The Song family had strict rules, and these little maids were destined to be bullied by their masters. The happiest time for them was when they were by Song Tangxue's side.

But when did things change? It was when the gold and silver jewelry placed in the window, worn on her head, gave her the illusion that she was the young lady.

A single tear welled up in Xinghua's eye as she slowly closed it. The gauze on her arm was the one Song Tangxue had wrapped around her hand that evening.

Apricot blossoms touched the gauze and softened.

Song Tangxue returned to the cell and picked up the oil lamp from the ground. Thinking of her mother, the resentment and bitterness in her heart lessened considerably.

Perhaps it would be much better to accept fate from the beginning, not to beg for its charity, and to rely on oneself for everything.

Although Song's mother is still the mother who attempted suicide, she clearly doesn't want to acknowledge her.

"Miss Song." An unfamiliar soldier stood at the door, and the jailer opened the door to let her in.

The soldier smiled obsequiously, lifted the large lunchbox in his hand onto the table, wiped the sweat from his brow, and judging from his performance, it was clear that the lunchbox contained a lot of food.

The deep red lunchbox was clearly not a high-end product.

Song Tangxue watched warily as the soldier pulled out delicacies from the lunchbox. Was she really receiving such treatment while locked up in a cell?

This is probably not a last meal before someone's execution.

The soldier placed all the dishes on the table in a row, steaming hot and still emitting white smoke, all thanks to the red lunchbox in his hand.

"Five-flavor almond cheese goose, scallion rabbit, Dongpo tofu..." The waiter told Song Tangxue the name of each dish as it was served.

Song Tangxue stared at the soldier, somewhat bewildered. End-of-life care?

Song Tangxue did not answer the soldier's question, and the soldier awkwardly touched his nose: "Then please enjoy your meal, Miss Song."

The soldier respectfully withdrew from the doorway, and the jailer at the entrance coughed lightly: "Miss Song can eat without worry."

An impossible possibility suddenly surged into his mind: if it were an unknown person, the jailer would not have let him in.

Song Tangxue looked at the food box placed to the side, picked it up and saw a note at the bottom.

"May you be well."

With a smile, Song Tangxue folded the note after reading the simple three words. She looked for several places to put it but none of them felt right, so she finally kept it close to her body.

He wouldn't mistake the handwriting; it was Xie Qianzhong's. The jailer at the door took it all in with a glint in his eye. He would return to report tonight.

After confirming the origin of the food, Song Tangxue still used a silver hairpin to test for poison, just in case someone tampered with it along the way.

After identifying the five poisonous creatures, they began to feast. They hadn't eaten properly for the past two days, and the things that Song's mother had brought were eventually smashed by her own hands.

After dinner, the jailer packed up all the belongings and took them out. Song Tangxue sighed softly, took out the note, and tenderly and carefully stroked each word.

"I hope you are well." Song Tangxue uttered these three words, smiled, put the tucked away under her pillow, and drifted off to sleep.

"Get up!" A hurried voice rang out, and Song Tangxue was dragged and thrown to the ground. The pain from being dragged made her frown.

The jailers filed in, and Song Tangxue was forced to the ground, unable to move, her arms restrained, and she felt excruciating pain.

The jailers didn't care about her feelings at all: "Miss Song, today is the day you will be executed by slow slicing."

The prison guard who spoke spoke with authority, while the remaining guards stared at her menacingly, surrounding her and staring intently at her with cold, stern eyes.

Song Tangxue didn't understand why things had suddenly become so serious, and she was a little confused.

I was perfectly fine when I fell asleep last night, but everything has changed when I woke up today.

"Your personal maid is named Haitang, right?" Li Zong pushed through the crowd and stood in front of her, looking down at her to admire her expression. "She's confessed everything. Does Miss Song have any further questions?"

Song Tangxue stared wide-eyed, unwilling to believe it. How could Haitang be so loyal? She never doubted Haitang's loyalty.

Li Zong unfolded the confession in his hand. He could recognize Haitang's handwriting even if it were ashes. The entire confession was written by Haitang herself.

The wicked Haitang helped Miss Song Tangxue commit countless heinous crimes...

There was no possibility that she was tricked into signing the confession. The confession was sincere, and Song Tangxue shook her head, crying and laughing at the same time, completely stunned by the blow.

My mind went blank, and I didn't know what to do.

Song Tangxue's heart felt frozen. She held the confession and read it over and over again as if torturing herself. Li Zong surrounded her and said, "Miss Song's crimes are heinous. Today, she will be subjected to the punishment of slow slicing!"

The dull sound was like a thunderclap in Song Tangxue's ears. Song Tangxue fell to the ground, and a piece of paper rolled down with her movement.

It fluttered and fell.

"Hope you are well."

Yes, and Xie Qianzhong too.

The three words, placed next to the delicate and small confession, created a stark contrast, indicating that Xie Qianzhong was at least on her side.

Song Tangxue wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. In the end, there were still people on her side. She was not alone in this life.

"Where is Xie Qianzhong? I want to see Xie Qianzhong." Song Tangxue calmed herself down, pushed aside the surrounding jailers, and stood up.

"Of course, I am kind-hearted, so I will let you two be a pair of fugitive lovers, so that you will have each other's company on the road to the underworld!"

Li Zong's words struck Shen Zhaozhao like a thunderbolt, utterly destroying her soul.

Xie Qianzhong was arrested too? How could that be? He's so powerful; in his past life, he even overthrew the royal family and caused a change of regime. How could this happen...?

The only variable in my life is myself. Could it be that I've dragged Xie Qianzhong down with me?

In an instant, Song Tangxue seemed to lose all her strength, her body went limp and she fell to the ground. It was clearly the height of summer, but the ground was icy cold.

It chilled me to the bone.

Did someone who was so proud in their past life fall into the mire because of their own actions?

Xie Qianzhong was forced to stand in front of Song Tangxue. Even as a prisoner, Xie Qianzhong's back remained straight. He did not kneel down, but coldly stared at Li Zong.

Perhaps out of consideration for the power behind him, Li Zong kept his mouth shut: "If you two have something to say, say it now. The road to the execution ground is still long, so you should conserve your energy."

As Song Tangxue left with the jailers, tears streamed down her face. She went to Xie Qianzhong with a heavy heart, and looking at his handsome young face, her heart ached so much that she almost couldn't breathe.

"Xie Qianzhong, it's my fault. Can you please write a letter now and stop worrying about me? Your future should have been bright." Song Tangxue's voice was choked with sobs and incoherent: "Xie Qianzhong, have I ruined you? What should I do?"

Xie Qianzhong sighed and wiped away her tears with his cold hands. Song Tangxue looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Am I really that bad? Did I disappoint you?"

"No, I'll support you no matter what you do." Xie Qianzhong held her hand, and strangely enough, the two cold hands overlapping produced a continuous warmth.

It makes you reluctant to let go.