Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1768 Internal Strife
Fang Ziqin stared intently at Fang Zilan and said, "Lan'er, I can guess it, but do you think His Majesty can't? If he finds out that this was all a scheme you set up, not only will the Fang family be doomed, but even you..."

"So what if we know?" Fang Zilan interrupted Fang Ziqin indifferently, curling her lips indifferently. "For someone as steadfast as him, nothing anyone else can do will change his mind unless he turns back himself."

She took a sip of tea as she spoke, “Only by letting him see me on the verge of death and remember that scene forever will he not be able to completely destroy the Fang family.”

"Do you want him to be so anxious and insecure for you?" Fang Ziqin was taken aback, but Fang Zilan smiled slightly, "I would like that, but it's absolutely impossible."

After saying this, she picked up her teacup and drank it all in one gulp, as if she had made up her mind, and said, "Elder sister, if I may presume to ask a question, what if Master Liaoyuan had risked his life to shield you from a knife, nearly losing his life in front of you..."

"You knew everything?" Fang Ziqin's expression was calm, but there was a hint of melancholy in her eyes. She and Master Liaoyuan, or rather Zhuge Jun, were destined to be together but not to be together.

"I've heard..." Fang Zilan's voice lowered a few decibels, and Fang Ziqin curled her lips, "His Majesty is willing to tell you about other people's affairs, why is he unwilling to tell you about his own?"

"What do you mean?" Fang Zilan asked subconsciously. Fang Ziqin said meaningfully, "If you hadn't insisted on refusing back then, you should be the Empress today."

Fang Zilan froze, "Elder sister, what...did you say?"

"Back then, when His Highness Prince Xiang proposed to the Fang family, the person he sought to marry was you." Fang Ziqin poured tea for Fang Zilan and said slowly, "This marriage was of great importance. If it had not been arranged, not only would the Fang family have been in dire straits, but His Highness Prince Xiang himself would have been in danger as well."

She sighed deeply and said softly, "I couldn't bear to part with you, so I'll marry in your place."

"Reluctant to part with it?" Fang Zilan repeated the word, feeling that there was a deeper meaning behind it.

“Yes, I can’t bear to part with him.” Fang Ziqin nodded, her eyes filled with complex emotions. “At that time, A-Jun was besieged by the Miluo people. When the news spread, everyone told me that he had died in battle.”

As she spoke, her voice became hoarse, "Before Ah Jun went to war, he made a promise to me that after defeating the Miluo people, he would return to the capital to marry me. So when I heard the news, I stood in front of Yanming Lake wearing a wedding dress that I had made myself."

"Elder sister, you..." Fang Zilan looked at Fang Ziqin in disbelief, but saw her nod firmly and say, "That moment was probably the only time in my life when I lived as Fang Ziqin."

Fang Zilan's voice trembled uncontrollably, but she still asked, "What happened next?"

"Later, His Highness Prince Xiang stopped me from committing suicide and proposed a deal." Fang Ziqin gently grasped Fang Zilan's hand holding the teacup. "I will marry him in your place, and he will guarantee the Fang family's prosperity for a hundred years."

"Why..." Fang Zilan's eyes reddened, but Fang Ziqin smiled, "Perhaps he was Ajun's best friend, perhaps Father is already struggling alone, perhaps you and I share some sisterly bond, but I just can't bear to part with him. It's just..."

She paused for a moment, then said, "I thought transactions were always more stable than feelings, but I never imagined it would end up like this."

After meeting Ouyang Zirou, Fang Zilan, along with Shangguan Min, went to see Wang Lingyuan. She then spoke with Chu Bin and Xiao Xuan'er, finally gaining a complete understanding of the whole story. After Ouyang Zongrui proposed framing Ouyang Zirou, he assured Madam Ouyang that he would bring her back to the Ouyang family unharmed. Madam Ouyang then tacitly allowed him to use his connections with the Wei family to bribe soldiers in the outskirts of the capital to give false testimony. And indeed, things unfolded as he had promised.

Although the Jingzhao Prefecture detained Ouyang Zirou, it did not take any action against her. However, after Wei Mao reorganized the camp in the suburbs of the capital, all the soldiers who had given false testimony disappeared overnight.

On one hand, Ouyang Zongrui was afraid that Wei Mao would expose his fraud, and on the other hand, he wanted to bring down Ouyang Zirou so that he could take over the arms workshop in a proper way. However, whether it was Wei Mao or Ouyang Zirou, as long as one of them spoke up, he would inevitably be ruined. So he decided to go all the way and make sure that they could never speak up again.

Ouyang Zongrui had neither the ability nor the courage to kill Wei Mao, so his killing intent naturally fell on Ouyang Zirou, who was imprisoned and unarmed.

However, just as Ouyang Zongrui was plotting with his men, Ouyang Juncheng's wife, Wang Lingyuan, overheard them. She quickly seized the opportunity, captured Ouyang Juncheng, and forced him to give up his quest for the position of family head.

Ouyang Juncheng hesitated. Ouyang Zongrui was afraid that he would complain to the head of the Ouyang family and that Madam Ouyang would find out, so he ordered someone to send Wang Lingyuan out of the capital and hide her. However, they had not gone far from the city when they encountered Shangguan Min and Huangfu Xin, who were on their way to the capital.

Upon seeing her sister being held hostage, Shangguan Min immediately rescued her with Huangfu Xin, thus preventing a tragedy.

But Ouyang Zirou wasn't so lucky. According to people from nearby villages, a group of fierce-looking men threw a blood-covered person into a mass grave, and no one dared to go and see.

Only Qiao Nian, who was isolated because of the incident involving the monk Jiran of Longyan Temple, lived alone by the mass grave outside the village. When she saw that the person who had fallen was still alive, she went down to save him without hesitation.

After much effort, Qiao Nian brought the person upstairs and discovered that she was a seriously injured girl. She then thought of Fang Zilan. Besides Fang Zilan, she didn't know who else would offer help.

So Qiao Nian, carrying a wood-chopping knife and relying on her courage, secretly walked to the capital, which led to the scene at the city gate.

After hearing this, Fang Zilan's tightly clenched fingers left crescent-shaped marks on her palm, but she felt no pain at all.

"Lord Fang..." Xiao Xuan'er called out hesitantly, but Fang Zilan asked, "How is the Ouyang family now?"

"Madam Ouyang ordered the Ouyang family compound to be sealed off, and no one can get in or out. We don't know what's going on inside." Xiao Xuan'er frowned slightly, and Fang Zilan was also taken aback. "Doesn't the Ouyang family head care?"

Xiao Xuan'er's expression became more serious. "This is the strangest thing. I heard that the head of the Ouyang family is seriously ill and bedridden, unable to manage affairs."

Fang Zilan composed herself and said coldly, "The Pei family used the same excuse before the news of Duke Jin's death came out."

"What does Lord Fang mean...?" Xiao Xuan'er looked surprised. Fang Zilan said in a deep voice, "Since Ouyang Zongrui was willing to kill Zirou, how could he not have the intention to kill the Ouyang family?"

“But…” Xiao Xuan’er wanted to say something, but Fang Zilan interrupted her, “Once the head of the Ouyang family dies, as long as Madam Ouyang keeps her mouth shut and does not expose Ouyang Zongrui’s evil deeds, no one will know the truth.”