The imperial palace's prison was built extremely securely, guarded by hundreds of guards. Each guard was responsible for watching over a different area, making the prison completely airtight, so that not even a fly could escape.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." Upon seeing the person who had arrived, all the guards bowed in greeting.
Because of damaged fur, the little ferret has been covering its entire body with An Honghan's sleeve whenever it goes out, only revealing its fluffy head.
The Heavenly Prison wasn't built on the ground. Xi Xizhi surveyed her surroundings until An Honghan carried her familiarly to an entrance, at which point she slowly came to her senses. A long, winding staircase led underground; if it weren't for the oil lamps lit on both sides of the passage, the place would have been completely dark.
"Lead the way," An Honghan ordered the prison guard.
Even though His Majesty did not reveal the prisoner's name, the prison guards understood that His Majesty was going to see the Sixth Princess.
The story of the Sixth Princess binding Feng Yun Diao and plotting to burn her to death had long since spread throughout the palace. Now, the entire Yan You Palace has become a ruin, and recently many craftsmen have been busy rebuilding the palace.
The prison guard, holding a bunch of keys in his right hand, led the group into the prison.
The stairs were very long, Xi Xizhi counted in her mind, and it wasn't until An Honghan took forty-seven steps that they turned to walk on flat ground.
The oil lamps on both sides emitted a dim, yellowish light, illuminating the path ahead. Xi Xizhi was carried in by An Honghan. There were many instruments of torture placed along the way, some of which were still stained with human blood.
The entire prison was filled with the stench of blood, which made Xi Xizhi feel nauseous, so she covered her nose.
"Just bear with it, it'll pass." An Honghan stroked the little ferret's fur, trying to make it more comfortable.
On the walls and the ground, there are dark black stains formed by dried blood. Without guessing, one can imagine that many people have been tortured in these places.
It smells so bad.
Xi Xizhi covered her nose with both paws and took a breath every now and then.
With a click, the prison guard inserted the key into the chain and pushed open the iron gate.
"Your Majesty, the Sixth Princess and Xiao Xunzi are both inside. They are being whipped every day in accordance with your orders," the prison guards said in detail, fearing that An Honghan would blame them for not doing their job properly.
Xi Xizhi peeked out, her paws pawing at An Honghan's arm. She saw An Ruoyan and Xiao Xunzi tied to wooden frames. Their hands were outstretched, their wrists and elbows bound with several loops of hemp rope. Their clothes were tattered and torn, revealing numerous whip marks, some fresh wounds with flesh turned outwards, quite frightening.
An Ruoyan lost her usual radiant beauty; her face was pale, and her once rosy lips had become dry and cracked.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Spare me." An Ruoyan seemed to see a glimmer of hope, and her lifeless eyes suddenly shone with a bright light.
Xiao Xunzi wasn't as agitated as she was; he kept his head down and didn't raise it, and his injuries appeared to be much more severe than An Ruoyan's.
"Spare me? Why should I spare you?" An Honghan approached step by step, his cold and ruthless voice flat. "I gave you a chance once, but you didn't cherish it. If you had listened to me earlier and obediently married into the Jiu Kingdom, it would have been better for both of us. But you have repeatedly challenged my bottom line."
In the quiet cell, no one uttered a sound for a long time.
Xi Xizhi hesitated, because An Honghan's words on the way here undoubtedly implied that she should... eliminate the root of the problem. However, Xi Xizhi had never shed blood before, and it was still somewhat difficult for her to harden her heart and kill. "Royal brother, Yan'er is your own sister! From now on, whatever you ask Yan'er to do, Yan'er will definitely do it. Even if I have to marry into the Jiu Kingdom, Yan'er is willing!" An Ruoyan cried out urgently. The pain of being whipped these past two days had already tormented her to the point of being delirious.
All she knew was that she would do anything to escape this place. Not only were snakes, insects, and rats crawling everywhere, but the guards also whipped her mercilessly every day; now there wasn't a single patch of her body unscathed. An Ruoyan, pampered and spoiled, had never experienced such physical suffering; she couldn't bear it on the first day. But the guards here didn't care about her life or death, continuing to lash her fifty times before stopping.
She cried so hard her eyes were streaked with tears, looking extremely pitiful.
Xi Xizhi felt no sympathy whatsoever; the creature had suffered far more than just physical pain, nearly perishing in the flames!
An unprecedented rage surged from her heart, and Xi Xizhi brandished her claws, slamming them down heavily.
“It’s better to beg it than to beg me…” An Honghan pointed at the little sable in his arms, ignoring the shocked looks of everyone, and said, “If the Phoenix Cloud Sable is willing to spare you, I will release you immediately, but if… it wants your lives, I will never interfere.”
An Ruoyan turned her gaze to the little sable. Although she hated the other party to the bone, she lowered herself like a humble dog in order to save her life. She bowed her head, admitted her mistake, and cried out, "Please...please spare this princess. I will never cause you any more trouble."
The sixth princess actually apologized to a ferret? The prison guard standing nearby was so surprised that he couldn't speak.
Is the Sixth Princess really less valuable than a sable? They had assumed that His Majesty had only imprisoned the Sixth Princess to teach her a lesson, and that this visit was to take her back.
After all, in their eyes, the Sixth Princess was His Majesty's most beloved younger sister. Even if she made a terrible mistake, her blood relation with His Majesty still existed, while that ferret was nothing more than a pet.
But... His Majesty coldly entrusted the life and death of the Sixth Princess to a sable.
Xi Xizhi felt a momentary softening, but upon hearing the address "This Princess," her previous feelings vanished. They say a leopard can't change its spots; if An Ruoyan could truly change her personality and settle things peacefully, she wouldn't be herself!
Who knows, in the days to come, she might be waiting to stab me in the back at any moment!
Xi Xizhi warned herself that this was the imperial palace, not some other place. The people here had long abandoned their conscience and lived with a mask on every day.
"Have you thought it through?" After a long silence, An Honghan pinched the little sable's paw and kneaded it back and forth.
Xi Xizhi instinctively tried to pull back, but was held tightly by the emperor.
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