In an inconspicuous, narrow cell within the imperial prison, a plain-robed Daoist sat cross-legged on a straw mat, eyes closed, resting.
All around him echoed the sounds of prisoners begging for mercy and crying out. He remained unmoved, not so much as furrowing a brow.
The jailer Xiao Lin had been observing him for three full days. He’d just been transferred to this new post, and the first prisoner he was assigned was this young Daoist.
The Daoist was fair-skinned and refined in appearance-he didn’t look like someone who’d committed any crime. The treatment he received after being locked up was equally strange. The warden had only instructed Xiao Lin to monitor his movements and record them promptly. No one came to interrogate him. No one came to torture him.
It was as though he’d come here to take shelter.
Xiao Lin had tentatively asked the warden what crime the man had committed. The warden turned around and told him to mind his own mouth and stop asking questions he had no business asking.
But who doesn’t have a bit of curiosity? The more the warden told him to keep quiet, the more he couldn’t suppress the itch to pry.
The young Daoist didn’t seem like a bad-tempered sort. The days were long and dull-why not have a chat?
“Hey,” Xiao Lin finally spoke up. “Daoist. Which article of the law did you break? What crime got you thrown in here?”
The young Daoist kept his eyes closed. No reply, no reaction.
Xiao Lin rapped the shackles in his hand against the cell door. Clang, clang. The person inside flinched.
“Hm?” He gazed around blankly. “Mealtime?”
“…”
Xiao Lin fell silent.
And here he’d thought this was some deeply concealed master! Turns out the man was just napping!
Tao Mian had slept well-a deep, sound slumber he hadn’t enjoyed in ages. He felt thoroughly refreshed and leisurely surveyed his new accommodations.
More run-down than he’d imagined. The only clean thing was the straw mat beneath him.
Fortunately, he was the sort who could make himself at home anywhere, so he didn’t mind.
His gaze met that of the dumbfounded jailer outside. Tao Mian smiled faintly.
“Hello.”
“I-no, wait.” Xiao Lin had been so infected by the man’s composed, carefree manner that for a moment he forgot they were in an imperial prison and not a teahouse. He shook his head hard to clear it. “Behave yourself! Don’t try getting friendly with me. I-I ask the questions, and you answer. That’s how this works!”
Tao Mian hadn’t heard anyone speak to him so bluntly in a long time. It was rather refreshing.
“I’ll tell you everything I know. Please, ask away.”
Xiao Lin hesitated, torn. He had too many questions. Where did the man come from? What did he do? Why weren’t the higher-ups interrogating him? And so on.
In the end, he picked the most important one.
“What crime did you commit? Why are you locked up in here?”
Tao Mian genuinely pondered this for quite a while before letting out a long sigh.
Xiao Lin’s ears perked up. Was there some enormous secret behind this?
Then the young Daoist drawled out-
“I am indeed guilty.”
“Guilty of what? Out with it!”
“The crime of stealing hearts.”
“…”
“You actually believed that?”
“…………”
Xiao Lin flushed with humiliation and fury.
“Making a fool of me, are you?! Watch me teach you a lesson!”
Tao Mian was beside himself with laughter, doubled over, unable to straighten up. He even choked on his own breath, yelping and groaning between fits.
The young jailer’s face turned scarlet amid the laughter. He put on his fiercest expression and ordered him to stop.
“Quit laughing! Quit laughing! One more laugh and I’ll string you up and whip you!”
“Not very old, but quite the big talk,” Tao Mian finally managed to stop, traces of amusement still lingering on his face. “Do you know why your warden told you to keep your mouth shut? Because, you see, I have people above me.” Find the original chapter at g.com.
Tao Mian raised an index finger and pointed upward.
The jailer foolishly followed his gaze toward the ceiling.
Then it dawned on him which “above” he meant.
Tao Mian curled his finger back and watched him with a grin.
“S-so what if you have connections? For all your big talk, you’re still locked up in here.”
The jailer’s retort lacked conviction. He waited a long time for a response, but none came. He looked up and found the young Daoist in the cell letting out a quiet sigh.
“This place can’t hold me. But… for now, it’s better that I stay.”
The words were roundabout enough to nearly fry Xiao Lin’s brain.
He wanted to press further, but the Daoist had already closed his eyes again, ignoring everything.
The mysterious prisoner remained locked up for several more days. Then, as if new instructions had come down from above, visitors began arriving one after another.
The first wave was two children who appeared to be siblings-an older sister and a younger brother.
This pair of siblings was quite something. Their appearances bore not the slightest resemblance. If the boy hadn’t called her “Jie,” Xiao Lin would never have believed they were related.
The younger brother was already teary-eyed before he’d even laid eyes on the prisoner. The older sister wiped his nose while scolding him for being embarrassing.
When they caught sight of the thin figure inside the cell, the sister’s eyes reddened too, and the brother burst into loud, heaving sobs.
“Little Tao Gege! You’ve suffered so much.”
Xiao Lin stood guard at the cell door, expecting the Daoist-who had always been so breezy and unbothered in front of him-to comfort the children with a few words, maybe dispense some sage-sounding life wisdom.
Instead, the Daoist wailed even more pitifully than they did.
“Xiao Tu! Xiao Dui! This place is simply unfit for human habitation! It’s filthy, it’s a mess, and the jailer bullies me. I can’t survive another day here, wuwu.”
Xiao Lin: …
Who was bullying whom? Who was bullying whom?! The Daoist had interrogated him so thoroughly he’d practically dug up his ancestral graves, and subjected him to all-encompassing mental torment day after day. Who exactly was doing the bullying here?!
Xiao Lin seethed, but he held his tongue. The Daoist’s mouth was a fearsome weapon. If he wanted to, a single sentence could infuriate half the prison to death.
The two children barely managed to get a word in. The young Daoist railed against heaven and earth, delivering an equal-opportunity critique of everyone in the prison from top to bottom, until visiting time was up.
Xiao Lin assumed it was just idle griping and thought nothing of it. But that very night, three or four people from within the palace arrived in secret, carrying in armfuls of clean, expensive bedding and clothing. Every utensil and dish was replaced with new ones-gleaming gold that nearly blinded Xiao Lin. Rare delicacies, fine wines, pastries, and late-night snacks were all delivered as well.
The enthusiastic young Daoist warmly invited the jailer into the cell to share a drink.
Xiao Lin politely declined.
This no longer looked like taking shelter. It looked like a holiday.
The first wave of visitors wasn’t too surprising, Xiao Lin reasoned. Since the young Daoist claimed he had connections above, perhaps these two children had pleaded with that person and arranged for some good food and clothing to be sent in. Such things weren’t unheard of in the imperial prison.
The second wave of visitors, however, genuinely shook him.
“G-General…” Xiao Lin’s legs went soft. “The prison is damp and cold. Your sudden visit here…”
The visitor was none other than Grand General Wu Yueren, the one most valued and trusted by the current Emperor. It was said that General Wu had fought alongside Her Majesty through life-and-death battles in the army and had earned the Emperor’s deep regard. The common folk had no shortage of speculation about the nature of their relationship, giving rise to many subtle, suggestive rumors. After all-a talented man and a beautiful woman. They looked well-matched.
But right now, Xiao Lin’s mind had no room for romantic fancies. He was utterly bewildered, unable to fathom why a general of such standing would suddenly appear in the imperial prison to visit a Daoist who seemed to have nothing whatsoever to do with him.
Wu Yueren arrived at the cell door. Seeing the comfortable, lavish state of the interior, his thick brows drew together.
“Remove all of this. A prisoner living better than a prince-what a sight.”
One sentence, and he’d expressed his disdain for Tao Mian and his contempt for the princes alike.
Xiao Lin was drenched in cold sweat, at a complete loss. He couldn’t afford to offend the general, but he also keenly sensed that whoever stood behind Tao Mian was equally beyond offending.
In his panic, he cast a desperate, pleading look at Tao Mian.
Tao Mian returned a smile. This time, there was none of his usual teasing or mischief in it-only reassurance.
“General, what a temper.”
What happened in the conversation after that, Xiao Lin didn’t know. Wu Yueren seemed to have been effortlessly provoked by a single remark from Tao Mian-but then again, the Daoist did have that particular gift for driving people mad.
Xiao Lin was dismissed with a wave of the general’s hand.
Half a shichen later, General Wu stormed out of the imperial prison radiating fury. Only then did Xiao Lin creep back over to pry.
He figured his nosy nature would be the death of him someday, but if a man didn’t stick his nose into things, was he even alive?
The general had left in a towering rage, yet the Daoist inside the cell was still leisurely sipping the last of the wine in his cup.
“Oh, you’re back?” He even had the mood to greet him.
Xiao Lin’s face was a picture of inner turmoil-as if something was stuck in his throat, desperate to come out, yet he couldn’t bring himself to say it. He thought it over and decided to let it go.
Tao Mian wasn’t in any rush. This jailer was simple-hearted and couldn’t keep a secret. He’d spill it sooner or later.
Sure enough, after the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, Xiao Lin pressed himself against the cell bars and asked in a low voice.
“You said before that you stole someone’s heart.”
“Hm? Hm… Did I?”
“You did! Absolutely! My memory is excellent-don’t think you can weasel out of it.”
“Then I suppose I did.”
“You… that person you mentioned.” Xiao Lin glanced left and right, then beckoned Tao Mian closer.
Tao Mian obligingly leaned his head in.
Xiao Lin’s voice dropped even lower.
“It couldn’t be… it couldn’t be the General, could it?!”
“…”
The scene of Tao Mian’s laughter that day was something Xiao Lin would still want to die from, even seventy years later.
Tao Mian-what a wicked man-wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes and said, “Yes, yes, just look at it. What a cruel, one-sided love.”
Xiao Lin truly wanted to bash his head against the cell door and end it all.
He and the Daoist agreed that neither would ever mention what happened that night. The Daoist agreed readily, but couldn’t stop laughing.
General Wu came several more times, each visit ending on bad terms. Xiao Lin’s expression would turn dreadful the moment he saw him, which made Wu Yueren think the jailer had some personal grudge against him, souring his mood even further.
Annoying-but he kept coming.
Xiao Lin couldn’t make heads or tails of the general’s thinking anymore.
The Daoist replied at his leisure: “I told you-it’s a cruel, one-sided love.”
Xiao Lin refused to believe it.
Gradually, he discovered that this young Daoist truly did have some background. Even princes and princesses came specifically to visit him.
The prince could still restrain his emotions, but the little princess cried until her eyes were swollen. She said that person was too cruel-how could she bear to let Xiao Tao suffer like this?
The “that person” she spoke of-Xiao Lin didn’t know the name. But it seemed to be something forbidden. No matter how agitated the princess became, she never once spoke that person’s name aloud.
The princess imperiously ordered Xiao Lin to open the cell door. Xiao Lin broke out in a cold sweat, stammering that he didn’t dare.
Defying a princess was a grave matter, but the warden had warned him: opening this cell door without permission would cost him his head.
Xiao Lin couldn’t understand why the person who had sent the Daoist here was so contradictory-wanting him to suffer, yet unable to bear seeing him suffer too much.
Days inside the prison passed slowly. The Daoist’s daily amusement was teasing the jailer. Xiao Lin always came out the worse for it, but he didn’t dislike the Daoist.
The Daoist had that kind of charm. If he wished, he could effortlessly slip past anyone’s defenses, yet he always knew where the line was-never pushing too far, always knowing when to advance and when to retreat.
Xiao Lin thought that perhaps “the crime of stealing hearts” wasn’t just a joke after all.
The young jailer believed that having met the general, the prince, and the princess, he’d seen enough of the world to boast to his friends for a long time to come.
But he never expected that late one night, a figure would stand silently before the cell, having disturbed no one.
When he made out that person’s face, Xiao Lin’s knees buckled at once.
“Your Majes-“