Chapter 105 You're not Shen Chu, are you?

Sun Yan entered from outside the door. "Your Highness, Madam Chen wishes to see Lord Shen. She says she has something to say to him, concerning Consort Qiao."

Pei Yuan looked at Chen Chu and said, "Do you want to see her? If not, the Flying Eagle Guards have plenty of ways to make her confess."

Upon hearing that it concerned Aunt Qiao, Chen Chu said, "I'll go and hear what she has to say."

Pei Yuan nodded to Sun Yan, "Take Lord Shen there."

After Shen Chu left, Pei Yuan summoned a Flying Eagle Guard.

"Go to the restaurant and order a plate of chopped chili fish head, the kind you can mix with noodles."

The Flying Eagle Guard left, looking completely bewildered.

Spicy fish head is a common dish, and it's also common to eat it with noodles. Where does this spicy fish head with noodles originate?

Of course, he didn't know that it was Shen Chu who ordered the food; he just thought that his prince's tastes were becoming more and more peculiar.

Shen Chu followed the Flying Eagle Guards into the dungeon.

The dungeon was dark and damp. As you walked along the narrow passageway, different instruments of torture hung on the walls on both sides. Painful screams echoed from the surrounding cells, mingling with the stench of blood in the air, making you feel uneasy from the bottom of your heart.

No wonder officials in the court are afraid of the Flying Eagle Guard.

She held her breath and managed to suppress the nausea that kept rising as she entered Chen's cell.

Madam Chen sat in a haystack in the corner, her face pale and her hair disheveled, a stark contrast to the radiant Lady Hou she had been an hour earlier.

Hearing footsteps, she shrank into a corner like a frightened bird.

When she realized that the person who came in was Chen Chu, the shock in her eyes faded, and her expression became a mixture of emotions.

"You've arrived."

Shen Chu's expression remained indifferent. "What do you want to say to me? What happened to my aunt?"

Madam Chen hugged her knees and murmured, "I was wondering if things would have turned out this way if I hadn't sent you to the Taoist temple back then and had instead raised you in the Marquis's mansion?"

"There are no 'what ifs' in this world, only cause and effect. Your current predicament is the result of your own sins."

Ms. Chen gave a wry smile, "That's why I regret it."

Looking down at the disheveled Chen Shi from her high vantage point, Shen Chu recalled how Chen Shi had spent seventeen years in solitude in the Taoist temple before being burned to death in a fire, and a surge of anger welled up within her.

"Have you ever regretted it? When you abandoned a baby who was not even a month old in the Taoist temple, did you feel even a little bit guilty?"

You have repeatedly sent people to kill me, and even set fire to my Taoist temple. Aren't you afraid that the wronged spirits of those who died in the fire will come back to haunt you in the middle of the night?

Chen's pale lips trembled slightly as she whispered, "Actually, over the years I've had the thought more than once of having the Marquis bring you back."

But I was afraid that you would come back and steal Yan'er's thunder, so I kept putting it off and pretending that you didn't exist.

But you insisted on taking the imperial examination and even became the top scholar... Alas, in the end, I'm the one who let you down.

Shen Chu raised an eyebrow. "You want me to come here just to hear your confession?"

Suddenly, Chen rushed over and knelt at her feet, saying, "Achu, I am the one who harmed you. It has nothing to do with Yan'er and Shuang'er. If you have any hatred, come at me."

I beg you, please don't report Yan'er and Shuang'er, okay?

She tugged at Chen Chu's clothes and pleaded incessantly.

Shen Chu frowned and took a step back.

Just then, Chen suddenly leaped up and slid a sharp hairpin out of her sleeve, stabbing it fiercely at Chen Chu.

"You bastard, go to hell."

Shen Chu was prepared. He dodged to the right, nimbly avoiding the hairpin, and then grabbed Chen's hand and twisted it.

Chen screamed in pain, and the hairpin in her hand fell to the ground.

Sun Yan strode forward and kicked Chen Shi away. "Young Master Shen, are you alright?"

Shen Chu shook her head. "I'm fine. You can put the hairpin away."

Sun Yan picked up the hairpin, his face extremely grim.

Chen had searched her before bringing her in, but unexpectedly, she had secretly kept a hairpin.

With a dark expression, Sun Yan tied Chen up tightly with a rope and threw her to the ground.

"Thank you, Lord Sun. May I speak with her alone for a few minutes?"

Sun Yan glanced at Chen Shi, who was almost tied up like a dumpling, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Alright, Lord Shen, come out as soon as possible. I'll wait outside the door."

Thank you.

Sun Yan closed the cell door.

Shen Chu stepped forward, looking down at Chen Shi from her superior position, "Did you use your concubine to lure me here in a last-ditch effort, wanting to die with me?"

Chen knew that once she joined the Flying Eagle Guard, she would have no way to survive, so her previous feigned remorse and apology was just a way to find an opportunity to stab Shen Chu.

Now, having failed in his attack, his face was filled with despair, and his eyes were filled with hatred as he looked at Chen Chu.

"If I had known this day would come, I should have strangled you when you were born."

"It's a pity I wasn't ruthless enough back then, letting you, that bastard, live, which is why I'm in this predicament today."

She looked at Chen with a cool smile, "Unfortunately, time cannot be turned back, and it's too late for you to regret it now."

"You!" Chen's face was extremely gloomy.

Shen Chu squatted down and looked at her coldly, "Murder, arson, poisoning, framing, and using moldy rice to harm disaster victims, you are destined not to live long."

Tsk, who knows, the people you burned to death in the Taoist temple, Chunxing who died in Jingguo Temple, and Wang Mama and others might come looking for you tonight.

So go to the underworld with your regret, and repent to those you killed.

Chen's pupils contracted sharply, a look of panic flashing across his face. Then, as if remembering something, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Do you think that if you bring me down, the Marquis will elevate Lady Qiao to the position of official wife, and you will become the heir of the Marquis's mansion?"

Haha, stop dreaming. The Qiao family comes from a merchant background. Even if they are promoted, they will never be able to stand on the same level.

"And you, you lowly bastard, will never be a crown prince."

A mocking smile appeared on Shen Chu's lips. She had never thought of becoming the heir of the Marquis of Changning's mansion.

"Whether I become the heir or not, my future will be better than your son's. Your precious son is harming disaster victims with moldy rice. His future is... ruined!"

Chen was so shocked that her face turned pale. Yes, her son's career was probably over.

She fought hard for half her life, only to have it all go to waste in the end.

Chen seemed to have lost all her energy and spirit, and was utterly desperate.

She stared blankly at Shen Chu, a flood of thoughts flashing through her mind, finally settling on the image of Shen Chu dodging the hairpin.

She suddenly blurted out, "You're not Shen Chu, are you?"

Chen Chu's heart skipped a beat as she coldly stared at Chen Shi.

Chen looked up and stared intently at Shen Chu's face. It seemed that she had never looked at Shen Chu directly before, and this was the first time she had observed him so closely.

"Who are you? You're not Shen Chu, are you?"

Shen Chu sneered, "Playing the fool won't work on the Flying Eagle Guard. You'd better think about how to die a more dignified death within the Flying Eagle Guard."

She gave Chen a cold look, then turned and left.

Chen stared at her retreating figure, a look of bewilderment flashing in her eyes.

She felt like she had seen Shen Chu's face somewhere before, but she just couldn't remember where.

Could it be that she made a mistake?

As Chen Chu walked out of the cell, she let out a long breath, releasing the pent-up frustration in her chest.

"Finished talking?" Pei Yuan walked over, waving his jade-bone fan.

Shen Chu nodded and hummed in agreement.

Pei Yuan tilted his head. "Let's go."

"Oh." Shen Chu followed him for a few steps with her head down, only to find that the direction was not the room she had just been in.

"Your Highness, where are we going?"

Seeing that she had stopped, Pei Yuan also stopped and said with a hint of impatience, "Didn't you say you wanted to eat chopped chili fish head? Let's go."

Shen Chu was stunned.

Did Pei Yuan actually order her chopped chili fish head after she casually mentioned it?