Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1774 Leave behind
Dugu Linkai roared, "Have you forgotten the purpose of your trip? If this court trial takes ten days or half a month to reach a conclusion, how long are you going to wait?"

Dugu Ming turned his head away. "I will wait. Not to mention ten days or half a month, even if it takes half a year or a year, I will wait."

"Nonsense!" Dugu Linkai was furious, but before he could lash out, he heard Xiahou Yunzhao say in a deep voice, "General Dugu, are you waiting for me to ask you to leave the hall?"

Upon hearing this, Dugu Linkai glared at Xiahou Yunzhao, but dared not speak out in anger. In the end, he left in a huff, unwilling to accept his fate.

Murong Qing watched the whole scene with a cold eye, thinking to herself that the Dugu family had only sent this one person, a complete waste of Fang Zilan's good intentions. If it weren't for Dugu Linxiu's resolute decision, the Dugu family would likely have been in grave danger.

Given the current situation, it's too early to say they've escaped unscathed. It's clear the Dugu family is nearly wiped out, but Dugu Ming…

Murong Qing glanced at Dugu Ming, who was walking back to the audience seats with a sullen expression. What was he so stubborn about? If he wanted to, even if he couldn't remain uninvolved, he could simply stay out of it and not get involved in this mess at all...

Thinking of this, Murong Qing suddenly realized that this was the same predicament as Fang Zilan's. Indeed, those of them who valued family, country, and personal relationships often met similar ends. Trapped within this situation, utterly alone, just like…

His father, the king, remained in Miluo.

In that instant, through Dugu Ming, Murong Qing seemed to see many people he had intentionally or unintentionally abandoned, people he thought he would never think of again, yet they appeared in his mind one by one in this way, entangled and destined to be inseparable.

Murong Qing closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts, trying his best not to let himself be swayed by this trial. Even if he was involved because of Fang Zilan, he should have remained a bystander.

After severing ties with the Dugu family, Dugu Linxiu became unscrupulous. Not only did she provide testimony that implicated all five families in Lingnan, but she also produced even more physical evidence. In addition to account books, she revealed the location of poisonous insects and herbs stored outside, which were all confiscated.

Within just a few days, Dugu Linxiu revealed everything she knew. After investigation, the Xiahou family was quickly implicated. Xiahou Yunzhao's claim that she was willing to accept the charges and be temporarily detained became true, so she requested to be imprisoned, pushing the court trial to its climax.

On the day Xiahou Yunzhao was imprisoned, Fang Zilan finally appeared in court. Although she still looked sickly, she seemed to be in good spirits.

She looked at Dugu Linxiu and Wu Ying kneeling in the courtroom. One of them was kneeling, but her back was still very straight. The other was almost kneeling on the ground, as if she had lost all her strength.

The two were completely different, and their situations were also different. The former severed ties with the Dugu family, choosing to live and die with Fu Congnan, while the latter refused to let go of either side, hesitating and saying nothing, watching the Wu family teeter on the brink of collapse while half-heartedly sending the Xiahou family into the abyss.

"Wu Ying, that day you said it was a pity I lost." Dugu Linxiu stood up and suddenly asked before being taken away to be imprisoned, "And you, did you win or lose?"

Now she wears no jewelry or fancy clothes, and her long hair was cut off on the day she broke with the Dugu family. She is now tied behind her head with a piece of cloth, but she is meticulous about it.

Wu Ying looked up, hesitant to speak. Dugu Linxiu appeared calm and collected, but in reality, she cared more about winning or losing than anyone else; otherwise, she wouldn't have provoked her at this crucial moment.

But what does winning or losing really mean to her? It's something the Wu and Xiahou families care about, not something she wants.

Seeing Wu Ying remain silent with her head down, Dugu Linxiu did not press the matter and was taken away. Fang Zilan pursed her lips and quietly followed, "Miss Dugu, please wait."

Dugu Linxiu stopped in her tracks. "Madam, there is no Dugu Linxiu before you, only Madam Fu."

Fang Zilan did not follow up on Dugu Linxiu's words, but instead said to herself, "I once had a friend who was similar to you. He staked his entire life on one person, and did everything in his power to ensure his legitimacy."

Dugu Linxiu remained silent for a moment, then asked softly, "And then?"

"Later, she also held power and fame," Fang Zilan said softly. "Unfortunately, she ended up dying and being forgotten."

As she said this, she looked at Li Qiyou, who was walking towards them. He clearly heard her words and subconsciously avoided her gaze.

Dugu Linxiu's gaze darted back and forth between Fang Zilan and Li Qiyou before she finally said, "Are you going to use his guilt for the rest of your life?"

Zheng Yan turned to look at Fang Zilan, who called out, "Everyone in the manor, listen up! This is your last chance. If you don't open the door, I will have no choice but to break it down to ensure your safety."

She didn't deliberately mention Fang Zitong, but instead acted as if she was worried that something might have happened to someone in the Pei family after the Duke of Jin's death, and that she had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.

Needless to say, her dignified appearance and words fooled many onlookers. Although they knew that Fang Zilan could not possibly care about the life or death of the Pei family out of "kindness," the Pei family's sneaky and secretive behavior of not announcing the death did indeed arouse suspicion.

If Fang Zilan could really open the gates of the Pei residence, wouldn't we be able to see what was going on? So immediately, some people started to clamor and echo, demanding that the Pei family open the gates.

Seeing that things were about to escalate, the Pei family servants had no choice but to open the door and invite Fang Zilan and Fang Lihui in, while everyone else was turned away.

Fang Zilan glanced at the tightly closed door, exchanged a look with Fang Lihui, and then followed the servants into the hall.

The path from the gate to the hall was deserted. White silk ribbons and flowers had already been hung up, but there were few sobs in the mansion, and even people were rarely seen. The entire Pei family seemed to be shrouded in an eerie silence.

"Please wait a moment, both of you." The servant respectfully invited Fang Zilan and Fang Lihui to sit down, and then turned and left.

A short while later, Pei Poming's wife came in, greeted Fang Zilan, and then greeted Fang Lihui.

Fang Zilan glanced at her and saw that she looked haggard and listless. She was thin and frail, as if cut from paper, and her robes were too big for her, hanging loosely over her body.

"You two..." Madam Pei Poming wanted to say a few more pleasantries, but Fang Zilan interrupted her without any politeness, "Madam Pei, Young Master Fang and I have come here today to see the Duchess of Jin and to express our condolences."

When Pei Poming's wife heard Fang Zilan's implication that she absolutely had to see Fang Zitong, her face paled. She forced a smile and said, "Lord Fang, my sister-in-law is so heartbroken that she has fallen ill and is unable to come out to see me. Please forgive her."