Ji Ruhua secretly clenched her fists, her heart aching. This wasn't fake, it was real. She had guessed wrong. So, the emperor had only been dragging his feet and refusing to marry her because he disliked her childhood experience. His claims of not wanting to delay her or restrict her were all fake, fake.
If only I hadn't heard those words...
After hearing those words, the emperor's concern for her only made her feel sick, and the resentment in her heart grew little by little, uncontrollable.
"There seems to be something wrong with the princess..." Zhou Zheng looked at Ji Ruhua's back and asked in confusion.
Ji Xingzhi didn't think much about it, but just said calmly: "After all, she is a weak woman, so it's natural for her to be afraid when she encounters danger."
To be honest, Ji Xingzhi also felt that there was something wrong with Ji Ruhua, but he couldn't tell what exactly was wrong.
Ji Xingzhi glanced at the white flower that hid the key, and was about to return to Shaohua Palace when a guard came towards her.
After the guard saluted, he briefly explained his purpose: "The prisoner the emperor sent to the Shaosi Mansion the night before has died."
When Ji Xingzhi heard this, his brows suddenly tightened: "What?"
The Shaosi Mansion, established in the Northern Palace, was responsible for the imperial palace's punishments. While not as heavily guarded as the Tingwei Mansion, it was not nearly as bad. Ji Xingzhi had imprisoned the faker in the Shaosi Mansion precisely because he was an ordinary person, so weak and unable to escape, to facilitate her interrogation.
I never thought that he would die.
Led by the guards, Ji Xingzhi and Zhou Zheng strode towards Shaosi Mansion.
When they arrived at the Shao Si Mansion, Shao Si Master Chen Bai immediately stepped forward and knelt before Ji Xingzhi, saying, "Your humble servant pays respect to the Emperor."
Ji Xingzhi raised his hand slightly: "Master Chen, please don't be polite."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Chen Bai stood up as he was told.
Ji Xingzhi looked Chen Bai up and down. He was wearing a plain dark purple robe without any patterns. He was about fifty years old, with half of his hair almost white, tied up with a black crown. He had a thin face, white eyebrows, and wrinkles all over his face, especially the forehead wrinkles which were the most obvious.
His eyes were slightly sunken, he had big bags under his eyes, dark circles, and his mouth was dry and thin, like an ordinary old man.
"Where is the person?" Ji Xingzhi asked, looking away.
Upon hearing this, Chen Bai stepped forward to lead the way for Ji Xingzhi: "Your Majesty, please follow me."
Ji Xingzhi nodded slightly and followed, followed closely by Zhou Zheng.
Chen Bai took Ji Xingzhi to the prison in Shaosi Mansion. There were not many cells, only about ten or so, but there were almost ten people in each cell. It was not as quiet as imagined, but as lively as a market. The jailers on guard and patrol turned a deaf ear to it, as if they were completely unaware.
Seeing Chen Bai, the jailers all saluted and greeted him: "Sir."
After saying hello, they went their separate ways.
Almost half of the prisoners in the jail knelt down, saying that they were wrongly accused and hoped that Chen Bai would release them.
Chen Bai ignored the prisoners and didn't even frown, as if he was used to it.
Ji Xingzhi glanced at the prisoners in the cells on both sides. Some were already old, some were in their youth, and some were even only eleven or twelve years old.
Amidst the cries of injustice, a child's voice caught Ji Xingzhi's attention.
"I am really the Princess of Yuzhou! Please let me go!" Her voice sounded very childish, as if she was only thirteen or fourteen years old. She had a little loli voice, very cute, and her voice was full of exasperation.
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