deliberate cover-up, I can’t think of any other reason.” Dugu Linxiu said loudly, “Otherwise, I would like to ask Mr. Xie to summon General Xiahou and the Wu family to come and take me to court.”

Li Qiyou's expression changed upon hearing this. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but Xie Chen said, "It's not difficult for you to take this to court. But right now, there's no evidence, only your one-sided testimony..."

"Is this just my side of the story, or is it that Mr. Xie dares not or is unwilling?" Dugu Linxiu interrupted Xie Chen, looking directly at him and said, "I never thought of leaving here alive today."

She paused, then raised her head and said, "I can tell you the truth. Mr. Xie, are you willing to listen and dare to interrogate me?"

Xie Chen remained silent, while Dugu Linxiu continued, "It is recorded on page 19 of the third volume of the ledger that Wu's servant, Jintian, sold a ginseng to the steward of the Rong'an Prince's Mansion for a high price of eight hundred gold coins. However, according to the first volume of the ledger, it was a bottle of black ginseng."

Xie Chen's expression hardened, Fang Zilan pursed her lips, and Zhuge Yu beside her couldn't help but ask, "What is Wu Kui?"

"The poison that caused Prince Rong'an's untimely death." Dugu Linxiu turned her head and looked over, but her gaze fell on Fang Zilan. "May I ask if the Crown Prince's wife has ever heard of this poison?"

Fang Zilan lowered her eyes to avoid Dugu Linxiu's gaze, but Awan behind her spoke up: "I've heard of it."

The voice, neither too loud nor too soft, drew everyone's attention to Awan. Fang Zilan turned around and, without waiting for a response, said, word by word, "If Madam Fu wishes to get to the bottom of this, she might ask Mr. Xie to summon Lord Su Yun as well."

A look of astonishment flashed in Fang Zilan's eyes, though only for a moment, but Awan still saw it. However, she didn't care and continued, "This was originally a poison developed by the Su family's ancestors, and the formula is in the hands of the Su family."

"It may be in the hands of the Su family, but not necessarily in the hands of Lord Su Yun." Fang Zilan heard her own voice tremble slightly.

She was the one who desperately sought fairness, yet now that the truth was right before her eyes, she was the one filled with lingering fear.

She didn't know what Awan and Dugu Linxiu had said or what had happened that she didn't know about, but she didn't want to drag Awan into this mess.

She could use Dugu Linxiu, Murong Qing, or anyone else, even herself. But Awan was the only one she truly cared about.

So she composed herself and said, "According to Madam Fu, the account book needs to be divided in two and compared. Since it contains Wu Kui's records, it must contain other records as well. In the southeast region over the years, how many people have died besides Prince Rong'an?"

She deliberately steered the conversation back to the account books, and everyone present heard her clearly. Suddenly, Dugu Ming spoke up, "What does the Crown Prince's wife mean by this? Now that we know that Madam Fu in the hall is not the only one involved, shouldn't we investigate?"

At first glance, his words seemed to be directed at Fang Zilan, but in reality, they were a questioning of Xie Chen for his reluctance to allow Xiahou Yunzhao and the Wu family to come and confront him. Most of the people in the hall understood this, let alone Xie Chen.

“General Dugu’s words make sense.” Xie Chen nodded and said, “In that case, summon General Xiahou, the head of the Wu family in Lingnan, and Lord Su Yun to come together for a trial.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a voice came from outside the hall, “Mr. Xie, why didn’t you announce the opening of the court?” It was Xiahou Yunzhao.

Li Shengxuan paused for a moment, then realized that he must have been careless last night and it had fallen onto the bed. He pursed his lips, stepped forward, and said, "Thank you, this is indeed mine..."

"Wait a minute." Fang Zilan feinted, dodging Li Shengxuan's hand that reached for the purse. "Words are no proof. How do I know this purse is definitely yours?"

Li Shengxuan was silent for a moment, then said, "There's a plum blossom embroidered inside the purse." "Plum blossom?" Fang Zilan opened the purse, and sure enough, there was a crooked little flower embroidered inside. If the number of petals didn't match up, she would have found it hard to believe that it was actually a plum blossom.

Seeing the disgust on Fang Zilan's face, Li Shengxuan couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips. "Well, do you believe me now?"

"I believe you now." Fang Zilan curled her lip and said in a drawn-out tone, "Your taste is truly—unique."

Upon hearing this, Li Shengxuan's smile widened even more. "I never expected that the person who gave me the purse back then would be so—unusual."

Fang Zilan raised an eyebrow. "Is the person who gave you the purse very important to you?"

"You don't know?" Li Shengxuan asked instead of answering. Fang Zilan asked curiously, "What do I know?"

"It's a custom in the capital that lovers exchange sachets to pledge their affection," Li Shengxuan explained. Fang Zilan replied naturally, "Oh, so it was given to me by my elder sister. No wonder you treasure it so much."

Before she could finish speaking, Li Shengxuan suddenly coughed, making her ask in confusion, "Did I say something wrong? But my elder sister's embroidery skills shouldn't be this bad..."

She paused, then suddenly realized, "Oh right, my eldest sister and you were engaged when you were young, which made sense back then..."

"That's enough." Li Shengxuan steadied his breathing and said helplessly in a soft voice, "It wasn't a gift from your elder sister."

"What?" Fang Zilan seemed not to have heard clearly, but before she could ask again, Li Shengxuan had already taken back the purse. "Anyway, thank you."

Fang Zilan was completely bewildered, not understanding why Li Shengxuan thanked her. If it was because the item had been returned to its rightful owner, he had already said so when he saw the purse, so there was no need to repeat himself. But…

"Miss Zixiu." The familiar voice pulled Fang Zilan back to her senses. She turned around and saw the person who had brought them to the guest room yesterday standing respectfully not far away. He bowed and said, "My young master invites you to come over, Miss."

"Thank you for your trouble." Fang Zilan composed herself. Awan gently tugged at her sleeve and whispered in her ear, "The poison you were ingested last night hasn't been fully neutralized yet. Until the Gu poison in your body completely devours it, I'm afraid you won't be feeling well..."

"I know." Fang Zilan patted Awan's hand, indicating that she shouldn't worry. "It's good that it's under control for now. I don't need it for too long."

Awan's expression suddenly changed. "You..." She didn't finish her sentence, but her heart remained unsettled for a long time.

It turned out that Fang Zilan was truly gambling with her life. She was risking everything; what would she do if she still couldn't find the truth and locate King Chu Bin?
For some reason, Awan suddenly recalled the scene on New Year's Eve when Fang Zilan jumped off the city wall without hesitation to see Mo Han one last time.

Like a kite with a broken string, it is now free of all ties. If it were to happen again, this kite would likely be smashed to pieces.

Awan dared not think any further, and could only pray that Fang Zilan would find out the truth and that Chu Bin would be safe and sound...

"Please wait, young lady." The man raised his hand to stop Awan, who was following behind Fang Zilan. "My young master only invites Miss Zixiu to come over."