Cui Zichen took the letter of divorce to prison.
Xue Shaojun and the Prince of Huaiyang were imprisoned separately. With the Prince's "care," Xue Shaojun was imprisoned alone in the most remote and worst-equipped cell.
Apart from a few scattered serious criminals awaiting execution in the autumn, Xue Shaojun was the only prisoner here.
Cui Zichen held the letter of divorce in his hand, a smile playing on his lips, and walked inside unhurriedly. The heavy boots clicked on the ground, echoing in the narrow, dark corridor.
Xue Shaojun, who was imprisoned at the far end, raised his head, his arms trembling uncontrollably.
In the short two or three days he was locked up, he felt as if he had heard the footsteps countless times, so familiar that he could immediately recognize the person.
—Cui Zichen.
When Cui Zichen appeared, he subconsciously shrank back.
Cui Zichen took out the key, opened the cell door, glanced lightly at Xue Shaojun who was huddled in the corner, and said with a smile, "Qinglan has come today."
Xue Shaojun was stunned, a feeling of disbelief and joy welling up inside him. He looked eagerly toward the end of the corridor, as if searching for that familiar figure.
But after searching for a long time, he couldn't find the second person, and disappointment showed on his face.
Cui Zichen noticed his expression and finished his sentence maliciously, "But I didn't let her in." Then he asked, "You thought she was here to see you?"
He scoffed, "Something as despicable as you, you dare to call yourself worthy?"
Xue Shaojun's face twitched, but he didn't answer.
If it wasn't to see him, then there's only one other possibility.
Although he had been prepared, when the moment finally arrived, he felt a pang of pain in his heart for some reason. He remembered when he first met Xie Qinglan, her eyes were so bright and clear, making him want to protect her without even thinking.
There was a time when he secretly thought that he should treat her well.
If she hadn't suddenly called out "Crown Prince" that day, stirring up the repressed darkness in his heart, perhaps they would still be a loving couple today...
Seeing the pain on his face, Cui Zichen was finally somewhat satisfied and handed him the letter of divorce: "Sign it."
Xue Shaojun took it, and when he saw the words "letter of divorce" at the beginning, he couldn't even maintain his composure: "Why is it a letter of divorce?"
"If it's not a letter of divorce, what else could it be?" Cui Zichen looked down at him. "Do you think you hold such a high place in her heart that you deserve a letter of divorce to part amicably?"
Xue Shaojun's face twisted in pain as he was about to tear up the divorce papers when Cui Zichen said coolly, "Have you thought this through? If you tear up one divorce paper, there will be another. But there are plenty of torture instruments in the Ministry of Justice's prison. If you don't sign it for a day, they'll try one of them."
"You're using this to settle personal scores!"
"So what if it is?" Cui Zichen laughed freely: "I was the one who single-handedly overturned the case of the Prince of Huaiyang's mansion. In fact, the Prince's mansion has quite a few incriminating evidence. Originally, I would have turned a blind eye for Qinglan's sake, but unfortunately you don't cherish it. Therefore, I will have to take care of her personally from now on."
Xue Shaojun had never expected that he would have such thoughts so early, and his face turned pale.
Cui Zichen, growing impatient, urged, "Hurry up, don't keep people waiting."
When Xue Shaojun thought of those instruments of torture, his still-healing wounds began to ache again. Even though he was filled with hatred and wished he could eat his flesh and drink his blood, he could only sign and affix his seal to the letter of divorce.
Cui Zichen accepted the letter of divorce and left with satisfaction.
Xue Shaojun heard his voice echoing in the corridor: "Transfer the man to be imprisoned with the Prince of Huaiyang."
Xue Shaojun was stunned. Before he could ponder the deeper meaning, he was roughly taken out by the jailer and pushed to the prison cell of the Prince of Huaiyang.
The Prince of Huaiyang did not appear to have been tortured and seemed to be in better condition than him.
Seeing Xue Shaojun being brought over by the jailer, he scrambled to his feet, kicked Xue Shaojun hard, and cursed through gritted teeth, "You unfilial son! The wealth accumulated by the Prince's Mansion over generations has all been squandered because of you!"
"If I had known this would happen, I should have strangled you when your mother gave birth to you, you wretched child!"
Xue Shaojun, already injured from torture, was kicked and fell to the ground, barely able to get up. He struggled to sit up, supporting himself with his hands, and sneered, "My life savings came from selling smuggled salt for generations. Now that the truth has come out, what does it have to do with me?!"
Seeing that he still dared to argue, the Prince of Huaiyang became even more furious: "You incorrigible wretch, I'll beat you to death today!"
*
Cui Zichen handed the letter of divorce to Xie Qinglan.
Xie Qinglan took it and examined it, surprised: "He signed it so readily?"
She hadn't expected things to go so smoothly today.
Cui Zichen laughed: "It's not that he's happy, but that I have the means."
Xie Qinglan glanced at him, but still got up and thanked him.
"No need for thanks, but I happen to be free today. How about you treat me to a drink at Fanlou Restaurant, and we'll call it even?"
She could afford to treat Chen Youying to a meal at Fanlou. Xie Qinglan thought for a moment and agreed. She put away the letter of divorce and happily pulled Chen Youying along, saying, "Let's go to Fanlou for a celebratory meal and get rid of the bad luck!"
Shen Youying glanced at the composed Cui Zichen, then at the oblivious Xie Qinglan, and sighed inwardly, shaking her head.
Shen Youying hesitated, but looking at Xie Qinglan's bright smile and then at Cui Zichen who had no intention of breaking the ice, she ultimately remained silent.
Xie Qinglan had just escaped a less-than-ideal marriage, and she had no intention of exposing Cui Zichen's feelings at this time, causing Xie Qinglan distress. But to be fair, if Xie Qinglan wanted to remarry in the future, Cui Zichen would indeed be a good choice.
What's most remarkable is that Cui Zichen seems to have had feelings for her all along.
Thinking this through, Shen Youying decided not to be an annoying extra. She went to Fanlou, ate something casually, and then made an excuse to leave.
As for Xie Qinglan and Cui Zichen, let nature take its course.
Shen Youying came out of the private room and was about to go downstairs when she inadvertently saw Xue Shen.
Xue Shen's rosewood wheelchair was so conspicuous that it was impossible not to notice it. Shen Youying smiled and was about to go forward when she saw Xue Shen leading two dancers up to the third floor.
Shen Youying paused, and the smile on her face faded.
Xue Shen had not told her that he was coming to Fanlou today. Moreover, the dancers at Fanlou... he had heard that their dancing was even more captivating than the top dancers in brothels.
Shen Youying hesitated and stood still, a wave of bitterness welling up in her heart.
Danzhu looked at her worriedly: "Miss...why don't we go and take a look?"
Shen Youying's expression wavered, and she said softly, "If it's a misunderstanding, then so be it, but if it's true..."
She didn't know how to face Xue Shen in the future, nor did she know how to continue deceiving herself as the Princess Consort of Qin.
Danzhu said, "But since you saw it, it's impossible for you to pretend you didn't."
Shen Youying bit her lip slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "What you said makes sense... then let's go take a look."
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