"You know, the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence is really hilarious!"
"The legitimate son bribed us to send food inside! The illegitimate sons and daughters bribed us to not send anything inside!"
The guard beside him gently nudged the man who had spoken, saying, "Don't talk nonsense. Even if they're not allowed to bring food, they're still legitimate sons and daughters!"
The man who spoke scoffed, "What's there to be afraid of! There's no one around at night!"
"Who in the capital doesn't know this?! Even if the Marquis of Dingyuan married a concubine, as long as the First Madam is alive, she's still a concubine! And the children she bears will be half a slender!"
Seeing that they couldn't persuade him and that their colleague's words made sense, the people around stopped talking and buried themselves in eating the food in the lunchbox.
Ning Xi'er lowered her head. Inside the carved mother-of-pearl food box were all the foods the original owner liked: eggs, various small rolls made from vegetable leaves...
It's such a pity that my second brother's good intentions were wasted like this...
With a slight thought, he took out hallucinogenic powder from his spatial storage and sprinkled it into the food box.
Because they were invisible and it was nighttime, the jailers couldn't find them.
Within moments, the jailers threw down their food boxes, their faces flushed an unnatural red...
Feeling incredibly hot, I grabbed at my chest haphazardly, unbuttoning my clothes and belt...
Hallucinogenic powders can amplify people's delusions infinitely, making them believe them to be real and causing hallucinations...
At the same time, it can also interfere with their thoughts, making them believe that everything in their hallucinations is real.
Ning Xi'er avoided their movements and asked softly, "Who gave you this food box on the ground?"
The jailers grabbed at his body haphazardly, as if enjoying some kind of "service," and grinned as they recalled:
"A gift from the second young master of the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion..."
Ning Xi'er's voice was soft as she instilled, "No, you're mistaken! It was given by the third and fourth sons of Lady Chen, the wife of Marquis Dingyuan!"
"Third Young Master, Fourth Young Master?"
The jailer looked puzzled, tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said with certainty, "Yes! It's the Third Young Master and the Fourth Young Master!"
Ning Xi'er asked again, "Has the Second Young Master come here?"
The jailer was once again lost in confused thoughts.
"Second Young Master..."
Ning Xi'er gave the answer directly, "I've never been here!"
The jailer nodded firmly and decisively, "That's right! The second young master has never been here before; we've never even seen him!"
"Who sent this food box?"
Ning Xi'er asked again.
The jailer thought carefully, then heard Ning Xi'er say, "The Third Young Master sent one, the Fourth Young Master sent one..."
"Yes! That's absolutely right!"
The jailers repeated.
Before leaving, Ning Xi'er added some other "ingredients" to the food containers that had been spilled on the ground...
As I gently unlocked the chains and returned to my cell, I felt several pairs of eyes watching me...
But since she was invisible, Ning Xi'er had nothing to fear, so she returned to her spot to catch up on sleep and slowly revealed her true form.
"ah!"
Ning Xi'er was awakened by Haitang's scream.
Ning Xier pulled her prison clothes tighter, covering half of her face and also shielding herself from the scrutinizing gazes of the women in the cell.
"Miss, what's wrong, Miss?"
Begonia's tears fell in a flurry.
Ao Xue and the others were also extremely anxious and distressed.
Ning Xi'er touched her face, a look of surprise and panic on her face, tears welling in her eyes. She said aggrievedly, "In the middle of the night, the jailer brought two food boxes..."
"They said it was a gift from my second brother. They said they didn't want to disturb your rest, so I only ate two bites before they took it away..."
"It must be someone from your household!"
Bai Zhi said with a face full of hatred, "How could it be the Second Young Master who did it? They must have used the Second Young Master's name!"
Haitang tenderly stroked Ning Xi'er's face, "Miss! What are we going to do!"
There are no doctors or medicine here. Is such a beautiful young lady going to be disfigured for the rest of her life?!
But they had no time to grieve, because the jailer brought in buckets filled with thin porridge and steamed buns.
"Eat quickly! Let's get going so we can hit the road sooner!"
The jailers rudely opened the cell doors, gave each person a hard, dark bun, and ladled out a bowl of thin porridge with no visible grains of rice.
As the guards handed out steamed buns, they chatted and laughed about the morning's amusing incidents.
It's said that two prison guards were possessed; early in the morning, they stripped naked and started dancing, much to the amusement of the changing guards...
When Ning Xi'er received her steamed buns and porridge, the jailer saw her face, was startled, and immediately shouted angrily:
"Ugly freak! Get lost!"
The women of the Duke of Huguo’s mansion only then saw Ning Xi’er’s face clearly, and they were all so frightened that they retreated to the corner of the wall!
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