Chapter 81. Princess, thank you for keeping me tied down...
It was late at night.
In the dimly lit dungeon, candlelight flickered, and the official guarding the dungeon entrance secretly delivered a thin blanket to his former superior.
Ji Heng dared to immediately replace the commander of his imperial guards, but he still dared not touch these civil officials. It should be understood that the officials of the Six Ministries were closely connected, their kinship and blood ties inseparable. Adding to this the bond forged in the near-mutual destruction on Mid-Autumn Festival, making changes to the officials now would not only fail to achieve his goal, but might also incite rebellion.
Therefore, after being imprisoned in the dungeon, Yokobo was no different from returning to his own backyard, except that the backyard was a bit dilapidated.
But with his subordinates serving him tea and meals, and providing him with charcoal stoves and thin blankets, it was still passable.
The candlelight was stretched by the wind that brought it in and then suddenly bounced back. Hengbo, who was resting with his eyes closed, didn't even open them. He casually pointed, indicating that the person who came in could just put it aside.
The visitor chuckled, "Seeing that the princess is doing well, I am relieved."
Hengbo twitched her ear and turned her back, her dislike for him obvious.
“Princess,” the visitor sighed, “I have traveled day and night just to see you, and you are not even willing to bestow this small reward upon me?”
"It's alright, I'll just stay here and watch over her. It's good enough to catch a glimpse of the princess's back."
Hengbo felt uncomfortable being stared at from behind, and finally couldn't help but turn around and glare at him.
Under the warm yellow light, his slightly tired face revealed gentleness. This person was none other than Mr. Xiao, who played Shen Guitang during the day, and was also Shen Guitang himself.
"Your Highness is blaming me first," Shen Guitang said, looking innocent and aggrieved. "It was clearly Your Highness who risked your life first and then kept it from me."
Hengbo's gaze was unfocused.
She indeed did not tell Shen Guitang about Yanran's matter.
“I know that the princess was thinking that if Yanran realized her mistake, it would be as if nothing had happened,” Shen Guitang lowered her eyelashes to hide the loneliness in her eyes, “but we can never go back to the way things were before.”
His mother and father can't go back, and neither can Duan Hongying and Xiao Huai'an.
He can't go back either.
"Yanran was bewitched by my mother." Shen Guitang spoke of his mother in a very flat tone, as if he were describing a complete stranger.
Shen Guitang's mother, Shen Nanyin, was from Nantang. Nantang was a small country in the east of the Great Jin Dynasty. Rather than a small country, it would be more appropriate to describe it as a tribe.
The Nantang clan has lived in the forest for many years, and the women of the clan are mostly skilled in witchcraft. The clan members all obey the orders of the high priest and the holy maiden, but since the high priest lives in seclusion most of the time, the holy maiden controls most of the clan's power.
The previous Holy Maiden of the Nantang Clan was Shen Miaoyin, the twin sister of Shen Nanyin. However, the Holy Maiden died mysteriously not long after taking office, so the position of Holy Maiden fell to Shen Nanyin. Shen Nanyin also became the current Nantang.
Now, Nan Tang is the woman who used witchcraft on her husband, abandoned her eldest son, and cruelly trained her youngest son.
“My mother gave her a love-struck Gu. Whenever a man falls in love with a woman, this Gu worm can penetrate his skin and parasitize his heart. From then on, the man will gradually become the woman’s puppet without his knowledge.”
Hengbo was astonished; there could be such sinister things in this world.
“Of course, the Love Gu is not without its price,” Shen Guitang added. “Before it can parasitize a man’s body, it needs to feed on a woman’s blood and essence day and night. During this feeding process, the toxins in the Gu will also enter the woman’s body.”
"The only antidote to this poison is the Gu worm itself, which is why many women die from the poison before they can tame the men who are infected with it."
Shen Guitang's voice faded, "My father was bewitched by my mother back then."
This was the first time Hengbo had heard Shen Guitang talk about his parents' affairs, and he didn't know how to comfort him.
"If Yanran had more patience, she would have known that if a visitor from beyond the heavens were willing to use all his inner strength, he could also force out this Gu." And there just happened to be a visitor from beyond the heavens beside Ji Heng.
"Unfortunately, she wanted to kill Ji Heng too much and was unwilling to wait even a day longer."
“I’m not saying this to exonerate her, nor to beg for your forgiveness.” Shen Guitang suddenly looked directly at Hengbo, her eyes filled with a tenderness that Hengbo couldn’t understand. “Princess, I really have to thank you.”
The transverse wave remains unsolved.
His well-defined knuckles gently covered her eyes. "Princess, thank you for keeping this mad dog under control." Otherwise, he wouldn't be sure if he would end up like Yanran, courting his own destruction.
He wasn't afraid of death; he was simply fed up with being in purgatory and didn't want to die there.
Hengbo felt the warm touch before her eyes and blinked unnaturally. Her curled eyelashes brushed against Shen Guitang's heart like fine feathers.
He coughed slightly, looking a little awkward. "So, Princess, please don't hide things from me next time. No one but you can ever make me sad again."
Hengbo turned his head away. What's wrong with this guy? Why does he have to say such mushy things in prison?
However, since Yanran's plan is not working, it's time to move on to the next step. But currently, it seems the best person to carry out this step is...
...
"Miss Yanran, Mr. Xiao has come to visit."
Yanran was currently living in the villa that Ji Heng had prepared for her. Her beautiful face, which was as still as water, was reflected in the bronze mirror in front of her.
She gazed silently at her numb reflection in the mirror, skillfully and gently removing each of the exquisite and luxurious hairpins from her hair.
Upon hearing this, she frowned and stopped what she was doing.
"Let him in."
The wooden door opened and closed again, and a faint voice rang in Yanran's ears: "Are you Yanran, or Hong Yanzhi, or Duan Hongying?"
Yanran suddenly clenched her fist holding the wooden comb and threw it forcefully at the person behind her. "Who do you think you are? Just because you're wearing this skin doesn't mean you're really Shen Guitang! What right do you have to ask me that?! What makes you think you can do that?"
Mr. Xiao dodged to the side, and the wooden comb slammed against the door with a loud bang.
The same words, but in a familiar voice: "Are you Yanran, or Hong Yanzhi, or Duan Hongying?"
Yanran's outburst of emotions was abruptly stopped, and her body slowly went limp and slid to the ground.
She stared at the ground in front of her, not daring to look up.
"You think I would be unguarded with her? Unguarded with you?" Shen Guitang sneered. "If the princess hadn't sealed the news, your clumsy plan wouldn't have even been able to continue."
"Hahaha!" Yanran seemed to be provoked, and her emotions suddenly became agitated: "Shen Guitang, you are a heartless monster! In your heart, you only think your mother and me are ridiculous, right!?"
"But your father, who cared for you so much, and your brother, who doted on you so much. They died before your eyes, and you didn't even have the courage to avenge them!"
"Me, incompetent? I'm afraid you, Shen Guitang, are so immersed in the pleasures of life that you now think you're surnamed Ji too!"
Yanran looked up and stared intently at him, the long-suppressed resentment in her eyes finally erupting at this moment.
Shen Guitang closed his eyes tightly, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, as if he wanted to say something but ultimately only let out two low laughs. It was unclear whether he was laughing at the person in front of him or mocking himself.
He threw the object from his sleeve in front of Yanran. “The Love Poison can’t kill Ji Heng. This is what the princess asked me to give you. Don’t you want to take revenge yourself? Don’t let her, don’t let Zhennan down.”
Yanran was stunned, but Shen Guitang didn't explain further and turned to leave. He was willing to sacrifice himself for Zhennan, but now he also wanted to live, to live like a human being.
The lonely figure gradually blurred into the night, leaving only the words, "You all think that dying for revenge is the best ending for me," still echoing in her ears.
Yanran suddenly covered her face, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, Guitang. I'm so sorry..."
It's clear that Shen Guitang suffered the most, and that he sacrificed the most.
But she really couldn't take it anymore.
It was another protracted morning court session.
"Your Majesty, isn't this... a bit too hasty?"
"Your Majesty, I believe you are absolutely right. Regardless of whether there is conclusive evidence of the Shenxiao rebellion, I have heard that the Prince Xian is about to arrive in the capital. At this critical juncture, I fear trouble may arise."
"Your Majesty, I think it would be troublesome if we dragged this out until the Prince Xian returned to the capital. Everyone knows that the Prince Xian and the deposed Crown Prince were once very close brothers."
"you……"
“There’s no need to discuss this matter further,” Ji Heng declared decisively. “On the fifth day of next month, at noon, at the main gate of the Chai Market, we will execute Shenxiao.”
...
"Your Highness, we are only half a day's journey from the capital. Should we rest for a while?"
The wise king wiped the frost off his face and said, "Let's rest here for a while and tell the brothers to get enough rest, because there may be a tough battle tomorrow."
"Yes, ma'am."
Late at night, someone came uninvited.
"Your Highness, it's been a long time."
Upon seeing the newcomer, Ji Zhou's expression immediately darkened. "Is this the person you were talking about protecting the princess?"
Shen Guitang was in the wrong, and he learned the news too late. At that time, in order to prevent the princess's plan from being ruined, he had no choice but to play along and kill "Mr. Xiao" so that he could impersonate himself.
Even knowing that the princess is safe, it is an undeniable fact that she is currently in the Ministry of Justice's prison.
He had no choice but to change the subject and get down to business: "The princess's sentence has been set, in ten days. The princess's idea is that the prince should not go to the capital for the time being, but instead stay outside the city to keep the Five Armies, the Three Thousand, and the Three Divine Machine Battalions in check."
Ji Heng returned to the capital with less than a thousand soldiers on the surface, while the three battalions could immediately mobilize at least ten thousand men, making the disparity in strength vast.
However, Ji Zhou's return to the capital this time was for a long-cherished wish. Five thousand elite troops were divided into smaller units and were approaching Yujing in an encirclement formation. In addition, the "divine weapons" brought back from Qishan were far more powerful than ordinary ones, so it did not seem like a difficult task.
But Ji Zhou still nodded. He really didn't want anything to go wrong with Shenxiao, and he wouldn't feel at ease if Shenxiao wasn't guarding him in the city.
Shen Guitang knew it would be difficult to persuade him, so she could only say, "Ji Heng is guarded by Tianwai Ke. If you are captured alive, will you ask the princess to save you or not?"
A bitter feeling welled up in Ji Zhou's chest. If he could have been useful again, his elder brother wouldn't have been isolated and helpless back then, and Shenxiao wouldn't be fighting alone now.
"Your Highness, your ability to hold off the three major camps outside the city is the greatest help you can give to the Princess."
Ji Zhou sighed, "Give me some more time to think about it tonight."
Shen Guitang did not pressure him to make a decision immediately, and did not linger after delivering the message.
Ji Zhou pondered for a long time before finally realizing something was amiss. Why was this guy being so respectful to him today?
These days, Ji Heng has been spending some time visiting the villa outside the palace every day.
Yanran massaged his shoulders. "Your Majesty, may I accompany you to watch the execution?"
Ji Heng raised an eyebrow. "You actually enjoy watching such bloody scenes?"
Yanran shook her head. "This servant just wants to see how wretched and miserable the person who once trampled me underfoot looks."
"Oh?" Ji Heng lifted her chin. "I didn't expect that we would be so similar."
"When the Divine Firmament is destroyed, hand over the remaining spider web to me. I will grant you the most honorable position among all women in the world."
Yanran suppressed the churning in her stomach and forced a surprised smile. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
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