The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guards simply gave Prince Rong a lazy glance and said, "Look at your current behavior. Your hair is disheveled and you stink. How can you look like a prince? Even if I am not as good as you can be, at least I am cleaner than you. I advise you to be honest so that you can die more comfortably before your execution. Otherwise, you won't even get to eat your last meal."
As he spoke, he strolled over to Lan Yuning's cell. Lan Yuning leaned against the wall and looked at him, ready to be ridiculed by him. Unexpectedly, the man just glanced at her and shook his head: "Tsk tsk tsk tsk, you really know how to find a place. There's a rat hole under your butt. No wonder these rats are running around everywhere. You've blocked their door!"
Lan Yu Ning: "..."
She suddenly screamed and jumped up.
The commander scoffed and was about to move forward. Lan Yuning rushed over, grabbed the iron rod and said, "Wait! I want to see someone!"
The commander raised an eyebrow: "Who do you think you are? You can still make demands now?"
Lan Yuning choked. "I... I have something very important to say. Please, help me pass on a message! The Emperor will definitely want to know!"
The commander turned around and looked her up and down. "You? What could you know?"
Seeing that he didn't believe her, Lan Yuning gritted her teeth and lowered her voice, "It's related to Princess Ming and concerns the country. It's extraordinary. I must meet the emperor in person before I can tell him."
The commander narrowed his eyes. "Who wouldn't say that? I can just make something up. If the emperor asks for details and I can't tell you, won't I be the one to be punished? Are you trying to fool a three-year-old?"
He snorted coldly and was about to leave.
"Wait! I can tell you something."
Lan Yuning hurriedly called out to the commander. When he looked over, Lan Yuning whispered, "Princess Ming and Prince Ming are plotting a rebellion. The current Princess Ming is not the same Princess Ming as before. She's been swapped."
The commander was stunned for a moment, then asked sternly, "Treason is a serious matter. Are you sure?"
Seeing that he was somewhat convinced, Lan Yuning nodded hurriedly: "It's absolutely true. I'm going to die soon. What good would it do to lie to you? As the saying goes, a dying man's words are good. Just believe me this time."
The commander was silent for a while, then finally made up his mind: "Okay, I'll help you pass on the message, but before that, you must not mention this matter to anyone else."
Lan Yuning nodded: "I understand."
The commander gave the two jailers a look, and the jailers nodded slightly.
The commander then left.
After he disappeared from sight, Lan Yuning slid down the railing as if exhausted and sat on the ground.
She pressed her chest and whispered, "Lan Shuang, I'm going to die, and you can't expect to have an easy life either. Since you insist on blocking my way, let's die together!"
She clenched her teeth, her eyes filled with hatred.
But she forgot that in the beginning, she was the one who stepped on Lan Shuang to get to the top.
…
Lan Yuning waited in prison for a whole night. When the sun rose, she still did not receive the emperor's summons. Instead, she met the person she least wanted to see.
"I heard you were going to tell the emperor about this? Lan Yuning, you really are still a thief with such a heart."
Lan Shuang came alone and stood straight outside the cell. The dim candlelight fell on her fox fur, casting a layer of warm light, making her face look as white as jade and as delicate as porcelain.
Looking at myself again, my clothes were disheveled and my face was dirty.
Lan Yuning suddenly understood what it meant to feel ashamed of herself.
However, this feeling only lasted for a blink of an eye. She got up from the ground, rushed to the door, and asked fiercely, "Why are you here?"
Lan Shuang smiled: "What do you think?"
Lan Yuning was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening and stepped back. "It's... you? No, it's King Ming! Is the commander King Ming's?"
Lan Shuang: "Well, not too stupid, but unfortunately your cleverness ends here."
"You!" Lan Yuning looked around: "Someone come! Someone come!"
She shouted a few times, and her voice echoed in the empty cell. There was a faint echo, which seemed even more desolate and terrifying.
"Stop shouting! I'm standing here because I'm fully prepared. There's not a single guard in the cell right now. Even those around you, in front of you, and behind you, are all soundly asleep."
Lan Yuning was startled. "Did you put drugs in the food?"
She was so excited yesterday that she didn't pay attention to dinner.
Lan Shuang remained noncommittal. "Even when death is imminent, you're still thinking of tricking me. Should I praise you for being consistent?"
Lan Yuning's back teeth clattered. "If it weren't for you, how would I have ended up like this? Shouldn't I hate you? I'm almost dead, so why are you sitting around enjoying wealth and glory?"
“Why?”
She suddenly threw herself onto the railing and reached out to pull Lan Shuang's sleeve. Lan Shuang took a step back slowly. Lan Yuning's fingers were just about to reach her, but she couldn't reach them. She was so angry that her eyes turned red.
Lan Shuang sneered, "Why? Because you have evil intentions and want to make life easier for yourself, so you framed me. You orchestrated my acquaintance with Liu Lang. You knew that Prince Ming would be extremely powerful in the future, so you wanted to replace me. That's fine, but if you gave me some money and settled me down, I wouldn't have attacked you. But you absolutely shouldn't have tried to wipe out the roots."
"Lan Yuning, human greed is like a snake swallowing an elephant. You have brought this upon yourself. Ask yourself, have I ever taken the initiative to harm you?"
Lan Shuang stared at Lan Yuning's face with sharp eyes.
Lan Yuning was silent for a moment and blinked slowly.
"...Yes, I was the one who hurt you first, so what? I grew up in the Duke's Mansion, and my talent and appearance are both first-class. What about you? You are just a girl who grew up in the countryside. How could you become the future queen? And I ended up with a miserable end? I can't accept it!"
Lan Yuning's hoarse voice sounded particularly harsh.
Lan Shuang looked at her with pity: "You've really been spoiled. Do you think everything in this world has to go your way? You've taken advantage of your status and enjoyed happiness for more than ten years, so you have to pay it back. It's only fair. If you want to blame someone, blame your bad luck."
She smiled and stroked her hair. "It's a pity that God has mercy on all living things and gave you a chance to start over. But you didn't live up to your expectations. You've brought disaster upon yourself. If you hadn't been so greedy and had been a good young lady, you wouldn't have ended up like this."
Lan Yuning glared at her hatefully, "Are you here just to laugh at me? Lan Shuang, have you seen enough?"
"You misunderstood. I'm here to see you off." Lan Shuang sighed softly, "You may not know that after you were imprisoned, the Duke of Ying came to see me."
"What?" Lan Yuning looked at her in surprise.
Lan Shuang smiled slightly: "She asked me to intercede for you and save your life, but I refused."
Lan Yuning's expression changed: "You——"
"You said, she is a noble lady, she could have come to the palace to beg the Queen and the Emperor for mercy, but she refused to come and came to me instead. In fact, her intention to save you is not very sincere. The mother-daughter relationship of more than ten years is just like this."
Lan Shuang's eyes gradually turned indifferent. "And your good father, for the sake of the family's reputation, has already crossed you out of the family tree. He also locked the door of the mansion tightly, not allowing anyone to go out and plead for you. Tsk, tsk, tsk, does this plot sound familiar to you?"
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