Even after leaving the palace, Su Qingcai was still filled with unease. He worried that the Ministry of Justice might torture Su Xiaoning after she was arrested. The thought of Su Xiaoning suffering filled him with anxiety, so he immediately went to the Ministry of Justice.
Su Xiaoning was temporarily detained in the Ministry of Justice. After meeting with Su Qinghe, the Minister of Justice returned to deal with Su Xiaoning, but he ran into Su Qingcai and stopped him.
"I wish to visit Su Xiaoning. I would be grateful if Lord Cao could grant me this favor."
Su Qingcai said coldly, her words icy.
He reached out to push the Minister of Justice away, but the Minister of Justice waved his hand, and a group of guards blocked Su Qingcai's way.
“Ninth Prince, why are you in such a hurry?” The Minister of Justice stood behind the guards and smiled slightly at Su Qingcai. “You and Su Xiaoning have a close relationship. Going in to see her at this time would only cause trouble for yourself. Please, Ninth Prince, act calmly.”
"You've taken her away, and I'm not even qualified to see her?" Su Qingcai sneered, a storm seemingly brewing in his dark eyes.
"This isn't the main street, there aren't that many people watching here, and His Majesty hasn't issued an order saying that I can't visit Su Xiaoning, has he?"
Su Qingcai spoke slowly and deliberately, clenching his fists as he charged straight toward the Ministry of Justice, completely ignoring the group of guards.
The scene was chaotic, a fierce battle raging. Su Qingcai, without any restraint, attacked ruthlessly, and the guards were no match for him; they were all down in no time.
Su Qingcai walked step by step towards the Minister of Justice with a fierce aura. The Minister of Justice, who was no longer as tough as before, collapsed to the ground, his body trembling.
"Ninth Prince, you...you can't do this! I'm doing this for your own good. If you just go in to see Su Xiaoning like this, wouldn't that confirm the rumors that you favor the wicked girl? Who would believe you then? Don't worry, I will treat Su Xiaoning well; she won't be wronged..."
"Are you telling the truth?" Su Qingcai narrowed his eyes, looking down at the flustered Minister of Justice.
He did make quite a commotion. If he just barged in to see Su Xiaoning, she might worry about him. If he could get her better treatment, it wouldn't be a bad deal.
The Minister of Justice dared not deny it and hurriedly nodded: "Of course, I mean what I say!"
"Heh, I hope you'll know what's good for you. I can temporarily refrain from visiting Su Xiaoning, but if I find out anything has happened to her..."
Su Qingcai didn't finish her sentence, but the strong sense of threat in her words was self-evident.
After saying that, he turned and left without looking back, leaving behind a mess.
The Minister of Justice hurriedly got up from the ground, his face turning pale with anger.
He cursed Su Xiaoning in his heart. He had originally planned to torture her as Su Qinghe had suggested, but now that Su Qingcai had made such a scene, he certainly couldn't be too blatant. However, her ease and comfort left him feeling resentful.
"Hmph, I refuse to believe I can't handle you!"
The Minister of Justice angrily flicked his sleeves, and with a quick glance, he came up with a brilliant idea.
He ordered his men to throw Su Xiaoning into the Ministry of Justice's prison. Although he did not torture her severely, he did not provide her with any rice or flour, leaving her to starve.
After all that commotion, Su Xiaoning was starving. But no matter how much she pleaded, the jailer refused to bring her food, so she had no choice but to give up and huddle on a pile of straw in the corner, forcing herself to sleep to fight off the hunger.
...
It was around midnight.
"Gurgle—"
A loud noise broke the silence in the cell. Su Xiaoning couldn't sleep any longer. She weakly opened her eyes, clutching her bloated stomach, and met a pair of green eyes.
A rat came into her view. The rat was enormous, with green eyes, and looked terrifying.
"ah!"
Su Xiaoning screamed and huddled fearfully against the corner of the wall.
The rat showed no intention of approaching her. It wandered around the cell and suddenly darted through a gap in the bars to the cell next door.
In the next cell lived a scruffy beggar whose cell was filled with large gray rats. But he wasn't afraid at all; he even caught the rats with his hands, as if it were some kind of entertainment.
Su Xiaoning swallowed hard, suppressing her fear, and warned in a trembling voice, "Don't catch these rats. They're unclean, you might get sick..."
She meant well by reminding him, but the beggar seemed completely unconcerned. He was happily catching the rats, even letting them climb onto his shoulders.
Su Xiaoning was anxious and was about to speak to persuade him when she saw the beggar suddenly point in a direction. As if they had a mind of their own, the rats all ran in the direction he pointed.
The beggar was pointing in the direction where the jailers were. After eating and drinking their fill, the jailers were lying down and asleep, with most of the food still left on the table.
The rats, well-trained, bypassed the jailer, climbed onto the dining table, grabbed the remaining chicken legs from the bowl, and ran back to their cell.
The mice tossed the chicken leg into the beggar's hand, and the beggar, without a second thought, picked it up and began to gnaw on it.
The sight before her eyes truly shocked Su Xiaoning; she was speechless, her jaw dropped.
"Gurgle—"
At that moment, his stomach growled again, which was quite inconvenient, and the beggar, who was enjoying his meal, paused.
He made a gesture to Su Xiaoning, and then the mouse ran to Su Xiaoning with the remaining chicken leg in its mouth.
The aroma of the chicken leg was irresistible, and Su Xiaoning's fingers were itching to eat it.
After a struggle with her thoughts, she couldn't resist her inner desires and accepted the chicken leg that the mouse had brought her, eating it like a beggar.
After she finished eating, she didn't forget to sincerely say "Thank you" to the beggar.
The beggar didn't say anything and lay lazily on the haystack.
The cell fell silent again, and Su Xiaoning suddenly felt a little lonely. She couldn't sleep, and seeing that the beggar was still awake, she started rambling on and on.
She talks about almost anything, rambling on and on about all sorts of things, as if using these illogical words to cover up her inner anxiety and unease.
At first, the beggar was fine, but after a while, he sat up impatiently and coldly uttered two words.
"Noisy".
His voice was clear and cold, like a cool spring, which was completely at odds with his beggar image.
Su Xiaoning was stunned, her heart inexplicably racing: "You..."
"Don't speak." The beggar frowned, staring intently at Su Xiaoning's arm, as if he had seen something extraordinary about her.
After a long while, he finally spoke: "You have been affected by forbidden magic."
Su Xiaoning was startled. How did he know?!
She excitedly approached the beggar, feeling as if she had encountered someone extraordinary: "These are things that ordinary people cannot know. Who exactly are you?"
The beggar didn't answer. He yawned listlessly and lay back down on the haystack, completely ignoring Su Xiaoning's intentions.
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