Upon seeing who it was, Wei Shuwan not only did not lower her guard, but became even more timid, and even the two hands she was holding onto the wall behind her were trembling uncontrollably.
All of this was naturally observed by Li Qingchen. He smiled and looked up at the place where Wei Shuwan had been staring earlier.
A few beams of moonlight pierced through the cracks in the dark mud roof. The night sky, washed clean by the rain, was exceptionally clear, and the moon shone even brighter than usual, its white light reflecting in like stars hanging in the night sky.
He seemed to know what she had just been counting. It was quite rare to have such a romantic state of mind under such difficult circumstances.
"Are you alright?" Li Qingchen averted his gaze and turned his attention back to Wei Shuwan.
She didn't answer. His gaze swept over her from head to toe, and he noticed that her hair and skirt were damp, obviously from the rain earlier.
Fortunately, apart from that, there were no other problems.
This was the first time Wei Shuwan had been stared at so openly by a stranger. Feeling uncomfortable, she leaned against the corner of the wall and replied with a hint of temper: "What, is the young prince disappointed that he failed to kill me to silence me?"
Li Qingchen naturally realized that she was pinning the blame for poisoning the food on him, and felt slightly wronged.
He only asked, "If I told you I came here tonight to save you, would you believe me?"
Wei Shuwan was slightly taken aback. Even if he were the Prince of Xiaoqiaochuan, he couldn't just take away the family members of a criminal under imperial decree. Was he planning a prison break?
Then she remembered the food from last night and suspected that Li Qingchen wanted to pretend to be a good person and take her out first, and then kill her to silence her.
He cautiously replied, "I won't go with you!"
Seeing that she was still very wary, Li Qingchen couldn't help but smile again and simply went along with her assumption, asking, "If I said that I came here tonight to settle things with you, would you believe me?"
“You…” Wei Shuwan subconsciously took two steps back, forcing herself into the innermost corner of the wall. Only then did she remember that there was an iron gate separating them, and she couldn’t help but feel relieved.
Forcing himself to remain calm, he said, "Even if you want to kill me, you don't have the key to get in!"
"Oh, really?"
Li Qingchen walked to the iron gate, pinched the iron chain between two fingers, and twisted it with a little force. The iron lock was as brittle as candy and immediately broke in two!
The chains broke, and the cell door was opened.
Wei Shuwan stared in shock at the scene, wanting to retreat further but finding no way out. Her back pressed tightly against the cold, damp wall. At this moment, she couldn't distinguish between hatred and fear, and only said in a very unsteady voice:
"You were the one who poisoned me..."
Before this, she had clung to the hope that it was all just a misunderstanding. But faced with her questioning, Li Qingchen didn't bother to explain; he tacitly admitted it. Now, he had completely torn off his mask, stating bluntly that he was coming to end her life…
As Li Qingchen walked in, approaching step by step, Wei Shuwan's mind kept flashing back to the scenes between the two of them since they first met. Her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.
Seeing that he had really frightened her, Li Qingchen suddenly stopped, standing three steps away from Wei Shuwan, and just quietly looked at her.
He had been impulsive. He had heard her refer to him as the one who poisoned her, and for some reason, he felt a surge of anger. He could have simply explained himself, but instead, he wanted to give her a small punishment.
But given their current predicament, why should he bother arguing with a mere young woman? When did he become so petty...?
Just as Li Qingchen was frowning and doubting himself, Wei Shuwan saw an opportunity. Taking advantage of his unpreparedness, she suddenly took off and ran past him toward the iron gate!
However, just as Wei Shuwan reached out to open the iron gate, a short "whoosh" sound rang out beside her! A straw stick was inserted diagonally into the iron lock, prying together the broken part.
Wei Shuwan's tug not only failed to open the door, but also seriously injured herself, leaving her arm aching!
"Hmm—"
Wei Shuwan withdrew her numb and aching right hand, clutching her right shoulder. When she turned her head, Li Qingchen was already in front of her. She shuddered and tiptoed to brace herself against the iron bars.
This time, Li Qingchen didn't hold back and stepped forward, asking her in a deep voice, "Do you think you can escape from this Dali Temple prison by yourself?"
"I...I didn't want to escape, I just didn't want you to silence me!" As she said this, there was both fear and stubbornness in Wei Shuwan's eyes.
After saying that, she quickly added, "Young Prince, you don't think that only I know about that matter, do you? Even if you kill me to silence me, others will still expose it!"
"And your two maids, right?" Li Qingchen looked her over leisurely, as if he had clearly explained to her what he was going to do next.
Wei Shuwan, who had been holding back her tears for so long, finally couldn't hold them back any longer and hurriedly shook her head: "They don't know, you don't need to kill them..."
"Is that so? But your maid Ziqiao has come to the door to threaten me. How do you expect me to get away with it?"
Wei Shuwan felt that she had outsmarted herself. She thought that by holding leverage, she could blackmail Li Qingchen, but why didn't she consider that Li Qingchen had been able to eliminate all dissidents and ascend to the throne of regent in his previous life? Did she think that those cunning and treacherous officials in the court were any less intelligent than her? Even they couldn't blackmail Li Qingchen, so how could she dare to!
Now that things have come to this, the stubbornness in her bones has been crushed to dust by Li Qingchen's oppressive power. She has no choice but to accept it. Instead of continuing to go against him, she might as well tell the truth.
“Zi Qiao offended the young prince at my instigation, but I really won’t betray you! My whole family was imprisoned, and I lost my composure and didn’t know how to save my father… That’s why I resorted to this desperate measure, thinking that saying this might force you to help me. But even if you stand by and do nothing, I will never say those things, even if it kills me.”
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