"Shu Guipin, please come this way."
In the dim corridor, the candlelight on the wall lamp emitted a faint light.
The bluestone slab was dark and damp, and as soon as people walked in, they felt a biting cold.
Although Concubine Shu was wearing a fox fur cloak, she still felt cold all over.
She couldn't help but reach out and touch her arm.
The Ministry of Punishment is really cold.
No wonder it is a place where criminals are detained. It is said that almost no one detained here has ever walked out safely.
People go in vertically and come out lying down.
The words "Ministry of Punishment" were a nightmare to the people in the palace, just like entering the underworld.
The prison was deep and dark, with only a faint light coming from the torches ahead.
Shu Guipin followed behind him, looking at the guards in front of her holding torches, the flickering flames flickering in the cold wind.
Seeing that the flame was about to go out, Shu Guipin quickened her pace.
When they arrived in front of a cell where the torch was lit, the guard in front turned around and said to the one behind him: "Shu Guipin, we are here."
With the help of the wall lamp above her head, Shu Guipin could see the person inside clearly.
Just one day later, that bright and beautiful person now exudes a musty and dead air.
The dirty ground was full of dirt, and Fang Jinlan was curled up on the ground.
With his eyes tightly closed, I don't know whether he is dead or alive.
Shu Guipin stood at the gate of the prison, her cold eyes falling on the curled up figure: "Fang Jinlan."
The curled up person opened his eyes and when he saw the person coming, Fang Jinlan was not surprised at all.
"Are you here?" After just one day of not seeing each other, his voice became dry and hoarse, as if it had been dry for a long time, and even his throat was secretly drying up.
"Aren't you surprised?"
"Why should I be surprised?" Fang Jinlan stood up from the ground and walked step by step to the side of Concubine Shu.
She wasn't injured, but she was still unsteady when she walked.
Her slender body was shrouded in a loose robe, and she looked like she would faint at any moment.
Shu Guipin narrowed her eyes slightly, and then sneered: "Yes, you did something wrong, so you naturally knew that I was going to cause trouble for you."
In her opinion, if it weren't for Fang Jinlan, she wouldn't be in danger today.
If she had not noticed this dangerous situation in time, she would be the one imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishment today.
When Shu Guipin thought of this, her whole body trembled.
There was also murderous intent in the look he gave Fang Jinlan.
"Doing something guilty?" The person curled up on the ground got up, but Fang Jinlan was not convinced.
"Who is it, me or you, who did something wrong?" Fang Jinlan stared at the door with her bloodshot eyes.
"Do you think that you can rest easy forever after escaping this time?"
Fang Jinlan found that her whole body was filled with hatred.
She hates.
I hate myself for entering the palace in the first place.
I hate that no one tried to prove Fang Shulan's guilt today.
She hated herself even more. Why did she believe her elder sister in the first place?
"I'm not like you. I deserve what happened today, but you, you did those things, do you think you can get away with it?"
"You secretly had an affair with a man without the Emperor's knowledge, and even arranged for him to live in your palace. Sooner or later, someone will find out, and by then, both you and the Fang family will suffer a catastrophic disaster!"
There was no one in the prison. Fang Jinlan grasped the iron cage with both hands, stared at Shu Guipin in front of her with wide eyes, and cried with every word.
"Because of a man, you are going to drag your entire family to be buried with you."
"Fang Shulan, you are not only going to destroy yourself, but also the entire Fang family!"
Shu Guipin was so frightened by the bloodshot eyes that she took several steps back.
After she stood up, Concubine Shu covered her chest with both hands and asked, "Are you crazy?"
Shu Guipin came over and took a few glances, and fortunately, there was no one in the Ministry of Punishment.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I know nothing."
"At this point, are you still trying to frame me?"
"Frame you? I have never framed you once. Whether these are true or not, you know better than anyone else." Fang Jinlan ignored her look, her eyes cold.
"I know it was Concubine Zhao who ordered you to do this." Concubine Shu stepped forward, her dark eyes full of murderous intent: "Concubine Zhao wants to kill me, but don't forget, you are also a traitor."
"Do you think Concubine Zhao will really save your life? As for what you are yelling about here, everyone knows it? You wish you could kill me and get rid of me as soon as possible..."
Shu Guipin lowered her voice. If there wasn't an iron door between them...
Fang Jinlan saw the murderous intent in Shu Guipin's eyes. She smiled at first, then tightened her grip on the iron rod: "Eldest sister..."
She looked at Shu Guipin's face and laughed out loud.
When she laughed till tears came out, Fang Jinlan clenched her hands and pressed herself against the door: "Eldest sister, are you going to kill me?"
Shu Guipin didn't say anything.
The cell was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, except for the sound of raindrops coming from a broken tile somewhere.
Shu Guipin listened to the dripping sound, but her eyes were on Fang Jinlan.
In the quiet atmosphere here, Fang Jinlan noticed that Concubine Shu was holding something in her hands from beginning to end.
The hand under the cloak held a food box.
"Jinlan, you are my sister, I don't want to watch you die."
As Shu Guipin spoke, she took the food box in her hand and opened it.
Under the red lacquered wooden food box were several plates of pastries and a pot of wine.
"But you know too much."
The things in the food box were laid out one by one. Concubine Shu walked past the cakes and reached for the pot of wine.
"So, elder sister, you want my life?"
The hand holding the wine glass stopped, "This is strychnine. It won't hurt much after drinking it."
"You, you are crazy..." Fang Jinlan shook her head. She didn't want to die yet.
Even after arriving at the Ministry of Punishment, she still didn't think about dying.
"Empress Zhao, Concubine Zhao will definitely save me." Fang Jinlan shook her head frantically.
There was fear in his eyes.
"Where's Concubine Zhao? Where's Concubine Zhao? She said that if I tell her about you, she will spare my life."
Fang Jinlan collapsed and screamed.
But there was no one around, and she shouted countless times, but there was no response.
She could only watch Shu Guipin open the door of the cell and move towards her step by step with wine in hand.
"Help, Empress Zhao, save me..."
"If you don't scream, no one can save you."
Shu Guipin approached her with wine in her hand, until she pressed Fang Jinlan against the wall.
"Empress Zhao is far away and cannot save you." Shu Guipin pressed Fang Jinlan's neck and cast cold eyes on Fang Jinlan's face.
"If you hadn't listened to others and betrayed me, you wouldn't have died today."
Fang Jinlan was held in her palm and watched helplessly as the poisonous wine was poured into her mouth bit by bit.
She struggled to dodge, but Shu Guipin was so strong that she was pinned down and unable to move. She could only watch as the poisoned wine poured into her throat.
“Cough cough cough…”
Only after Concubine Shu let her go did Fang Jinlan suddenly fall down.
"I don't want to kill you either..."
"It was you who betrayed me." She looked at Fang Jinlan coldly, leaning over and retching. After an unknown amount of time, the hand that was clutching her throat stopped.
Then Fang Jinlan's eyes froze, she fell to the ground and began to roll around, spitting blood from her mouth.
"Don't blame me."
The blood splattered everywhere, and some of it seemed to be splashing onto her shoes.
Shu Guipin dodged backwards, looked at the person rolling on the ground, and spoke again: "Don't blame me, blame yourself if you want to."
"If not, I wouldn't kill you to silence you."
Fang Jinlan rolled on the ground, wailing madly. The noise was so loud that it seemed to attract people.
Shu Guipin turned her head and looked in the direction of the footsteps.
"Don't blame me."
Shu Guipin picked up the food box on the ground and then walked out.
She walked quickly until she saw the person imprisoned in the cell next to her.
Only then did Shu Guipin stop.
The man was sitting on the ground in the huge cage. His skinny body looked like it would break if squeezed, but his hands and feet were locked with huge iron chains.
Like preventing this person from escaping...
Who is this person?
Shu Guipin glanced at the face and felt that it was somewhat familiar.
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