Chapter 68 Interrogation
Chi Yingyue's mind was in complete turmoil; she had no idea who this person was.
Could it be an old acquaintance of Chi Ying? The tone was unusually familiar, but I've never heard her mention that she has a lover who can easily bypass the guards and sneak silently into the princess's bedchamber!
It won't be King Zhao either; the news from the residence says King Zhao won't return for another three days!
Besides, why would he need to wear black clothes and a mask to conceal his appearance when returning to his own residence?
Not to mention that King Zhao was blind, and the man before him had unfathomable, calm pupils that were as dark and terrifying as if they were filled with ice, making people tremble with fear and dare not look directly at him.
Chi Yingyue felt her breath catch in her throat, and her blood seemed to freeze. "I...you...you trespassed into the Princess's quarters, aren't you afraid I'll call for help? There are guards everywhere outside!"
She tried to appear calm and pretended to call for help, but it was just a bluff. In her heart, she was more afraid that before she could call for help, the man would attack her!
However, the person in front of her stared at her coldly, and then slowly removed his mask.
Chi Yingyue stared intently at his movements until she could fully see the face beneath the veil. Her heart stopped, and all color drained from her face. "Your Highness... Zhao?"
It really was him!
But wasn't he far away on his way back to Beijing? Wasn't he blind? Why is he suddenly here?
Could it be that he has already discovered something?
Suppressing her extreme panic, Chi Yingyue forced a look of surprise and delight, "Your Highness, it's you back! I thought it was some thief, and I was about to call for help..."
Yan Xuecui coldly watched her clumsy acting. The two faces were extremely similar, and even the voices and expressions were imitated very well, but they were still different.
He looked at her, his heart unmoved, his eyes filled only with undisguised disgust and murderous intent.
Yet, a faint smile lingered on his lips as he spoke slowly and clearly: "Tell me, where is the Princess?"
Chi Yingyue felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and cold sweat instantly soaked through her nightgown.
She trembled violently, her voice distorted: "I...I don't understand what Your Highness is saying, I am the Princess!"
Yan Xue stood up indifferently, her aura icy and terrifying. "Since you refuse to tell the truth, then we'll have to find another place to talk."
He called out in a deep voice, "Someone come here."
Two bodyguards rushed in, and Chi Yingyue, still wearing a thin nightgown, was roughly dragged off the bed.
She was trembling and struggling violently: "Your Highness, I am really A-Ying, I am the Princess!"
Upon hearing the name "A-Ying," Yan Xue's smile deepened, yet it remained chillingly cold: "A-Ying? Did she tell you this?"
Chi Yingyue was so frightened by the smile that her hair stood on end, but she still stubbornly insisted, "No... no one told me that this, this is His Highness calling me, isn't it?"
So she had always thought he was calling her "A-Ying"?
Yan Xuecui chuckled softly, but the laughter was tinged with self-mockery and bitterness.
"Put him in the dungeon," he ordered after a moment of silence, his face as cold as an icy pool. "Seal off Shuyuzhai and do not let a word of it get out."
Chi Yingyue still doesn't know where she slipped up. She had clearly made thorough preparations, and even the servants and Consort Zhuang in the room couldn't recognize her. How did Prince Zhao see through her at a glance?
Wait... you can see right through it?
Is he not blind? Can he see?!
Before she could think, a cotton ball was forcibly stuffed into her mouth, her head and face were covered with a black hood, and her wrists were tightly bound with ropes. She was powerless to struggle or make a sound. She only felt herself being forcibly dragged into a cold underground chamber, where the rough floor made her skin ache. When she opened her eyes again, a cold and bloody torture chamber came into view.
She was hung on a cold rack, the long, thorny whip raised high and then brought down heavily, instantly splattering blood and tearing flesh apart.
Chi Yingyue felt as if her skin and flesh were being torn off piece by piece, or as if countless thorns were drilling into her bones. The pain caused her to convulse, her face to contort, and her to be covered in cold sweat.
Yan Xuecui stared blankly, the air around him seemingly frozen solid, until his gaze fell on a certain spot on her shoulder, at which point a crack finally appeared on his calm face.
He raised his hand to signal a halt to the whipping. Chi Yingyue trembled all over, yet still clung to a last glimmer of hope as she looked at him, her voice trembling as she cried out, "Your...Your Highness, I really am..."
Before he could finish speaking, the torn collar of his clothes was pulled open, revealing a shallow scar on his shoulder.
If she had only doubted it before, she was now completely certain that he could see and that he was not blind!
Chi Yingyue's lips trembled as she tried to grasp at the last straw: "This is...this is the poisoned needle I took for His Highness at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet..."
Yan Xuecui scoffed, "You took the poison needle for me?"
Before Chi Yingyue could finish saying "yes," she heard his icy voice: "Cut off this wound on her shoulder."
Chi Yingyue's eyes widened, unable to believe a single word she heard.
What does it mean to "go off"?
The man's face was gloomy, and the surging ferocity in his eyes almost made him want to tear her apart inch by inch.
Chi Yingyue stared at the thin silver blade in the executioner's hand, her hair standing on end, and she shook her head frantically, almost in despair: "No, no... I'll tell you everything! I really am Chi Yingyue, the one before was a fake. I am the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Changyuan, Your Highness cannot treat me like this, I am the rightful Princess Consort..."
Yan Xue asked, enunciating each word clearly, "So, where is she?"
Chi Yingyue cried until her voice was hoarse: "She left a long time ago. She even voluntarily returned the title of Princess Consort. I don't know where she went..."
Now that things have come to this, she can only blame everything on Chi Ying: "She wanted to leave on her own, and she took my place as queen. Now she's scared and has fled to avoid punishment..."
Yan Xuecui coldly curled her lips: "Did she choose to leave on her own, or did she flee out of fear of punishment?"
Chi Yingyue nodded frantically, "Yes, it's her..."
Yan Xuecui said no more, raised her eyes and gestured to the executioner, who immediately stepped forward with a knife.
No matter how much Chi Yingyue cried and begged for mercy, the thin knife used for slow slicing still fell mercilessly, peeling away the fake scar on her shoulder inch by inch until the flesh was bloody and half of her body was covered in blood.
Chi Yingyue trembled violently from the pain, her heart-wrenching screams almost inhuman, before finally blacking out and fainting.
Yan Xuecui's face remained cold and hard, showing no emotion whatsoever.
He wouldn't believe a single word Chi Yingyue said about "voluntarily returning" or "fleeing to avoid punishment."
Before parting, his Ah Ying hugged him tightly, saying, "We'll be husband and wife," and that she would wait for him to come back and tell him everything... How could she leave willingly?
More than ten days have passed since the birthday of the Earl of Changyuan. Where could she be? She is probably no longer in Beizhili.
It was freezing cold at this time of year, and she was so thin; I wondered if she would get cold, and if she was safe on the road…
Thinking of this, Yan Xuecui closed her eyes, her clenched hands bulging with veins, and pressed the jade ring heavily against her knuckles, almost drawing blood.
If she makes any mistake, even if she slaughters everyone in the Changyuan Marquis's mansion, it will not be enough to quell the hatred in his heart!
He traveled five hundred li day and night to return to the capital, and has not closed his eyes since. He is also sleepless at this moment, and has ordered someone to summon Xiangqin.
Xiangqin was quickly taken to the dungeon. When she saw the woman on the rack, covered in blood and barely alive, she recognized her second daughter and immediately realized that His Highness had returned early tonight and discovered that the Princess had been replaced!
She knelt on the ground, trembling all over, and then heard an extremely cold voice above her: "Tell me the truth about how the Changyuan Marquis's mansion replaced its people."
Xiangqin's jaw clenched. Now that even the Second Miss had suffered such torture, how could she dare to hide anything? She hurriedly told the truth about Chi Ying returning to the manor to exchange identities.
"...Madam felt the time was right, so she took advantage of your departure from the capital to have the two young ladies switched back. The Princess Consort and Concubine Xue left on the night of the Earl's birthday."
Yan Xuecui coldly glanced at the guards beside her: "Two living people disappeared right under your noses, and you didn't even notice?"
The guard immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness: "It was my dereliction of duty! I failed to see through the Marquis of Changyuan's trick and mistook this person for the Princess Consort. I did not see the Princess Consort leave the mansion that day..."
Yan Xuecui then asked Xiangqin, "How did she leave?"
Xiangqin trembled all over and dared not hide the truth: "It was...it was Madam who forced me to redo the Princess's makeup and dress her up, making her face look dark and yellow, so that she could blend in with the guests and leave the manor..."
Yan Xuecui coldly pressed, "Where did she go?"
Xiangqin replied truthfully, "This servant doesn't know the specific destination either; it was all arranged by the Lord and Madam..."
Yan Xuecui turned away indifferently and ordered her guards, "Pass on my order... to invite the Marquis of Changyuan and his wife to come for a chat under the pretext of assisting the Embroidered Uniform Guard in their investigation."
This matter should not be publicized. He is already surrounded by dangers, and since taking charge of the Northern Garrison, he has made countless enemies. If word gets out about A-Ying's disappearance, it may bring her to her death.
Before dawn, the Changyuan Earl and his wife were still asleep when they were awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.
The leader of the Imperial Guards showed his token, claiming to assist in the investigation, but before they could say anything, he knocked them unconscious, tied them up, and put them in a carriage. The Earl's mansion was also firmly sealed off by the secret guards.
The Changyuan Earl and his wife were awakened by a bucket of ice water. When they opened their eyes, they were horrified to find themselves in a cold prison cell. The thick stench of blood filled the air. Not far away, a person covered in bloodstains lay on the stone bricks. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the woman was none other than their own daughter!
Madam Yin's face turned deathly pale, and she immediately scrambled over to him, crying out, "Yingyue, my Yingyue! How could this happen? Who beat you like this..."
The sound of deep, clear footsteps came from outside the cell. The Earl of Changyuan looked up and his face turned pale with shock: "Your Highness Prince Zhao!"
Yin Shi looked up at the person who had come, her head trembling.
The handsome man in the black robe stood before them, a smile playing on his lips, his voice so gentle it was almost eerie: "I have been married for several months, yet I have not personally visited you both. I have invited you here today to assist with the investigation and to discuss important matters."
His voice paused slightly, and every word that followed sent chills down one's spine, as if falling into an ice cave.
"Let's discuss how to deal with this imposter princess, and also find out where my real princess has gone."
Both the Earl of Changyuan and Lady Yin were dumbfounded. They never expected that their painstaking efforts to replace the person would be exposed so quickly. King Zhao showed no mercy and used cruel torture on Yingyue!
Even if he is a prince, he cannot use torture on his own princess!
Madam Yin held Chi Yingyue in her arms, not daring to touch the wounds on her body. Her daughter had been pampered since childhood, yet she had been whipped like this!
The fake wound she made on her shoulder that day, created through gritted teeth, had a piece of flesh torn off!
Lady Yin knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face: "Yingyue did nothing wrong. She is the princess consort bestowed by His Majesty, and that illegitimate daughter is the imposter!"
Yan Xuecui ignored it.
This was clearly not the answer he wanted.
Now that things have come to this, what else could the Marquis of Changyuan not understand? All he wanted was Chi Ying! As for Ying Yue, if she had even the slightest bit won his favor, she wouldn't have been beaten like this.
To save his own life, he knelt before Yan Xuecui, his voice trembling as he pleaded, "It was this sinful subject who was bewitched. Previously, because Yingyue was unwell, I asked my illegitimate daughter, Chiying, to serve Your Highness in her place. Now that Yingyue's health has improved, I discussed with Chiying to switch her back. Deceiving Your Highness is truly the sin of my family! But this sinful subject never intended to mistreat Chiying. I specially prepared travel permits and expenses, and sent people to escort them to Jiangnan..."
Yan Xuecui murmured, "Jiangnan..."
Marquis Changyuan nodded repeatedly: "Yes, it was because Chi Ying had mentioned many times that she wanted to settle in Jiangnan that this humble subject granted her wish..."
Yan Xuecui clenched her fists and ordered her guards: "Send men to secretly search the area from the capital to Jiangnan, and keep an eye out for mothers and daughters who have recently traveled south. If anyone looks like the princess, be sure to investigate them thoroughly! Remember, bring them back unharmed."
The guards immediately obeyed and withdrew.
Changyuan was still kneeling on the ground awaiting punishment. When he saw the man looking down at him with an indifferent expression, he felt his whole body stiffen and turn cold, as if frozen in ice.
King Zhao should have been blind and unable to see anything, yet his gaze was distinctly cold and menacing, as if it were tangible...
But at this moment, the Marquis of Changyuan had no time to think about anything else. He swallowed hard and hurriedly knelt down to beg for mercy: "Your Highness, this sinner has confessed everything and dared not conceal anything..."
Yan Xuecui slowly opened his lips and said, "I heard that you gave her and Aunt Xue forty lashes back then."
Upon hearing this, the Changyuan Earl and his wife were utterly astonished.
Madam Yin gritted her teeth and said, "It was Chi Ying's playfulness that caused this woman to miscarry. That's why the Earl gave her a minor punishment. I beg Your Highness to investigate thoroughly!"
Yan Xue curled her lips and said, "You two also concealed this from me. Since that's the case, it's not too much for me to give you a small punishment, is it?"
When Changyuanbo and his wife heard him call "Someone come here," their blood seemed to freeze and they were drenched in cold sweat.
Before they could beg for mercy, they heard a voice as eerie as the King of Hell: "Then for now, each of you will be given forty lashes. We will deal with the rest when the Queen returns."
Yan Xuecui walked out of the dungeon step by step, the mournful cries of the Marquis of Changyuan and his wife echoing behind him, but he seemed not to hear them.
His footsteps were heavy and sluggish. The sharp pain in his chest struck again without warning. He pressed his hand tightly to his chest, feeling as if blood was seeping from his internal organs. Even breathing was painful and trembling.
Stepping out of the dungeon, I was surprised to see snow falling heavily, covering the eaves with a thin layer of shimmering white.
A snowflake landed in his palm. He slightly clenched his knuckles, trying to hold onto it, but the snowflake melted away in an instant, leaving only a cool sensation in his palm, without a trace.
Yan Xuecui closed her eyes heavily.
Ah Ying, Ah Ying, Ah Ying...
Changqing County, Jinan Prefecture.
A temple hidden in the mountains was dimly lit, with charcoal burning inside and snow falling outside.
Chi Ying woke up with a start, still clutching the begonia silver hairpin tightly in her hand.
Just now in my dream, I seemed to hear him calling her name.
Chi Ying lowered her eyes and examined the hairpin in her hand.
Before leaving, Madam Zheng carefully inspected her bundle, taking out the gold and silver jewelry engraved with the Prince's Mansion's seal, and leaving her only loose silver of unknown origin.
Perhaps because the silver hairpin was not worth much and did not have the mark of a shop in the capital, it was left to her.
Her departure was sudden and hurried; this silver hairpin was the only thing she had left that was connected to him.
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