novelraw Chapter 1944 True or False
Chapter 1944 True or False
Chapter 1944 True or False
Fu Congnan forced a smile, "Princess Consort, this is my residence after all, and I'm more familiar with it. Looking for the Prince..."
"General Fu, are you trying to get rid of me?" Fang Zilan interrupted Fu Congnan, his smile growing increasingly stiff. "That's not what I meant, it's just..."
He paused, then quietly gestured to the soldiers behind him with his hands behind his back, and the hidden door suddenly closed.
"Miss Zhen, are you truly the young master's wife?" Fu Congnan still had a smile on his face, but it now carried a sinister, insincere undertone. "Or let me put it another way, are you truly Miss Fang the Third?"
Fang Zilan looked at Fu Congnan with a calm expression, "If I weren't Miss Fang, what would General Fu think I am?"
“Miss Zhen, a substitute marriage can’t be foolproof. If the Prince of Zhongzheng finds out that he didn’t marry Miss Fang, but someone else…” Fu Congnan trailed off, “Do you think the entire Prince of Zhongzheng’s mansion will let this go? Will the Fang family still have a way out?”
"What is General Fu saying? I can't understand a single word!" Fang Zilan's expression turned cold. "What do you mean by a substitute bride..."
“Miss Zhen, even if you deny it, it’s too late.” Fu Congnan laughed out loud as if he had heard a joke. “Back when His Majesty was still Prince Xiang, he proposed to Miss Fang. Their deep affection was the envy of everyone. How can he just stand by and watch her marry Prince Zhongzheng and live a life of widowhood?”
His eyes held an undisguised mockery. "I was wondering why the army was pressing on Lin City. Turns out it was to get you, Miss Zhen, to marry into the Prince of Zhongzheng's household. What a pity. Back then, you single-handedly stormed the Jiangnan camp for His Majesty, only to be sold to the people of Miluo in the end..."
"So that's how General Fu sees me." Fang Zilan curled her lips, but a layer of frost appeared in her eyes. "Since that's the case, then I might as well be frank with you. I am Fang Zilan, the third young lady of the Fang family. I was once the woman Li Shengxuan sought to marry, and I was also the one he sold into the Miluo River. I am here today for Fang Lihui."
After saying that, ignoring Fu Congnan's astonished expression, she pulled out the short knife hidden on her body and pointed it at his chest, "If you know what's good for you, hand over Fang Lihui. Otherwise, I don't mind turning your birthday into your death anniversary."
People are always reluctant to expose their shortcomings, so when Fang Zilan laid everything out, whether it was true or false, she had already won the battle in terms of momentum.
Moreover, Fang Zilan's words were not a lie; she has always been bold and responsible in her actions.
Hong Tai, hiding in the shadows, watched coldly, feeling inexplicably sad. She had finally come to this point and could only use herself as a bargaining chip.
"Miss Fang the Third?" Fu Congnan repeated the title with amusement. "The rumored, frail and delicate Miss Fang, who lives a secluded life in her boudoir?"
"It's true that I live a secluded life, but I may not be as frail as I seem." Fang Zilan didn't need to guess what Fu Congnan was thinking; in his mind, the Third Miss Fang and the Zhen family of Qianjinfang could not be the same person.
"In the third year of Tai'an, the mountain bandits were decimated by the great fire at Feiling Mountain. Afterwards, the young Hong siblings mingled among them, enduring years of hardship, finally rising to the position of bandit leader. With their restraint, the mountain bandits were relatively well-behaved for those years. However…"
Yin Quanzhang paused for a moment, "That year, when Su Che, the lord of the Su family, retired, he was passing through Fengyu County when he was attacked by bandits, and his entire family lost their lives. However, the bandits used the gold and silver treasures they had stolen, stained with the blood of the Su family, to bribe the minor officials in Fengyu County, and even bribed the men under the Rong'an Prince through connections, thus framing Fei Lingshan for the case."
Fang Zilan's expression hardened. "But I remember that the case of the murder of Lord Su Che's family was ultimately left unresolved."
At that time, she returned to the capital from the southeast and could not forget Su Yuexi's death. She took advantage of her position to find the case records from that year, saying that the thieves were hard to find. After a few years, she forgot about it. After all, more than one or two people died at the hands of thieves every year. Although there were many cases, most of them were unsolved. Even if the victims were members of the Su family, it would not have made any difference.
"The reason why it ended up being left unresolved..." Yin Quanzhang's voice pulled Fang Zilan back to reality. He sighed and said, "It's because the Hong siblings saw reality clearly. If they want to truly gain a foothold, they can only cooperate with the government."
"What do you mean?" Fang Zilan frowned, almost blurting out, "The Hong siblings became outlaws precisely because..."
She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, and Yin Quanzhang interjected, "It's true that the Hong siblings are doing this for Prince Yu Ning, Ji Ningtian, but he is far away in the capital and cannot interfere in the southern officialdom on his own. Moreover, this is exactly the situation that Ji Ningtian wanted to see."
He said with a hint of sarcasm, "So what if you become a bandit leader? Compared to the imperial army, who wouldn't call mountain bandits and outlaws a rabble? Only by aligning themselves with the government can they achieve lasting peace."
"So the Hong siblings compromised?" Fang Zilan's voice was very soft, but Yin Quanzhang still heard it. He nodded and said, "Yes, they had no choice but to compromise."
Fang Zilan turned her head away. The robbery of Lord Su Che's family was originally an accident, but it was exploited by various parties, and even the culprits could not be punished...
“I suspect that Miss Fang is feeling indignant on behalf of Lord Su Che’s family, but that’s not the whole story.” Yin Quanzhang’s expression was inscrutable as he said in a deep voice, “I have met Miss Su Yuexi.”
"What did you say..." Fang Zilan turned around, staring intently at Yin Quanzhang, her eyes filled with obvious shock.
“Miss Su Yuexi is patient and intelligent. She was able to lie low for many years and use the Xiahou family to restore justice for her own family.” Yin Quanzhang met Fang Zilan’s gaze and said with a bitter tone, “But even so, she was kept in the dark for many years and never knew the truth until her death.”
"What is the truth..." Fang Zilan's voice trembled violently. She had guessed to some extent, but she couldn't believe it.
"The murder of Lord Su Che and his family was not an accident, but a deliberate act." Yin Quanzhang's hand trembled, and the candle flame in his hand flickered as if it would go out at any moment.
"The Su family is the one pulling the strings behind the scenes."
Fang Zilan involuntarily took two steps back. When her back hit the railing, she felt a dull pain, but it was nothing compared to the heart-wrenching pain caused by Yin Quanzhang's words.
"I don't believe it, why..." Fang Zilan raised her hand and gripped the railing tightly, as if a drowning person had grabbed onto a piece of driftwood.
"Lord Su Che is fair and incorruptible; Miss Fang must have heard of him." Yin Quanzhang's brows furrowed, and his voice carried a chill. "However, no noble family can be considered truly innocent. Especially the Su family, who used elixirs to curry favor with the former emperor, exchanging flattery for wealth and power..."
“That was the Su family of the past, and now…” Fang Zilan abruptly interrupted Yin Quanzhang, and retorted sharply, “But Lord Su Che is the Su family of the past that you speak of.”