Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1812 Rout
Fang Zilan took Guan Min to the Ministry of Justice's prison cell, where they met Xue Haoyu, who was being held there.

When Shangguan Min saw Xue Haoyu, she was somewhat dazed. The person who had been talking so eloquently just moments before had become a prisoner in the blink of an eye.

When Xue Haoyu saw them, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. "Lord Fang, why are you..."

"Why did you come?" Fang Zilan interrupted him without any politeness. "I want to know the truth."

"With Lord Fang's abilities, surely you can figure it out?" Xue Haoyu said with a wry smile, "I've lost."

Fang Zilan snorted coldly, "How can you not lose when you only use such low-level tricks?"

Xue Haoyu's expression froze. Fang Zilan said quietly, "Lord Xue, I've reminded you before, how you treat others is how they will treat you. Do you really think you can hide all this from Lord Wang?"

"If only you had known this would happen, you wouldn't have done it in the first place." A sinister look appeared on Xue Haoyu's face. "Wang Quanrui let me do all this. A whole year, and only now did he make his move, even at the cost of Qi Siwu's life..."

Fang Zilan turned her head and said softly, "You got into the Ministry of Rites through the Wang family's connections, why don't you work diligently? You had opportunities..."

"What opportunity?" Xue Haoyu interrupted her angrily. "With people like Wang Quanrui around, I'll never have a chance to rise in society. And those people in the Ministry of Rites—so many of them have received favors from my uncle, but just because my uncle was a little harsh on them, they ganged up on me to bully me..."

“What about Qi Siwu?” Fang Zilan stared at him intently. “You encouraged him to help you, but you couldn’t even save his life.”

"You have no idea how ruthless Wang Quanrui is! He deliberately arranged for Xue'er to marry me, and then allowed Qi Siwu to conspire with me..." Xue Haoyu said through gritted teeth, "He came last night. He told Qi Siwu that if he made the wrong choice once, he would lose his daughter's life, and if he made the wrong choice again, he would lose his entire family's lives..."

His voice trembled as he spoke, "It was right next to this cell; I heard it all clearly. Wang Quanrui, he drove Qi Siwu to his death!"

Intimidated by the hatred in Xue Haoyu's eyes, Shangguan Min abruptly took a step back. Fang Zilan turned to look at her and slowly asked, "Shangguan Min, what do you think?"

“I…” Shangguan Min opened her mouth, “I think Lord Xue was not originally without options, but his methods were wrong, and he ultimately ended up with a inferior approach.”

Fang Zilan turned to Xue Haoyu thoughtfully, the hatred in his eyes undiminished. "Truly a fine disciple taught by Lord Fang, just as naive as Lord Fang himself!"

Fang Zilan straightened her sleeves and said calmly, "I would like to hear the details."

“After I entered the Ministry of Rites, no matter who made a mistake, it would always be blamed on me.” Xue Haoyu’s voice was low. “At first, I thought it was bullying newcomers, but later I found out that besides me, the person being bullied was Qi Siwu. Then I understood that this was not bullying newcomers, but rather the aristocratic families bullying the poor.”

He sighed deeply. "After the plague in the southeast, the Ministry of Rites invited Master Liaoyuan of Baiye Temple to perform a Buddhist ceremony. I participated in the entire process, being extremely cautious for fear of making any mistakes. However, on the day of the ceremony, a page of the scriptures on the table was missing for no reason. Qi Siwu and I were immediately pointed out by Wang Quanrui. When I knelt in front of Master Liaoyuan, I felt for the first time how close I was to death."

He recalled that day, still seemingly shaken, before continuing after a long pause: "From that moment on, I knew that Qi Siwu and I were scapegoats for the Ministry of Rites. If we didn't resist, we would die at Wang Quanrui's hands sooner or later. Qi Siwu hesitated after learning of my thoughts, but Xue'er, to strengthen his resolve, resolutely married me." He smiled self-deprecatingly, "When Xue'er married me, I wondered why Wang Quanrui would be so kind, never imagining he was waiting for this day. Lord Fang knows what happened afterward; I made a single miscalculation, and the whole game was lost."

As he spoke, his expression grew increasingly resolute. "But I don't regret it."

“Even if someone from the Ministry of Rites accidentally makes a mistake in the order of the year-end ceremony, they will still face death and disgrace. Let alone someone like you who made a mistake on purpose?” Fang Zilan stared intently at the person on the other side of the wall, her expression softening slightly. “You don’t regret it, but have you ever thought about your family far away in the capital?”

“I wouldn’t have done this if I hadn’t been forced to.” Xue Haoyu lowered his head and took a deep breath. “Lord Fang, you are a veteran of many battles, and you once defended Qiluo City for more than a month. I admire you, but now I also want to ask a very disrespectful question.”

Fang Zilan nodded slightly, "Go ahead and ask."

"For over a month, we defended Qiluo City, not knowing when Miluo would attack, when Qiluo would fall, or whether reinforcements would arrive..." Xue Haoyu's voice trembled slightly. "It was like a sword hanging over our heads, pressing closer and closer, yet never falling. Lord Fang, did you never think of fighting your way out of the city and ending all of this?"

“Never.” Fang Zilan answered without hesitation. “If I were alone, what would it matter if I risked my life in a battle? But I have tens of thousands of people in Dajing standing behind me, so I will never act rashly.”

Xue Haoyu stared at her blankly, only to see her sigh softly and ask, "Xue Haoyu, do you know exactly where you went wrong?"

Seeing that he remained silent, Fang Zilan continued, "Wang Quanrui allowed others in the Ministry of Rites to bully you. His methods were certainly not top-notch, but he was more patient than you. He waited for you to lose your temper and become resistant, then waited for you to plot and stir up trouble step by step, and finally waited for the perfect opportunity to eliminate you and Qi Siwu at once."

She spoke in a deep voice, "A whole year, that kind of patience isn't something everyone can have."

Warm blood dripped onto Fang Zilan's face. She stared intently at the man's lips as they moved. She tried hard to decipher his lip movements and vaguely made out the word "thank you," but then nothing more.

What's there to thank? She hadn't even had a chance to say thank you, yet the person who died saving her was supposed to thank her?

She had already suspected that the people of Miluo had a backup plan when they forced her to open the city gates, which was why she had people keep a close eye on the people entering the city to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos and causing trouble.

What trouble could the people of Miluo possibly cause? Nothing more than assassinating their commander, with collusion from within and without. How could she not have guessed that? That's why she was offered up as a target, to see what kind of demons and monsters were lurking among the people, and someone was willing to die in her place.

If she had been more cautious, more calm, and more careful, wouldn't the 1,500 people who robbed the grain, Deputy General Chen, and the people in front of her have survived?

Unfortunately, there is no such thing.

It's too late; no one can answer her now.

The person in front of her collapsed, landing on top of Fang Zilan. At that moment, everything went dark; she couldn't see any light.