New mission
The whip clattered against the iron bars, making a dull sound.
"Go to sleep, all of you behave yourselves, don't get any funny ideas."
The footsteps faded into the distance, and Shen Wumei silently opened her eyes in the darkness.
The slovenly middle-aged man in his cell grunted, swatted the fleas crawling on his neck, and half-opened his eyes. He saw the young man who had just arrived sit up silently.
He was startled, but regained his composure and asked in a low voice, "What are you going to do?"
This young man was just brought in a few days ago. It is said that he was imprisoned with his wife. He is quite handsome and has a strong build. He is probably a guard or something from a wealthy family.
Shen Wumei brushed the straw off her prison clothes. "Go pee."
His voice was deep, and the way he dusted off his clothes was elegant and graceful. Even when he uttered the slightly vulgar word "urinate," he exuded a different kind of charm compared to those beggars and hooligans.
The older man, not very educated, smacked his lips and thought for a long time before finally managing to say—this young man must have seen a lot of the world.
He subconsciously added a touch of ingratiation and affection to his tone: "Then go ahead, and come back quickly. I'll check on you every hour tonight."
Shen Wumei nodded and struck the chime bells.
Soon someone led him out. The corridor was dark, with only a cheap, low-quality candle burning every five steps.
Visibility is extremely low.
The candlelight burned slowly. A gust of evil wind blew by, and the scene went dark. When it lit up again, the corridor was empty.
Zhu Qinghe descended the stone steps into the underground passage, holding a candle she had stolen from the wall.
In the dim candlelight, she looked up and said to Li Qingqing and Sister Zhang above, "I'll go scout ahead first. You two guard the cave entrance and warn us if anything happens."
Li Qingqing tapped on the stone wall, and the vibration carried far away; this was their agreed-upon method of warning.
"Don't worry, I remember everything."
Zhu Qinghe nodded, turned around and walked forward, keeping an eye on her surroundings as she went.
For some reason, she suddenly remembered the time she went to the deserted temple with Shen Wumei through the tunnel. After arriving at the deserted temple, she was kidnapped and witnessed a bloody and terrible scene.
In similar situations, because that person is not by my side, panic and fear linger like maggots on my bones, always following me.
She turned the corner and saw the person she had been longing for also holding a candle. Their eyes met, and it felt like an eternity.
Shen Wumei strode over and pulled the person into her arms.
"Thank goodness, you're alright."
After the initial joy of their reunion, the two held hands and continued exploring their way.
"So when you woke up you were in the men's prison. I heard from Sister Zhang that the men's prison was right next to ours, and it seems that's true."
Shen Wumei nodded: "I've thought about it carefully, and the old man probably wants to test us."
Zhu Qinghe: "What are we being tested for? To see if our love is stronger than gold and if we would be willing to die for each other?"
Isn't this going a bit too far, Old Man Shen?
Shen Wumei shook her head: "It's not that simple. Judging from his personality, something must have happened in the court, and he's secretly building up his power to complete his mission."
Zhu Qinghe's brow twitched. "No way," she thought, "how can someone who's his wife still complete a mission?"
She asked cautiously, "Um, if I quit now, is it still too late?"
Shen Wumei squeezed her hand tightly and said coldly, "It's too late. Don't even think about it."
Well, well, she got on this pirate ship, so she has no choice but to accept her fate.
They followed the secret passage further in and came to a fork in the road. They chose the left path, and walked to the dark end, where they were blocked by a stone door.
Zhu Qinghe asked, "What should we do?"
Shen Wumei approached and felt around on the stone door. She didn't find any mechanism, but she did find a shallow groove with a peculiar shape, like the pattern on a ring or a thumb ring.
"Could the object that left these marks be the key to this stone door?" Zhu Qinghe made a reasonable guess.
Shen Wumei didn't speak. He stroked the groove's texture, his expression somewhat solemn in the dim light.
"What's wrong?" Zhu Qinghe gripped his hand tightly.
Shen Wumei came to her senses. "I have a guess, but I'm not sure yet. Let's go back the way we came."
Go to the right at the fork in the road, and sure enough, you'll find the exit.
"We'll leave tomorrow while the patrol is in disarray," Shen Wumei said.
“Oh, right,” Zhu Qinghe suddenly remembered something, “I want to take two people with me.”
Shen Wumei frowned: "Who are you going to bring? The people here are all heinous criminals."
Zhu Qinghe said firmly, "They helped me before. Besides, if we can be brought in so easily, then this prison must not be very legitimate."
It might just be a training camp set up by Prime Minister Shen.
"Alright, you and the others can meet here tomorrow."
Zhu Qinghe didn't expect him to agree so easily; she thought it would take a while to negotiate.
"Lord Shen is becoming more and more shameless these days," Zhu Qinghe teased him.
"It's all because of you."
The two parted ways at the fork in the road, and Shen Wumei returned to the men's prison along the same route.
Zhu Qinghe was pulled back to the ground by Li Qingqing and Sister Zhang.
"So, did you find anything?" Li Qingqing asked impatiently.
Zhu Qinghe blew out the candles to avoid being discovered, saying, "We've found the exit; we'll leave tomorrow."
"That's wonderful!" Li Qingqing's voice was filled with barely suppressed joy.
Sister Zhang's face also showed a smile of anticipation and relief.
She was finally able to see her daughter.
"Alright, let's hurry back, it'll be terrible if we get discovered."
Over there in the men's prison.
Shen Wumei slapped the person in front of him awake. The person stared at him blankly and asked, "How did I fall asleep?"
Shen Wumei: "I'm probably too tired. I've finished and I'm going back now."
The guard behind him looked at his back and scratched the back of his head, wondering if he was really too tired lately.
Oh right, it's almost time for the shift to change.
Finally, he could go back to sleep. He put his slight doubts aside and went to hand over his shift with light steps.
As dawn broke, the doctor they had summoned finally saved the seriously injured prison warden from the brink of death.
The deputy warden wiped the cold sweat from his brow and let out a long sigh of relief.
Thank goodness he didn't die, otherwise it would have been a real problem.
However, he was the only one left to handle the patrols, so he had to tell the truth.
The deputy warden, who hadn't slept for more than two hours, was in a very bad mood. He got dressed and led the female prisoners out to greet the patrol team.
The patrol team consisted of three people. The leader had a cunning and treacherous appearance and did not look like an official.
The two men beside him kept glancing around; they were probably the leader's deputies.
"Lord Han, you've finally arrived!" The deputy jailer greeted him with a fawning smile and ushered him inside.
He turned around and glared at them: "What are you all standing here for? Those who were chosen earlier, go up there. The rest of you who feel like you're going to prepare."
The crowd dispersed, and Zhu Qinghe, along with Li Qingqing and Sister Zhang, slipped through the crowd to meet Shen Wumei in the underground passage.
Unexpectedly, a roadblock suddenly appeared halfway there.
The person standing with his hands behind his back, blocking their way, was none other than the leader of the patrol team.
“The others can leave, but you must stay,” the man said.
The person he was referring to was naturally Zhu Qinghe.
Li Qingqing wasn't afraid of him at all, and questioned, "Why should I?"
"This is the Prime Minister's order."
Zhu Qinghe looked at Li Qingqing and Sister Zhang: "You two go first, I have something to do and can't leave."
Li Qingqing hesitated for a moment: "Xiaoqing, then you..."
Sister Zhang tugged at her arm, "With Xiaoqing's abilities, this is no problem for her. Let's hurry up and leave, or we won't be able to get out."
Li Qingqing angrily shook off her arm, her tone dissatisfied: "You only think about yourself. If it weren't for Xiaoqing, where would we get out of here? You have no conscience!"
Zhu Qinghe smiled gently: "It's alright, you can go first. See you again if fate allows."
"By the way, please explain to the people in the tunnel that I don't need to worry, I know what I'm doing."
Li Qingqing agreed.
After the two left, Zhu Qinghe said, "Take me to see your master."
Footsteps slowly approached in the underground passage. Shen Wumei turned around and saw two unfamiliar women running towards her.
One is younger, and the other is older.
But he didn't see the person he longed for.
Li Qingqing was stunned for a moment when she saw the man's face clearly. Is this Xiaoqing's husband? He's so handsome.
That makes sense, Xiaoqing is pretty too, and looking at them this way, they really do seem like a good match.
They were probably chosen to take the blame because they were too good-looking, since these two don't look like servants at all.
Li Qingqing told him what Zhu Qinghe had told her, and Shen Wumei immediately wanted to go back to find someone.
Sister Zhang stopped him: "Young man, please take us out first. Xiaoqing is safe now."
Shen Wumei pointed in a direction: "Just keep going that way and you'll find the exit."
Li Qingqing grabbed Sister Zhang and left without looking back.
Zhu Qinghe never expected to run into an acquaintance on this trip.
Or rather, she had thought about it, but she didn't expect to see it so soon.
Bai Qiuru, Liang Youan, and Mu Chengwen, a total of six eyes, all stared at her.
Zhu Qinghe: "...?"
What are you doing here?
Liang Youan sighed, "I woke up here."
Zhu Qinghe was both angry and amused. After all that, she had done a series of amazing things in the prison, and the three of them fell asleep while they were watching the final boss.
What kind of situation is this?
Prime Minister Shen emerged from behind the screen, his figure indistinct, suggesting there might be another person behind it.
Before Zhu Qinghe could figure out who the person was, Prime Minister Shen stood in front of her and looked her over a few times: "You look to be in pretty good shape."
Zhu Qinghe smiled insincerely: "Thanks to you."
Prime Minister Shen naturally sensed the dissatisfaction and resentment in her tone. He said, "This marriage selection banquet is not for choosing a husband for Shen Wumei."
Zhu Qinghe: "I think I've guessed that. But what is the Prime Minister's purpose?"
"Do you know Prince Silverloha of the Silver Tenon Tribe?"
Zhu Qinghe nodded: "We've met a few times."
"He came to the capital this time for a marriage alliance. How dare a mere small tribe presume to marry our dynasty's princess? Have you considered the reasons behind this?"
Zhu Qinghe: "...This shouldn't be something for ordinary people like us to worry about."
Prime Minister Shen narrowed his eyes: "Putting aside the fact that you are a citizen of the Great Li Dynasty regardless of your status, what's more, you are not a commoner. Your mother, Sheng Jinsang, was the former princess of the dynasty. So, you can be considered a member of the royal family."
Liang Youan and Mu Chengwen were both shocked, their mouths agape. Bai Qiuru wasn't as exaggerated as them, but her eyes still flickered.
Zhu Qinghe clenched her fist behind her back and said in a cold tone, "You investigated me."
"After all, she's the girl my son has his eye on, so it's not unreasonable for me to investigate her, right? I didn't expect to find out something interesting from this investigation."
"So what do you want me to do? The person behind the screen, please come out. It's too late to hide now, Your Majesty."
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