Don't ask where people go

Chapter 1863 Better
Miss Dugu pointed to a pastry shop on the street, "My daughter likes bean cakes. I'll go buy some and then come back."

Fang Zilan hesitated for a moment, then agreed, "Alright, I'll go with you."

Miss Dugu forced a smile, "I've already troubled the young master's wife for so long today, so I won't bother her with such a small matter..."

“Miss Dugu.” Fang Zilan composed herself and said in a deep voice, “These are turbulent times. I hope you will take good care of yourself.”

Miss Dugu lowered her head and said softly, "Thank you, Madam, in any case."

Fang Zilan watched Miss Dugu quietly for a while before letting go of her hand and leaving without looking back.

Miss Dugu watched Fang Zilan's retreating figure, her hand clenched into a fist hidden in her sleeve. Things had come to this point; there was no turning back.

"Truly stubborn and incorrigible." Fang Zilan, hiding in the street corner, sighed as she spoke.

“Lady, she is my sister.” Dugu Ming’s voice came from behind Fang Zilan. “No matter what you want to do, I will make sure she gets out of here unscathed.”

“A brave man cuts off his own arm, but there is a right way to choose.” Fang Zilan glanced sideways at her. “If the Dugu family is to live, then she cannot live.”

"I don't accept the method of sacrificing one person to save many lives," Dugu Ming said in a deep voice. "I will find other..."

Fang Zilan's face turned cold. "Young General Dugu, if you want to deceive yourself, I won't stop you."

Dugu Ming stepped forward and questioned, "I'm deceiving myself? Madam, from the very beginning, you never intended to help her..."

“Yes.” Fang Zilan interrupted Dugu Ming. “I have my own demands for the truth. As for that, what do the lives of others have to do with me?”

"You!" Dugu Ming glared angrily, but Fang Zilan met his gaze. "Young General Dugu, I had no intention of helping you. If you can't find the mastermind behind the two assassination attempts, the Dugu family will be exposed sooner or later."

She scoffed, "At that time, you can't guarantee who will escape unscathed."

Dugu Ming took a deep breath. "Princess's wife, just you wait and see. Neither my sister nor the Dugu family will escape unscathed."

He spoke at the end as if making a firm decision, almost gritting his teeth, "I promise."

Fang Zilan remained noncommittal, watching as Dugu Ming made his statement and followed Miss Dugu into the pastry shop.

Zhuge Yu, who had come with Dugu Ming, stood not far away, listening to the entire conversation between the two, but never came over.

Fang Zilan looked at Zhuge Yu, and when their eyes met, they both saw a complex and unspoken expression in each other's eyes, but neither of them said it.

In the past, Zhuge Yu would have thought Fang Zilan was all talk and no action, but once Dugu Ming figured it out, he would have known she had gone to great lengths. But now, with the situation unclear and her standing between light and shadow, he couldn't see clearly and was unsure whether she was using force or malice.

He only knew that if he were in Dugu Ming's shoes, his choice might be the only one. To exchange one person's death for the lives of many, just like his sister in the past... Thinking of this, Zhuge Yu closed his eyes, then turned his back and was about to leave quickly when he heard Fang Zilan's voice.

“Ayu, she is not Zhuge Shan.” As if guessing what Zhuge Yu was thinking, Fang Zilan said word by word, “If there had been even the slightest chance back then, I think Wei Mao would not have let Zhuge Shan lose her life.”

“I know,” Zhuge Yu said in a muffled voice, “Fu Congnan is not Wei Ang, and is even far inferior to him. But…”

He slowly turned around, as if using all his strength, "Although they stood on different battlefields, their circumstances were no different. When it came to life and death, they never had that one chance."

"When did this happen?" Fang Zilan frowned slightly, and the steward said in a flustered manner, "It was the morning you left the manor, Master Fang. The maid who was taking care of Miss Cong found her unconscious in her room, with blood all over her body. She quickly called for a doctor, and that's when she discovered that she had miscarried. Before you left, you specifically instructed us to take good care of Miss Cong, but who would have thought..."

Fang Zilan impatiently interrupted him, "What did the doctor say? What was the cause of the miscarriage?"

“Miss Cong accidentally ingested saffron.” After saying this, the steward hurriedly explained, “It was an accident. When Miss Awan was checking the medicinal herbs in the manor earlier, she said that the saffron was gone and instructed the servants to replenish it. It just so happens that Miss Cong Rong, who is pregnant, needs to go to the pharmacy regularly to get her medicine, so I had someone go with her to get it. Perhaps it was an accident…”

He kept glancing at Fang Zilan's face as he spoke, his voice getting softer and softer until it finally fell silent.

Fang Zilan glanced at him and snorted coldly, "Accidentally?"

"I have already kicked the person who took the medicine out of the manor, as well as the maid who handled it, and kicked her out as well." The steward was sweating profusely. "As for the other people in the manor, I have disciplined them all, and this kind of mistake will never happen again."

Fang Zilan said irritably, "If you come again, just disappear. Don't let me see you again."

"Yes, yes, yes," the butler hurriedly replied, then heard her ask, "How is Miss Cong now?"

"When Miss Cong miscarried, she was too far along in her pregnancy, which damaged her health. She couldn't get out of bed for a long time," Guan Chang sighed. "She's a little better a few days ago and can get out of bed and walk around, but she's still very haggard and can't even stand steadily in the wind."

"I understand, you may leave." Fang Zilan finished speaking, then suddenly remembered something and called out to the steward, "Don't let Miss Cong know about the sealing of the mansion yet. I will tell her myself later."

The butler nodded and then withdrew. After he left, Fang Zilan sat in the hall, resting her chin on her hand and lost in thought. On the way to the southeast, she had been thinking that if Cong Rong intended to harm her, she should have used some potent poison.

Now that she knows it's saffron, Cong Rong's suspicion is basically eliminated. After all, this medicine not only has no effect on her, but it would also cause Cong Rong to miscarry and harm her health, which would be a loss for her.

However, the medicine was placed in the tea, meaning it wasn't accidentally mixed up as the housekeeper claimed, but rather a deliberate act. This indicates that someone else was responsible for the poisoning, and that person's target was likely Cong Rong's unborn child.

Could it be Fang Yuhan who knows about the child's existence but doesn't want the child to be born?
Thinking about it this way, the housekeeper is also highly suspicious. He had a doctor check and found saffron, but couldn't find anything wrong with the tea Cong Rong drank. He claimed it was an accidental mix-up of medicines, while simultaneously punishing the person who handled it, making it difficult for her to investigate afterwards. It's really suspicious.

Now she needs to confirm with Awan that it was saffron that caused the abnormality in her pulse, and she also needs to test Cong Rong and the steward. It seems that being confined to the manor doesn't mean she can be carefree; she's truly destined to be busy.

(End of this chapter)