Chapter 35 The Forbidden Guest "Miss Ning is currently in the Changzhou dungeon."...
Wei Zhan pondered for a moment, then stepped aside to make way.
Wei Chun gently pushed open the bamboo door and slipped into the room.
The charcoal fire inside was burning brightly, and the curtains beside the bed were drawn, obscuring the view of the inner room.
He stopped a few steps away from the bed, holding his breath to gauge Ji Ming's reaction.
No one answered, so Wei Chun had no choice but to take half a step forward, kneel on one knee by the bed, and clutch the bed curtains tightly as he whispered, "Master."
The curtain swayed, and the man frowned: "Speak."
"Miss Ning is currently in the Changzhou dungeon."
"I heard that Zhao Yue arrested the man, but Governor Pan took him away."
Ji Ming opened his eyes and sat up, supporting himself on the edge of the bed.
He moved with difficulty, but Wei Chun did not dare to step forward to help him. He kept his eyes downcast on the floor tiles and waited until he was seated before continuing.
“There’s one more thing…” He glanced at Ji Ming’s face: “I heard that Miss Ning had a conflict with Lord Pan at Yanchun Tower.”
Ji Ming's face paled even more as his fingertips, resting on the edge of the bed, flicked lightly.
It was no secret in official circles that Pan Xingxue was greedy and lustful.
Because he was still useful, he indulged and allowed this person to run rampant in Changzhou.
Yanchunlou was a place rife with trouble, and he dared not think too deeply about what might be the reason for any conflict between Ning Lu and Pan Xingxue.
He took two deep breaths, suppressing the faint pain in his heart, and closed his eyes for a moment before gesturing for Wei Chun to lift the bed curtains.
After a while, Ji Ming finally mustered enough strength to go to his study, and at the same time ordered Wei Zhan: "Order the Imperial Guards to enter the city at dawn."
"yes."
Wei Zhan accepted the order and left quietly and swiftly.
Only Wei Chun and Ji Ming remained in the room, standing silently.
Suddenly a gust of wind rose, scattering the letters on the table. Wei Chun was startled and hurriedly tried to close the window, but instead saw Ji Ming standing by the window, staring at the strange-looking snowman in the courtyard.
The past two days have been sunny, and the snowman has melted quite a bit, making it look rather bizarre as it leans to one side.
He was completely oblivious, staring blankly into space.
"master."
Wei Chun couldn't bear it any longer and finally spoke up to remind him, "Imperial Physician Luo instructed that we must not be exposed to the cold this winter."
Ever since their master came down from Siyun Mountain, they, as his subordinates, have found it increasingly difficult to fathom his thoughts. Wei Chun dared not speak further and silently moved the charcoal brazier closer to him.
"What time is it?"
"It's almost midnight."
"Send men to the Pingcheng and Yingxian government offices to summon the two county magistrates to Changzhou." He paused, "in the name of Pan Xingxue."
The sound floated on the air, like drifting duckweed, and carried a chilling aura.
Wei Chun accepted the order, but before leaving, he glanced at the person by the window one last time, still feeling uneasy.
His shadow was stretched long, trailing alone on the floor.
The cold wind brushed against his hair, but he remained unmoved. In the blink of an eye, it was Xie Qinghe, the Imperial Censor they knew.
He had once narrowly escaped death from the imperial prison, and knew all too well the harshness and cruelty of the dungeons, where every moment spent meant a moment of danger.
Before dawn, Xie's personal guards and a troop of imperial guards knocked on the gates of Changzhou.
The sun and moon shone brightly together, and the carriage with the bronze phoenix mirror hanging high went straight to the Changzhou dungeon.
At the same time, another group of people hurriedly left the Changzhou government office and headed straight for the governor's residence.
Unaware of the commotion outside, the people inside the dungeon, as usual, poured cold water over Ning Lu at dawn.
She opened her eyes tremblingly, tentatively curling up her hands and feet to check herself. Thankfully, her limbs, fingers, and toes were still intact.
She is still alive.
Yesterday during the day, I didn't feel the repeated tortures, but after taking a nap, I realized that my skin and flesh were sore and my bones felt like they were crawling with ants.
Ning Lu tried to move, but couldn't stand up on her own.
The jailer had just tossed the man from the next cell into a corner like trash when he turned around and dragged her out from the depths of the cell.
This was her third time in the torture chamber; there wasn't much good flesh left on her body to use against her.
Hungry and unsteady on my feet, I felt like a ghost dragged up from the eighteenth level of hell.
Ning Lu had given up and lay slumped on the ground like a dead body. When she saw her older brother's bloodied and mangled hands and feet, she remembered the prison strategy guide she had found out last night.
On the second day of his imprisonment, he was subjected to the tiger bench as usual, and his fingernails were pulled out.
A chill ran down my spine, and a sudden urge to survive kicked in. With all my might, I clung to every iron fence I passed, screaming and shouting at the top of my lungs.
It was to no avail.
In this prison, everyone is a pawn abandoned by power and money; no one can save anyone else.
Ning Lu was forcefully pressed down onto the tiger bench by two prison guards, and the iron chains on her wrists were replaced with heavier shackles.
He was about to shout when he saw the jailer forcefully straighten the long whip in his hand and stride forward.
She instinctively curled up into a ball.
"I want to see Pan Xingxue! I want to see Prince Jing! Isn't he going to interrogate me?"
"Prince Jing? Lord Pan?"
The jailer didn't take it seriously and grabbed Ning Lu by the shoulder: "Will you see the Censor-in-Chief?"
Is the Imperial Censor more powerful than Prince Jing?
Ning Lu shrank back, unsure how to answer.
Swish—
The long whip cut through the wind, and Ning Lu instinctively closed her eyes and held her breath, preparing to endure the lash.
The expected stinging pain did not occur; instead, a familiar rebuke was heard: "What are you still here for?"
Upon seeing that Guard Ding was dressed in official robes and had rushed in from outside, the jailer immediately realized, "Lord Pan is here?"
“Not only Lord Pan,” Guard Ding glanced at Ning Lu, “but also the Grand Chancellor.”
"Lord Zhongcheng?"
"That's the one who was ordered to supervise Vice Minister Xie, Lord Xie." Guard Ding pointed at Ning Lu: "Hide well, don't..."
"What are you hiding?"
A familiar sound broke through the air, and Ning Lu suddenly looked up and turned to look outside.
The person who appeared at the door looked very familiar.
It took her a moment to realize what it was—it was Wei Zhan.
Has Xie Qinghe arrived?
Ning Lu immediately turned her head and pressed it against the wall, not daring to look him in the eye.
Beneath the facade of forced calm, my heart had screamed and wailed countless times, and I cursed God eight hundred times in the process.
The situation is probably not going to get any worse.
She no longer dared to hope that she would live to see the sun; she only hoped to encounter a villain who was somewhat merciful and would not torture her, but simply give her a quick death.
Pan Xingxue is clearly not.
According to rumors, Xie Qinghe had to use so many methods to deal with the Prince Xian, so he obviously didn't.
She hasn't done anything wrong, so why is she in this situation?
Just as she was lost in thought, Wei Zhan saw through Ding Huwei's hesitation at a glance, raised his hand and pointed to the person who was struggling to shrink himself: "Take her away too."
"General Wei, this is Prince Jing..."
Wei Zhan retorted without mincing words, "What kind of prisoner can be seen by a prince under house arrest, but not by an imperial envoy?"
These words terrified the jailers present, who all knelt on the ground and repeatedly confessed their guilt.
Ning Lu immediately realized that Xie Qinghe was probably more powerful than Prince Jing.
Ding, the guard, immediately dared not act rashly. He ordered the jailers on both sides to lift Ning Lu off the tiger bench and put her in heavy iron chains instead.
Seeing this, Wei Zhan hesitated for a moment, but before he could stop them, he let them put Ning Lu in shackles.
After everything was tidied up, he gripped his sword and scanned everyone in the room. He then turned and led his entourage ahead, with Guard Ding and the jailer bringing up the rear, while Ning Lu was sandwiched between them.
She peeked out of curiosity, only to be scolded, so she simply buried her head and focused on the path beneath her feet.
The current situation resembles a superior inspecting a grassroots unit, only to find that the lower-level departments were unprepared to receive them, and everyone from top to bottom is nervously trying to cover it up.
And she—right now—is that most non-compliant and unmanageable safety hazard.
Sensing the unease of those behind him, he felt that his fellow inmate's words were true: evil people will always be punished by evil people.
Thinking of this, Ning Lu couldn't help but feel a sense of schadenfreude.
Anyway, she's now surrounded by enemies and has nowhere to turn.
Unless that Imperial Censor Xie Qinghe just happened to be Ji A'ming, whom she had gone to great lengths to save, and Ji A'ming happened to be grateful and wanted to save her life, she would have either been tortured to death or simply hacked to death.
However, the rumors about Xie Qinghe are too bizarre. Being able to see the real person before dying is a kind of return on investment in another sense.
The chains struck the floor tiles rhythmically, echoing through the dungeon.
Amidst a string of complaints in her mind, the group had already turned through the long corridor and stepped down the low stone steps.
The once dark and gloomy dungeon was transformed into a brightly lit place.
The sudden entrance caused her eyes, which had adjusted to the darkness, to suddenly blur. Ning Lu squinted and it took her a long time to make out what was going on.
The long, narrow dungeon was filled with people.
One group of people wore golden armor and silver helmets, exuding the imposing aura of powerful generals, while another group wore similar attire to Wei Zhan and Wei Chun, appearing cold, silent, and unfathomable.
The jailers who usually bossed people around and Pan Xingxue, dressed in official robes, all knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe.
The atmosphere had built up to this point that Ning Lu's legs felt weak, but she couldn't resist her curiosity and secretly glanced over.
From a distance, I could only vaguely make out a figure over eight feet tall, with the rich, dark brocade hanging down from him, its color shimmering and sparkling amidst the leaping flames.
Looking down again, she caught sight of the rosewood armchair.
Pretentious.
People often say that hell is empty, and all the devils are here on earth.
Even the King of Hell would suspect the office has been moved if there was a scene like this today.
"Master, the person has been brought."
Wei Zhan stepped forward.
After Ning Lu left, Guard Ding and the jailer, along with several soldiers, knelt down in unison, their greetings of "Greetings, Lord Xie" sounding as if they had rehearsed it, perfectly synchronized.
Someone in the crowd tugged at the hem of her dress.
"Kneel down immediately."
If you offend this powerful figure, no one can expect to leave this prison alive.
The moment Xie Qinghe turned around, all he saw was her covered in blood, kneeling down a beat slower than the others.
Her short and unremarkable figure made her seem particularly out of place with the act of bowing and kneeling.
His gaze shifted downwards, taking a close look at the wounds on her body. His fingertips, which were hanging in his sleeves, curled up. Then, he squinted and glanced at Pan Xingxue, who was kneeling beside him.
"Is this the case that Lord Pan handled?"
This voice sounds familiar; I feel like I've heard it somewhere before.
Ning Lu tilted her body and turned her head to look, but felt a chill on her neck. The imperial guard in armor was glaring at her, which frightened her so much that she quickly lowered her head.
"Thank you, sir. This is all thanks to the Prince..." Pan Xingxue hesitated, then continued, "This woman is involved in several major cases, including treason and rebellion. I have been following orders and upholding the law impartially. I dare not..."
Pan Xingxue's high-sounding official tone was interrupted by Wei Chun's gesture of presenting the case file.
At the very top of that stack of files was the name Liu Yunying.
Pan Xingxue broke out in a cold sweat. He turned his head and glared fiercely at the jailer beside him. Then, with a fawning smile, he crawled forward on his knees, intending to pull out the case file.
Xie Qinghe's fingertips landed seemingly unintentionally on the table, blocking his attempt to snatch it.
A soft hum.
Pan Xingxue immediately trembled, quickly withdrew his hand, and kowtowed twice.
Xie Qinghe casually flipped to a page, glanced at the charges, and his eyes turned cold.
"Where did Lord Pan get the injury on his face?"
Ning Lu's erratic movements suddenly froze. She lowered her head and curled up like an ostrich, afraid that Pan Xingxue would pull her out.
Fortunately, the fellow still remembered his dignity and kowtowed several times to Xie Qinghe to express his gratitude for the master's concern.
"This humble official only suffered a minor injury, nothing to mention, and I don't appreciate your concern, sir."
Even a minor injury is still an injury.
Xie Qinghe tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, saying calmly, "Since you're injured, you need to rest and recuperate properly."
"Let's hand these cases over to the Imperial Guard."
With a flick of his finger, Wei Chun immediately understood and gathered the other case files on the table in front of him.
"Sir. These cases..."
"What's the rush?" Xie Qinghe chuckled, leaning slightly forward as he leaned against the table, glancing down at Pan Xingxue's trembling body. "As a prefect, I naturally have to arrange for you to do more important things."
“In that case…” he paused, “so that I can give Prince Jing an explanation.”
Upon hearing this, everyone in the dungeon with any reputation gasped and lowered their heads even further without making a sound.
Only Ning Lu, who was mixed in with them, secretly enjoyed the moment.
The high-ranking official was indeed a high-ranking official; with his polite words, he effortlessly manipulated these people, making their faces turn pale and then red.
Like a cat playing with a mouse, it doesn't eat, it just plays.
"Thank you, Your Excellency. You flatter me. Since taking office, I have always acted in accordance with regulations and followed orders from above..."
Pan Xingxue was still trying his best to remain calm, but his tone kept rising, causing the other man to frown silently.
"Your intention?"
This was the second time Xie Qinghe had heard this word from Pan Xingxue today, and its repetition was tinged with undisguised contempt.
Everyone present had heard rumors of this man's control over the court. Pan Xingxue, always adept at discerning intentions, pondered the matter repeatedly and inevitably began to glean some of his true intentions. He shuddered and dared not speak further.
When will Cen Wei and the others arrive?
Xie Qinghe was already showing signs of fatigue and was too lazy to continue arguing with him. He glanced at the attendant behind him and asked.
"Lord Cen has arrived, but the magistrate of Pingcheng County will arrive in two hours."
"Lord Pan, go and greet them. I imagine the three of you have much to say to me."
Pan Xingxue's official robes were soaked with cold sweat, and he was speechless. Before he could speak, he saw the clanging sword in Wei Zhan's hand and could only hurriedly agree. He scrambled out of the dungeon with the people behind him.
The firelight flickered, casting an uncertain glow on Xie Qinghe's pale face.
Wei Zhan nodded slightly to Wei Chun, took the half-dozen scrolls, and led the Imperial Guards out.
The noise subsided, and only Xie's personal guards remained in the vast dungeon.
As the orderly footsteps passed by, Ning Lu took the opportunity to stretch her numb calves and tried her best to kneel properly like the prison guards.
Now that the big devil has been dealt with, it's probably time for her, the little devil, to take her turn.
However, seeing Pan Xingxue's pathetic state before he died was quite worthwhile.
My thoughts were still wandering in the distant heavens when a pair of black boots embroidered with gold stepped right in front of me.
"Aren't you getting up?"
The swaying of her clothes stirred up a cool breeze, and the bitter, medicinal scent, carrying the aroma of musk, wafted to her nose.
The familiar tone shattered any remaining hope or hesitation, and Ning Lu suddenly clenched her fist around the iron chain.
She raised her head slightly in response.
He stood, she knelt.
All that could be seen was a black official robe, embroidered with pheasants, and a valuable rhinoceros horn belt.
The plump golden pheasant on the official robe stared directly at her with its bright, piercing eyes, and Ning Lu dared not look up again.
The man saw all her little movements and was both amused and exasperated.
But all I could see were the sores on her body, and my breathing slowed down.
The dungeon was cold and damp; even though he was dressed in fine clothes, he still felt a bone-chilling cold.
She was dressed in prison clothes...
With a soft sigh, Ning Lu was lifted off the ground.
She was all too familiar with that mischievous, helpless sigh; she could guess who it was without even seeing their face.
The speculations that had been swirling in her mind surged back, and Ning Lu couldn't help but tremble.
He stared at the rooster on his official robe for a long time, and she finally looked up, unwilling to give up.
That was the only face she recognized in this strange world.
She was so familiar with it that even in the dead of night, when the moonlight was dim, she could tell whether it was the left or right side of the face by its sharp angles.
My brain shut down, and I fell into a daze.
Ning Lu tried her best to act as if nothing had happened, forcing a smirk and joking, "Did you pretend to be Xie Qinghe on purpose to save me?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished she could bite her tongue off.
Idiot, who would go to the trouble of doing something that has no cost-effectiveness?
Xie Qinghe didn't speak, his gaze fixed on her face like needles.
A cold wind blew in gusts, the firelight flickered, and even the sound of water dripping on stone never ceased.
The panic that had gripped them for two nights dissipated, replaced by embarrassment.
It was even more awkward than her first time on stage, when the open mic went silent.
The villain she'd been cursing for three months was actually her meal buddy and bedmate?
She even learned just the night before last that the original owner of this body was Liu Yunying, the person he had been looking for all along.
More and more information flooded her mind, her eyes widened, and Ning Lu's chest heaved, unable to understand.
She's been tortured so much, why can't she just faint from weakness right now?
He awkwardly raised his hand to scratch his head, but was restrained by the heavy chain on his wrist. In his extreme embarrassment, he could only subconsciously force out a creepy, dry laugh to relieve the awkwardness.
Xie Qinghe's expression darkened amidst her shrill laughter as he leaned forward to support the heavy chains.
A pair of hands, white as jade, suddenly approached, and Ning Lu reflexively took half a step back.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the figure swaying.
The two of them froze on the spot.
"You're afraid of me."
The dungeon door was shaken violently by the draft, and Xie Qinghe's soft voice drifted away in the wind, stirring up an even greater chill.
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