Chapter 47 Don’t be too arrogant in prison!

"How dare you, Minister Yao, do you intend to rebel? You dare not even listen to me!"

Princess Zhaoyang shouted at Yao Ningde to stop him.

Yao Ningde's eyes lit up with a smile. "Your Highness, I am merely concerned that you have been deceived and thus harmed. I have absolutely no intention of rebellion."

"Minister Yao, do you mean that I will misjudge people and go astray?"

"How dare I think such things of Your Highness! Such disrespectful behavior is truly beyond my control. I hope Your Highness will not believe the words of others and hurt my loyal heart."

Yao Ningde suddenly knelt down and apologized, his tone sincere and without any flaws.

What a great actor! Yao Ningde is an actor, right? If he were in modern times, he would be awarded an Oscar and given a high salary as an encouragement.

Zhou Tinglan secretly gave Yao Ningde a thumbs up in his heart.

Princess Zhaoyang scoffed, "Loyalty? I don't see any loyalty in you! Minister Yao, please stand up. If you keep kneeling, it will seem like I'm being domineering and bullying a loyal minister."

Zhou Tinglan walked out from behind Princess Zhaoyang calmly and watched the show in front of him.

As if she realized something, she suddenly glared back and held Princess Zhaoyang's arm.

"Your Highness, I feel so wronged! Look at Master Yao, he looks so ferocious, as if he wants to eat me alive. How terrifying!"

Act, who isn't an actor?

"you……"

Yao Ningde seemed to have not expected Zhou Tinglan to react like this. His anger surged up and he pointed it at Zhou Tinglan. He blurted out something and then stopped abruptly.

"What do you mean by 'you'? Minister Yao, do you want me to send someone from the Ministry of Rites to check your etiquette? Do you think you can just order my people around at will?"

"minister……"

Zhou Tinglan felt secretly happy when he saw that Princess Zhaoyang always blocked Yao Ningde's words. It was nice to have a backer who could support you, as it was a big tree that provided shade.

Princess Zhaoyang then shouted at Yao Ningde, who was kneeling on the ground, "Minister Yao, you dislike me, and you also dislike the people around me?"

"How dare I, your Highness?"

"If you don't dare, get out of here right now. Don't kneel in front of me and get in my way!"

"Yes, yes, thank you for your generosity, Your Highness."

Yao Ningde hurriedly stood up, bowed to Princess Zhaoyang, and walked out.

I'll teach you a lesson later.

Zhou Tinglan felt a sinister gaze linger on her for a moment, then left in an instant.

She turned around and looked at Yao Ningde's fleeing back.

Princess Zhaoyang saw Zhou Tinglan go to see Yao Ningde and was worried that he might be frightened by what had just happened. She simply comforted him, "Don't be afraid. I won't allow anything to happen. General Xie's cell is just ahead. Let's go."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Zhou Tinglan immediately saw the man sitting on a simple bed covered with thatch.

After not seeing him for a few days, he seemed to have lost some weight.

Princess Zhaoyang opened the cell door with the key, and Xie Zechuan heard the movement at the door.

Without opening his eyes, he spoke calmly, "Your Highness, I've already told you that I have someone I love. There's no need to come again. There's no possibility for me and Your Highness."

After hearing what Xie Zechuan said, Zhou Tinglan turned to look at Princess Zhaoyang. Seeing that she looked normal, he felt relieved.

"Your Highness, please don't take it to heart. His words were unintentional and he had no intention of offending Your Highness."

"No need to talk about it, I know it all. I've gotten used to it in recent days."

When Xie Zechuan heard the familiar voice, he suddenly opened his eyes, closed them again in disbelief, and opened them again.

"Lan'er!" He quickly stood up from the bed and ran towards Zhou Tinglan.

Zhou Tinglan fell into a warm embrace, and all the thoughts, worries, and sufferings she had suffered recently came pouring out.

"Do you know how worried I am!" Zhou Tinglan kept hitting Xie Zechuan.

"You've seen what happened to Xiao Ruo after being captured by Yao Ningde. Do you want to leave me alone again?"

“…”

Xie Zechuan let Zhou Tinglan hit him, looking at the water droplets on her eyelashes and wanting to wipe them off for her.

However, the next moment he froze, and he didn't have a clean handkerchief with him.

"Lan'er, don't cry, look at me, I'm fine, aren't I?"

"You still say that!"

Zhou Tinglan's eyes turned red and he glared at him fiercely.

"I won't tell you, I won't tell you..."

Xie Zechuan followed Zhou Tinglan's words to comfort her. He said to Princess Zhaoyang who was standing next to him, "Your Highness, I dare to ask if you can lend me a handkerchief?"

"General Xie is truly courageous. You just rejected me, and now you're asking me to borrow my handkerchief. Aren't you afraid that I'll use this to blackmail you?"

Xie Zechuan looked down at Zhou Tinglan in his arms, his brows smiling, "I believe Your Highness will not."

He felt the person in his arms move slightly, and asked in surprise and concern: "Lan'er, what's wrong?"

"I...I forgot His Highness was still here."

Zhou Tinglan covered her face. When Xie Zechuan ran towards her, she became emotional and really forgot that Princess Zhaoyang was watching beside her.

It’s not that she was afraid that Princess Zhaoyang would see her interaction with Xie Zechuan. What kind of crime was it to turn a blind eye to the royal family in ancient times?

"It's okay. His Highness is a magnanimous person and won't bother with you."

Princess Zhaoyang handed Xie Zechuan a handkerchief and said, "I didn't expect General Xie to say such kind words. Consider this handkerchief a reward from me."

"Thank you for the reward, Your Highness."

Xie Zechuan carefully wiped away the tears from Zhou Tinglan's face with a handkerchief, which made Princess Zhaoyang feel heartbroken.

She had been in love with Xie Zechuan since she was 15 years old. After seven years, it was time to let him go.

At that moment, a voice came from somewhere in the cell: "You have not only neglected His Highness, but also me, a living person, who has been in prison for such a long time, and you only have eyes for that brat."

Zhou Tinglan was shocked, and her heartbeat, which had calmed down a little, began to rise again. She looked over with a little embarrassment.

Xie Zechuan turned back dissatisfiedly: "Old man, don't scare Lan'er!"

Duke Xie sat on a chair in the corner and drank a sip of water leisurely.

"I know you're protecting me, I didn't mean to scare you."

Duke Xie bowed to Princess Zhaoyang and said, "We are now living peacefully in prison, thanks to Your Highness."

"No need to be so polite, Duke. My father and I know the character of your Xie family. Someone must have framed you."

Princess Zhaoyang's eyes were filled with anger. "I have pleaded with the emperor many times, but the court officials have repeatedly reported to him, and without sufficient evidence, he is reluctant to release him."

"Your Highness, I have evidence!" When Zhou Tinglan heard Princess Zhaoyang mention evidence, he remembered her other purpose for coming to see Xie Zechuan.

She took out the letter she had copied from her pocket.

"I copied these down. I was afraid that carrying the evidence with me would lead to something bad happening, so I made several copies just in case."

Zhou Tinglan handed the things over to Princess Zhaoyang respectively.

Princess Zhaoyang was furious: "Are you sure the contents of the letter are authentic?"

"Every word was copied by me personally, so it's absolutely true. I was able to find this thanks to the list Duke Xie gave me."

"Roster? Where did the Duke get the roster?"

Duke Xie spoke calmly, "This is what I have collected in the court in recent years. As a minister, loyal to Your Majesty, how can I not be on guard against those villains and have a backup plan?"

"The Duke has good intentions, but I never imagined they would be so bold. Once I report this to His Majesty, none of them will escape."

Xie Zechuan had also finished reading the letter Zhou Tinglan had brought. He was silent for a moment before he stopped Princess Zhaoyang's plan: "Your Highness, this is not possible. If you go directly to His Majesty with the evidence, the court officials will definitely find fault with you."

"I will be afraid of them!"

"Your Highness is not afraid, but public opinion is hard to resist. Moreover, one of the letters mentions Prince Duan. What will Your Majesty think?"

Xie Zechuan's eyes were deep. "Everyone in the capital knows that His Majesty and Prince Duan have a very good relationship. If Your Highness were to put all these things before His Majesty, what would His Majesty choose after weighing the pros and cons? I'm sure Your Highness has already considered this in his mind."

"Then I cannot allow my father to be manipulated by the emperor's uncle without knowing it!"

Zhou Tinglan interrupted, "I think Your Majesty should know, but I haven't found the right time to expose it."

There were only a few stupid emperors in ancient times. If they were really stupid, the capital city would have been captured long ago and become a place of war and conflict.

"How do you know?"

Princess Zhaoyang looked at Zhou Tinglan in surprise, and so did Xie Zechuan.

Zhou Tinglan smiled faintly. She said to Princess Zhaoyang, "I have no evidence at the moment, but I don't think Your Majesty is as stupid as we thought. Your Highness, do you think Your Majesty would blindly trust Prince Duan?"

Princess Zhaoyang shook her head: "I don't think so."

"I think we should look at the bright side. Your Majesty might have other plans. If you go, you will only alert the enemy."

"Then what should we do?"

"Hold your troops still for now, and wait for Prince Duan to act. We, your Highness, will certainly support you and eliminate those who oppose us."

The matter of Prince Duan was settled, and no one in the prison mentioned him again.

"Putting aside the previous letter, what are your plans for the remaining evidence?"

Zhou Tinglan was troubled by this. She said weakly, "To be honest, Your Highness, I haven't figured out how to submit the evidence."

"According to General Xie, I cannot hand you over to the Emperor."

Xie Zechuan suddenly asked, "Your Highness, has His Majesty made any moves at court recently?"

Yao Ningde is now eager to put Lan'er and me to death. It must be that His Majesty has noticed something, but what is it?

Princess Zhaoyang was puzzled. She thought about it in her mind and said, "There is nothing serious going on in the court. If there is, it will be the downfall of your Xie family."

She instantly recalled what her mother had said a few days ago.

"I just remembered something. A few days ago, Censor Lai presented a few kitchen knives to my father. My father was very pleased with them and asked him to find a knifesmith to meet him."

Princess Zhaoyang recalled the events of that day, "I happened to be there when my father brought the kitchen knives to my mother's palace. Those knives are indeed exquisite, but is this of any help to you?"

When Zhou Tinglan heard about Censor Lai, she exchanged glances with Xie Zechuan.

"Your Highness, this is a great help!"

Zhou Tinglan was surprised: "Because I am the swordsmith."

Afterwards, she told Princess Zhaoyang how she met Censor Lai in the town and how she had redressed the grievances of several innocent women in Mr. Wu's backyard.

Princess Zhaoyang was also delighted. She immediately decided, "I will introduce you to Censor Lai tomorrow."

After discussing the details for tomorrow, Zhou Tinglan went to the next cell to visit Xie Zeqing, Old Madam Xie and Lin.

Seeing that both of them were fine, Fang said goodbye to Xie Zechuan.

Zhou Tinglan and Princess Zhaoyang parted at the prison gate and agreed to meet at the Censorate's Mansion in the west of the city tomorrow.

However, just as she walked a short distance from the prison and turned a corner, she decided to take a shortcut back.

A sharp pain suddenly came from the neck, and Zhou Tinglan felt that the road ahead of him gradually became blurry and chaotic, and he fell completely into darkness.

In her last moment of consciousness, she thought, be careful when taking shortcuts, as it is easy to run into bandits.

**

When Zhou Tinglan woke up again, she rubbed her aching neck and found herself tied up in a dilapidated thatched hut.

The door was half-open.

Someone is coming this way!

Zhou Tinglan was shocked and stared at the half-open door.

"Miss Zhou, I hope you are well. This time you have fallen into my hands."

"Yao Ningde!"

Yao Ningde stood in front of Zhou Tinglan, his smile sinister: "Miss Zhou is really strong, but I wonder if she will still have it later!"

After saying that, he turned around and picked up a dagger on the table next to him.

"I have many ways of torturing people. Don't forget how your loyal follower died."

"Master Yao, don't be so arrogant!"

"Just try it and you'll know if I'm arrogant or not!"

The dagger was getting closer and closer to Zhou Tinglan. She was extremely panicked. In an instant, Zhou Tinglan seemed to have grasped a lifeline in his mind.

"Stop! I have something else to say!"