Don't Ask Where People Go After Time Travel

Chapter 1984 Hesitation

Chapter 1984 Hesitation

Fang Zitong turned her head and looked over, curiously examining Fang Zilan. She stared at her for a while, still full of doubt, and finally looked up at Fang Chongzheng for help, "Father, who is Lord Fang?"

"He's my father's friend, and he's your friend too." Fang Chongzheng's voice was gentle as he pulled on the ropes to stop the swing. "I have something to say to Lord Fang. I'll come and keep you company later, okay?"

Fang Zitong thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay." After saying that, she jumped off the swing and turned to the maid beside her, calling out, "Dongxue, let's go fly kites!"

Dongxue? Fang Zilan was stunned when she heard the name. It wasn't until Fang Zitong and the maid named "Dongxue" disappeared from sight that she heard Fang Chongzheng say, "Of all the maids, she only remembers Dongxue."

Fang Zilan remained silent. Fang Chongzheng looked at her and said, "I have heard about what happened in the court the other day. Is this why you came, Lord Fang?"

"Yes." Fang Zilan pursed her lips. "If the Prime Minister is unavailable, I will visit him another day."

“Lord Fang, hesitation will only lead to harm.” Fang Chongzheng’s words stopped Fang Zilan from leaving. “Since you’re already here, you might as well stay for a cup of tea before you go.”

"I apologize for disturbing you." Fang Zilan bowed and then followed Fang Chongzheng into the hall. After taking her seat, she picked up her teacup but did not move it for a long time.

"Lord Fang, you can't keep the White Jade Tiger Tally, so why bother..." Before Fang Chongzheng could finish speaking, there was a loud crash as the teacup in Fang Zilan's hand fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Fang Zilan casually straightened her sleeves, seemingly unintentionally covering the red burn marks on her hands. "What do you mean by that, Your Excellency?"

"The Di Rong delegation is about to arrive in the capital, and I imagine Lord Fang is already aware of this." Fang Chongzheng took a sip of tea and said calmly, "In addition, the Di Rong tribes have recently had several clashes with Persia and Miluo. Although they haven't escalated into full-scale war, there have been quite a few casualties. Is Lord Fang aware of this?"

"I know." Fang Zilan's voice lowered slightly. Fang Chongzheng pressed, "Then does Lord Fang know when the friction began?"

“After the spring hunt.” Fang Zilan answered quickly, and Fang Chongzheng said meaningfully, “It’s quite a coincidence that this is the right time.”

Fang Zilan took a deep breath. "It seems they started planning this a long time ago. I just don't understand why it had to be the white jade tiger tally?"

Fang Chongzheng poured himself more tea. "Lord Fang thinks that as long as the other half of the white jade tiger tally is in the southeast camp, it doesn't matter who has the other half, right?"

Fang Zilan remained silent, seemingly in agreement. Fang Chongzheng continued, "I suspect that not only Lord Fang, but other court officials also share this view. Since this half of the tiger tally was previously in General Xiahou's hands, there's nothing wrong with handing it over to Prince Rong'an now. After all, it's all in the southeast, and as long as there's the Southeast Camp to check and balance it, there won't be any loss."

He paused for a moment, then said, “What makes Lord Fang different from other court officials is that he knows that Prince Rong’an is not a kind person and fears that he might use the white jade tiger tally to cause trouble. But if Prince Rong’an is a benevolent ruler who cares for the people, would you really hand over this half of the white jade tiger tally to him?”

Fang Zilan suddenly realized, "Does the Prime Minister mean that this half of the white jade tiger tally cannot be given to a member of the royal family who has a fiefdom?"

“This was originally a rule set by Emperor Tai’an, what a pity.” Fang Chongzheng sighed. “At the end of the previous dynasty, when Emperor Tai’an raised his army, he obtained the tiger tally from a member of the Ji clan. Therefore, after the founding of the dynasty, a rule was established that members of the imperial clan could not possess tiger tallies, especially those with fiefdoms. However, a few years later, this rule was broken because of Consort Yu.”

"Did you think of something?" Awan watched Fang Zilan busy at the table, first tracing the pattern in the envelope, then making a rubbing of the pattern on the jade talisman, and finally staring at the patterns on the two pieces of paper without saying a word.

Awan looked at the two pieces of paper several times, then Fang Zilan handed her a pen. "Want to try?" "Try what? Complete the pattern?" Awan took the pen, and seeing Fang Zilan nod, she took another piece of paper and drew a symmetrical pattern based on the pattern in the envelope.

Fang Zilan also took a piece of paper and, comparing it with the pattern on the jade talisman, drew a symmetrical pattern.

For a moment, the four pieces of paper were pieced together, but it still looked like something was missing.

"Why is it still not right?" Awan fiddled with the four sheets of paper repeatedly. "Could it be that this jade pendant was originally supposed to have five pieces?"

"How many prominent families are there in Lingnan?" Fang Zilan stared intently at the pattern on the paper, and Awan subconsciously replied, "Five families in Lingnan..."

She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, and after a long pause, murmured, "You mean, this jade pendant belongs to the five families of Lingnan? But I clearly saw this pattern on Shang Zhongyi's body..."

"This jade talisman originally belonged to Du Ruohan," Fang Zilan interrupted Awan, "and it is said that it was the key to her Du family pawnshop."

As she spoke, she pointed to the paper with the jade talisman pattern printed on it. A-Wan followed her finger and looked over, her voice trembling slightly, "Could these be five keys?"

Before Fang Zilan could answer, she said, "Let's go back to the capital and stop investigating."

"Why?" Fang Zilan asked calmly. Awan couldn't answer, but she bit her lip tightly. The instinctive fear was always particularly unpredictable, yet it was the most powerful prohibition.

"Fang Zilan..." Awan called out her full name, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she asked, "How is my cousin Lihui doing these days?"

Her question was so abrupt that even Awan didn't react at first, so she could only follow up by asking, "Why did you suddenly think of asking about Young Master Lihui?"

“I remember my cousin Li Hui loved to carry a folding fan, with a jade pendant hanging from the handle.” Fang Zilan’s expression was inscrutable, but A Wan’s face changed as she listened to her say to herself, “But during all these days of court proceedings, my cousin Li Hui has never once taken out his ever-present folding fan.”

Awan opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She thought that Fang Lihui was seriously injured and no longer as precious as before, so he no longer had the dashing demeanor of hiding his elegance with a folding fan.

However, she forgot that the Empress's decree had been issued, the Fang family was still the Fang family, and Fang Lihui was still the head of the family. If he liked a mere folding fan, why didn't he take it?

"I don't remember what Young Master Li Hui's fan pendant looked like..." Awan heard her own voice. She didn't want to distort her memories out of fear and push everyone into a state of utter evil.

The candlelight flickered precariously. Fang Zilan picked up the four sheets of paper she had drawn on and brought them closer. The flame immediately licked at them.

"What are you doing?" In her panic, Awan grabbed Fang Zilan's wrist. "We finally managed to..."

She didn't finish her sentence; the rest of her words, along with the paper in Fang Zilan's hand, were completely swallowed up by the firelight.