Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1836 Feelings

Zhuge Yu remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "I don't think so."

He changed his self-reference, and the relationship between the two was no longer one of clear hierarchy between ruler and subject. "Although I have only known Sister Lan for a few years, I have seen that she has almost never made a mistake in her actions."

He paused, then abruptly changed the subject, "Does Your Majesty still remember the incident last year when the two Di and Rong princesses were ambushed and killed upon their arrival in the capital?"

"Of course I remember." Li Shengxuan nodded, and Zhuge Yu continued, "At that time, Wu Sheng, Yang Zhiqing and other officials were killed one after another, and the people in the capital were in a state of panic. However, after the wedding of Prince Yucheng, no similar cases occurred. The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager spread the word that the people praised Prince Yucheng as a lucky star in the world, and that the joy of the wedding had swayed the evil spirits."

"I have also heard about this matter," Li Shengxuan said thoughtfully. "Zhuge Yu, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"The murderer has not yet been apprehended, so why would the operation stop for no reason? It must be that someone did something behind the scenes to prevent the murder from happening." Zhuge Yu said solemnly, "The person who stopped the murderer is Fang Zilan."

Li Shengxuan was taken aback, and Zhuge Yu continued speaking to himself, "His Majesty knew that she had intricate connections with the Ghost Gate, and the Zhuge family also had many concerns about this, but when the situation was chaotic, she chose Dajing."

“She…” Li Shengxuan’s expression was complicated, his compassion growing stronger. If they followed Fang Chongzheng’s suggestion, would Fang Zilan have a chance to survive?
Li Shengxuan recalled Fang Chongzheng's last words when he entered the palace to pay his respects, words he could not tell Zhuge Yu.

Fang Chongzheng readily admitted that Fang Zilan was the third young lady of the Fang family, his illegitimate daughter. He acknowledged that accidentally killing Princess Rong'an was not his intention and that he also bore responsibility for her poor upbringing. The entire Fang family was willing to share the blame.

After hearing these words, Li Shengxuan hesitated. Although the current emperor, whether his father or brother, was suspicious of the Fang family, the former members of the Prime Minister's family, because of their status as former members of the previous dynasty, Fang Chongzheng was upright and honest, and no one had any dirt on him.

Furthermore, after marrying Fang Ziqin, his perception of the Fang family changed, and now, if he were to deal with the Fang family, he would immediately feel it was inappropriate.

However, what he did not expect was that Fang Chongzheng took advantage of his hesitation and proceeded step by step, laying out a way out for the deal. He proposed a prisoner exchange, after which the Fang family would leave the capital and invite Su Heng back to ensure the stability of the capital's court.

If this is not permitted, Fang Chongzheng is willing to atone with his death, exchanging his own life for Fang Zilan's life...

The Fang family, a wealthy merchant family with a prime minister holding a high position in the court and an empress enjoying the honor of being the mother of the nation, would likely cause a stir no less than that caused by the current Fang Zilan incident, and perhaps even more.

Fang Chongzheng saw through everything and knew that Li Shengxuan would not refuse outright, so he patiently coaxed him, tugging at him into a dilemma.

For the sake of love and loyalty, for both public and private reasons, Li Shengxuan seemed to have no reason to refuse.

However, if the prisoner swap were exposed, the uproar would not be caused by the Duke of Yue killing someone, or by the Fang family being expelled from the capital—things that are usually considered matters concerning officials.

Rather, it was the emperor's dereliction of duty and lack of morality that angered the people, who rose up to attack him.

Regardless of whether the Empress Dowager will return to the capital to support Prince Yu Cheng, Li Qiyou, in seizing the throne, Prince Yu Ning, Ji Ningtian, who remains in the capital, will be the first to lose his composure.

Li Shengxuan even suspected that Fang Chongzheng's proposal was a pre-arranged plan with Ji Ningtian, intended to push him down from his supreme position and condemn him to utter ruin...

"Your Majesty?" Zhuge Yu's voice pulled Li Shengxuan back to his senses. He composed himself. "What did you just say?" "Nothing." Zhuge Yu shook his head. He wasn't oblivious to Li Shengxuan's wavering; on the contrary, he was just as shaken as Li Shengxuan.

Upon seeing this, Li Shengxuan opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Xiahou Zhang hurried over and called out in a deep voice, "Your Majesty."

“But…” The leader wanted to say something more, but Fang Zilan interrupted him coldly, “If you want to take her away, then bring her indenture to the Duke of Yue’s mansion and find me. If it is written in black and white that it belongs to the Pei family, then I will hand her over to you; otherwise, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

The leader's expression hardened, and before he could say anything, Fang Zilan took off her cloak and draped it over Dongxue's shoulders. "Let's go."

"Lord Duke of Yue, please wait!" The leader chased after him, leading his servants into a fierce battle with Zheng Yan.

Fang Zilan led Dongxue through the alley until they reached a secluded corner. Suddenly, Dongxue grabbed her sleeve and knelt down with a thud. "Lord Fang, I beg you, please save our young lady!"

"What exactly happened?" Fang Zilan pulled Dongxue up from the ground, but saw that she was silent with red eyes.

Fang Zilan frowned. "If you don't say anything, how am I supposed to know how to save your young lady?"

Dongxue bit her lip tightly, and after a while, she leaned close to Fang Zilan's ear and whispered, "My young lady accidentally killed Duke Jin, and is now imprisoned in the Pei family ancestral hall. The Pei family will probably deal with her privately..."

"What?" Fang Zilan's face was full of shock. Dongxue stamped her foot and simply told the whole story, "A few days ago, because of the Ministry of Revenue, Duke Jin and my young lady had a heated argument. He tried to force himself on my young lady. In a moment of desperation, my young lady took out the hidden arrow that Miss Ouyang had given her and shot Duke Jin with an arrow."

Fang Zilan frowned deeply. "That one arrow took the Duke of Jin's life?"

“I don’t know either.” Dongxue shook her head and said, “I saw it clearly at the time. The arrow didn’t hit the target; it only grazed him. But for some reason, Lord Duke Jin…”

"A scratch?" Fang Zilan suddenly realized, "The hidden dart was poisoned?"

"No, my young lady wouldn't..." Dongxue denied incoherently, and Fang Zilan didn't want to provoke her any further. "Dongxue, I'll take you back to my residence first, and then go to the Prime Minister's residence to ask the Prime Minister for help. If you want to bring your young lady out, someone from the Fang family must step in."

Upon hearing this, Dongxue said anxiously, "My master is not in the capital."

Fang Zilan then remembered that Xiao Xuan'er had told her that after the poor scholars suffered repeated setbacks in the officialdom, Fang Chongzheng, in order to appease the people, asked Li Shengxuan for permission to leave the capital and personally invite the old gentleman Su Heng.

It just so happens that at this critical juncture, Duke Jin died and Fang Zitong ran into trouble; everything is too coincidental.

"Should we go and invite Her Majesty the Empress?" Dongxue's cautious voice pulled Fang Zilan back to her senses. She said decisively, "No, there is still the Empress Dowager from the Pei family in the palace. The situation is unclear, and we cannot cause Her Majesty the Empress any more trouble."

"But besides the master and the empress, who else in the Fang family would risk everything to save my young lady?" Dongxue cried out. Fang Zilan reached out and supported her shoulder, applying a little pressure. "I also have the surname Fang."