Does Li Qingchen want her dead?

The moment this thought flashed through Wei Shuwan's mind, she felt a chill run down her spine. She moved away from the vent on the side of the iron bars and leaned against the mud wall of the prison.

Her gaze unconsciously fell on the oil lamp hanging outside the prison, as if that light could dispel the chill that permeated her body and illuminate her heart.

The lights flickered and crackled intermittently, and Wei Shuwan's vision gradually blurred as she stared at them for a long time. It felt as if a hole had been torn in her heart, and a chill kept rising up, flowing with her blood to her limbs, leaving her hands and feet icy cold.

Since her rebirth, she has been fighting against all injustices, so her days have not been peaceful. She was framed by Song Zichen, schemed against by Princess Yun'an, captured by bandits from Yandang Mountain, and even offended Consort Wen, almost becoming a wronged soul in the plum garden.

But time and again she managed to escape unscathed, thanks in no small part to Li Qingchen's intervention. Unbeknownst to her, she had come to regard him as a benefactor in her life. But she never imagined that she would become one of his discarded pawns so soon.

Yes, she was too naive. How could she treat him as her lifeline just because she had been saved a few times? She was so stupid as to use evidence of his treason to blackmail him into saving the Wei family!

He is Li Qingchen, the Prince of Qiaochuan, and the future regent whom even the emperor will have to call "godfather"!

She actually thought her little scheme could threaten him?

Regret surged from the depths of Wei Shuwan's heart. She gave a self-deprecating laugh, but by the third laugh she could no longer laugh. She hugged herself, buried her head in her knees, and began to sob.

She was probably truly wrong. If she hadn't resisted or sought revenge from the beginning, and had simply followed her fate from her previous life, she would have been the only one to die in the Song family. But she insisted on resisting and punishing the wicked, and now the entire Wei family is about to be implicated…

She once thought that her rebirth was God's mercy on her, but it turned out to be nothing more than an intensified torment!

The low sobbing sound, mixed with the mournful wind blowing in from the vent, sounded even more desolate.

Yuan Que, who was walking deeper into the women's prison alongside the jailer, stopped and turned to ask the jailer, "That crying, could it be Miss Wei?"

The jailer looked embarrassed and nodded. His superiors had just given instructions that evening: from now on, anyone from the Prince of Qiaochuan's residence visiting the prison must be allowed to proceed with ease. It was clear that even his own master dared not offend the people of the Prince of Qiaochuan's residence, hence his fear that they might misunderstand and think the Wei family had suffered some injustice under his control.

So he quickly added an explanation: "But rest assured, sir, since the Wei family members entered the Dali Temple prison, they have not been subjected to any punishment or interrogation."

Hearing this, Yuan Que felt a little relieved; otherwise, he really wouldn't know how to explain it to the young prince when he got back. Actually, it was only natural for Miss Wei to cry. A pampered young lady who had been raised in a high-class house was suddenly reduced to a prisoner, and it was inevitable that she would find it hard to accept.

With a sigh, Yuan Que continued forward, saying, "Lead the way."

The jailer hurriedly led the man inside, and once there, he opened the cell door to Wei Shuwan's cell so that Yuan Que could go in and deliver something.

Wei Shuwan had noticed the two approaching, and now she had wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and looked up at Yuan Que.

There was no fear in her eyes, only stubbornness. Like a fledgling falcon whose wings are not yet fully grown but refuses to admit defeat, she still has piercing eyes and does not conceal her sharpness when facing a powerful enemy.

At this moment, Wei Shuwan really wanted to ask him: What, did the poisoning attempt fail, so Li Qingchen sent him to kill her in person?

However, she still couldn't bring herself to say it.

Yuan Que was stared at so unfriendly by Wei Shuwan from the moment he entered the prison. This was completely different from what he had expected. It was as if his master had caused his family to be imprisoned.

"Miss Wei," Yuan Que stammered as he greeted her.

Wei Shuwan didn't even bother with formalities and turned her head to the side.

Seeing this, Yuan Que knew he was not well received and that saying more would be useless. So, while laying out the exquisite dishes from the food box in his hand one by one, he reassured her, "Miss Wei, there's no need to be too anxious. My young prince is working on your behalf and will certainly not stand idly by."

After finishing his work, Yuan Que glanced at Wei Shuwan again. Seeing that she still turned her face away and had no intention of paying attention to him, he stopped lingering and turned to leave.

The jailer locked the cell door again, but just after Yuan Que had walked a few dozen steps with the jailer, he suddenly heard a crashing sound behind him!

One cry followed another, each louder than the last. Yuan Que frowned, inwardly feeling indignant for his master. It seemed the young prince's carefully prepared gift from the kitchen had been utterly ruined.

*

Inside the Jingchen Pavilion of the Qiaochuan Prince's Mansion, Li Qingchen, who had just returned to the mansion, was sitting in a chair listening to Gu Zhuang report on the events that had occurred since he left the mansion that day.

"Young Prince, not long after you left the manor today, the eldest son also left through the back gate. However, after circling around for a while, the eldest son's carriage returned to the front gate of the manor and tacitly allowed a vendor selling candied hawthorns to get into the carriage."

Hearing this, Li Qingchen was not surprised. "It seems that there are more and more people watching the Prince's mansion."

Gu Zhuang chuckled awkwardly, then continued, "But the peddler was thrown out of the carriage shortly afterward, and he was already dead when he was thrown out."

Li Qingchen then lifted his eyelids slightly: "He just openly and brazenly dealt with his subordinates in the street?"

"Yes. I was worried that this matter might cause unnecessary trouble, so I had someone carry the vendor to the clinic as a formality."

"Hmm." This single, light word signified Li Qingchen's approval of Gu Zhuang's approach, and he then gave the following instructions:

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