Chapter 107: The solution: Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of gold, if that’s not enough, then a million gold…

The imperial prison was dead silent, and even if there were a few conversations, they sounded like echoes in a valley, far away.

When these noises that could not cause any waves faded away, silence spread like a tide, drowning people.

Until Chang Yunbai fell to the ground, he grabbed the corner of the table, held his breath and stood up on his own.

He was about to curse, but when he saw the scene before him, the words got stuck and he ended up sighing.

"Forget it, you guys chat."

Chang Yunbai groaned, picked up his crutches, and left on his own.

In the half a minute that it took him to slowly walk out of his sight, the two people standing face to face across the cell door had their eyes wandering. Although they did not bump into each other, awkwardness still quietly loomed.

It was like going back to the days when they were still husband and wife. When night fell, the maids and children left, and they were the only two left in the room.

This awkwardness would start at this point and continue until they both lay down in the same bed and pretended to be asleep.

But at this moment, it was obviously impossible to ease the atmosphere by closing my eyes.

Song Baoyuan's hand holding the lunch box gradually tightened as she thought about her opening remarks, but her mind became more and more blank.

"Ahem." Jiang Keyu's expression was strangely serious, but her voice lacked confidence. "Why are you here?"

Song Baoyuan finally responded, but instead of speaking, she walked into the cell. She glanced at the papers on the table and the shriveled, bitten-out bun in the bowl used to hold the papers.

She silently moved the things away, opened the food box she brought, took out the food inside one by one, and pushed the bowls and chopsticks over.

Jiang Keyu took it and asked, "When did you come here?"

"Just now." Song Baoyuan said lightly.

"You..." Jiang Keyu frowned slightly, "Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"

Song Baoyuan shook her head.

"That's good." Jiang Keyu lowered her head, as if she suddenly didn't know how to hold the chopsticks, so she pinched them between her fingers and adjusted them repeatedly.

After the words fell, the two of them fell deeper and deeper into each other's silence.

Song Baoyuan sat down opposite him, entwined her hands under the table, and asked abruptly, "Don't you like it?"

"Hmm?" Jiang Keyu raised her head and was stunned for a moment before realizing that she was asking about the food. "No, I just, just, you, you came here specifically to bring me food?"

Song Baoyuan avoided his gaze and said, "Master Gao said that the food in prison is hard to swallow. I'm sure you can't accept it, so he asked me to bring some over."

Jiang Keyu lost her appetite even more after hearing this. "So he asked you to deliver it. Then, he also asked you to come?"

"Of course I wanted to come on my own," Song Baoyuan said frankly, staring down at her sleeves, "but he helped to arrange it."

Jiang Keyu's eyes flickered slightly, but she lowered her eyes to hide her expression. "Then why are you looking for me? Is there something wrong?"

Song Baoyuan hesitated to speak, as if the words on the tip of her tongue were something difficult to bring out and she couldn't bring herself to say them.

Fortunately, the person on the other side was very patient and kept waiting.

"Didn't you say you would never forgive me?" Song Baoyuan clenched her fists. "Then why did you do all this and sacrifice yourself?"

Jiang Keyu couldn't help but look at her.

His fingertips tapped the edge of the bowl, and he answered slowly, "Isn't it natural for me to protect you? If I must give a reason, it's probably because I can't explain to Mom and Dad if I just stand by and watch. Or maybe, Chengcheng and Suisui seem to need Mom more than Dad. Or maybe, I just can't make it up to you. After all, a brother always has to give in to his sister."

He spoke a lot in a disjointed manner, but he did not mention the first idea that came into his mind.

Song Baoyuan suddenly looked into his eyes, and Jiang Keyu was stunned.

When their eyes met, Song Baoyuan immediately looked away and said awkwardly, "No need to say more."

Her voice was muffled, and Jiang Keyu pursed her lips.

"Okay, let's not talk about this. Now that you're here, it's time to talk about something more important."

Jiang Keyu sorted out her thoughts and said seriously, "Chengcheng is already tied to the Eastern Palace. From now on, the Queen will be your support. But there is no such thing as protection without reason. You must remember that your family's greatest advantage is money, and you must control it in your own hands. Even if... you have a husband, you must never let him do it for you."

"Even if it's Xie Yuchao, you can't do that!" He emphasized, "If he wasn't stupid, he would have known how to stand up to his father by now and learned his lesson. If you still want to be with him, it's not impossible, but you absolutely cannot rely solely on him."

"Also, there's something else that can keep you safe." Jiang Keyu glanced behind her, making sure no one was around before continuing, "In my study, in the mansion, in the secret compartment behind the easel, there's a scroll that records the details of every official in the court. Find it and keep it safe. No one else but you will ever know where it is."

"I've also placed the things Brother Chu entrusted me with for safekeeping here. Take them all and pass them on to Cen Zhou for me."

"besides……"

"Are you leaving your last words?" Song Baoyuan suddenly spoke, interrupting his chatter.

Jiang Keyu paused and said seriously, "It's an explanation, not a will. Don't listen to the rumors. His Majesty will not sentence me to death. At most, I will be exiled for ten years. It's not a real exile. In fact, I left the capital under a false pretense to secretly investigate a very old case. So, you don't have to worry, and don't feel guilty."

Song Baoyuan was slightly stunned. "Ten years?"

"Yeah." Jiang Keyu pulled the corners of her mouth, forcing a smile, "Why, you think it's not enough?"

Song Baoyuan's eyelids twitched. What do you mean it's not enough? Does he miss her that much?

These words made her anxious and even aroused anger.

Jiang Keyu's eyes seemed to fall on her face unintentionally, and he checked her reaction without leaving any trace. "If you really don't want to see me, then after ten years, I can just not come back and get in the way."

He slowly put down the chopsticks in his hand, and said solemnly, "If I agree, can you..."

Song Baoyuan suppressed her emotions and felt a little uneasy.

Jiang Keyu's voice was low, "Please don't blame me for what happened in the past."

Song Baoyuan clenched her fists, feeling a little angry and a little aggrieved, but she didn't know where these feelings came from.

"What time is it?" she said dissatisfiedly.

Jiang Keyu chuckled, "Didn't I tell you it's just a pretext, I'll be fine."

"But that's not what you just said to Master Chang!"

"Of course I can't tell him this secret. At most, I can only tell him..." Jiang Keyu stole a glance at her expression again, "the person closest to me."

Song Baoyuan felt mixed emotions and couldn't help but mutter, "You always lie."

"No way." Jiang Keyu retorted without hesitation. Seeing her cold face, he immediately changed his words, "It was only once or twice, a few times, right?"

Song Baoyuan looked at him angrily.

Jiang Keyu avoided her gaze guiltily and vowed, "I won't do that again."

Then he casually said, "There's no chance anyway."

"you……"

Song Baoyuan became even more annoyed.

There wasn't anything serious to talk about, so she thought to herself, "I might as well go back," and got up and walked out.

"Just leave?" Jiang Keyu was anxious and subconsciously reached out to stop him, "Ayuan."

"Don't touch me!" Song Baoyuan turned around and stepped back repeatedly, "Don't touch me!"

Jiang Keyu froze, and frantically retracted her dangling hand, "I..."

"You are not allowed to speak either." Song Baoyuan said arrogantly, "I don't want to hear a single word from you!"

Jiang Keyu's eyes were visibly confused, her lips slightly parted, but she didn't dare to make a sound, and a sense of grievance gradually appeared in her eyes.

After leaving the prison, Song Baoyuan turned around and ran away.

Jiang Keyu stared blankly at her impatiently disappearing back. He was standing alone in the simple prison, looking quite lonely.

Song Baoyuan ran out of the prison holding her skirt, panting as if she was exhausted from escaping.

At this moment, the inexplicable person has become her.

*

Outside the imperial prison, Gao Luoshu and Chang Yunbai were waiting, each looking more serious than the other.

Seeing Song Baoyuan come out, Gao Luoshu's expression softened. "How is it? Did he tell you any countermeasures?"

Song Baoyuan shook her head.

Chang Yunbai rubbed his temples as if he had a headache, and sighed deeply, "Listen to me, go in again."

Song Baoyuan looked over in surprise.

"Then tell him that as long as he's alright this time, you'll marry him again, or just pretend the divorce never happened." Chang Yunbai said seriously, "I guarantee it will work. Even if I give him a spoon, he can dig a tunnel and escape overnight."

Song Baoyuan: "..."

She was helpless, "Mr. Chang, stop joking."

"I'm not kidding!"

"Is there no reliable way?"

Chang Yunbai's expression became more serious. "Your Majesty wants to protect him, but he can't ignore the ministers' suggestions. The key to this matter lies with Xie Mingru. If he doesn't stir up trouble, the others who want to take the opportunity to get rid of Jiang Keyu will be leaderless. With Your Majesty's favoritism, everything will be easily solved. But Xie Mingru is obviously unwilling to give up. First, he has lost face, and second, what Jiang Keyu has done in recent years has continuously diverted his power as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet. They are inherently hostile. Even if there is no such thing, they will still fall out in the future. Now that he has the opportunity, he will definitely not let it go."

These words made the situation clear, but there was still no way out.

"I heard that Master Jueming has come to the capital." Gao Luoshu suddenly had an idea. "Why don't I go find him and ask him to perform a ritual to curse that old bastard Xie Mingru to sleep tonight and not wake up tomorrow, and die suddenly."

"Good idea." Chang Yunbai rolled his eyes at him. "Go home and have fun!"

Gao Luoshu slapped his lips and kept silent.

"Alright, stop hanging around here." Chang Yunbai waved his hand and said, "You all go back. I'll go to the palace to see my aunt and get a feel for His Majesty's opinion."

Song Baoyuan bowed, watched him leave, and then returned to her carriage.

On the way home, she leaned against the wall of the car to rest, closed her eyes, and recalled the scene of their meeting.

She once thought she knew Jiang Keyu very well, but after the divorce, she saw many unexpected sides of him. Now, she couldn't even tell which words he said were true and which were false.

As she was thinking, Song Baoyuan's eyelids became heavier and heavier, and she felt drowsy.

She thought back to the past, back to the night when her husband was shot in the chest and was in critical condition. She stayed by his bed, not daring to blink, waiting for him to wake up.

Fortunately, her husband woke up. The first thing he did after waking up was to smile at her, and the first words he said were - Don't be afraid, I won't leave you alone.

After saying this, he fell asleep.

Then he lost his breath and heartbeat.

Song Baoyuan trembled and suddenly woke up.

It turned out to be a dream.

"Miss, are you having a nightmare again?" Qiao Yin stepped forward and held her young lady in her arms.

In the past few days, Song Baoyuan either couldn't sleep or slept very lightly, and had frequent nightmares, always waking up in fright.

Song Baoyuan covered her chest and felt her violently beating heart and uneven breathing.

But what's the use? She wasn't the one who lost all these things in the dream. And she thought that she was going to part ways with him completely.

She buried her head in Qiao Yin's shoulders, trying to seek comfort.

"Don't be afraid, young lady." Qiao Yue also went forward to hug her, "It will pass, anything will pass."

The past, what was it like?

What price will it cost?

When Song Baoyuan thought about it, she felt a strong sense of unease.

She forced herself to calm down.

"You have to remember that the biggest advantage your family has is money."

"The key to this matter lies with Xie Mingru. If he doesn't stir up trouble, the others who want to take advantage of the opportunity to get rid of Jiang Keyu will be leaderless. With Your Majesty's favor, everything will be easily solved."

"I curse that old bastard Xie Mingru to sleep tonight and not wake up tomorrow, and die suddenly!"

The voices of several people rang in her ears one after another.

There is a way, there must be a way, Song Baoyuan muttered to herself.

"Stop the car!" she said suddenly.

The driver pulled the reins tight and the carriage stopped.

"What's wrong, miss? Are you feeling unwell?" Qiao Yin asked anxiously.

Song Baoyuan grabbed her wrist and said, "Now go and count all the shops, collect cash, and convert all the villas, fields, and other properties under my name that can be liquidated into gold as soon as possible."

Qiaoyin didn't understand what was going on, and before she could ask, Song Baoyuan had already let her go.

"Qiaoyue, go to Qianqian Pavilion and find Qiong Niang. Ask her to..." Song Baoyuan bit her lip, "post a reward for me."

"A thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand gold, if that's not enough, then a million. Within three days, I want the heads of the cabinet's chief ministers, Lord Xie and Xie Mingru."