Don't ask where people go

Chapter 1854 The Wounded
Xiahou Yunzhao led his horse over and immediately secured a person who was tightly bound. Upon hearing the sound, the person struggled and cried out, but to no avail.

"Xiahou Mingxun, I really underestimated you." Xiahou Yunzhao's face was ashen as she stared at Xiahou Mingxun. "Smuggling poisonous insects and herbs, colluding with the Ghost Gate, and indiscriminately killing innocent people."

She spoke each word with great emphasis, "I had no idea you had such great abilities."

Xiahou Mingxun retorted like a child, "Back then, didn't my sister also have a relationship with Lady Qin for His Majesty's throne..."

"Shut up!" Xiahou Yunzhao's expression grew colder. "Xiahou Mingxun, I'm giving you one last chance to explain."

“Sister, you see through everything. I have nothing to say in my defense…” Xiahou Mingxun lowered his head, avoiding Xiahou Yunzhao’s gaze, but then heard her sneer, “Even if it’s for her sake, there’s nothing to say in my defense?”

As she spoke, she raised her hand and pulled the person off the horse, letting him fall heavily to the ground. Xiahou Mingxun remained indifferent, not even frowning. "Sister, why should I defend her?"

“Xiahou Mingxun, we were siblings, and I have never wronged you.” Xiahou Yunzhao’s hand rested on the hilt of her sword, and Xiahou Mingxun’s lips moved. “Sister, it is I who have wronged you.”

"If I had known this would happen," Xiahou Yunzhao drew her sword, "I should have killed you more than thirty years ago."

“It’s a pity you don’t.” Xiahou Mingxun’s gaze wavered for a moment as he dismounted. “Even now, you can’t kill me.”

"Xiahou Mingxun..." Xiahou Yunzhao's sword was pressed against Xiahou Mingxun's neck. He did not resist, but interrupted her, "Sister, I know very well what I am doing."

He curled the corners of his lips into a smile. "I've known this ever since I was born with the surname Xia."

Xiahou Yunzhao's hand holding the sword trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly. "I command you..."

“Sister, you are no longer the head of the family.” Xiahou Mingxun interrupted Xiahou Yunzhao. “From the moment you handed over the position of head of the family to me, you no longer have the right to command me.”

"Why?" Xiahou Yunzhao released her grip, and the sword clattered to the ground. "Can Judge Xie Chen protect you?"

“Sister, you and brother-in-law don’t need to protect me…” Xiahou Mingxun had barely opened his mouth when Xiahou Yunzhao grabbed his collar. “Tell me, besides the five families in Lingnan, who else knows about the poisonous insects and herbs? I’ll kill them all…”

“Sister!” Xiahou Mingxun frowned. “Too many people know about this. Not only have those officials found out, but the heir of the Fang family has also gotten involved. There’s no way to keep it a secret anymore.”

Xiahou Yunzhao looked up at the calm-faced person before her. She couldn't tell when it had started, but the boy, who had always been so close to her, had grown taller than her, standing before her, taking over the Xiahou family from her hands, fighting for his life on the battlefield without a single complaint. Until now, he had walked down a dead end…

When did things turn out like this? Xiahou Yunzhao subconsciously released Xiahou Mingxun's collar, took two steps back, and murmured, "Xiahou Mingxun, are you stupid? Neither the Xia family nor the Xiahou family is worth your life. Don't you understand?"

Fang Zilan pushed open the door and walked out of the guest room. From a distance, she saw Li Shengxuan and Xiahou Zhang looking for something. Awan, standing to the side, said impatiently, "Isn't it just a purse? Your master is rich enough to own the whole world, why would he care about a mere purse?"

“Miss Awan, you are mistaken.” Li Shengxuan stepped in front of Xiahou Zhang, who was about to lash out. “Even if one possesses mountains of gold and silver, one should be frugal and diligent, otherwise one day it will all be used up. Besides, I am not the richest man in the world.”

Awan frowned slightly and muttered softly, "If you are not the richest man in the world, who else dares to call themselves..." "What did you say?" Xiahou Zhang seemed to have reached his limit and said angrily, "My master did not ask you for help, yet you came over on your own initiative and said all this nonsense. What exactly do you mean by that?"

“I…” Awan was speechless for a moment, but then Fang Zilan walked over unhurriedly. Before she could ask for help, she said, “Are you looking for this?” As she spoke, she took out the purse left on the bed and waved it in front of them.

Upon seeing this, Xiahou Zhang blurted out, "How could it be with you..." He suddenly realized something was wrong halfway through his sentence and quickly fell silent.

Li Shengxuan paused for a moment, then realized that he must have been careless last night and it had fallen onto the bed. He pursed his lips, stepped forward, and said, "Thank you, this is indeed mine..."

"Wait a minute." Fang Zilan feinted, dodging Li Shengxuan's hand that reached for the purse. "Words are no proof. How do I know this purse is definitely yours?"

Li Shengxuan was silent for a moment, then said, "There is a plum blossom embroidered inside the purse."

"Plum blossom?" Fang Zilan opened her purse and sure enough, there was a crooked little flower embroidered inside. If the number of petals didn't match up, she would hardly believe that it was a plum blossom.

Seeing the disgust on Fang Zilan's face, Li Shengxuan couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips. "Well, do you believe me now?"

"I believe you now." Fang Zilan curled her lip and said in a drawn-out tone, "Your taste is truly—unique."

Upon hearing this, Li Shengxuan's smile widened even more. "I never expected that the person who gave me the purse back then would be so—unusual."

Fang Zilan raised an eyebrow. "Is the person who gave you the purse very important to you?"

"You don't know?" Li Shengxuan asked instead of answering. Fang Zilan asked curiously, "What do I know?"

"It's a custom in the capital that lovers exchange sachets to pledge their affection," Li Shengxuan explained. Fang Zilan replied naturally, "Oh, so it was given to me by my elder sister. No wonder you treasure it so much."

Before she could finish speaking, Li Shengxuan suddenly coughed, making her ask in confusion, "Did I say something wrong? But my elder sister's embroidery skills shouldn't be this bad..."

She paused, then suddenly realized, "Oh right, my eldest sister and you were engaged when you were young, which made sense back then..."

"That's enough." Li Shengxuan steadied his breathing and said helplessly in a soft voice, "It wasn't a gift from your elder sister."

"What?" Fang Zilan seemed not to have heard clearly, but before she could ask again, Li Shengxuan had already taken back the purse. "Anyway, thank you."

Fang Zilan was completely bewildered, not understanding why Li Shengxuan thanked her. If it was because the item had been returned to its rightful owner, he had already said so when he saw the purse, so there was no need to repeat himself. But…

"Miss Zixiu." The familiar voice pulled Fang Zilan back to her senses. She turned around and saw the person who had brought them to the guest room yesterday standing respectfully not far away. He bowed and said, "My young master invites you to come over, Miss."

Fang Zilan composed herself and said, "Thank you for your trouble."