Chapter 272 Leaving Together
In the dark and damp prison, Wei Ciying curled up in a corner, his fingers unconsciously drawing lines on the wall.
The wall was already densely covered with marks, each one representing a day she had been locked up here. She could no longer remember how long she had been locked up here.
There is a narrow air vent high above my head. The wind coming in through the window feels a little hot on my face. It turns out that summer has already arrived.
Wei Ciying slowly stood up by supporting herself against the wall.
After being imprisoned for a long time and having poor food, she had become extremely thin. The loose prison uniform dangled on her body, and her bony shoulder blades could be clearly seen.
She looked up at the air vent. The wind was mixed with the smell of soil and grass, and sometimes a hint of floral fragrance. This was the closest she had been to the outside world since she was locked up here.
At this moment, a dull and long bell sound came from a distance.
Dong——Dong——
She counted until the one hundred and eighth bell rang.
One hundred and eight beats, the ceremony of national mourning.
Wei Ciying suddenly rushed to the prison door like a madman, shouting hoarsely, "I heard the death knell! What's going on? Has Pei Jing succeeded to the throne?"
The jailer, gathering his things not far away, shouted without even looking up, "Do you think you can call Prince Zhaoning by his name? Stop arguing! The Emperor has passed away."
The Emperor has passed away...
Wei Ciying was stunned, and then light flashed in his eyes, like a dying person grasping at a glimmer of hope.
She said excitedly: "The emperor has passed away, and the new emperor has ascended the throne. According to custom, there will be a general amnesty! Then can I go out?"
"Don't even think about it."
"Why?" Wei Ciying grabbed the railing. "There's a general amnesty, so why can't I go out?"
The jailer packed up his things and walked over slowly. "I have sentenced you to immediate execution. No one can pardon you."
"Behead...behead?" Wei Ciying was struck by lightning, and the joy on her face froze instantly. "How could it be...why behead? Where's my brother? Where's my father? They will save me!"
The jailer beside him sneered and said mockingly, "Save you? Your father can't even save himself. Your father and the eldest prince are the same raccoon. The eldest prince is plotting a rebellion, how can he get away with it? He's even been stripped of his title of Marquis Dingyuan, and now he's just a commoner! It's hard to say whether he can save his life."
Wei Ciying's face turned pale, and the iron chain clanged against the railing. "Then, what about my third brother?"
"You're talking about Wei Sanlang," the jailer said. "He wasn't implicated, but they didn't intend to take care of you at all."
"Impossible..." Wei Ciying shook her head repeatedly, "My brother won't ignore me. He's the softest-hearted one. He won't ignore me!"
The jailer was annoyed by her noise and reached out to push Wei Ciying away from the cell door. "What are you yelling about? If I wanted to save you, I would have come a long time ago."
Wei Ciying staggered back two steps and suddenly fell to the ground.
As the jailer walked out, he heard heart-wrenching cries coming from the cell.
She cried until she was exhausted, her throat was hoarse and she couldn't utter complete syllables. Her vision went black and she fell asleep leaning against the cold wall.
After an unknown amount of time, someone gently pushed her shoulder.
Wei Ciying opened her eyes in a daze, and in her blurry vision, she saw a familiar figure squatting in front of her.
"Jiang...Linyuan!" Wei Ciying turned over and sat up.
Jiang Linyuan covered her mouth with his hand and signaled her to be quiet.
Wei Ciying only then realized what was happening and looked around.
Every time Jiang Linyuan came to see her before, it was through the prison door, but this time he appeared in the cell with the door wide open.
Jiang Linyuan released his hand from covering her mouth, looked at her calmly, and said word by word: "Ciying, are you willing to come with me?"
Wei Ciying's eyes suddenly opened wide, a faint light struggling out from the dead silence. She almost used up all her strength and nodded tremblingly, "Yes, I do!"
Jiang Linyuan said no more, cut the chain, and reached out to pull her up from the ground.
I don't know if he had arranged everything in advance, but he hardly encountered any patrolmen along the way.
As the sky gradually brightened, they left the city among a group of early-rising merchants.
After walking for a while, a hint of dawn appeared in the eastern sky, and then a red sun broke through the horizon.
Wei Ciying couldn't help but look back towards the direction of the capital.
In the morning light, the outline of the city became increasingly hazy, gradually becoming a blurred silhouette.
In a trance, she recalled her previous life. It was also a morning like this when she decided to break away from all ties and leave with him.
She never thought that after experiencing life and death, and going around in circles, she would set out to leave the capital again at such a similar moment, in such an unexpected way.
It was like an invisible circle. After going around for so long, it finally returned to the same trajectory as the previous life.
Jiang Linyuan pulled the reins and the horse stopped by a clear stream.
"Come down and wash first." He got off the horse and helped Wei Ciying down.
In the past, Wei Ciying would never have been willing to wash and dress in such a place, but now, all her dignity and decency had been worn away in prison, so she didn't care about so many things.
Wei Ciying walked to the stream and looked down at her reflection in the water.
It was a face that was extremely unfamiliar to her, with hair as messy as dead grass and cheeks thin and sunken.
She hurriedly avoided the sight and frantically scooped up stream water to splash on her face. This was not enough, so she simply jumped into the water.
The stream was not deep, just above her knees. She sat in the water and rubbed her cheeks and neck repeatedly, wiping off the stains on her body as well, as if she wanted to wash away the humiliation and unbearableness that had accumulated over the days.
"Why...why did you save me?"
Jiang Linyuan turned his back to her, looking at the morning light in the distance, without answering.
Wei Ciying washed and changed her clothes, then walked over to Jiang Linyuan and asked, "Aren't we leaving?"
Jiang Linyuan turned around and said, "First, I need to take you to see two people."
"Who?"
"friend."
The two waited by the stream for a while. The morning dew gradually dissipated. The sound of wheels rolling came from the distance. A carriage slowly drove over and stopped not far away.
When he saw the person sitting on the shaft of the carriage, Wei Ciying guessed that the person in the carriage was Pei Jing, and subconsciously took two steps forward.
Thinking of her current appearance, she immediately retreated, half of her body hiding behind Jiang Linyuan.
Pei Jing got off the carriage, turned around, and reached out to help the people out of the carriage.
When Wei Ciying saw the man's appearance clearly, her whole body shook violently and she was nailed to the spot.
"Impossible..." Wei Ciying shook her head repeatedly, "Impossible... How could she be alive?"
Jiang Fei's gaze fell lightly on Wei Ciying and she slowly walked towards her.
Wei Ciying finally reacted, "It's you. Did you set up all this?"
"No." Jiang Fei smiled and said, "I broke the game you set up."
"I will kill you!" Wei Ciying suddenly pounced towards Jiang Fei, but was grabbed by Jiang Linyuan from behind.
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