Chapter 348 Make her feel guilty
Zhan Xingzhuo felt a tightness in his chest from anger.
"Yao Qingling, at a time like this, you're still telling me these things?"
Qing Ling smiled faintly: "I'm serious. Zhan Xingzhuo, you are, after all, the child's biological father. If you really care about that child, please take good care of him after I'm gone."
"Of course, I've also hired people to protect him. He can live just fine without you. Don't take advantage of me while I'm not around to bully him."
She was referring to Zhou Zhining.
Zhou Zhining is currently acting erratically, but what if she recovers?
She saw Yao Qingling as a thorn in her side, and wouldn't even spare the child.
A mother can never let go of her child, even if she dies, which is why Yao Qingling made that statement beforehand.
Zhan Xingzhuo paused, too angry to speak.
In her eyes, he would never get better?
Then, his eyes dimmed again.
He said nothing more, his throat bobbed, and he got up and left the cell.
He had said everything he needed to say, and he didn't know how else to advise her.
After Zhan Xingzhuo left, Lou Yue muttered, "I wonder what kind of bad intentions this former son-in-law is harboring. He'd love for Young Master Lin to die so that Miss can get back together with him."
Tao Ye and Qing Ling were both looking at her.
Lou Yue said, "Did I say something wrong?"
Taoye didn't speak; she had the same thought.
Yao Qingling said, "I don't know if he wants Lin Shiyuan to die. But I do know that he really doesn't want me to die."
Zhan Xingzhuo had a special love for Zhou Zhining, and he would never let her go until his death.
But Zhan Xingzhuo also had feelings for Qingling, only he realized it too late and could no longer win her back.
Qingling stopped thinking about Zhan Xingzhuo and picked up her chopsticks: "Let's eat first before the food spoils."
It's so tough in prison, and it's rare to get clean and tasty food. After this meal, who knows if there will be another one?
The maids also took bowls and chopsticks and started eating.
Lou Yue added some vegetables, sandwiched them inside a steamed bun, and handed the bun to Xiao Pingfeng through the narrow gap in the railing.
The days in prison were incredibly boring, yet also heartbreaking.
Strangely, Yao Qingling was never brought forward for trial.
Xiao Pingfeng and several maids were beaten, and even He Yin was tortured by having her fingers squeezed between her legs. Her fingers were swollen and thick like radishes, and she couldn't cry out. She could only curl up and tremble with pain.
Lou Yue, with tears streaming down her face, didn't dare touch He Yin's hand.
"They went too far. If they wanted to hit someone, they should have hit me. I'm all flesh and blood, so I'm not afraid. Why are they interrogating He Yin? She can't even speak!"
He Yin's hand is so swollen, I don't know if any bones are broken, and whether she will be able to take pulses in the future.
Qingling understood.
Prince Xin did not harm her, but instead used the cries and painful groans of her closest relatives to stimulate her.
She didn't care about Madam Ma, the old lady, or even her uncle, who were her blood relatives. Since he couldn't capture her own flesh and blood relatives, he tormented the servants and followers she regarded as family.
Make her feel guilty, make her suffer from the bottom of her heart, whip her.
Qingling clenched her fists tightly, her eyes were bloodshot, and a sudden stinging pain shot through her palm.
She lowered her head and opened her palm.
The skin on my palm was pierced, and blood seeped out.
She looked at her nails, and the image of Lin Shiyuan cutting her nails flashed before her eyes.
Lost in thought.
Lin Shiyuan, are you alright?
Are you... still alive?
The sound of leisurely, unhurried footsteps drifted over.
Yao Qingling raised her head, her gaze blank and numb, no longer possessing the arrogance and confidence she had when she was first imprisoned, and instead showing disdain.
Prince Xin waved his fan, looking at Yao Qingling as if she were a trained pet locked in a cage.
This unruly tigress had put away her claws, lost the strength to roar, and her eyes had gone limp.
Prince Xin squatted down, looking at Yao Qingling with a wicked smile: "Madam Yao, are you alright?"
Qingling stared at him, her numb and empty eyes gradually revealing a sharp light.
She smiled back, but her smile remained proud and disdainful: "Did you succeed?"
She got up, grabbed the railing, and stood up: "Let me guess."
"You think you've defeated me with these people's screams? You think I should beg for mercy? You've come to see me in person, giving me a chance?"
Prince Xin smiled and waved his folding fan.
His fan, with its ribs made of sandalwood, emitted a fragrant aroma when waving, dispelling the stench in front of him and giving Yao Qingling, who was nearby, a pleasant scent.
She became even more energetic, gripping the railing tightly and laughing mockingly.
Prince Xin asked with a smile, "So, are you going to beg for my mercy?"
"Yao Qingling, just say the word, and I'll release you from here immediately. As long as you follow me, you'll enjoy endless wealth and luxury. Even these people..."
He glanced contemptuously at the few people sitting or lying down, as if they were dead dogs, and said, "They can also rise to prominence with you."
Qing Ling gave a mocking smile and instead of answering, asked, "I have another guess."
"Another possibility is... you've been planning this for so long, going through all sorts of trouble, but you still haven't caught Lin Shiyuan. The longer it goes on, the more panicked you get. So, you're planning to hang me on the city gate tower to lure him out?"
Prince Xin raised an eyebrow regretfully, his lips curling down slightly, revealing a toy-like expression: "What if I hang you on the city gate tower and you get hurt? I still can't bear to do that."
"However, I have another way. Do you remember how Lin Shiyuan got into the capital?"
He tapped his fan against the cell bars. "A cage. Since you and he are kindred spirits and admire each other, why not lock yourself in a cage too, just like him, and let people watch you in the bustling marketplace?"
"Let me think... The people praise Madam Yao, the good daughter of the former Marquis of Zhongyong, is actually a bandit who harms them and terrifies them. Do you think they might throw rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at you?"
Yao Qingling's expression changed.
Sheng Dahe robbed officials and nobles, but how could the common people know how much gold and silver treasures were hidden in Yongning Temple?
Incited by some people, they only believed that Yao Qingling was using them and that the bandits were the root cause of their inability to live a good life.
Prince Xin said coldly, "You sell cheap grain and cheap goods just hoping that those people will speak up for you in times of crisis, right?"
"Ha, let me tell you, they only care about their own interests, and they are no different from people like me."
“But you follow me and receive the worship of others. And what about you? You choose those people as your shield, haha…” He shook his head, “Yao Qingling, being too clever is actually just being stupid.”
Yao Qingling's face was tense as she glared at him hatefully.
Prince Xin didn't care at all. He said, "I'll give you one more day. Once you've thought it through, have the jailer come and tell me."
He covered his nose with his fan and frowned in disgust: "This place stinks. I don't want to come here again."
With that, he walked away, fanning himself.
"Wait a minute," Yao Qingling called out to him.
Prince Xin paused, turned to look at her, and laughed mockingly: "You've figured it out so quickly?"
Qingling looked at him calmly and said, "I have one request."
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