Chapter 366 Seeking Death
Guan Yi'an is clearly an outlier among these people.
In Guan Yi'an's view, this group of people were all physically strong but simple-minded brutes.
He usually looked down on these people, thinking they were brave but reckless and unlikely to have a good end.
But now, he is undoubtedly the most pitiful of these people.
Other prisoners, even those in dire straits, still have relatives and friends visiting them in prison, but he has been locked up for so long, and apart from Meng Lingge, no one else has come to see him.
The authorities had already notified his parents, but they said their son was already dead, and even if he were still alive, he would be either rich or noble, and could not possibly be a death row inmate.
When other prisoners are visited, their relatives and friends bring them food and snacks. But Meng Lingge, who came to visit him, was only worried that his injuries were too minor and wanted to see when he would die.
Other prisoners, no matter how fierce or ugly they looked, at least still had a human appearance. But he didn't even have a face. The yamen runners took away his mask, leaving his fleshy face exposed to everyone.
His body had been permeated by the venom of the decaying serpent, and his skin was ulcerating and stinking. What was terrifying was that he was becoming increasingly limp and weak, and every day he would lean against the wall like a boneless lump of flesh.
Other prisoners covered their noses and showed expressions of disgust when they saw him.
Fortune changes like the wheel of fortune.
People he used to look down on now look down on him.
Guan Yi'an truly understood the unbearable pain that Lu Shui had described. He had really had enough of this life, but now even the thought of dying had become a luxury.
He had no weapons on him, making it extremely difficult for him to even get up; he couldn't even reach for his head to hang himself.
The only solution Guan Yi'an could think of was to go on a hunger strike, but those damned constables would force-feed him food and water after he had been starving for a day or two, keeping his wretched life hanging by a thread for Meng Lingge's amusement.
Hearing familiar footsteps approaching, Guan Yi'an slightly raised her eyelids.
A faint, bitter smile appeared on his face.
"Meng Lingge, are you satisfied now?"
"Satisfied?" Meng Lingge stopped not far from Guan Yi'an and said calmly, "If you had treated Huanyan well after breaking off our engagement, done your job diligently, and hadn't resorted to underhanded tricks and treacherous schemes, with your talent, even if you couldn't become a high-ranking official, you could at least have made a name for yourself and brought glory to your family. You ruined your own path to success and even harmed people everywhere. Now, you still want to push all the responsibility onto me, and you still have the nerve to ask me if I'm satisfied?"
"What do I have to be satisfied with? Is it that my former betrothed is so despicable, or that you killed Dongqing, or that I am satisfied to see someone who was once handsome and dashing become so vile and ugly?"
Guan Yi'an was clearly not expected by her answer, and retorted indignantly, "If you hadn't broken off the engagement with me, I wouldn't have made one mistake after another..."
His odor was so unpleasant that Meng Lingge couldn't help but take a step back.
"On our wedding day, you were the first to be unfaithful." Meng Lingge looked at him and said, "I cannot tolerate a husband who is unfaithful to me on our wedding day. After the engagement was broken off, although I disliked you and Meng Huanyan quite a bit, I never thought of harming you. Now that you have each married, there is no need for you to have anything to do with each other anymore. It was you and Meng Huanyan who were greedy and reaped what you sowed."
“My husband and I trust each other and love each other. How you are doing is none of my business. But you keep harassing me and the people around me. No matter how magnanimous I am, I am not a bodhisattva. I can tolerate your betrayal once, but I cannot tolerate your repeated scheming.”
Guan Yi'an gave a soft hum, sounding weak and listless.
"The victor is king, the loser is villain. Now whatever you say is right. I lost, and that's it, there's nothing more to say. You've vented your anger and avenged yourself for so long, there's no need to keep me hanging on like this, making me continue to languish. Meng Lingge, I'm begging you, just give me a quick death..."
He looks so pathetic.
Meng Lingge's expression remained unchanged, but her voice rose slightly.
"Now you're begging me for a quick death, but what did you do to Dongqing before she died? You threw a girl who was bleeding profusely onto a mountainside full of jackals and venomous snakes, and when she was devoured alive by wild beasts, did you give her a quick death? When Zheng Qingshan was being skinned alive, did you give him a quick death? And Meng Huanyan, the guards who escorted you, and Xiao Songyan, didn't they all die tragically at your hands? You have so many lives on your hands, do you deserve a quick death?"
Guan Yi'an closed his eyes and said in a trembling voice, "The torture they endured, even to the point of death, lasted at most a day. I've been imprisoned for eighteen days already, and even if it's your so-called atonement, I should have finished paying my debt."
Meng Lingge took two steps forward and looked at Guan Yi'an, who resembled a lump of mud. His eyes were dim and devoid of luster; he truly looked like he wanted to die.
Being harassed by someone like that is definitely not a good thing. There's no point in continuing to keep him hanging on and watching him suffer a fate worse than death.
"If there is a next life, don't dwell on the past, look forward and move forward."
As Meng Lingge turned and flicked her sleeve, a silver hairpin fell into the cage, landing right next to Guan Yi'an's hand.
One end of the silver hairpin is adorned with beautiful tassels, while the other end is sharp and pointed like a knife.
Guan Yi'an's dim eyes instantly brightened as he looked at Meng Lingge's retreating figure.
“Meng Lingge, thank you… The mistake I made on our wedding day is something I’ve regretted my whole life and could never make up for. If I can meet you again in the next life, I will never make that mistake again…”
Meng Lingge paused for a moment, then left without turning back.
Guan Yi'an still didn't listen to what she said.
She said all she had to say and didn't want to say anything more.
Life is short, only a few decades. There are so many interesting things to do, and we should dedicate our time to people who deserve our love.
There's really not much time to waste on unnecessary people and things.
After Meng Lingge left the prison cell, the matter on Green Water's side had already been taken care of.
Lord Liu not only handed Zheng Qingshan's remains over to Lüshui, but also sent two people to transport them for her. Lüshui had already purchased a burial plot, and the two men had now transported the remains to the plot for burial.
Lu Shui had intended to go to the prison to check on Guan Yi'an's current situation, but seeing Meng Lingge come out so quickly, she couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Your Majesty, did that Guan say something unpleasant?"
When Guan Yi'an was first imprisoned, he would insult and provoke them whenever he saw them, but recently he has become more obedient and should no longer dare to speak disrespectfully to the Empress.
Just as Meng Lingge was about to answer, a yamen runner rushed over, shouting, "Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened! Guan Yi'an, a death row inmate, has committed suicide out of fear of punishment!"
Green Water was startled and stopped the bailiff, asking, "How could this be? Guan Yi'an is completely powerless, and there's no murder weapon in the prison. How could he have committed suicide?"
The constable, who hadn't noticed Meng Lingge and Lushui before, recognized them now and quickly explained, "Guan Yi'an found a silver hairpin somewhere and stabbed it into his throat. Blood was everywhere, and he's dead now!"
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