A commotion came from outside, and she could faintly hear someone saying, "The Seventh Prince is here." Su Xiaoning's heart tightened, realizing that this was probably coming for her.
She looked worriedly at the pearl beside her, unsure of where to hide it.
The noisy footsteps grew closer and closer. It was too late for Pearl to leave now. Her pretty face scrunched up in a bitter expression as she helplessly hugged Pearl tightly.
Suddenly, a voice came from beside me: "Give it to me."
Su Xiaoning turned her head and saw that the beggar was standing quietly by the railing, even reaching out his hand to her through the gap in the railing.
The beggar's identity was unknown, and Su Xiaoning really didn't want to hand the pearl over to him. But the situation was critical, and she couldn't worry about that now, so she had no choice but to hand over the pearl as he asked.
The beggar took the pearl, then pushed aside the pile of straw, and suddenly a hole appeared in the ground!
Su Xiaoning stared in disbelief, her eyes fixed on the hole in the ground.
It seemed that the hole wasn't a passage, but rather a place to put things. The beggar put the pearl into the hole and covered it with straw, carefully leaving some gaps so that the pearl wouldn't have trouble breathing.
Su Xiaoning felt relieved and was about to express her gratitude when the cell door suddenly slammed open, and Su Qinghe barged in, exuding a murderous aura.
"Looks like you're doing pretty well?"
Su Qinghe scrutinized Su Xiaoning for a moment, sneered, and ordered his men to drag Su Xiaoning out of her cell.
Su Xiaoning was pressed down in front of Su Qinghe, but her face remained stubborn and unyielding, showing no intention of yielding to Su Qinghe.
Su Qinghe squatted down, grabbed Su Xiaoning's chin, and said coldly, "You harmed my beloved concubine, yet you show no remorse whatsoever. Today, I will personally interrogate you!"
He couldn't openly kill Su Xiaoning, as that would cause him considerable trouble, but if Su Xiaoning died during torture, he couldn't blame her.
Su Xiaoning seemed to understand Su Qinghe's thoughts. She snorted and said sarcastically, "Interrogate me? The Emperor has not given the order, and the Minister of Justice has not acted rashly. Does the Seventh Prince think you have the right to touch me?"
The moment the words "unqualified" were uttered, Su Qinghe's face darkened.
He glanced at the Minister of Justice and asked in a cold voice, "Tell me, do I have the qualifications to interrogate prisoners?"
"This..." The Minister of Justice was terrified, his fists clenched, and he could only nod slowly under Su Qinghe's threatening gaze.
Su Qinghe nodded in satisfaction, released Su Xiaoning's chin, stood up, and waved to the jailer.
"Who do you think you are? It's a miracle the Emperor even remembers you, let alone issues a special order for you? The interrogation of prisoners only requires the Minister of Justice's approval. Since Lord Cao has agreed—punish them! Let's see how stubborn you are!"
The jailer immediately responded and approached Su Xiaoning with the torture instruments in hand.
Su Xiaoning's eyes widened as she struggled desperately, suppressing her immense fear.
"Let me go! You can't do this!"
Unfortunately, her cries were just weak sounds, and to Su Qinghe they were nothing more than a joke.
As the terrifying instruments of torture drew closer, a creaking sound suddenly rang out.
Strange noises rose and fell, and suddenly a large swarm of rats poured out of the cell and crawled on everyone except Su Xiaoning.
The rats overwhelmed the jailer and the Minister of Justice, their sharp teeth digging deep into their flesh. The men screamed in agony, forgetting everything else, and ran straight out of the cell.
Su Qinghe's situation wasn't much better; these suddenly appearing rats were also crawling all over him and had even gnawed through his clothes woven with gold thread.
Damn it!
Su Qinghe cursed angrily and punched the rat off his body.
He used tremendous force, killing all the rats instantly, spraying blood that stained his hands. But the other rats were not afraid at all, crawling frantically onto Su Qingcai's body, inching closer to his neck, seemingly determined to bite it off.
Su Qinghe was in a killing frenzy, but the rats kept multiplying and seemed impossible to eradicate. Seeing his increasingly dangerous situation, he no longer cared about interrogating Su Xiaoning and fled in panic.
Watching his disheveled retreating figure, Su Xiaoning was stunned. She collapsed to the ground, but none of the vicious rats harmed her.
After chasing Su Qing away, the rats didn't pursue her. They surged in like waves and receded like waves; if it weren't for the pools of blood on the ground, no one would have known how horrific the events had just transpired.
Su Xiaoning sat on the ground for a while, and after her emotions calmed down, she finally realized who was helping her.
She turned to look at the beggar's cell, where he was leisurely pacing around. Several rats were squeaking excitedly around him, as if they were asking for a reward.
Previously, Su Xiaoning might have had some doubts, but now she was completely certain that this beggar was probably a reclusive master. Although she didn't know why he was here, it was definitely the right thing to do to get on his good side.
Su Xiaoning cautiously approached the railing and sincerely thanked them, saying, "You released that mouse just now, right? Thank you."
The beggar raised an eyebrow and said casually, "No need to thank me. This is not my doing; it was all done by these little guys."
The "little guys" he was referring to were, of course, these large gray rats.
Su Xiaoning was somewhat helpless, but still put on a sincere smile: "Yes, we should also thank them."
The beggar nodded, reached out and parted the straw, then pulled the pearl out of the hole.
As soon as it emerged from the burrow, Pearl wagged its tail excitedly, barked a few times at the beggar to express its gratitude, and then quickly jumped over the railing and into Su Xiaoning's arms.
Su Xiaoning hugged the pearl tightly, feeling very safe and secure, while the beggar just sat quietly on the ground, seemingly lost in thought.
Still somewhat curious, she asked again, "Who exactly are you?"
There was complete silence; there was still no response.
Undeterred, Su Xiaoning decided to strike up a conversation with the beggar, just like last night, rambling on and on.
She had exceptional communication skills. Although the beggar ignored her, she continued talking, chatting about everything under the sun. To the beggar, it was no different from the annoying buzzing of a mosquito.
"Shut up!"
The beggar, unable to bear it any longer, shouted out.
"It's so boring in this cell, wouldn't it be nice if we kept each other company? Why don't you want to talk to me?"
Su Xiaoning still didn't shut up.
"I told you to shut up!" The beggar seemed angry. He stood up and punched the railing, then looked up and brushed his hair aside, as if he wanted Su Xiaoning to see his angry expression.
His true face was revealed to Su Xiaoning, who gasped and fell silent.
With sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and a face as handsome as jade, he was truly unparalleled in his refined and elegant appearance.
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