Chapter 25 The Dungeon: I Have Something Good for Your Majesty

Inside the dungeon, screams of agony rose and fell incessantly.

Dressed in black robes with his hair tied up high, Xie Lanzhou stood to the side with his hands clasped behind his back, looking expressionlessly at the several people hanging in the prison, who were the captured assassins.

The dungeon commander, whose face was covered with black iron, stepped forward and reported: "Your Majesty, we have used all the tortures we could, but they still refuse to talk."

Xie Lanzhou nodded: "I didn't expect my good brother to have trained a group of loyal followers to serve him. I underestimated him."

He glanced at the group and said coldly, "Continue, just don't let anyone die."

After saying that, he turned to the Seventeenth Guard and said, "Spread the word that the assassin we caught has already been confessed to. Do it discreetly, but make sure it reaches Prince Rui's ears."

The seventeen-fold bow should be correct.

Xie Lanzhou continued walking forward, his imposing manner and leisurely stroll making him seem more like he was wandering in the Imperial Garden than in a blood-soaked dungeon.

Upon reaching the gates of several heavily guarded prisons, the commander reported, "Your Majesty, the envoys of the Yan Kingdom are all imprisoned here."

Xie Lanzhou nodded and peered through the small crack in the door. The furnishings of these cells were noticeably better than the previous ones. In fact, the cell at the very back, where the fifth prince of Yan was imprisoned, even had a bookshelf, and he was sitting cross-legged on a futon reading a book.

Xie Lanzhou frowned slightly, and the commander immediately explained, "Your Majesty, these are all envoys. I dare not act on my own initiative and arbitrarily use torture."

It's understandable that he had concerns. After all, it's customary for both countries to kill their envoys during wartime, especially since this envoy had come specifically to negotiate peace before the war. If they had all died in the Great Qi, it would likely have drawn criticism.

Xie Lanzhou walked to the door of the last cell and asked him to open it.

The prison door opened, and Yan Shao, the fifth prince of Yan, who was sitting on a futon reading a book, looked up at the newcomer and snorted disdainfully.

"How dare you! You don't even bow to His Majesty!" the prison warden shouted.

Yan Shao's tone was disrespectful: "As the emperor of Qi, you actually went back on your word and are not worthy of my bowing to you."

The commander drew his sword, intending to teach the man a lesson.

Instead, he stood up and raised his voice, saying, "I'm standing right here. Do you dare kill me?"

After saying that, he gave Xie Lanzhou a provocative look, who had not uttered a word from beginning to end.

"Tsk." Xie Lanzhou clicked his tongue impatiently. Seventeen, who was standing to the side, made a move with lightning speed, and the Fifth Prince fell to his knees with a thud.

He still refused to bow his head, but Seventeen pressed his head hard against the ground. He struggled and resisted, but could not budge it at all. Instead, he scraped his forehead, leaving a pool of blood on the ground.

Xie Lanzhou glanced at him disdainfully and said in a calm voice, "I will naturally not kill you, but I can lock you up here for the rest of your life."

The Fifth Prince Yan Shao laughed and said, "Do you really think that my Yan Kingdom is no match for you? You tyrant, how could you know that a thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant's bite?"

Xie Lanzhou's tone remained calm: "To me, Prince Rui is indeed like an ant."

Seeing that he had hit the nail on the head, Yan Shao still gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "My Yan Kingdom has other allies, which is much better than you, a tyrant, who is isolated and helpless."

"Once I leave, I will expose your atrocities against the envoys. Then, who will be willing to cooperate with you?"

"Just you wait!"

Xie Lanzhou sneered: "You really think you can get out? Your good father has already drafted an imperial edict to make your elder brother the crown prince, hasn't he? Even if you die in this prison, I'm afraid no one will come to collect your body."

His words seemed to have touched a nerve with Yan Shao, who stopped struggling and fell silent.

Xie Lanzhou gestured to Seventeen to release his grip on him.

Yan Shao remained kneeling on the ground, looking up at the wound on his forehead, where blood was still flowing, which was particularly noticeable on his fair face.

Xie Lanzhou inexplicably thought of the sickly husband that Su Panyue had mentioned yesterday, and a wave of irritation washed over her. She had no desire to get entangled with him any further.

He spoke, "Wipe your face clean and think carefully about what you should do, Fifth Prince." The last three words were spoken very softly, with a hint of mockery.

After saying that, he turned and left, with the dungeon commander following behind, asking, "Your Majesty, what should be done with these envoys?"

Xie Lanzhou said in a deep voice, "Keep it locked up for now, remove all the things inside that are used to pass the time, and don't do anything else."

Having arranged everything, he left the dungeon. Reaching the entrance, he suddenly stopped and asked Seventeen, "How's the investigation I asked you to do?"

Seventeen knelt down and begged for forgiveness: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was unable to find out about Miss Su's past."

"When she entered the palace, she filled in her place of origin as Sujia Town, which is under the jurisdiction of Xiangyang. I sent someone by fast horse to Sujia Town, and the news that came back said..."

Xie Lanzhou frowned: "What did you say?"

Seventeen hesitated and said, "They say there has never been a girl named Su Panyue in Sujia Town."

Xie Lanzhou's face was grim: "Continue the investigation, focusing on the sick and weak widowers near Sujia Town, and make sure no one finds out."

Although Seventeen didn't understand, carrying out orders was the instinct of a secret guard, so he immediately accepted the order and withdrew.

Xie Lanzhou curled her lips into a sinister smile. This woman's identity was fake; she probably wanted to get rid of her sickly and helpless husband. She was clever enough.

*

Su Panyue, who was waiting outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, sneezed, rubbed her nose, and wondered if she had caught a chill from falling into the water last night. She cursed Xie Lanzhou in her heart again.

As the sun rose high in the sky and no one returned, Su Panyue grew restless and whispered to Shouxi, who was waiting nearby, "When do you think he'll be back?"

Suki shook his head: "I don't know either."

Su Panyue sighed, "How about I leave first, and you can call me when he comes back?"

Sukiyaki agreed.

Just as Su Panyue was about to leave, she saw Imperial Physician Gao carrying a medicine box and walking towards her from afar.

She went up to him and warmly reached out to take the medicine box from his hands: "Imperial Physician Gao, you've come to see His Majesty, haven't you? Let me carry it for you."

Physician Gao hugged his medicine box even tighter and took two steps to the side, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, young lady, but it's not necessary."

Su Panyue pouted and followed him to the palace gate, whispering, "His Majesty is not here. Would you like to wait a while?"

The imperial physician Gao did not speak, but glanced at her before carrying his medicine chest into the inner hall.

Su Panyue was dumbfounded. Pointing at his back, she asked the guard standing by the gate, "Why can he go in but I can't?"

The guard kept his eyes straight ahead, seemingly not having heard her question.

Su Panyue stomped her feet in frustration, but there was nothing she could do.

Inside the palace, Xie Lanzhou had already returned to his bedchamber through the secret passage and was sitting on the edge of the bed looking through something.

Imperial Physician Gao entered the hall and bowed, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

Xie Lanzhou raised his hand to help him up: "You've arrived. I'll have to trouble you to stay here for a while longer this time."

Imperial Physician Gao put down his medicine box, unwrapped the wound on the man's arm, changed the dressing, and re-bandaged it. He couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, will this method work?"

Xie Lanzhou felt the stinging pain from the dressing change on his arm, but he didn't even frown. His tone just turned colder: "The fox's tail will always be revealed eventually."

This was Xie Lanzhou's plan: to keep the imperial physicians out, to send heavy troops to guard the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and to allow all palace servants to enter but not leave, creating the illusion that he was still unconscious, and then to spread the news that the dungeon assassin had given in, and then just wait for the fish to take the bait.

Suddenly remembering something, Imperial Physician Gao said, "Your Majesty, the antidote for the deadly poison that you asked me to prepare earlier has been ready."

Xie Lanzhou snapped out of his thoughts, his expression softening slightly as he asked, "Have you tried the medicine?"

Imperial Physician Gao nodded: "I can assure you that nothing will go wrong."

Xie Lanzhou nodded: "Thank you for your trouble. Please send it to her as soon as possible."

After hesitating for a long time, Imperial Physician Gao finally spoke: "When I came over just now, I saw Miss Su waiting outside the door, and she seemed a little unhappy."

Xie Lanzhou was somewhat surprised. "I understand." After saying that, he ordered someone to take Imperial Physician Gao to a side hall to rest.

Then he called out, "Fulin, come here."

Eunuch Fu entered the hall with small, quick steps: "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

Xie Lanzhou said, "Go out and see if Su Panyue is outside."

Eunuch Fu sighed and was about to leave when he turned back and asked, "Should we let her in through the main gate, Your Majesty?"

Xie Lanzhou hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Bring her in through the secret passage, and be careful."

Eunuch Fu was somewhat surprised. As the emperor's sleeping quarters, the Hall of Mental Cultivation could not possibly have only one entrance and exit. There were also secret doors and passages designed specifically for times of crisis, which was a highly confidential matter. His Majesty had actually allowed a mere palace maid to know about it.

Seeing Xie Lanzhou's slightly impatient expression, Eunuch Fu swallowed his words of advice.

Upon reaching the palace gate, he did not see Su Panyue. When Shouxi saw him come out, he respectfully asked, "Godfather, is there any arrangement?"

Eunuch Fu asked, "Has Miss Su come by?"

Suki said, "She waited here all morning and just left."

Eunuch Fu turned to go to the palace maids' quarters to look for her, but Shouxi followed behind and asked, "Godfather, are you looking for her? I can go and call her over for you. Why do you have to make the trip yourself?"

Fu Gonggong gave him a speechless look, then raised his hand and tapped his forehead: "You'd better be more careful. Show some respect to Miss Su in the future, and don't upset her!"

"You go in and serve them first, I'll be right back."

Shouxi looked bewildered, watching Fu Gonggong's hurried departure, and scratched his forehead in confusion.

Eunuch Fu finally found Su Panyue in the Imperial Kitchen. She was eating a chicken leg and greeted him warmly when she saw him coming.

"Grandpa Fu? Have you eaten? Would you like to join us?"

Eunuch Fu quickly waved his hand: "Miss Su, have you finished eating? If you have, please come with me."

Su Panyue asked in confusion, "Where to? Is His Majesty looking for me?"

After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Eunuch Fu secretly nodded and said, "Let's go, His Majesty is waiting for you."

Su Panyue put down the chicken leg, washed her hands, and said, "Wait a moment, I have something good to bring to His Majesty."

Upon hearing her words, Grandpa Fu quickly made a "shh" gesture, wishing he could go up and cover her mouth.

Su Panyue blinked, unsure if he agreed, then turned and picked up the food box beside her before saying, "Let's go."

Walking on the road, Grandpa Fu was very careful, looking around anxiously for fear of being discovered.

Leading the group into the alley, Su Panyue asked in confusion, "Eunuch Fu, this doesn't seem to be the way to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, does it? Where are we going?"

Eunuch Fu hesitated. His Majesty only said to take her through the secret passage, but did not say whether he should tell her more. So he just said vaguely, "Miss Su, just follow this old servant."

Looking at the increasingly desolate and remote path in front of her, Su Panyue felt a little panicked. She found Fu Gonggong's words more and more suspicious, and his hurried and cautious manner was also very strange.

Su Panyue took a deep breath, subtly moved her wrist, aimed at the back of Eunuch Fu's head, and with a swift palm strike, knocked him unconscious.

Fu Gonggong's plump body fell to the ground. Su Panyue hesitated for a long time, then mustered all her strength and dragged him to a secluded place.

She wasn't using much force, and if nothing unexpected happens, he should wake up in less than an hour.

"I'm sorry, Eunuch Fu, you've been acting very strangely today. I can't go with you. I need to go see His Majesty first. If there's any misunderstanding, I promise to apologize to you."

After Su Panyue finished speaking, she picked up the food box again and walked back the way she came. The strange behavior of Eunuch Fu today made her start to worry about Xie Lanzhou.

With so many guards outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, nothing should happen, right?

She muttered to herself as she walked, completely unaware that a man in black was staring intently at her from around the corner.

"Help..." Before Su Panyue could even utter a sound, her mouth and nose were covered, the food box in her hand fell to the ground, and she quickly lost consciousness.

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Author's Note: First update! There's another one coming up, so refresh to check! [Dog head with rose in hand]