Chapter 45 Don't Think About Dying Before You're Bored
Xue Lanyi suddenly opened her eyes. Wei Zhang was holding her hand and examining it repeatedly, as if he were examining some perfect tool.
Fair as jade, soft and supple to the bone.
It's such a waste to chop it up and feed it to the dogs.
“The Guanyin Guillotine is used to punish disloyal ministers, but you are different.” Wei Zhang casually turned the wheel with his other hand, stopping the Guanyin Guillotine.
The gear-whirring stopped abruptly, and the chains that had been swallowed into the hidden compartment were all expelled.
Xue Lanyi's hands were freed.
However, Wei Zhang's words and this limited freedom did not bring Xue Lanyi any sense of redemption.
She saw an even greater aggression in his eyes, and within that aggression lay a hidden power that seemed to want to devour her.
Zhou Yu was "disloyal to his country," so he was punished with the punishment of imprisonment by imperial decree.
What about Xue Lanyi?
What's the difference?
Xue Lanyi vaguely heard the words "unfaithful woman" from his mouth.
She was unfaithful to him, so she should be punished by vigilante justice.
He wanted her to be his prisoner for life; her body, her hands, were to be his perfect tool for atonement.
He suddenly grabbed the back of her head, his thin lips close to her ear, "Don't even think about dying before I get tired of you."
"You're dreaming!"
Xue Lanyi's eyes widened, she brushed his hand away, and retreated repeatedly.
She would never have any physical contact with him again.
Absolutely not!
Xue Lanyi cautiously covered her collar, which had been torn earlier.
Wei Zhang slowly rose, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at him coldly.
At this moment, outside the skylight, in the inky night sky, flickering lights rose and shimmered.
The dim light shone on Wei Zhang's profile.
Feeling the warm light, Wei Zhang smiled enigmatically. "No rush. After watching tonight's Kongming lantern show, you'll kneel down and beg me."
“Absolutely impossible!” Xue Lanyi declared firmly.
Wei Zhang didn't argue with her anymore. He walked over to the lower table and sat down to read through official documents.
The sound of the paper rustling as it turned was cold and crisp.
The echoes reverberated in the silent prison cell.
Wei Zhang seemed to have already calmed down.
Xue Lanyi, still shaken, stared at him warily, then looked puzzled at the flames rising in the western sky.
The flames gathered and grew stronger, turning half the sky red.
Like hundreds of Kongming lanterns rising into the sky, yet burning even more intensely than Kongming lanterns.
Clearly... whose house is on fire!
Xue Lanyi had a bad feeling and turned to ask Wei Zhang, "What exactly do you mean?"
Wei Zhang put his long finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture, "Don't you like watching Kongming lanterns? Watch them carefully."
Having said that, he ignored her and, by the light of the towering fire, focused intently on reading official documents.
Xue Lanyi couldn't understand what he meant.
But his words implied that he had already realized that Xue Lanyi released the Kongming lantern that day in order to send a message to the old lady.
He was displeased; whose mansion did he burn down?
Xue Lanyi had a thousand questions in her mind, and she found this person even more terrifying.
She found the corner furthest from Wei Zhang, sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, and watched the firelight outside the window grow brighter and brighter, making the entire night sky seem like daytime.
From a distant place, faint, mournful cries could be heard.
This night was destined to be chaotic.
An hour and a half later, the firelight on the horizon gradually died out.
Xue Lanyi hadn't slept well for two whole nights, and now she couldn't hold on any longer and drifted off to sleep.
As night fell, the air, thick with the dust of burning coals, cast a greyish hue over the night sky.
After the heatwave, the chill in the air becomes even stronger.
After reading the official document, Wei Zhang adjusted his cloak and prepared to go to bed.
As I passed the prison bars, I saw Xue Lanyi huddled in a corner, wearing only a thin prison uniform, sneezing from the cold.
Those haystacks that were originally meant to be used as bedding and mattresses for warmth were piled up into a small hill by her and placed behind her.
It seemed to be deliberately placed between the two to block Wei Zhang's view.
She didn't want to see him, nor did she want him to see her.
So, would you rather freeze to death?
Wei Zhang stood before the prison bars, his eyes narrowed, staring at her half-hidden, half-revealed back for a long time.
The jailer on night duty yawned as he walked over, only to suddenly notice a dark figure standing silently in the pitch-black night.
If it weren't for the chilling gaze, it would be hard for anyone to notice that someone was standing inexplicably by the prison bars in the middle of the night.
The jailer shuddered in fright. He picked up a lamp and approached, only to see that it was Lord Wei standing silently, his eyes fixed on the haystack opposite the cell.
The jailer's terrified expression softened for a moment, then he immediately put on a fawning smile. "Your Honor," he said, "the northeast corner of our prison is drafty every night, so the prisoners stack haystacks to block the wind."
The prisoners who regularly reside in the imperial prison all understand this way of survival, sir…
The jailer noticed his brow furrowed slightly and asked, "Are you cold, sir? I'll go and get you another blanket right away."
At that moment, a damp, cold wind blew from behind, ruffling Wei Zhang's black cloak.
The breeze made Xue Lanyi sneeze several more times.
The petite girl huddled behind the haystack, shivering. Her legs were crossed and rubbing against each other, and she was still tightly clutching the chipped rice bowl in her arms, curled up into a ball.
Wei Zhang watched silently.
The jailer was also apprehensive, after all, such a powerful figure was in the imperial prison, so he couldn't afford not to serve him well.
He didn't understand what the adults were thinking, so he could only shamelessly continue to explain: "They said that five years ago, during the rebellion of the former crown prince, hundreds of people died in the imperial prison within seven days. In the end, the corpses piled up like mountains and couldn't be disposed of, so this place is extremely yin."
The ladies of the harem feared that the lingering spirits would not rest, so they ordered the prison to open its northeast gate at midnight every night, so that the ancestral dragon energy of Panlong Mountain in the northeast could suppress these vengeful ghosts and prevent them from being devoured by their resentment.
I heard that after the northeast gate opened, the palace was truly no longer haunted. It's just a pity for us who are constantly imprisoned in the imperial jail, having to endure the chilling cold of the Panlong Mountain ice cellar every night.
As he spoke, the jailer also crossed his arms and shuddered.
In the opposite corner, Xue Lanyi, still half asleep, skillfully grabbed a handful of straw and patched up the small gap in the haystack.
Leaning against the wall, I found a comfortable corner, smacked my lips, and fell asleep.
A moment later, a cold wind blew some more straw away.
Wei Zhang stared intently at her extremely practiced movements, remained silent for a moment, then turned and went to sleep.
The jailer breathed a sigh of relief, placed his hand warmer beside the adult's bed, and quietly left.
As I reached the door, I heard a deep voice behind me, "Starting tonight, seal off the northeast gate."
"But... His Majesty, the imperial concubines, the princesses, and the officials of the Imperial Observatory..."
“Go and do it,” Wei Zhang said.
It's ridiculous to expect one dead person to suppress hundreds of other dead people.
It's laughable that the Imperial Prison, which controls life and death, would fear ghosts.
Wei Zhang didn't believe in the idea of being haunted by evil spirits or being attacked by malevolent ghosts.
He gave instructions to the jailer, pulled up the quilt, lay down, and rested peacefully.
The jailer hesitated, wanting to say something more, but in fact, the Embroidered Uniform Guard knew that although the commander was Lord Shen Jinglan, Lord Shen would consult Lord Wei on many matters concerning the Imperial Prison.
Therefore, when Lord Wei said this, the jailer had no way to refute it and bowed to receive his orders.
As he was preparing to leave, Wei Zhang instructed him, "Tomorrow morning, make a pot of matsutake chicken soup."
"ah?"
The jailer was puzzled. Why drink hot chicken soup on a hot summer morning? Won't it make you sweat?
But he didn't dare to question it, so he simply said "Yes" and left.
The next morning, Xue Lanyi woke up from her sleep and found that her body was not stiff or cold.
She hid behind the haystack and stretched out her hands and feet, which were nimble and warm.
Looking at the bowl in my arms, which was clean and showed no signs of being crawled on by mice, I couldn't help but feel happy.
Five years ago, she spent a month in the imperial prison and knew that the northeast direction of the prison was bitterly cold every night, and that many resident prisoners had even frozen to death.
They also knew that every night many snakes, insects, rats and ants would dart in from the mountains outside the northeast gate to escape the cold, so the bowls used for eating would often be covered with rat droppings and urine, and even snake shed skin.
When I woke up this morning, none of those unpleasant things had happened.
At this moment, Xue Lanyi's heart was full, and unconsciously even her leg-pressing movements became much more flexible.
Sitting at the table, Wei Zhang could only see a nimble figure peeking out from behind the haystack, sometimes revealing its head, sometimes its arm, and sometimes its leg.
Wei Zhang looked puzzled, shook his head slightly, and went to ladle out the soup.
At this time, it was mealtime for the prison staff.
Xue Lanyi knew what the food was like in the imperial prison, so she didn't have many requirements. She was already very grateful that she didn't have to eat from a bowl that had been crawled on by snakes and rats.
In the midst of boundless darkness, sometimes a tiny surprise is enough to make one temporarily forget the pain.
Xue Lanyi, unusually free of her worries, squatted in front of the prison bars facing the passageway, waiting for her meal.
Wei Zhang, who was just a wall away, had already started his breakfast.
As he casually ladled soup, he glanced through the rising steam at the obedient little figure hiding in front of the bars like a rabbit.
Although Xue Lanyi tried her best not to look at him, the matsutake chicken soup on his table was so delicious that it was hard not to smell it.
Xue Lanyi's throat moved, and her stomach instinctively growled.
Then, I quietly pressed down on my uncooperative belly.
Wei Zhang paused slightly as he scooped the soup, not in a hurry to drink it, but simply tossed it around with the spoon as if to let it cool.
However, the act of simmering the soup inevitably spread the aroma, enveloping Xue Lanyi from all directions.
The rumbling of my intestines accompanied the sound of soup dripping, again and again.
Xue Lanyi finally couldn't help but glare at him, "Wei Zhang, don't you think this kind of tactic is too childish and ridiculous?"
Wei Zhang then raised his eyes and glanced at her. "What methods?"
"..."
Xue Lanyi took a fierce bite of the dry, hard steamed bun.
The steamed buns handed out by the jailer were so dense that Xue Lanyi almost choked.
She quickly turned her back to him, stretched her neck for a long distance before choking on the steamed bun, and then quickly drank water.
Wei Zhang saw her cheeks puffing out like a fish drinking water, whether from anger or choking, her cheeks were rosy.
For some reason, Wei Zhang always felt that she was more adorable when she was angry.
Wei Zhang's tense lips relaxed slightly as he scooped a spoonful of soup into the empty bowl on his right.
Suddenly, a ball of black fluff was thrown at him from mid-air.
Wei Zhang turned his head to avoid it.
The black velvet suddenly changed direction and bounced into the bowl where Wei Zhang had just scooped soup.
Upon closer inspection, a mouse was seen circling in the white porcelain bowl, squeaking, having bathed in chicken soup.
Wei Zhang was also splattered with soup, and he stared intently in the direction from which the rat had flown.
Xue Lanyi glared at him.
Xue Lanyi used to be afraid of mice, but after spending a month in the imperial prison and two years in the brothel, what was there to be afraid of?
Now we are no longer afraid of Wei Zhang.
She was eager to provoke him and make him feel disgusted, so that he would give up any other thoughts.
"You're a snake and a rat in the same den, that's exactly what I mean by a despicable person like you who will stop at nothing!" she said fiercely.
Wei Zhang's pupils contracted slightly as he stared at the porcelain bowl shaped like a white lily.
The pristine new bowl was ruined by her reckless actions.
His eyes darkened, and he suddenly plunged his chopsticks into the rat's belly.
The cacophony of squeaking mice around us subsided.
A splash of blood appeared in the broth.
Wei Zhang, holding a white porcelain bowl, stood up and paced toward the prison bars, his footsteps clear.
He placed the soup bowl containing the rat on the other side of the cell.
At this moment, Xue Lanyi could see more clearly the bloodstains splattered on the white jade porcelain and the rat struggling in its death throes.
Wei Zhang's chopsticks pierced the rat's heart with precision, just slightly off-center. The rat was pinned to the soup and struggled incessantly as if drowning.
The more it struggled, the more blood flowed out.
The chicken soup turned bright red, and the smell of rats grew weaker and weaker.
He lifted his eyes and gave her a deep look. "You'd better swallow back every disrespectful word you've said tonight."
"Every word I said is true, and I can't take it back!"
"You'll be able to swallow it tonight, of course."
Wei Zhang straightened up, and his elongated shadow gradually enveloped Xue Lanyi.
The wind blowing from the torture chamber, carrying the stench of blood, distorted his figure.
Xue Lanyi had no idea what he was talking about, but for some reason, her hair stood on end.
The atmosphere gradually froze, and only the increasingly weak squeaking of the mice could be heard.
"My lord, there is new progress in the case of Prince Qi. Lord Shen requests your presence."
At this moment, the prison guards outside the cell bowed.
Wei Zhang then looked away and hummed in agreement.
As he was about to leave, he said cryptically, "I'll be waiting for you in the interrogation room."
Having said that, he took two steps back, turned around, and left.
He seemed quite certain that Xue Lanyi would ask him for help.
What exactly is he planning?
Remembering the fire that had burned half the sky last night, Xue Lanyi's breathing became inexplicably shallow.
*
On the other side, after Wei Zhang went to the interrogation room, he did not see Shen Jinglan. Only Qingyang was waiting in the room with a medicine box.
The prince's wound was unprotected by ribs, so if it became infected, the poison could easily enter his lungs and internal organs. Qingyang dared not delay and came early to apply medicine to the prince.
But upon seeing Wei Zhang, one's gaze was immediately drawn to the large, damp patch on his clothes, which smelled like chicken soup.
The Crown Prince usually pays great attention to his appearance.
"Your Highness, is this... perhaps some prisoner or jailer is being disobedient?"
Qingyang never imagined that the gentle and considerate Aunt Xue would attack the young master.
"Throwing rats?" Wei Zhang muttered to himself, sitting in his armchair and rubbing his brow.
Now, recalling how she, a refined young lady, threw a mouse and pointed at people's noses while cursing, all I can manage is a helpless laugh.
Qingyang felt even more uneasy.
When have I ever seen anyone overstep their bounds to this extent, and yet the Crown Prince still laughs?
I'm afraid this prison is so gloomy that staying there for too long might make one's nerves tremble...
Qingyang hesitated for a moment, then said, "How about... Your Highness returns to your residence to rest tonight?"
Wei Zhang glanced at him indifferently, then leaned back in his armchair with his head tilted back, waiting for him to apply the medicine.
It should not be done as usual.
Looks like I'm going to be in jail again tonight?
What's so special about this prison? Are you addicted to it?
Qingyang scratched his head, not daring to ask any more questions, and squatted down to apply the medicine.
After the wound was treated, Qingyang looked out the window and asked, "Didn't Lord Shen say he wanted to discuss the Qi Prince case with the Crown Prince? Why hasn't he come?"
“He’s in the underground prison.” Wei Zhang closed his eyes to rest, his throat bobbing slightly. “He deliberately sent me away.”
"Why?" Qingyang blurted out, but quickly realized his mistake.
Last night, things were not peaceful in Shengjing City. The princelings who had been released five years ago were arrested again and returned to the imperial prison.
Shen Jinglan will certainly be subject to a rigorous investigation.
As for why Wei Zhang was sent away...
This was because five years ago, when Shen Jinglan wanted to exterminate the Crown Prince's faction, the Crown Prince used bait to stop his execution.
This time, Shen Jinglan has another opportunity because of the Prince Qi case, so he will naturally not show any mercy and will definitely wipe out the former Crown Prince's faction completely.
Fearing that Wei Zhang would obstruct him, he sent Wei Zhang to the interrogation room.
Wei Zhang was happy to have him as a pawn, so he raised his hand and said, "Close the door."
Qingyang closed its gates, shutting out the noise from the outside world.
At that time, dozens of people dressed in prison clothes and shackles were dragged into the imperial prison on the blue stone steps of the dungeon.
The clanging sound of the iron chains was cold.
Xue Lanyi had just turned her gaze away from the dying rat when she saw Zhou Yu, Xie Qingyun, Lu Lin, and others walking over one after another.
"Zhou Yu! Xie Qingyun! Lu Lin! What are you doing here?" She rushed to the prison bars and shouted.
It was as if the scene of their arrest five years ago was being replayed.
The four of them reunited in the imperial prison.
However, this time Xue Lanyi's shouts went unanswered.
Zhou Yu, Xie Qingyun, and Lu Lin were no longer the young men who couldn't bear injustice and would argue for what was right. They each hung their heads and let the Imperial Guards push them down into the cell.
Behind them lay their dwindling clan.
Due to the rebellion, the household was in turmoil, with many dying and falling ill, leaving the family sparsely populated.
Those arrested and imprisoned this time were mostly young children and the elderly, and even their cries were exceptionally weak.
Several people were pushed into the cell across the corridor one after another.
Xue Lanyi then realized that the so-called Kongming lanterns last night were actually the result of the raid and burning of three mansions, which caused a raging fire.
"Why? Lu Lin, what happened outside?" Xue Lanyi asked.
Lu Lin leaned against the prison bars, a strand of white hair mixed with black hair falling in front of his eyes, obscuring his numb vision.
"Lu Lin! Lu Lin!" Xue Lanyi kept shaking the railing.
Lu Lin then came to his senses and looked at Xue Lanyi in a daze.
Upon meeting an old friend, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, but it vanished in an instant, leaving his eyes as still as a pool of water. He shook his head.
What does shaking one's head mean?
There must be a reason why the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrests people.
"Say something!" Xue Lanyi said anxiously.
Lu Lin's face was ashen, and he shook his head in silence as usual.
Zhou Yu patted Lu Lin on the shoulder, gesturing for him to go inside and rest. He then sat down in Lu Lin's original spot, exchanging a meaningful glance with Xue Lanyi through the bars. "Don't pressure him..."
"I didn't force..." Xue Lanyi was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly realized that Lu Lin's tongue had been removed five years ago.
Because Lu Lin used to be very talkative, Xue Lanyi subconsciously asked him about it, forgetting this point.
She felt guilty, but she didn't know whether to apologize or not.
But it seemed that Lu Lin had no interest in whether she apologized or not, as he was surrounded by two wailing children.
The children wore patched, coarse linen clothes, the thick fabric weighing down their thin bodies.
The Lu family was once one of the wealthiest families in Shengjing, but now they are clearly not doing well.
Xue Lanyi was overwhelmed with emotions. After a moment of silence, she looked at Zhou Yu again, hoping to find out what had happened outside from him.
Zhou Yu shook his head: "Shen Jinglan said that the murderer who killed Prince Qi is among us."
"How is this possible?"
Xue Lanyi believed in Wei Xuan; since he was certain that Wei Zhang was the murderer, he couldn't be wrong.
The evidence pointing directly to Wei Zhang is conclusive, so why are the Zhou, Xie, and Lu families also implicated?
"Are they trying to find a scapegoat for Wei Zhang?"
Not entirely.
Zhou Yu looked at Xue Lanyi with a worried expression: "Do you still remember that year on the Crown Prince's birthday, we played a drinking game and drew red plum blossoms in the Eastern Palace? Later, when we were very drunk, Prince Qi visited the Eastern Palace, and the next day Prince Qi died for no reason?"
Xue Lanyi nodded.
The Crown Prince's birthday coincided with the blooming of winter plum blossoms. Every year on that day, the Crown Prince would invite these friends to the Eastern Palace to admire the plum blossoms.
That year, everyone except Wei Xuan, who caught a cold, went.
As for the fact that Prince Qi died the day after the Crown Prince's birthday, everyone just considered it a coincidence.
Xue Lanyi didn't understand the connection between the two things.
In fact, Zhou Yu never expected that they had unintentionally committed a capital crime when they were young and drunk. Now that it had been brought up again, it still made him feel cold. "There was an acrostic poem on the red plum painting - The Eastern Palace Inherits the New Heaven".
Xue Lanyi's expression froze, and a belated chill ran straight into her bones.
If I remember correctly, the poem on the painting of red plum blossoms that year was started by the Crown Prince, and the last four lines were each written by one of the four of them.
It was merely a youthful expression of feelings through alcohol, with no other intention.
However, if this painting is passed down to posterity, it would be an irrefutable crime of treason against the five of them.
Moreover, Prince Qi already wanted to put the Crown Prince's faction to death, and if he seized the opportunity, he would definitely not let go.
Therefore, Shen Jinglan suspected that they killed Prince Qi to silence him in order to cover up their crimes.
But how could they kill someone to cover it up when they didn't even know that the painting contained a hidden acrostic?
"It can't be..."
Xue Lanyi considered a possibility, but then felt it was a pipe dream, so she lowered her voice and said, "Did Wei Zhang kill Prince Qi in order to help us hide the so-called evidence of our crimes?"
According to this assumption, after they painted the red plum blossom picture, they got drunk and never woke up.
Just then, Prince Qi entered the Eastern Palace and saw this rebellious acrostic poem.
So he took the painting and went to the palace that very night to pay his respects.
However, since they did not see the late emperor, they took the painting back to the Prince Qi's residence first.
However, Wei Zhang, who was being fostered in the Prince Qi's mansion at the time, saw it.
Did he kill Prince Qi to prevent Prince Qi from reporting them?
How is that possible?
Wei Zhang was a ruthless man who betrayed his friends for personal gain, killed his brother, and deceived her. He was capable of anything.
Would he kill them to silence them for their safety?
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