Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1798 Weakness
Awan frowned. "Are you really not afraid that the Mo family will be destroyed?"

"Total destruction?" Fang Zilan pondered the phrase carefully and said calmly, "That would require both to be solid rocks. The Mo family and the Fang family cannot be said to be destroyed together; it would be like throwing an egg against a rock."

"How come I never noticed before that you had such a mean face?" A-Wan clicked her tongue, and Fang Zilan chuckled, "Perhaps I hid it too well before."

"I don't think so." A-Wan shook her head. Fang Zilan looked at her and asked, "Then what does little A-Wan think?"

“Before, when you were in a high position, people would think twice before speaking to you. Regardless of whether they were sincere or not, at least they showed respect,” Awan said matter-of-factly. “But it’s different now. One or two people come up to you and try to take advantage of you. If you don’t say a few harsh words to them, they’ll probably start riding on your head.”

Fang Zilan's smile faded. "But now I am in a high position."

“It’s different.” Awan said seriously, “You are the Crown Prince’s wife. First you were the Crown Prince, then you were the wife. To put it bluntly, how others treat you is always due to the Crown Prince’s protection. But how others treated you before was entirely because you are Fang Zilan.”

Fang Zilan, a nobleman unparalleled in the entire capital.

“Awan, I’m still Fang Zilan.” Fang Zilan’s voice was muffled. Awan nodded gently. “I know, you’re still the Fang Zilan who can turn the world upside down with a flick of your wrist. I just…”

She paused, then whispered, "I feel stifled."

“Awan, listen to me.” Fang Zilan grasped Awan’s hand, slightly bent her knees, and looked her straight in the eye. “You are the only one who knows what I’m going to do, and the only one who knows I don’t have long to live…”

“I…” Awan interrupted Fang Zilan, but Fang Zilan took her words back, “I don’t have much time left, so rather than feeling resentful, I want to focus my energy on achieving my goals. Whether it’s harshness or respect, I can do whatever it takes.”

“But they won’t understand…” Awan started to say, but Fang Zilan interrupted her, “Isn’t there you? I never care what others say. As long as you’re here, I’m not misunderstood.”

“I don’t understand either.” Awan turned her head away, avoiding Fang Zilan’s gaze. “I thought you didn’t want the Xiahou family to get involved, but General Xiahou is in prison. I thought you were friends with Lord Zhuge, but I didn’t expect him to be suspected of poisoning the heir for no reason. Fang Zilan, if this continues, no one will be innocent, and no one will be able to stay out of trouble.”

Fang Zilan remained silent, so Awan continued speaking to herself, "I still remember when I told you in Yanzhou City that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish, you once told me—things in this world are never black and white, and there are many things that are beyond our control."

“Yes,” Fang Zilan replied, “but being unable to do something should not be an excuse for committing a crime.”

"What did you say?" Li Qiyou looked shocked. Fang Zilan pushed him back a step. "The truth about the death of Prince Rong'an is right before our eyes. What does Your Highness intend to do?"

Li Qiyou remained silent, while Fang Zilan continued, "During the day, Your Highness asked me what my ambitions were. Now I can tell Your Highness that I want the truth to come out, so that the deceased can rest in peace."

“Those who have passed away?” Li Qiyou blurted out. Fang Zilan didn’t hide anything. “Mo Han, Chu Bin, Hong Tai, Su Yuexi, Xiahou Yan, Elder Su Heng… and many others who were caught up in it, who, though not dead, are struggling to survive—Fang Lihui, Su Yun, Pei Xiaozhe, Dugu Linxiu, Wu Ying…”

She announced each name in turn, pausing before whispering the last name, "Li Qiyou." Upon hearing this, Li Qiyou clenched his fists tightly. Fang Zilan saw this but still didn't let him off the hook. "Whether you think I came here tonight to confront you or to force you, Your Highness, the remains of Prince Rong'an are here, at Your Highness's disposal."

She stared intently at Li Qiyou and said directly, "If Your Highness cares about the deceased's dignity and wants to maintain the honor of the Li royal family, and wants to suppress the death of Prince Rong'an and let it go, then I will dispose of the remains and never let them appear again."

"What if I don't care?" Li Qiyou pursed his lips. Fang Zilan lowered her eyes and glanced at the skeleton in the bag. "Your Highness might as well guess where I found the remains of Prince Rong'an?"

"Fang Zilan." Li Qiyou rarely addressed someone by their full name like this, and he said through gritted teeth, "What I want is an answer."

"In the courtyard of Suzhou Prefecture," Fang Zilan said seriously, "Cheng Zhiyan knows far more than he identified in court, and the same is true for the heads of other prefectures."

“But the dead can’t speak.” Li Qiyou’s face was ashen. “Do you expect me to use this mutilated corpse of unknown origin to identify the heads of the major prefectures?”

Fang Zilan suddenly chuckled, "The court trial has been going on for so long, Your Highness must have seen it clearly. If it continues like this, more and more people will be implicated. Once a scapegoat is found, sooner or later the matter will be reduced to nothing."

"Otherwise what?" Li Qiyou deflated like a punctured balloon. "Do you want to punish each of us equally?"

"I want them to pay the price." Fang Zilan's expression turned cold. "A life for a life is a matter of course. If those with power and influence can escape the laws of the capital and even make others take the blame, how can law-abiding people live with themselves, and how can ordinary people live with themselves?"

“But you are no ordinary person…” Li Qiyou began to speak, but Fang Zilan interrupted him, “Your Highness, one only knows the pain when the knife falls on one’s own body. How can the Fang family not feel the pain of this? Moreover, if the Fang family is in such a state, how can others possibly survive?”

“Lady, it’s only natural for you to favor your own family, but the Fang family is not innocent…” Before Li Qiyou could finish speaking, Fang Zilan snorted coldly, “Your Highness, with all these reasons, are you trying to convince me, or are you trying to convince yourself?”

Li Qiyou was stunned. "What did you say?"

"If Your Highness is afraid, you might as well get back to the capital as soon as possible," Fang Zilan said coldly. "I'll just assume I misjudged you."

Li Qiyou's lips moved, but no sound came out. He couldn't refute Fang Zilan, simply because she was the first person to expose him to his face.

His decision to remain in the southeast was merely a moment of compassion, but it has put him in a predicament where he has no choice but to retreat.

As the trial unfolded in court, the more he learned, the more timid he became. He was not adept at using his status as the Prince of Yucheng to intimidate others, nor did he possess the ruthless methods to overcome public opinion and purge the southeastern officialdom.

Day after day, he even wondered if Li Shengxuan was not letting him stay in the southeast, but rather using this court trial to keep him here and make him see his own weakness and incompetence.

He could never win against Li Shengxuan, whether he was his imperial uncle or the emperor of Dajing. He was just the unambitious Prince Yucheng who lived under the protection of others.