Chapter 32: Imprisonment
Rongyu looked at Ye Chenyin with a calm expression. Since that’s the case, let’s protect him again.
"I am like a floating catkin, and the world is my home. I am just a wandering wanderer in the world, and I am definitely not a member of the Rakshasa Hall." The voice was not loud, but it was very clear.
Ye Chenyin clenched his fists in his sleeves, his knuckles turning white, and pursed his lips. He didn't want to implicate himself.
Emperor Gan's expression darkened slightly. "Have you ever seen the poison that Concubine Xian was poisoned with today?"
"I've never seen it before. Your Majesty's symptoms are quite similar to those of a poisoned person I once accidentally treated. They were both poisoned by a sinister snake venom, so I have some idea of the cure."
Rongyu's expression was calm, and he stood straight. Perhaps because he had experienced too many life-and-death situations, he seemed somewhat calm at this moment.
"Just now, Imperial Physician Zhang mentioned that the key to this poison lies in the blood-withered flower. The flower is highly toxic, and the leaves are the antidote." Wu Pingting challenged him again, "This flower is rare and difficult to harvest, and even more difficult to preserve. How did you find the antidote to the blood-withered flower's poison?"
It turns out that she was waiting for him, which shows that she has a good memory?
All these years of reading novels were not in vain. Listen to how he talks about them.
"The blood-withered flower is indeed extremely rare and difficult to pick. I once tried to pick it. While picking, I accidentally got injured by the thorns in the pistil. In desperation, I chewed the leaves. I thought there was some medicinal properties left in the blood, so I thought of using blood as a guide."
"Stop your nonsense!" Wu Pinting interrupted sharply, "Even though I'm not an expert in medicine, I know that for a drug to be absorbed into the blood, it must be taken over a long period of time. You've only taken it once and are detoxifying it with your blood. Are you treating the emperor and his ministers as fools?"
He just thinks you are fools, but you believe it!
"Father," Ye Chenyuan said anxiously, "The reason the Blood-Withered Flower is so rare is precisely because of its extremely potent toxicity. It's not impossible for residual effects to remain after a single ingestion! If Rong Ruo is truly the assassin of the Rakshasa Hall, why would he reveal his identity and methods? And why would he even bother saving someone he has no connection with?"
Wu Pingting sneered, "How do we know this isn't some more sinister plot? Your Majesty is a wise and enlightened emperor, and rewards and punishes clearly. If he lets you deceive your Majesty with your merits in saving people, and lets you get away with it, wouldn't it be even easier for him to target Your Majesty next..."
"If you really want to assassinate my father, why not just do it directly?" Ye Chenyin angrily interrupted, "Why must you use a roundabout way to poison my mother, putting the entire palace on alert? Or does the Imperial Concubine think that the people of Luosha Hall don't have the ability to even approach Your Majesty?"
The assassin went to great lengths to infiltrate the palace, targeting not the emperor, empress, or prince, but a disgraced concubine. This was a strange and suspicious situation. Furthermore, Tao Yi encountered the assassin in the Imperial Garden, far from the Palace of Heavenly Purity. After a few blows, the assassin fled. If the assassin was truly intent on silencing her, wouldn't Tao Yi be the first to bear the brunt of the attack?
"Enough!" Emperor Gan's voice was filled with impatience. "Rong Yu's identity is in doubt, and there are many different opinions. Considering his meritorious service in saving Concubine Xian, he will be temporarily detained in the Heavenly Prison awaiting trial. He will be punished after the truth is revealed!"
Holy shit! I just saved your wife, and now you're turning against me? What's wrong with this bastard emperor?!
Eunuch Yan gave a wink and two eunuchs immediately stepped forward to arrest Rongyu.
Ye Chenyin and Ye Chenyuan knelt down at the same time. Ye Chenyuan spoke first: "In the past, Cao Cao mistakenly killed the great doctor Hua Tuo and regretted it deeply before his death! Isn't your father afraid..."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was shocked!
"Prince Yan, shut up!" Empress Xu stood up suddenly and shouted harshly.
Rong Yu's jaw dropped in shock. Did Ye Chenyuan think he wasn't dying fast enough?!
Emperor Gan's face turned ashen, his gaze as cold as ice. "How dare you compare me to Cao Mengde? In your eyes, I'm also such a suspicious and cruel person? A mere servant has made you so foolish and outrageous! Very good!"
"Come here, Rong Yu, you are responsible for numerous murders. You deceived the prince, colluded with your accomplices, and poisoned the concubines. Your crimes are unforgivable! In three days, you will be executed outside the Meridian Gate! Drag him away!"
Ye Chenyuan was struck by lightning, standing there in a daze, unable to utter a single word.
Ye Chenyin knew the situation was hopeless, and saying anything more would only add fuel to the fire. He watched Rong Yu being dragged away, his heart churning with helplessness and panic. Yet, in this freezing despair, he forged a trace of ultimate calm. Even if this disaster meant a narrow escape from death, he would definitely rescue her!
The cold wind was so sharp that it penetrated my bones. The moonlight, once so soft and beautiful, now seemed extremely glaring.
A group of people walked out of Ganqing Hall, all of them with gloomy faces and sad expressions.
"If I hadn't spoken too quickly... Rongyu wouldn't have ended up like this..." Ye Chenyuan regretted it deeply.
"Your Highness, there is no need to blame yourself." A steady voice came, "The Heavenly Prison is a place that belongs to the underworld. I know Your Highness is worried that Rong Yu will be imprisoned and tortured by cruel officials. If he doesn't die, he will be skinned alive. Now that he has been sentenced to death, according to the laws of the Heavenly Power, the condemned cannot be tortured again. At least these three days can keep him alive."
Ye Chenming's minions are all over the Ministry of Justice. If Rong Yuruo remains in prison without clear explanation, his fate will be worse than death.
Inside the prison, the sounds of ghosts and wolves howling were endless. A strong smell of mold mixed with the stench of blood filled the air, and the dark, damp passage seemed to lead to hell.
As soon as Rong Yu stepped in, he immediately covered his mouth and nose, suppressing the surging feeling of nausea.
The prison environment in ancient times was so bad...it was hard to die in peace.
"Host, please rest assured for three days. Ye Chenyin will definitely find a way."
"Will I be lynched? Isn't that what they always do on TV? Torture, forced confessions... am I going to have to go through that too?"
"Don't worry, host, it's guaranteed."
!!!
Rongyu's heart sank, it was all over.
"Host, Xie Chong, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, is Ye Chenming's lackey. Fu Shiping, the Minister of Justice, is Fu Yishang's brother and is considered a member of the Prince of Yan's staff. Minister Fu is a good official and may not embarrass you, but Xie Chong... Host, you'd better be mentally prepared. If they start fighting, they will make you experience what it means to be worse than death."
Optimized the word order and expression of system prompts.
Rong Yu could already feel the excruciating pain of a cold blade piercing his flesh. Whipping, branding irons, clamps... were tortures he'd only seen in movies and TV dramas? Was he really going to have to experience them all?
If this is really the case, I'm afraid he won't be beheaded in public before three days later, and will be directly imprisoned in this prison!
Guard Li Hu escorted Rong Yu to the deepest death row area. The place was increasingly gloomy, with a heavier smell of mold and decay, and more damp. One could even clearly hear the sounds of rats gnawing and insects crawling.
Rong Yu's scalp instantly went numb, his hair stood on end, and he suddenly jumped onto the guard Li Hu with a scream: "Bugs! So many bugs!!!"
"Bah!" Li Hu threw him to the ground with disgust, "A dying man is afraid of insects?"
He opened the cell door, threw Rongyu in like trash, and scolded her, "Stay still!" Then he walked away.
Looking at the scene before him, Rong Yu was completely disheartened. He had been afraid of the dark since childhood, and even slept alone at home with a light on. Now he was asked to stay in this dark, insect-infested place for three days? He just wanted to say: Don't wait three days, just give me a quick death now!
"Zao Zao, why is my life so miserable? I saved others but ended up killing myself."
'I said early on that I couldn't help.'
Rong Yu found a relatively dry corner, shook the moldy straw mat vigorously, re-laid it out, and curled himself up in a ball. He hugged his knees, buried his face deep in his arms, his shoulders trembling silently, like an abandoned and terrified little animal, his eyes filled with tears of grievance.
Why? Why did he have to suffer this? It wasn't his fault! Why was God so cruel?
Woo woo woo...
Outside the prison walls, Ye Chenyin's heart was also in a state of torment. From the moment he was taken away, endless regret gnawed at him.
It was his fault! He shouldn't have let Rongyu take such risks. He should have taken all the consequences on himself. He should never have exposed Rongyu to others.
Ye Chenyin stood alone on the highest eaves of the palace. The moonlight was bright, reflecting his calm face, but his whole body exuded a dead silence colder than a cold winter night.
I stayed awake all night and fell into a deep sleep at dawn due to extreme fatigue and fear.
There was no sunlight in the prison. Only a small air vent at a high place let in a faint light, making it difficult to tell whether it was day or night.
"Dinner is ready!" Li Hu's rough voice woke Rong Yu from his light sleep.
He looked at the two hard, rough buns and the bowl of porridge so thin that you could almost see your reflection in it, and for the first time in his life he lost interest in food.
If I had known about the last meal yesterday, I should have eaten more.
"Eat quickly so you can have the energy to work later. If you don't eat enough, you won't even have the energy to work." Li Hu kindly reminded.
These words were like an ice spike piercing Rongyu's heart. The torture was really coming.
"Zao Zao, do you have any way to save me?"
He held the two steamed buns in his hands without any appetite at all.
"Host, I'm so sorry... I didn't come so early."
Rong Yu looked up at the small window that was the only source of light, and thought desperately: Could he have come down to earth to experience tribulation? After experiencing tribulation, would he be able to return?
Soon, the chains on the prison door rattled, and a man in his early thirties, decent-looking but with a sinister grin on his face, walked in.
He is Xie Chong, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, a cannon fodder villain, the kind who is so evil that he is oozing with pus.
"Take it away." Xie Chong waved lazily.
Two yamen runners, as ferocious as wolves and tigers, rushed in, lifted Rong Yu up and dragged him into a nearby torture chamber. The various hideous torture instruments hanging on the walls and piled on the floor made Rong Yu's vision go black and he almost fainted.
He was tied to the cold wooden cross. Xie Chong walked forward, stretched out his lightly calloused fingers, and frivolously stroked Rong Yu's cheek, clicking his tongue. "No wonder His Royal Highness the Prince of Xiang is obsessed with you. You're truly a good-looking person. I heard you have a close relationship with His Royal Highness the Prince of Jing as well? Tsk tsk, is it because he's more capable of serving you that you're willing to risk your life for him?"
Rongyu turned her face away in disgust, but the guy was so angry as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Which brothel's sister-in-law are you from? Why are you talking so coquettishly?"
Although Xie Chong didn't know what his sister-in-law was referring to, he knew it wasn't a good thing. He instantly dropped his fake smile and his expression darkened.
"As long as you are still breathing, I will serve you." After giving the cold order, he sat down leisurely.
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