Chapter 35 Imprisoned "If you dare to kneel, I will interrupt him..."
Gu Xi lay in bed, feeling an indescribable sadness.
He didn't believe her.
Who could possibly want to harm her like this? She tried to recall everything that had happened today. It all seemed like it had been meticulously planned, starting with those inexplicably appearing poems and then Mu Yunqi's sudden intrusion.
Her tears had just stopped when a woman's scream suddenly came from outside the door.
Gu Xi was so frightened that she jumped up from the bed. Ignoring the pain in her back, she quickly got out of bed, opened the door before she was even fully dressed, and rushed out.
Hearing the voice, Xiao Heng turned around and looked at her, frowning as he asked, "What are you doing out here?"
He quickly walked up to her, took off his cloak, wrapped her up tightly, and then wiped away the tears that were still wet on her face with his sleeve.
Gu Xi asked in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, what are you doing?"
Zhu Yin and the other two were soaking wet and kneeling on the ground.
The summer night breeze was sticky and humid, and when it blew against their skin, they couldn't help but shiver.
"I have questions for them."
Gu Xi suddenly looked up, not understanding why they were being treated this way just for asking a question. But he stopped looking at her and instead commanded the people kneeling on the ground, "Speak!"
"Your Majesty, we servants know nothing," Zhu Yin said, trembling and bewildered. She didn't know what had happened; she only knew that she had been suddenly dragged here in her sleep.
Strangely enough, she slept very soundly tonight, only waking up when a basin of cold water was poured over her.
Xiao Heng was clearly dissatisfied with the answer and was about to get angry when Zhao Fuquan quickly reminded him, "Miss Zhuyin, tonight..." He dared not directly touch the Emperor's sore spot, "Do you know what happened tonight? Did you notice anything unusual?"
"Steward Zhao, I slept soundly tonight and didn't find anything," Zhu Yin said softly.
Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of him, Xiao Heng lost patience and was about to resort to torture: "Guards..."
Gu Xi quickly stopped him, tugging at his sleeve and pleading, "Your Majesty, they really don't know anything, please don't punish them, okay?"
Xiao Heng looked down at her pale fingertips and finally said "okay".
After Xiao Heng left with his men, Gu Xi quickly told Zhu Yin and the others to go back to their rooms to change their clothes, and then prepared ginger soup for them to ward off the cold.
Gu Xi told them what had happened.
Zhu Yin stayed by Gu Xi's side throughout the night, but Gu Xi couldn't sleep soundly, waking up several times in the middle of the night until the sky began to lighten.
"Miss, please get up and have something to eat."
Zhu Yin brought in breakfast. Gu Xi was lying on the bed with her eyes open, staring blankly at the roof beams.
She hummed in agreement, got out of bed, and washed up.
She hadn't slept well last night and felt groggy. She managed to eat a few bites when Huayue suddenly rushed in anxiously: "Your Highness, Your Highness, something terrible has happened..."
"Hua Yue, speak slowly."
Hua Yue clutched her chest, panting, and said, "Your Majesty, Sister Yun Ke just came to me and said that Physician Mu has been imprisoned. She begs Your Majesty to go and save him."
Gu Xi suddenly stood up; how could she have forgotten about Mu Yunqi?
Whatever the reason for what happened last night, Xiao Heng will definitely not let him off the hook.
"Hua Yue, do you know where Imperial Physician Mu is being held?"
"This servant understands."
Gu Xi quickly tidied her hair and makeup, and led Zhu Yin and Hua Yue toward the prison.
She finally reached the prison cell and tried to go in, but was stopped. Just when she was at her wit's end, someone suddenly came out from inside.
She recognized him; he was the little eunuch who often followed Zhao Fuquan, and his apprentice—Zhao He!
"Eunuch Zhao, do you still recognize me?"
"This servant greets Consort Zhaoyi!" How could he not recognize her? He had personally witnessed the Emperor's fury when Consort Wan slapped her that time, and the thought still sent shivers down his spine.
“No need for formalities,” Gu Xi said, explaining her purpose. “Eunuch Zhao, I have a friend who is being held inside. Could you let me in to see him?”
“This…” Zhao He hesitated. He wanted to refuse, but when he thought of how much the Emperor cherished this Consort Gu, he was afraid of offending her.
"Is that alright?" Gu Xi asked earnestly.
Zhao He hesitated for a moment, but still agreed: "Consort Gu, this servant can take you in, but it can't be longer than half an incense stick's time, otherwise this servant will have a hard time." His master only told him to stay here and didn't say that he couldn't let people in. Half an incense stick's time will pass quickly, and no one will notice.
"Thank you, Eunuch Zhao!"
Zhao He led them to the place where Mu Yunqi was being held. He hadn't expected that Gu Zhaoyi's friend was actually Physician Mu. He didn't know what Mu Yunqi had done wrong, only that his master had told him to keep a close eye on him that morning.
"Consort Gu, this is the place. I will come to fetch you again in half an incense stick's time." After saying this, Zhao He bowed and withdrew.
The prison was filled with a strong smell of decay and blood, which made one's chest feel tight.
She walked through the dark passage and her gaze fell upon the figure suspended in mid-air. Mu Yunqi was hanging from a beam by heavy iron chains. Several blood-soaked wounds on his prison clothes were shocking. His hands and feet were rubbed raw and bloody by the shackles. It was unclear whether he was dead or alive.
Gu Xi covered her mouth tightly to prevent herself from screaming.
Her voice trembled as she called out to him, "Imperial Physician Mu..."
Mu Yunqi raised his head slightly upon hearing the voice.
It was her.
"Your humble servant pays respects to Consort Gu." Even though he was locked up, he did not forget to bow to her.
Looking at Mu Yunqi, who was once as handsome and refined as the moon and the breeze, now in such a sorry state, Gu Xi felt a sudden pang of sadness and forced herself not to cry.
Suppressing her emotions, she went straight to the point: "Imperial Physician Mu, why did you suddenly appear at Weiyang Palace that night? Who gave you the drug? Do you remember?" The most urgent task is to find out the truth so that we can get him out of here.
"That night, Your Majesty..."
Before Mu Yunqi could speak, a shrill announcement rang out throughout the entire cell.
"His Majesty has arrived!"
Gu Xi's breath hitched, and she looked at the newcomer in horror.
Before she could react, Xiao Heng's violent voice rang in her ears: "Beat him!"
Upon hearing the order, the jailer began to lash Mu Yunqi with the whip, tearing flesh and blood through the air as he let out painful groans.
Gu Xi's pupils contracted violently. She trembled with fear, still clutching Xiao Heng's sleeve and pleading, "Stop hitting him, stop hitting him... Your Majesty, please stop hitting him..."
Xiao Heng simply let her hold it, remaining unmoved.
She gripped him tighter, tears welling in her eyes: "Your Majesty, please release Physician Mu. We are truly innocent. Please release him, okay?"
Xiao Heng looked down at her and saw that her knees were slightly bent, and she was about to kneel down and beg him.
"If you dare to kneel, I will break his legs!" The cold words came from his mouth.
Gu Xi's legs went weak, and she only managed to stay upright with Zhu Yin's support. "Alright, I won't kneel... I won't kneel anymore, Your Majesty, can you release him?" Her voice was thick with sobs, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Mu Yunqi mustered all his strength to look up at Gu Xi. She was such a beautiful woman, hidden deep within the palace, yet still pure and kind. She was compassionate and merciful, whether to him or a stranger, a palace maid. To heal and save lives, she was even willing to harm herself.
Actually, he wasn't entirely innocent. Although he was drugged that night, the person on his mind was her. If he hadn't retained a shred of reason, he might have harmed her.
He still remembered that day, in the main hall, her gaze upon him was firm, as if an invisible force held his heart tightly, making him willing to try for her.
Now that she's willing to shed a single tear for him, he feels it's all worth it.
Xiao Heng stared intently at Gu Xi, cornering her against the wall. The tears in her eyes pierced him like sharp blades: "Gu Xi, have I been too good to you, making you willing to hurt me like this?" How dare she shed tears for another man in front of him? How dare she!
Gu Xi shook her head desperately: "I didn't..."
He ignored her explanations and asked through gritted teeth, "Who were you thinking about that night? Was it him?"
Gu Xi looked bewildered: "Your Majesty, I don't understand what you're saying?"
"Don't you understand?" Indeed, she was unconscious that night and didn't even know what she was saying, yet she still thought of that person.
Thinking of this, his heart grew colder and colder: "Gu Xi, did you ever love me?" There was a hint of despair in his voice.
"I love you, Your Majesty." She wasn't afraid that he would know she loved him; she was only afraid that he wouldn't believe she loved him.
Xiao Heng sneered: "Is that so? To save this man, you can even say such insincere things? And you still say there's no affair between you two?"
He didn't believe her after all.
"Your Majesty, what will it take for you to believe me?"
"Unless he dies!"
As soon as Xiao Heng finished speaking, the whip, which had just stopped, lashed out again, this time with even greater force than before.
Mu Yunqi's voice gradually weakened and then could no longer be heard.
Gu Xi felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. The sounds around her in the cell seemed to have suddenly disappeared, leaving only the buzzing sound of the whip cracking in her ears.
He seems to be really about to die.
She suddenly thought of Yun Ke, that straightforward woman. She trusted her so much and was still waiting for her to rescue her brother, but it seemed she couldn't do it anymore.
It's all her fault. She blames herself for opening that door, for letting Mu Yunqi help her find that book, giving others an opportunity to take advantage of her, and for being so infatuated with Xiao Heng, causing innocent people to suffer.
It's all her fault...
It's all her fault...
"Gu Xi!"
"Miss!"
"Your Majesty!"
Suddenly, she felt her body go limp, unable to hold on any longer. Before closing her eyes, she saw his panicked gaze. That look almost made her believe she was his beloved. But if he loved her, how could he not believe her? How could he bear to hurt her like this?
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