Shen Yuan's crying made the officer in charge frown.

Before the officer in charge could get angry, Xiao Ling shoved Shen Yuan away.

"Is money more important or your life? Do you still want to get out?"

"Waaah... That's five hundred taels! All our family's money! It was meant to buy a house in Jizhou City!" Shen Yuan covered her face with her sleeve and sobbed uncontrollably.

Xiao Ling frowned and scolded, "Still crying? Stop crying!"

As he spoke, he knelt down a few more steps and handed the silver notes in his hand to the officer in charge.

The officer in charge took the silver notes, spat on his hand, counted them, checked their authenticity, and then stuffed them into his sleeve.

He waved his hand, indicating that Xiao Ling and Shen Yuan could leave.

Xiao Ling hurriedly pulled the sobbing Shen Yuan away from the torture chamber.

After leaving the torture chamber, Shen Yuan immediately wiped away her tears and glanced at Xiao Ling.

Xiao Ling held her elbow and asked, "Did you hurt yourself just now?"

Shen Yuan shook her head: "No."

After saying that, she sighed inwardly.

From the moment she was brought into this prison, Shen Yuan knew that she and Xiao Ling were going to suffer a great loss.

But she also knew that she couldn't refuse to pay, nor could she pay too much, lest she attract the attention of the officers and soldiers.

That's why she and Xiao Ling staged this whole thing.

It's just a pity about those five hundred taels!

That's five hundred taels!

Even though Xiao Ling took the money from Jiang Yuchen, Shen Yuan still felt a pang of heartache!

This money can be spent anywhere, but it's a real shame to feed it to vicious dogs.

Although they paid the life-saving money, Shen Yuan and Xiao Ling are still unable to leave for the time being.

After the two returned to their cell, Shen Yuan tugged at Xiao Ling's sleeve and said, "Take off your shirt and let me see your injuries!"

Xiao Ling, sitting in the corner, adjusted his collar upon hearing this: "I'm not injured."

"How is that possible? That whip was used so forcefully, how could there be no injury?"

Seeing that Xiao Ling refused to take off his clothes, Shen Yuan frowned and said, "Next time this happens, don't shield me. We're all just mortals; it hurts no one. I'd feel bad if you got hurt, so I'd rather take the whip myself!"

"..."

After a moment of silence, Xiao Ling reached out and pulled open his collar, dragging his clothes down to reveal the injury on his shoulder.

Just like the waiter's body, Xiao Ling's whip wound on his shoulder blade was a finger's length long, with the skin and flesh torn open and blood flowing down the whip mark, staining Xiao Ling's inner clothes red.

Upon seeing the injuries on Xiao Ling's body, Shen Yuan gasped in shock.

She dared not imagine what her face would look like if that whip had landed on it.

Shen Yuan rummaged through her bosom and pulled out a clean cotton cloth and a medicine bottle. Holding the medicine, she softened her tone and said, "Applying the medicine will hurt a little, so please bear with it!"

Xiao Ling chuckled softly, "I'm not afraid of pain."

"Aren't you afraid of pain? What, did you drink some anesthetic this morning?" Shen Yuan wiped the wound on Xiao Ling's shoulder clean with a clean cotton cloth, not forgetting to retort to him.

But the movements were very gentle.

After cleaning the wound, Shen Yuan applied medicine to Xiao Ling. It hurt a little when the medicine was applied, but Xiao Ling only frowned and his expression didn't change at all.

After applying the medicine, Shen Yuan tore the cotton cloth into thin strips, bandaged Xiao Ling's wound, and tied it with a pretty bow.

Finally, she looked up at Xiao Ling's mask and said, "This mask is indeed conspicuous. Once we get out, I'll wrap it with gauze to avoid any questions from others."

Xiao Ling nodded and said okay.

He put on a mask as soon as he entered Jizhou. Although he was either in the Cold Palace or on Qingyun Mountain two years ago, very few people knew his identity or had seen him, Jizhou was too close to the capital, so he had to be extra careful.

However, the mask was indeed too conspicuous. If it hadn't been for the ointment applied to cover it up before entering the torture chamber, it would have been difficult to explain.

Only Shen Yuan and Xiao Ling have returned to the prison cell for the time being.

The two leaned against the wall. Shen Yuan packed her things and heard the sounds of whipping and wailing coming from the torture chamber. Her beautiful face gradually turned frosty.

She looked at the torture chamber and suddenly asked, "Xiao Ling, do you feel wronged?"

Although the sentence seemed nonsensical, Xiao Ling still understood the meaning behind Shen Yuan's words.

She was asking him whether it was unfair for a prince to kneel before a lowly military officer in Jizhou City.

Xiao Ling lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Shen Yuan continued, "Given your status, they're the ones who should be kneeling and begging for mercy! Making you kneel before him, he's not afraid of being struck by lightning tomorrow!"

Shen Yuan spoke very softly, but every word was heard by Xiao Ling with perfect clarity.

He chuckled and then gently patted Shen Yuan's hand, as if to coax her: "It's just kneeling to a dying person. Respect for the dead is paramount. Consider it as sending him off in advance."

Hearing this, Shen Yuan felt a little better.

Just pretend that she and Xiao Ling were kneeling on dead people!

Just then, Xiao Ling said, "It won't be long."

But his voice was so soft that Shen Yuan hadn't heard him clearly before Xiao Ling turned his head away.

Shen Yuan continued, "In the past, I disliked scholars like Chu Yuning who were obsessed with climbing the social ladder and becoming officials, because I thought they were opportunistic and worldly. But now I find that I can gradually understand Chu Yuning."

Upon hearing Chu Yuning's name, Xiao Ling picked up some thatch from the ground and rubbed it between his fingertips.

"This world is full of injustice, humiliation, and cruelty. Ordinary people like us are born to be inferior to those kings and generals. No matter how hard we try, how kind we are, or how diligent we are, to those high and mighty people, we are nothing more than a bunch of ants that can be crushed at any time!"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!