Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1822 Rushing
“Lady of the Heir Apparent,” Xie Chen interrupted Fang Zilan without any politeness, “Whether that imperial decree came from the Empress in the capital or from you, you and I both know perfectly well. There is no one else here now. If you still refuse to tell us the truth, then I have no choice but to act according to the law.”

Fang Zilan pursed her lips. "What do you mean by that, Mr. Xie?"

"The Crown Prince has been poisoned, and his wife is also a suspect." Xie Chen raised his voice and said, "Guards, lock the Crown Prince's wife in jail and we will re-examine her on another day."

Before Fang Zilan could say anything, a constable rushed over, not to detain her, but to report: "Mr. Xie, there is a female physician outside requesting an audience. She says that the Fang family has come to take the young master's wife back to the mansion."

"Which one?" Xie Chen straightened his sleeves. Fang Zilan suddenly realized that he probably knew that the Fang family had more than one female physician, Awan. Just now, when he said in the hall that there was a female physician in the manor who knew what poison Murong Qing had been poisoned with, could he be referring to Mingxiang?
"Miss Awan." The constable announced his name, and Xie Chen glanced thoughtfully at Fang Zilan before instructing, "Please invite Miss Awan in."

"Yes." The constable was about to take the order and leave when Xie Chen said, "I remember that Madam Fu, Dugu Linxiu, still has a testimony that hasn't been signed. Bring her along with her."

Fang Zilan's expression turned cold, "Mr. Xie, you..."

“Your Highness, Dugu Linxiu only wants to die knowing the truth. Now is the best time for her to find out the truth.” Xie Chen interrupted Fang Zilan. “Since Your Highness is pursuing the so-called truth, I’m sure you’ll be happy to see it happen.”

Fang Zilan flicked her sleeve and turned her head away from Xie Chen, so when Awan came in, she immediately noticed the discord between the two.

"What brings you here?" Fang Zilan spoke first. Awan bowed to her and Xie Chen before saying, "I heard that the Crown Prince's wife accused Lord Zhuge of poisoning the Crown Prince, so I came to see for myself. After all, I know the Crown Prince's health better than anyone else, so I need to clarify things to avoid wrongly accusing anyone."

Fang Zilan's expression froze. "Miss Awan, now is not the time to be angry..."

Before she could finish speaking, she heard a servant outside the door announce that Dugu Linxiu had arrived. Upon hearing this, Awan paused for a moment, then quickly walked out, understanding the situation.

"Isn't the young master's wife going to take a look?" Xie Chen's voice was tinged with a hint of probing. Fang Zilan glared at him, then chased after him.

Xie Chen followed closely behind and arrived in the courtyard, where, as expected, he saw Dugu Linxiu asking Awan about the cause of her beloved daughter's death.

Awan bit her lip and remained silent. Xie Chen looked at Fang Zilan and said, "Just now in court, the Crown Prince's wife said that she had already questioned Miss Awan. As for what she found out, was it the Crown Prince's wife herself who said it, or was it me..."

"Mr. Xie, don't push your luck." Fang Zilan's eyes flashed with ferocity, but Xie Chen remained unfazed, continuing, "According to the young master's wife, this matter is related to Cheng Zhiming..."

“Impossible!” Dugu Linxiu exclaimed. “At that time, their business had not yet expanded to Xiguan City, and Cheng Zhiming was even more…” She realized something was wrong halfway through her sentence and suddenly fell silent.

"What about Cheng Zhiming?" Before Fang Zilan could finish speaking, Xie Chen said, "According to the Lady of the Heir Apparent's confession, at that time, Miss Awan was taking care of the late Duke of Beiguo in Xiguan City. Unfortunately, she witnessed someone poisoning your beloved daughter and overheard their conversation, saying that they were acting on someone's orders to teach you a lesson."

As he spoke, he turned to Fang Zilan and asked, "Madam, is there anything wrong with my relaying?"

"Not a single word is wrong." Fang Zilan gritted her teeth. Dugu Linxiu stared at her intently. "Do you know something?"

Fang Zilan lowered her eyes to avoid Dugu Linxiu's gaze, but she couldn't escape her relentless questioning, "Why are you using such words to brush me off? Did Cheng Zhiming say something to you...?"

"I'm sorry." Fang Zilan's voice was very soft, but to Dugu Linxiu, it was like a huge shock that she would never know the cause of her beloved daughter's death. She broke free from the yamen runners and rushed forward, "Tell me, I beg you to tell me..." A yamen runner wanted to step forward and take Dugu Linxiu back, but Fang Zilan shook her head and stopped her.

Looking at Fang Zilan, who was being swayed by Dugu Linxiu, Awan thought she was like a paper doll that could break at any moment. Now that things had come to this, why should she continue to protect herself?

She heard her own voice, trembling violently, yet she still said, word by word, "I killed your beloved daughter."

"Your Highness..." Lord Liu stared at Murong Qing in disbelief. He curled his lips into a sinister smile and said, "Lord Liu, do you perhaps think that I wouldn't dare to kill you?"

With a slight exertion, Meng Tingyang drew blood, which trickled down his sword. Lord Liu, terrified, collapsed to the ground, his legs giving way. "Release him! I'll release him right away..."

"Lord Liu is sensible, very good." Murong Qing nodded in satisfaction. Lord Liu, however, seemed to remember something, straightened up and boldly said, "Young Master, today, apart from Fang Chongzheng, you will not be allowed to take anything else from my residence!"

Murong Qing laughed out loud, "Lord Liu, are you threatening me?"

Lord Liu hung his head, looking angry but unable to speak out. Only when the silver-armored soldiers brought Fang Chongzheng out did he raise his head and stare at him intently, as if trying to bore a hole through him.

Fang Chongzheng glanced at Lord Liu sitting on the ground, and before he could say anything, he heard him grit his teeth and say, "Fang Chongzheng, you may have escaped this time, but you may not be able to escape next time. They... I will not let you go!"

"Escape?" Fang Chongzheng narrowed his eyes. "I never thought of escaping."

“My father-in-law is a man of principle and courage. How can a two-faced scoundrel like Lord Liu be compared to him?” Murong Qing’s words were loaded with meaning, but Fang Chongzheng didn’t seem to care. He simply asked, “Did Lan’er send you?”

Murong Qing remained calm, "Although Madam is decisive, she is not a reckless person."

Fang Chongzheng's expression turned cold, and Murong Qing said to himself, "Miss Fang asked me to come, and it would be impolite of me to refuse."

"Your Highness..." Fang Chongzheng began to speak, but Murong Qing interrupted him, "These are all family matters, let's go back and talk about them later."

Fang Chongzheng didn't press the matter further and returned to the Fang family with Murong Qing. When Fang Zitong saw him return, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

"Father!" Fang Zitong went to greet him, carefully examining Fang Chongzheng as if afraid that he had been hurt.

Fang Chongzheng gently patted Fang Zitong's arm to reassure her, "I'm fine."

"That's good." Fang Zitong breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Murong Qing and said, "Young Master, thank you. But Miss Awan, she..."

"Miss Fang, please rest assured." Murong Qing interrupted Fang Zitong. "Since I have promised, I will keep my word."

Upon hearing this, Fang Chongzheng formed a plan in his mind and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with Lan'er?"