Chapter 25

Miss Huixin was very particular about her cooking skills. When she heard that a prisoner in the Imperial Prison was praising her so much, her expression became serious and she asked more detailed questions: "Does the prisoner think the food is good? Is there anything that needs to be improved? Do you prefer meat or vegetables?"

The jailer was bewildered by Huixin's questions. Could it be that Miss Huixin, who had always been so arrogant since arriving at the Imperial Prison, could be so enthusiastic? Although this enthusiasm wasn't directed at him, it still excited the jailer. He was about to answer when he remembered the prison rules that prohibited revealing any information about the prisoners. The words were on the tip of his tongue, and the jailer hesitated.

Seeing the jailer about to say something but then remaining silent, Wen Weili remembered the rules of the imperial prison and his expression became thoughtful. She casually set the wooden bowl aside and shooed the jailer out, "I'm new here, sorry for the offense."

Miss Huixin's smiling face suddenly turned cold as frost. The jailer thought it was a pity. He couldn't help but think with amusement, even if a weak cook like Miss Huixin knew about it, what could she do? Besides, Miss Huixin was only asking about food, so it would definitely not be a big deal.

Thinking of this, the jailer smiled playfully, gently blew the wind from his palm on Huixin's face, and coaxed her kindly, "It's my fault for being suspicious. Since Miss Huixin is already a member of the Imperial Prison, this is naturally for our Imperial Prison."

"The prisoner was a female prisoner. She loved the jasmine fried eggs made by the girl. She ate it until tears came to her eyes."

"As for improvement, in my opinion, Miss Huixin's cooking skills are as good as ever. Miss, don't worry, just let the prisoners use some of her food as they please. No one in our imperial prison would dare to offend Miss Huixin, except for the royal children."

"As for the meat and vegetables, meat is naturally better. The adults will report it to the higher-ups and complain bitterly. If there are too many vegetables, the adults in our prison will lose face. Then where will the money for the vegetables come from? Don't you agree, Miss Huixin?"

"Thank you," Huixin was only concerned about the feedback on the meal, and was disdainful of what the jailer said later. "Please go out." After that, she closed the kitchen door.

"Miss Huixin..." The jailer seemed a little sorry to be thrown out of the door after Huixin politely thanked him. He smacked his lips. He thought Miss Huixin wanted to integrate into the imperial prison. If he could persuade her, touching her little hand would be a piece of cake. But he didn't expect that Miss Huixin only cared about the food and had no intention of making money from the prison.

What a shame, what a shame. The jailer left the kitchen, shaking his head, and went to inspect the prison.

In the kitchen, Wen Weili pressed herself against the door, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She was absolutely certain that the prisoner crying while eating must be Zhiyun! Next, she had to find a way to find out where Zhiyun's cell was and wait for the opportunity to take her out.

Of course, the most important thing right now was to wash the pile of wooden bowls, plates, spoons, and chopsticks. These utensils had been used in the cell, and were stained with blood, dirt, and rice grains. They were piled in a bucket, and the greasy oil floated on the surface, making the small and stuffy kitchen nauseating.

As the eldest daughter of the Wen family, Wen Weili had never had to wash a single bowl since she was little. Even when she felt like working in the kitchen, she never had to wash all the pots and dishes herself. Her mother always taught her to avoid burdening others with tasks. Wen Weili followed this well, washing her own dishes and other dishes.

When she arrived at Prince Huai's Mansion, although she had the responsibility of cooking for Duanmu Huaixin, it was not too tiring. Sometimes when she felt lazy, she would order the servants in charge of the kitchen to wash the dishes together.

Now, facing such a large bucket of used tableware, Wen Weili couldn't help but sigh. She saw the servants at home working easily, but she never thought that in the imperial prison, the cook not only had to make cheap and delicious dishes, but also had to be responsible for the tableware used by the prisoners. After washing, she had to sweep the floor of this small kitchen.

Taking a deep breath, Wen Weili brought a small wooden stool, sat in front of the wooden barrel, rolled up her sleeves, tied on her outer linen coat, and took out a wooden bowl and started washing it with a fearless attitude.

First, rinse the wooden bowl in a wooden barrel for the first time, take it out and place it in a wooden basin with wood ash in front of you, brush it vigorously with a brush, and then put it aside and wait for the second rinse.

Wen Weili was already out of breath after washing ten bowls. The wooden barrel was very high, and she had to get up again and again to take the bowls out and put them into the wooden basin. In order to wipe off the oil stains, she brushed each wooden bowl inside and out.

After taking a few deep breaths, Wen Weili immersed herself in cleaning the wooden bowls again. This time, after cleaning thirty bowls, her arms felt sore. She gritted her teeth and thought, standing up and glancing into the wooden barrel. There were still many wooden bowls stacked inside, waiting for her to clean.

Everything went black before her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Wen Weili slowly sat down along the wall. Suddenly, the fatigue emanating from her arms and wrists seemed to attack her heart. For a moment, she even considered giving up.

This thought flashed through Wen Weili's mind like lightning, horrifying her. Zhiyun had endured countless hardships in the imperial prison to allow her and Xinxin to escape. She felt exhausted just doing her job as a cook and even considered giving up. How terrifying! In that moment, Wen Weili hated herself immensely for wanting to give up.

It might be tiring, but it's definitely not as tiring as escaping with Duanmu Huaixin that day. Wen Weili thought, since I was able to escape with Duanmu Huaixin, why can't I do my best to rescue Zhiyun? Am I being self-righteous, or am I really unwilling to endure all this hardship for Zhiyun?

She clenched her fists and knocked her forehead hard a few times, putting aside all the chaotic thoughts in her mind and focusing on the wooden bowls in front of her. One, one, one, one, and another, and another, it's almost there, almost there. Wen Weili kept comforting herself and no longer paid attention to the decreasing number of wooden bowls in the barrel. She just fished out the dirty tableware from the barrel, cleaned it in her hands, stood up, and took another one.

In this way, after an hour, Wen Weili finally cleaned all the bowls, chopsticks, plates, etc. with wood ash. She exhaled a long breath, opened the kitchen door, walked to the well, drew buckets of clean well water, and poured them into the wooden barrel. Because the dishes wiped clean with wood ash would be washed a second and third time with well water.

Perhaps her arms had grown accustomed to the heavy lifting, but Wen Weili's movements became more brisk. She scooped water from the wooden bucket, rinsed the dishes, and placed them on the stove. After washing all the dishes a second time, she went to the well to draw water for a third wash.

"Miss Huixin, take a break and have some cold tea?" When Wen Weili came in to fetch water again, Li San asked Miss Huixin to rest for a while. Her slender white wrists were already covered with red marks, some left by vigorous scrubbing and some rubbed red by the rope.

Wang Dayong also tried to persuade her a few more times. He thought, if Huixin was infertile, it would be fine to have fun with her. But it would be such a shame to let go of such a charming woman.

Wen Weili insisted on Huixin's coldness and arrogance, and just said lightly, "No need." Then she carried the bucket into the kitchen.

But Hui Xin's tired trembling voice made Wang Dayong imagine a lot. He couldn't help but wonder, if such a beautiful voice was under him, would it be more gentle? Of course, a woman like Hui Xin, who had never seen a man, would definitely be unable to close her mouth.

Wang Dayong had dirty thoughts in his mind and a hint of lust on his face. He stared greedily at the girl Huixin's twisting waist when she carried the bucket of water and her swaying buttocks when she walked. His heart was already full of lust, and he wanted to satisfy his lust on Huixin even more.

How could Wang Dayong's eager gaze go unnoticed? Wen Weili frowned in disgust. She had seen too many men like him.

When Wen Weili was a child playing in the imperial city, she was met with disgusted glances at other children. When she grew older, she changed into men's clothing and wandered the streets. She often encountered playboys sitting on the street, their eyes filled with lust staring at every woman passing by. Or they would giggle and tease their companions about each woman's appearance, even if her features were hidden by a veil, still judging whether she was worth the risk of lifting it to take a look.

It was truly disgusting. Wen Weili recalled the past. Those beautiful memories, shrouded in a delicate veil, were tinged with so much unbearableness that disgusted her. She wondered, had she ever been so clueless? Perhaps the law couldn't convict a glance, or perhaps she simply didn't care. In short, for the first time, Wen Weili felt the filth surrounding her life was truly rife.

But now, Wen Weili had to endure this filthy, stinking prison. She'd only been here for a day, and already she'd noticed so much. How would Zhiyun, who'd been here for so long, survive? Perhaps it was filled with humiliation, perhaps with pain. Wen Weili usually burst into tears at the thought, but today, a raging fire burned in her chest.

The roaring flames were so fierce, but Wen Weili endured it silently. She just silently fetched water and put the wooden bowl in the water to wash.

When Wen Weili finished washing all the dishes, the moon had already climbed up to the treetops. The night breeze was blowing. Wen Weili buried her head in the water, letting the cool well water soak her hot face. When she raised her head again, water droplets slid down her face.

After a quick cleanup, Wen Weili swept the floor again with a straw broom. Tonight, she was on duty in the small kitchen. If nothing happened, she could rest for a while. If the jailer needed something to cook, she would have to get up.

Wen Weili walked slowly out of the kitchen. Wang Dayong was a little tired from standing, and his heart was burning with longing for Huixin. When he saw Huixin coming out of the kitchen, he ignored the prison boss's warning and said something irresponsible: "Miss Huixin, do you want to rest? If you can't sleep, come into my arms. I guarantee you will have a good sleep."

Wang Dayong's ill intentions were evident in his words, so how could Wen Weili be fooled? She remembered the jailer's disgusting look, and her disgust grew even stronger. She knew that this kind of person should be ignored. If you answered him, no matter what you said, he would still taunt you with those dirty words.

Miss Huixin glanced at Wang Dayong coldly, her expression unchanged, and walked straight towards the small compartment as if she didn't hear anything.

Wang Dayong was not amused, but he was still very thick-skinned and said with a smile: "Are you shy, little lady? Let Dayong teach you a lesson. In our prison, you can't just keep a cold face. You have to shake your butt. The better you shake your butt, the more the higher-ups will value you..."