Chapter 347 An Old Acquaintance
Lou Yue nodded: "Yes, Xia Chan is always cautious and wouldn't do anything reckless. She's not like me..."
She gave a self-deprecating laugh, then turned and hugged Qingling's arm: "However, I'll stay with Miss for now, so I won't be afraid."
Tao Ye muttered, "He's about to lose his head, and you're still sucking up to him."
Lou Yue grinned at her and snorted.
Xiao Pingfeng looked at the two of them. Even at this moment, they could still joke and bicker. Yao Qingling always had a few lively characters around her.
However, thinking about it this way, it doesn't seem so bad anymore.
He struggled to change his position. He Yin wanted to go forward and check his injury, but Xiao Pingfeng shook his head: "It's nothing serious. Save your medicine; you'll need it later."
He Yin glanced at Yao Qingling, who said, "Apply it to him."
She turned to stop Xiao Pingfeng from saying what he was about to say: "It hasn't come to that point yet. If we run out of medicine, I have a way to get some."
Xiao Pingfeng asked in confusion, "You want to—"
He had just opened his mouth when He Yin stretched her slender arm over the railing and slipped a pill into his mouth.
Xiao Pingfeng had no choice but to swallow his words and asked again, "What are you going to do?"
Qing Ling curled her lips into a smirk, a cold glint in her eyes: "There's always a way."
Some people still can't bear to see her die.
He Yin gestured with her fingers: "Miss, now that they know we're in cahoots with Sheng Dahe, and the case is closed, what else do they want to do?"
Taoye said, "Young Master Lin's body is not under the ruins of Yongning Temple. If he escaped, Prince Xin will use Miss to lure Young Master Lin out."
Yao Qingling remained silent, saying nothing.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
This solemnity reflects both hope for Lin Shiyuan and unease about reality.
A muffled voice broke the oppressive silence: "I wonder if Boss Sheng is still alive."
Xiao Pingfeng sighed.
He was not imprisoned with Sheng Dahe.
Even the Cao family, the Imperial Censor, were imprisoned, but not in the same cell as them.
They separated these people and imprisoned them to prevent them from prying each other apart. They planned to take them down one by one, searching for any clues about Lin Shiyuan or the iron ore, without letting anything slip out.
Yao Qingling also knew that Prince Xin imprisoned the Imperial Censor and his wife as a bargaining chip to force her to reveal what she knew.
Footsteps echoed in the air again, steady and powerful, quick in pace; judging from the rhythm and sound, it belonged to a young man.
Qingling closed her eyes, listening to the footsteps, a faint smile playing on her lips, her expression unreadable.
We're old acquaintances.
When the footsteps stopped in her cell, she slowly opened her eyes: "I knew you would come to see me. But you are useless to me."
Zhan Xingzhuo frowned, looking anxious: "Yao Qingling, even at a time like this, you still hate me so much."
He paused, his face contorted with pain and conflict: "Yao Qingling, I advised you not to get involved in so many things. Don't try to shoulder burdens you can't handle. You're just a woman; wouldn't it be better to be a virtuous wife in the inner quarters?"
"Look at you! You were once the daughter of a general and the wife of a high-ranking official, but now you're a prisoner! How dare you associate with bandits!"
Zhan Xingzhuo was heartbroken and gave him a severe scolding.
Qing Ling remained indifferent and said, "Don't you know how I ended up with bandits?"
If he hadn't taken her to Yongning Temple and then abandoned her, would she have experienced that night that changed her fate?
Zhan Xingzhu frowned: "After you escape, you can..." He waved his hand, "Never mind, it's too late to say anything now."
He ordered the cell door to be opened and personally brought in a food box and a bundle of clothes: "Right now you are a serious offender, and I cannot move you to a better cell. The Emperor is furious, and even Prefect Gao, who helped you with the household registration, was flogged."
To everyone's surprise, the bandits they had been tracking for over a year were actually doing business right under their noses, even brazenly.
The emperor himself bestowed upon her the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady, yet she associated with bandits and even seemed to be somewhat of a female leader.
Where does this leave the emperor's dignity?
Zhan Xingzhuo took out the dishes from the food box one by one, saying, "Yao Qingling, just answer whatever they ask. Don't risk your life. Aren't you the one who cherishes your life the most?"
Yao Qingling looked at the dishes with her eyes lowered.
These are all her favorite dishes.
But before, he never knew what she liked to eat.
Yao Qingling chuckled: "Although I don't know how you remembered what I like to eat, I have a feeling you want me to reveal Lin Shiyuan's whereabouts?"
"Zhan Xingzhuo, are you here to induce a confession?"
Zhan Xingzhuo pressed his thin lips together, his voice low and urgent: "Do you still want to protect him?"
Qing Ling smiled coldly: "What do you mean by protecting him? What crime did Lin Shiyuan commit that makes him worthy of my protection? Right now, I'm the one locked up in jail, how can I protect him?"
"You—" Zhan Xingzhuo was caught off guard by her. He naturally couldn't say directly that Lin Shiyuan had touched on a secret she shouldn't have.
If he tells him, it would be tantamount to admitting what Prince Xin was plotting, and then all those things in Yongning Temple would have been transferred for nothing.
In truth, Zhan Xingzhuo wasn't deeply involved; he refused to get too involved. Prince Xin also didn't trust him, so they tacitly maintained a distance.
Furthermore, Prince Xin had taken a liking to Yao Qingling, but it wasn't out of genuine affection. He merely needed Yao Qingling to test Zhan Xingzhuo's loyalty to him.
To him, if Zhan Xingzhuo truly submitted to him, he would even offer women to his bed, just like those ministers who sought wealth and power.
However, Zhan Xingzhuo, being the son of the Grand Princess and the Duke of Zhan, still possessed a certain arrogance and confidence.
But what's the point?
Zhan Xingzhuo was always bound by his former brotherhood. He refused to oppose Prince Xin and had no right to save Yao Qingling. He could only persuade her to confess Lin Shiyuan in order to save her own life.
He said angrily, "Stop being so stubborn. Don't you care about yourself or Zhao'er? He's a piece of your own flesh and blood, what has Lin Shiyuan given you in return!"
The mention of her child caused Qingling a sharp, piercing pain in her heart.
Fortunately, she made arrangements for the child.
She knew that conspiring with bandits was a serious crime, punishable by beheading.
She tried her best to curry favor with the Empress, but faced with such a serious crime, the Empress would certainly want to protect herself.
Moreover, the Emperor and Empress are probably already aware of her relationship with Lin Shiyuan, after hearing it from Prince Xin.
Those in power hate deception the most. Regardless of Yao Qingling's original intentions, she is no longer trustworthy in their eyes.
However, there is one thing: Yao Qingling was able to provide the Empress with secret information about various noble families, and she was also able to know the secrets of the Zhou family.
The Zhou family, the Duke of Xincheng's mansion, is the Empress's maternal family.
This became a talisman for Yao Qingling to use against the Empress.
She didn't expect to get away herself, but she had no problem having them protect a child.
Qingling then instructed Nie Yun to send Zhao'er and Madam You to the Duke of Xincheng's mansion.
Qing Ling smiled faintly and looked at Zhan Xingzhuo: "If something happens to me, you will become Zhao'er's closest relative in this world, and no one will be able to take you away from her."
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