Don't ask where people go

Chapter 1316 Checks and Balances

Fang Zilan curled her lips indifferently, "For a man as solid as a rock like him, unless he turns back, nothing others can do will be of any use."

She took a sip of tea as she spoke, "Only by letting him see my life hanging by a thread with his own eyes and remember that scene forever will he not kill the whole family."

"Do you want him to worry about gains and losses for you?" Fang Ziqin was stunned, but Fang Zilan smiled slightly, "I would like to, but it is absolutely impossible."

After she finished speaking, she picked up the teacup and drank it all. As if she had made up her mind, she said, "Eldest sister, let me ask you a presumptuous question. If Master Le Yuan risked his life to block the knife for you and almost died in front of you..."

"You know everything?" Fang Ziqin looked calm, but there was a hint of disappointment in her eyes. She and Master Leyuan, or Zhuge Jun, were destined not to be together.

"I heard..." Fang Zilan's voice was a little lower, and Fang Ziqin raised the corners of her lips, "Your Majesty is willing to tell you about other people's affairs, why not tell you about his affairs?"

"What do you mean?" Fang Zilan asked subconsciously. Fang Ziqin said meaningfully, "If you hadn't insisted on not doing it back then, you should have been the Empress of the Central Palace today."

Fang Zilan's expression froze. "Eldest sister, what... did you say?"

"When His Royal Highness Prince Xiang proposed to the Fang family, the person he wanted to marry was you." Fang Ziqin added tea to Fang Zilan and said slowly, "This marriage has been reported to the emperor. If it fails, not only will the Fang family be in danger, but His Royal Highness Prince Xiang will also be in danger."

She sighed deeply and said quietly, "I can't bear it, so I'll marry for you."

"Can't bear to part with it?" Fang Zilan repeated the word, always feeling that there was another deeper meaning in it.

"Yes, I can't bear to let him go." Fang Ziqin nodded, with a complicated look in her eyes, "At that time, Ajun was besieged by the Miluo people. When the news came out, everyone told me that he died in the battle."

She said with a hoarse voice, "Before Ajun went to the battle, he promised me that after defeating the Miluo people, he would return to the capital to marry me. So when I heard the news, I stood in front of Yanming Lake wearing the wedding dress I made myself."

“Eldest sister, you…” Fang Zilan looked at Fang Ziqin in disbelief, but she nodded firmly and said, “That moment was probably the only time in my life that I lived as Fang Ziqin.”

Fang Zilan's voice couldn't stop shaking, but she still asked, "What happened next?"

"Later, His Royal Highness Prince Xiang stopped me from committing suicide and proposed a deal." Fang Ziqin gently held Fang Zilan's hand holding the teacup, "I will marry him for you, and he will ensure that the Fang family will not fall for a hundred years."

"Why..." Fang Zilan's eyes turned red, but Fang Ziqin smiled, "Maybe he is Ajun's best friend, maybe my father can't stand it alone, maybe you and I have a sisterly relationship, I just can't bear to let him go. It's just..."

She paused and said, "I thought that business was more solid than relationships, but I never thought that it would end up like this."

"Everything that goes up must decline, elder sister, don't worry..." Fang Zilan's words of consolation were interrupted by Fang Ziqin, "Lan'er, ask yourself, do you believe this? If you do, why do you risk your life to stop His Majesty from continuing the investigation?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Zilan clenched her other hand hidden in her sleeve into a fist, "Eldest sister, the Fang family is not innocent, and the aristocratic family cannot withstand investigation. If Your Majesty persists in his delusion, sooner or later he will become the enemy of the world, Dajing..."

"Refused to repent?" Fang Ziqin interrupted Fang Zilan's next words without commenting, "Your Majesty is not afraid, so are you?"

Yang Zhiqing laughed to himself, "Master Fang, how many people died in the capital? Have those murderers been punished? Why should I..." "Just because there wasn't any in the past doesn't mean there won't be any in the future." Fang Zilan interrupted him and said firmly, "No matter how difficult it is, I will make the person behind the scenes pay the price."

Yang Zhiqing raised his head, staring closely at Fang Zilan, who looked solemn and awe-inspiring like a god, and couldn't help but ask, "What if I can't do it?"

"We have to do it." Fang Zilan said without any hesitation, "The world needs the truth, not a false peace. Does Lord Yang want to bear the charge of hiring someone to assassinate an official of the imperial court?"

"I don't want to!" Yang Zhiqing almost shouted. After he calmed down, he whispered, "Master Rong Fang, please give me one more day. After I say goodbye to my family, I will turn myself in."

When he said these words, his eyes passed Fang Zilan and looked behind her.

Fang Zilan turned her head and looked at the old man who was tremblingly walking towards the ancestral hall. Finally, she nodded and said, "Okay."

"This must be Lord Fang." The old woman stepped over the threshold of the ancestral hall, her steps a little unsteady. Yang Zhiqing stood up and walked over quickly, holding her up with his hand, "Mom, please be careful."

Fang Zilan stepped forward to greet him, and the old man shook her hand excitedly, "Great, great, thank you Lord Fang for taking care of my boy. His father died early, and if he hadn't been willing to endure hardships, he would have stayed in the smoke-filled and miasmatic areas of the southeast for many years, and he wouldn't have the good life he has now in the capital. I'll have to trouble Lord Fang to take care of him in the future. If there's anything I haven't done well, please forgive me."

The old woman was about to bow, but Fang Zilan quickly grabbed her arm and said, "Madam, you are too polite."

"Master Fang, how is my boy doing in the government office? He is not causing you any trouble, right?" The old man's eyes were full of cautious expectation. Fang Zilan curled the corners of her lips and smiled, "Master Yang is doing a great job. Everyone in the government office cannot do without him."

"That's good, that's good..." The old man smiled as if relieved, but the next moment he coughed violently.

Seeing this, Yang Zhiqing said anxiously: "Master Fang, my mother has been ill for a long time and cannot stand the wind. Please allow me to take her back to her room first."

"You go." Fang Zilan said goodbye, "I have something else to do at home, so I won't stay any longer."

Yang Zhiqing bowed hastily, then helped the old man away. Fang Zilan looked at their backs, feeling a little sad.

When Xiao Xuan'er was investigating everyone in the government office before, she had talked to her about Yang Zhiqing, and her words were full of regret.

Yang Zhiqing's father was originally the chief of the Ministry of Punishment, and he was of high rank. However, he died early. When he died in office, Yang Zhiqing was only ten years old. Later, according to the recommendation system of officials' children, he worked in a lowly idle position.

With nowhere to show his ambition, Yang Zhiqing invited himself to the smoky southeastern region - a place that all the children of the capital avoided. At that time, he was only eighteen years old.

He had been away for eight years. When he returned to Beijing, he finally joined the Southeast Government Office, but he was still a little-known clerk. Fortunately, he didn't care much. As long as he received a salary to support his family, it was enough. .

He was just a conscientious ordinary person who worked hard every step of the way. However, due to fate, he was involved in such a turmoil, and in the end he couldn't even survive on his own.