Don't ask where people go

Chapter 1847 Entering Beijing
A knock sounded at the door. "Is Miss Zhen inside? I am a disciple of the Huo family of the Sword Sect. I have come to ask you something."

Fang Zilan's expression hardened, and when the person outside asked for the third time, she finally stood up, walked over, and opened the door.

"Is there something you need?" The sudden, cold voice startled the person outside the door, who hadn't even lowered their hand from the door before stammering, "I..."

"Does being a disciple of the Huo family of the Sword Sect give you the right to disturb people's peace and quiet?" Fang Zilan snorted. "I should have told Young Master Fang that I haven't seen anyone these past two days."

“I know, Miss Zhen is trying to avoid suspicion, after all, the grand finale of this Spring Gathering is…” The person outside the door was interrupted by Fang Zilan halfway through his sentence, “You know all that, so why did you still come here so tactlessly?”

“It’s not that I’m being tactless, it’s just…” The person outside the door opened his mouth, as if making a decision, and said, “There are some things I absolutely must know.”

Fang Zilan sneered and looked the person outside the door up and down. The boy looked to be about the same age as A Shi. Although his face was a little immature and his features had not yet fully developed, he had a tall and straight posture and exuded a heroic spirit.

"What are you laughing at?" The man outside the door looked slightly embarrassed and turned his head to avoid Fang Zilan's gaze. However, she made no attempt to restrain herself and stared at him unabashedly, saying, "Information from Qianjinfang is very expensive. Can you afford the price?"

The person outside pursed their lips. "I heard that buying information from Qianjinfang doesn't necessarily involve paying money; it can also be..."

"Alright, let me rephrase my question," Fang Zilan interrupted the person outside the door without ceremony. "Can you afford the price?"

"What price?" The voice outside the door lowered slightly. Fang Zilan raised an eyebrow. "That depends on what you have to offer."

The person outside stood there thoughtfully. Seeing this, Mingxiang came out, bowed to Fang Zilan, and said, "Master, leave ordinary business to me."

“This is not an ordinary business.” The man outside the door quickly waved his hand. “What I want to ask is not ordinary information either. The sect leader asked Qianjinfang before, but never received a reply. It’s rare for Miss Zhen to be here, so I want to ask clearly all at once.”

Upon hearing the title "Sect Master," Fang Zilan suddenly recalled what Huo Chun'er had told her that night: during the operation to annihilate King Chu Bin, members of various sects had gone missing, including the eldest disciple of the Huo family of the Blade Sect. However, when the Huo family patriarch inquired with Qianjinfang, he never received an answer.

Thinking of this, she roughly understood what the person outside wanted, so she stopped beating around the bush and asked bluntly, "You came to me to ask about your senior brother?"

The person outside the door beamed with delight, "Miss Zhen knows?"

"I can give you the answer," Fang Zilan said with a meaningful smile. "The key question is, what price are you willing to pay for this?"

"What does Miss Zhen want?" the person outside asked impatiently. Fang Zilan's smile widened. "Anything is fine with me?"

The person outside the door replied without hesitation, "Anything is fine."

"Okay." Fang Zilan nodded in satisfaction. "I need you to do something for me. If you succeed, you will know the answer when the Spring Festival ends."

The man outside was about to agree immediately, but then suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "What does Miss Zhen want me to do? If it goes against the code of the martial world..." Before he could finish speaking, Fang Zilan impatiently cut him off, "Enough with the nonsense, just say whether you're willing or not. If you're not willing, you can leave now."

The person outside hesitated for a long time before gritting their teeth and saying, "I'm willing."

Fang Zilan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had originally wanted to leverage the influence of the martial arts world to make this scheme bigger and more successful, but her name, Zixiu, only inspired fear and was not something she could easily use. Just when she was wondering where to find a mediocre martial arts figure, someone offered themselves up. Why not take it?
Fang Zilan asked thoughtfully, "With the Persian envoy causing so much trouble for Prince Yucheng, won't the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager lose their temper?"

“Indeed.” Xiao Xuan’er nodded slightly. “However, His Majesty’s move is precisely because he values ​​Prince Yucheng’s noble status. From this perspective, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager can’t say much, but…”

She paused for a moment, then said, "Those two ladies in the palace have never been easy to deal with. Since His Majesty couldn't vent his anger on them, he took it out on the Empress."

Fang Zilan frowned. "How exactly did you take your anger out on me?"

"Since the Empress has no children, those two ladies have made a fuss about it quite a bit. However, the Empress is intelligent, quick-witted, and quite shrewd; she is not someone those two ladies can easily manipulate." After saying this, Xiao Xuan'er looked at Fang Zilan's ambiguous expression, coughed lightly, and changed the subject, "Lord Fang, have you seen the list of the Di Rong delegation?"

“I’ve seen it, and it’s exactly as you described.” Fang Zilan said quietly, “Miagu is among them.”

“Mi'agu is the general leading the Di Rong army, known as the Di Rong's greatest warrior. He has entered the capital with the delegation, so the stalemate between the Di Rong and Persia can only be managed by the Dugu family.” Xiao Xuan'er pursed her lips. “I’m worried…”

She didn't continue, and Fang Zilan composed herself. "Worrying is useless. Now that Miagu has entered the capital, he will either plead guilty or threaten us. But he has no right to run wild in the capital. The Dugu family has guarded the western border for many years, and General Dugu Xin can keep them in check. The Persians and the Di Rong dare not act rashly."

Xiao Xuan'er looked hesitant, and Fang Zilan pressed, "Is there anything else?"

"That servant of the Yun family of Xiwu City—Mr. Zuo—has also come to the capital." Xiao Xuan'er's words had barely finished when Fang Zilan froze. "What did you say?"

“The sisters of Qianjinfang accidentally discovered that Mr. Zuo had entered the territory of Dajing and chased him all the way to the capital, but he disappeared without a trace.” Xiao Xuan’er looked worried. “Both delegations are already in the capital. Mr. Zuo’s entry into the capital at this time must be for some purpose.”

"Has the Prince Zhongzheng's residence been investigated?" Fang Zilan asked solemnly. Xiao Xuan'er nodded and said, "It has been investigated. Mr. Zuo is not hiding there. Everything else is as usual."

"Send people to continue searching for Mr. Zuo's whereabouts," Fang Zilan said in a low voice. "Also, keep a close eye on Murong Qing. He can't have remained inactive since Mr. Zuo entered the capital."

Xiao Xuan'er accepted the order and left. Fang Zilan was restless. She had been paying close attention to the Di Rong delegation ever since they arrived in the capital. However, the Di Rong delegation's attitude was unexpectedly good. They readily apologized and accepted punishment, which made the Persian delegation seem aggressive.

The Persian envoy deliberately provoked the Di Rong delegation several times, but the delegation remained neither humble nor arrogant. In the end, the Persian envoy was somewhat embarrassed and decided to stop causing trouble and accepted the Di Rong's apology.

Seeing that the two sides had reached a friendly agreement with the help of Dajing, Fang Zilan felt a little more at ease. Little did she know that as the delegation was about to leave the capital, she would be dragged into the mess.