Xiao Yunying frowned and covered her nose; the smell here was just too awful.

There was a damp, musty smell, mixed with excrement and various other unidentified odors. It was hard to imagine what I would smell like after living here for a few days.

Fortunately, her cell wasn't too deep inside and was closer to the door, so the stench wasn't too strong, and the air coming in and out allowed for some ventilation.

Alright, I won't be getting any proper sleep these days. I'll just have to sit here and make do with this rest.

I was already exhausted from traveling for so long, and then I ended up in jail without even having a chance to rest. What bad luck!

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the cell next door. Xiao Yunying was startled and turned to look.

That must be a cell specifically for holding women. There were four people in it, and now an old woman with disheveled hair and a dirty face was clinging to the wooden bars, staring at him fiercely.

Is this a sign of mental instability?

The old woman stared at her for a while, as if she had finally confirmed her identity, and suddenly shouted, "Xiao Yunying, it really is you!"

Xiao Yunying sized up the old woman, but her face was partially obscured by her messy hair, so she didn't recognize her.

"Who are you……"

The old woman seemed to remember something, and brushed her hair aside: "It's me! You've done this to me, and you don't even recognize me?!"

Xiao Yunying could barely make out her face and recognized who she was.

"Oh, Old Lady Liu."

This woman was Liu Ge's mother.

Old Mrs. Liu laughed like a madwoman: "Well, what goes around comes around! You've been locked up for committing a crime too. Serves you right, you little slut! This is retribution, retribution!"

Xiao Yunying calmly straightened her clothes: "You don't need to worry about my affairs. How about you? How have you been doing in prison these past few months? You seem to be in good spirits, so you must be doing quite well."

This self-questioning and answering provoked Old Lady Liu's eyes to redden: "You little slut, you caused my son to lose his scholar status and suffer in the quarry, and you even caused me to go to jail. Now it's finally your turn. I want to see how you die! And your two old hags and your little brats, you'll all be killed by you sooner or later!"

Xiao Yunying stood up and walked closer to Granny Liu: "Oh? You already know about my affairs?"

Old Mrs. Liu was taken aback by her question: "What is it?"

Xiao Yunying took two more steps forward: "I heard that the crime of poisoning the Empress Dowager is quite serious, punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. Most of the people in Xiaqu Village are related to the Xiao family by marriage. I heard that once the crime is proven, the authorities will wipe out the entire village."

At this point, she pointed to Old Lady Liu: "What do you mean by the whole village? It includes you and your son who works at the quarry."

Old Mrs. Liu's face grew paler and paler as she spoke, and she stammered, "Impossible, how could someone of your status possibly meet the Empress Dowager?"

Xiao Yunying crossed her arms: "How is it impossible? Oh right, you don't know yet, but because I came up with a way to refine salt, I was granted the title of County Princess by the Emperor. I met the Empress Dowager when I went to the capital to express my gratitude."

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Liu believed it to some extent.

She remembered that the woman's personality changed drastically after she fell on the western mountain; she became intelligent, capable, and lucky. This story might not be entirely unfounded.

Besides, she felt that no one would dare to make up such nonsense as plotting against the royal family.

Old Mrs. Liu's lips trembled as she said, "You...you can express your gratitude if you want, but why did you poison the Empress Dowager!"

Xiao Yunying said nonchalantly, "She deliberately tortured me by kneeling down. I can't stand that kind of treatment, so I impulsively wanted to get rid of her. Is that wrong?"

As you know, I'm the type of person who responds better to gentle persuasion than force. The more you push me, the less I want to obey.

After she finished speaking, she glanced around without making a sound. The people in the cells on both sides, including the men locked up opposite her, were all looking at her as if she were crazy.

Of course, there were also those who didn't believe her and remained skeptical.

Xiao Yunying suppressed a laugh and muttered softly, "Not scary at all."

He was just looking at her with those lecherous eyes, and he's changed so quickly.

I wonder if there are any spies of the Empress Dowager here. I wish I could tell the Empress Dowager my thoughts.

Old Mrs. Liu refused to believe it and pounded on the wooden fence, shouting, "You're talking nonsense! You must be making this up!"

Although she was sad to be locked up here, she didn't want to die even more!

The loud noise attracted a jailer who, gripping the hilt of his knife, banged on the cell door: "What's all the noise about? Quiet down! Tell me if you're itching for a beating, and I'll give you a break."

Old Mrs. Liu ran to the prison gate: "Officers, this crazy woman says she was arrested for poisoning the Empress Dowager. She's talking nonsense and implicating the royal family. Arrest her and behead her immediately."

The jailer looked at Xiao Yunying with suspicion. This wasn't something to be proud of, so why was this girl talking about it everywhere?

Seeing that the jailer remained silent, Old Lady Liu grew even more uneasy and urged, "Sir, hurry up and take this little wretch away to be beheaded!"

"Shut up!" the jailer snapped impatiently. "The Empress Dowager has the final say on how to sentence you. It's none of your business as a prisoner. Quiet down, or I'll drag you out and give you a beating!"

Upon hearing this, the other prisoners in the cell all knew that it was probably true.

Old Mrs. Liu took a few steps back in disbelief, her hand trembling as she pointed at Xiao Yunying: "You...you're not human, you're an evil spirit from Xishan, here to take the lives of our whole village...you...you..."

Before he could finish speaking, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground.

The jailer said to another woman in the cell, "Go and see her."

The woman went over and checked Old Lady Liu's breathing: "She's still breathing, she just fainted."

"Then just leave her there." The jailer glanced at Xiao Yunying and said, "Miss, you should behave yourself. This could really lead to the execution of your entire family. This is no joke."

Xiao Yunying was quite obedient to the jailer: "I understand, officer."

The jailer looked at her, still smiling and without a trace of worry, as if she were certain that nothing would happen to her, and a sense of unease crept into his mind.

Does this girl already know that she will be alright?

Little did she know that Xiao Yunying was also somewhat nervous. She was very agitated and didn't know what to do next.

Who told Granny Liu to bump into her when she was in a bad mood? Xiao Yunying was never one to suffer in silence; she always sought revenge on the spot.

She felt no guilt whatsoever when she vented her frustrations on Old Lady Liu.