Chapter 33 "The girl I saved was you..."
Countless torches flickered in the eerie dungeon, their light dancing like will-o'-the-wisps in the netherworld, illuminating the bloody scene in the center of the torture chamber—
Four robust young men of foreign appearance were bound to instruments of torture, their naked bodies covered with gruesome whip marks, their flesh torn and bloodstained.
Painful gasps echoed in the cold torture chamber, accompanied by another sharp crack of whipping flesh, and the man on the far right finally succumbed and fainted.
The executioner wielding the whip turned and walked to the brightest spot to report: "Your Highness, if you continue beating him, he will not make it."
"So what if he's dead? There are other people here too."
The bright lights illuminated Baili Xunzhou's cold eyes. He glanced at the unconscious man as if he were looking at an inanimate object, then casually moved to the three people beside him. "I have plenty of ways to entertain the last person who survives and make him spill everything he knows."
The man on the rack felt a chill creep down his spine from the bloodthirsty tone of those words.
They weren't initially afraid of death because when they were first tortured, someone treated their wounds. They then felt that Baili Xunzhou was reluctant to let them die easily in order to extract information from them, so they refused to speak even more.
But now his words imply that he doesn't care about their lives anymore, and that the longer they live, the more and more terrifying the tortures they will endure...
No, no, no matter what torment they suffer, the warriors of Jewul must never betray the true God…
"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
After two people died from torture, and after Baili Xunzhou explained in detail the water torture that was about to be inflicted on them, one of the two surviving Zheur warriors finally couldn't hold on any longer and cried out in agony.
"You coward! God will punish you!" The companion, who was terrified and almost couldn't hold on but surrendered too late, roared angrily.
The man who surrendered was already desperate. He was most afraid of water and the way to die by suffocation. He would rather die under the punishment of the true God than experience the feeling of being about to drown again and again in water torture!
The executioner lowered the surrendered man from the rack. He staggered to his knees, and the long whip, stained black with layers of blood, lifted his chin, letting him gaze into a pair of beast-like, merciless eyes.
Whether you survive or not depends on whether the information you provide is enough to save your life.
The surrendered man swallowed hard in fear and answered the questions he had been tortured with: "Besides us and the Uh, the Darya and the Qilian tribes were also involved in the plan."
"...I personally witnessed a Dayong man enter the chieftain's tent, and shortly afterward, the chieftain summoned us, planning to gather the scattered Northern Barbarian forces to lure and kill the Crown Prince of Dingbei..."
Baili Xunzhou narrowed his eyes: "Da Yong people? Do you remember what they look like?"
The surrendered man trembled all over, trying hard to recall, but could only say: "He wrapped himself up tightly, not revealing anything, and I only vaguely remember that he was about seven feet tall and was a man."
This news was practically meaningless; there were plenty of seven-foot-tall men in the Great Yong Dynasty.
Baili Xunzhou waved his hand, signaling someone to take him away to apply medicine. Then, he turned his gaze to a dark gauze screen incongruous with the rest of the torture chamber.
Feng Mian's voice came from behind the gauze screen: "Bring the person in."
The dark gauze screen blocked out the blood, and the incense burning on the low table removed the rusty smell of blood from the air, but it couldn't stop the wailing.
Wu Liu's face was deathly pale. She had thought Liu Ying was timid, so she had come with the princess on her own. She hadn't expected the scene to be even more terrifying than the battlefield at Wolf Bone Ridge that night. The prince's torture made him seem like a demon.
Feng Mian's face was also deathly pale, but his voice remained calm.
Her mind was still focused on the last Jew'er's confession.
If someone in Dayong colluded with the Northern Barbarians, then was Baili Xunzhou, who lived in the twenty-first year of peace, turned against the regime by the person behind the scenes, or was he forced to rebel by the combined forces of both sides?
In either case, as long as Baili Xunzhou is kept under close watch beforehand to prevent him from contacting suspicious individuals, and the traitor is identified, there is an 80-90% chance that the Dingbei Army's plot to rebel can be avoided.
With a clearer idea in mind, Feng Mian felt much more at ease. She gathered her thoughts and looked through the gauze screen at the three ringleaders who had been brought in by the Imperial Guards for spreading rumors and causing trouble.
The three trembling people were immediately overwhelmed by the stench of blood as soon as they entered. When they saw the blood-soaked scene before them and the two lifeless bodies on the rack, they instinctively let out a scream and knelt down, vying to beg for forgiveness and mercy.
The middle-aged man on the far left, dressed in coarse cloth, cried and wailed, "Princess, spare me! Young Master, spare me! I truly only took the money and did the job; I know nothing else!"
The young man in the middle was dressed in fine cloth and looked like a merchant with some spare money. He had a long, thin wound on his neck that had already scabbed over. He was so frightened that tears streamed down his face, and he swore an oath: "I swear to heaven that someone threatened me with the lives of my whole family, and I dared not disobey! Otherwise, even if you gave me three hundred lives, I would not dare to spread rumors about the princess!"
The man on the far right was a portly businessman adorned with gold and silver. He nodded repeatedly in agreement with the young man beside him, tearfully confessing, "This humble citizen will never go to a brothel again, sob sob sob..."
The one who mingled in the crowd, shouting and inciting the people to snatch the bridal sedan chair, was the one who took money to do the job. The other two, who claimed that bandits broke into their homes and threatened them, were the ones who relayed messages in the brothel.
Baili Xunzhou examined the wound on the young man's neck, left by bandits. The wound was narrow and the edges were clean, resembling a short blade used by bandits in the Wolf Bone Ridge area. Why would the bandits of Wolf Bone Ridge spread news related to the princess?
No new information could be found from the people they arrested, leaving only layers upon layers of mystery.
Feng Mian and Baili Xunzhou stepped out of the dungeon side by side. When the sunlight fell on them, Feng Mian's vision went black. She blinked and realized that Baili Xunzhou had raised his hand to shield her eyes.
"Coming out of the dark and suddenly seeing the light can easily damage the eyes," Baili Xunzhou explained. The princess has a pair of clear and beautiful eyes like glass; it would be a pity if they got sunburned.
Feng Mian felt a slight warmth in his heart and smiled, "Thank you, Your Highness."
"There were quite a few torches in the dungeon just now, so it wasn't that dark. I also want to thank the young master for his understanding of Wuliu and me."
Feng Mian thought that the dungeon must have been much darker in the past than it was today. After all, the more gloomy and terrifying the environment, the easier it was to break down the prisoner's psychological defenses. The prince must have lit so many torches at the last minute because he was afraid of frightening her since she insisted on coming along.
The hand that was covering his eyes curled its fingertips as if embarrassed, and then lowered it after a moment.
The bright street scene came into Feng Mian's view, and compared with the scene in the dungeon torture chamber just now, it was like a different world. Baili Xunzhou said goodbye and was about to leave, but Feng Mian quickly grabbed his sleeve.
"Wait, I have something to tell you. Let's find a place to have a meal."
After a busy day, Baili Xunzhou, who hadn't eaten anything, was dragged by Feng Mian to a roadside restaurant.
Even after they were seated in the private room and the dishes were served, he was still wondering why she had so obediently followed him when she pulled him like that.
Feng Mian didn't notice Baili Xunzhou's distraction. Having just witnessed too much bloodshed, she had a poor appetite and only ate a couple of bites of vegetables before stopping. She then prepared her words and recounted how she had been attacked by bandits at Langgu Ridge.
"The girl I saved was you?" Baili Xunzhou was extremely surprised, his dark pupils slowly falling on Feng Mian's face.
Feng Mian nodded, slightly embarrassed, and said, "At the time, I heard your remarks about disregarding the lives of ordinary people, and I misunderstood you, so I kept quiet about it. Fortunately, I later ran into the wealthy merchant who was being held hostage in Yunzhong County, which cleared up the misunderstanding."
"I also want to thank His Highness for saving my life."
Feng Mian stood up and bowed to Baili Xunzhou, but Baili Xunzhou quickly helped her up. "This is my duty, I don't deserve a word of thanks. It is the princess who was in danger while saving people, I..."
“I thought the princess was delicate and weak, and I even misunderstood that she was arrogant and that was why she didn’t want to see me… I am truly ashamed.”
Recalling his past prejudice and dissatisfaction with Feng Mian, Baili Xunzhou blushed with shame. He truly hadn't expected that a noblewoman raised in Shengjing would possess such kindness and courage.
Baili Xunzhou felt increasingly ashamed. He immediately raised the teacup with both hands as if he were about to swear brotherhood with someone, and said firmly, "I will temporarily use tea instead of wine to apologize to the princess!"
"Sigh..." Feng Mian's movements were a little slow, and he could only raise his hand helplessly, staring blankly as Baili Xunzhou drank three cups of tea in one go. He wanted to laugh but could only hold it in, turning his head slightly to prevent Baili Xunzhou from seeing the corner of his lips twitching.
Feng Mian thought to himself, "There are really too many misunderstandings about His Highness the Crown Prince among the people of Shengjing. Perhaps His Highness is indeed ruthless on the battlefield, a brilliant military commander when managing his subordinates, and awe-inspiring in his authority. He is also arrogant and unruly towards those he dislikes."
But sometimes, he was so pure and straightforward that he was like...like the black wolfhound that the Fifth Prince kept. It was frighteningly fierce when it bared its teeth, but once you got to know it, it was incredibly gentle and adorable.
Seeing that Feng Mian didn't speak and even turned her face away, Baili Xunzhou became a little nervous. Was she that angry?
"Or... shall I ask the waiter to bring some wine?" Just offering tea seems rather insincere.
Feng Mian pursed her lips, rested her chin on her hand, and looked at him with her eyelashes slightly lowered, appearing somewhat sad. "Does the young master dislike the people of Shengjing?"
"..." Baili Xunzhou opened his lips, but in the end he could not say what he did not mean. "Yes, before I met the princess, I always thought that the nobles of Shengjing were all rich and powerful people who were like 'why don't they eat meat porridge'. They were dressed in fine clothes and ate delicacies, and lived a life of luxury. They did not know the hunger and cold of the people."
"The soldiers in the northern frontier have fought for many years, guarding the country's borders, but the imperial court's military supplies are always delayed. Even my father, the Prince of Dingbei, has to deal with the imperial court over a few supplies."
“Every winter, there is drought and flood, and people freeze to death in the streets and alleys. Four or five memorials requesting disaster relief have been sent out, but all we hear about is that a noble family in Shengjing has held some kind of novel and interesting banquet, the cost of which is enough to feed a hundred families in the northern frontier.”
"Sometimes I..."
Baili Xunzhou paused, then said in a low voice, "Sometimes I don't even know if His Majesty still remembers the soldiers and people of the northern frontier, or if he still trusts my father and me."
How can someone who has stood in the wind and snow for a long time not develop prejudice and resentment towards those who indulge in pleasure in a gentle and comfortable life?
Young people, in particular, are always ambitious and have a lot of things they can't stand.
“If he didn’t remember you, or suspected you, he wouldn’t have married me into this family,” Feng Mian said firmly.
Although the marriage was based on the theory of destiny, the uncle had always intended to marry a royal daughter to the Northern Frontier. Perhaps this move had the implication of stabilizing the Northern Frontier through a "marriage alliance," but considering that his initial choice was the daughter of his most beloved Consort Rou, he also intended to use this marriage to announce to the world his emphasis on the Northern Frontier and his trust in the Prince of Dingbei, rather than to monitor or warn him.
With Chu Jinglian's brains, what kind of things could she possibly do that a spy should do?
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Author's Note: Chu Jinglian: Did I offend you? [Cracks]
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