After changing into a black night outfit, Xin Long tucked the crystal core away and returned to the Cold Palace.
A black face veil concealed most of her features, leaving only her cool, detached eyes exposed.
She paused at the entrance and glanced outside. Two guards stood watch at the gate.
Retracting her gaze, Xin Long pulled a thin steel wire from her pocket.
The slender wire twirled deftly between her fingers.
Click.
The lock sprang open with a soft sound.
Xin Long slipped silently into the darkness, her figure disappearing into the Cold Palace in an instant.
She moved like a phantom, weaving through the palace walls without alerting a single guard.
Her spatial ability truly was invaluable.
She could shift freely between her dimensional space and reality at any time.
It allowed her to navigate the perilous imperial palace as effortlessly as a fish swimming through water.
How was Xiao Jinghe doing now?
Although she had managed to delay the Duke Dingguo Manor’s confiscation in her own way, she knew it was only a temporary measure.
The emperor would never spare the Duke Dingguo Manor.
Nor would he spare Xiao Jinghe.
Now that Xiao Jinghe had fallen into the emperor’s hands, his chances of survival were slim.
Drawing upon the original princess’s memories, Xin Long searched for the location of the imperial prison.
She had to find Xiao Jinghe as quickly as possible.
The underground prison lay in the northwest corner of the palace, a damp, gloomy place that never saw the light of day.
Two guards stood outside, idly chatting.
“How do you think the Duke offended His Majesty?”
“Who knows? They say he was plotting a rebellion.”
“A rebellion? The Duke’s family has been loyal for generations. How could they possibly rebel?”
“Who can say? Serving the emperor is like living beside a tiger.”
The two men sighed, never noticing the shadow that flashed past them.
Using the power of her space, Xin Long slipped into the prison without making a sound.
A wave of rotting mildew assaulted her nose, mixed with the stench of blood and sweat.
The nauseating smell made her stomach churn.
Under the dim light, prisoners of every sort filled the cells.
Some were filthy and disheveled, looking completely insane.
Some wept quietly, tears flowing endlessly.
Others stared blankly ahead, as though they had already abandoned all hope of living.
Cries, curses, and groans blended together into a symphony worthy of hell itself.
The damp ground crawled with countless nameless insects.
The very air was saturated with suffocating despair.
Xin Long’s heart sank.
She quickened her pace and headed deeper into the prison.
In the cell at the farthest corner, she finally saw Xiao Jinghe.
His head was lowered as he sat on the cold floor, perfectly still, like a carved statue.
In the dim light, his lonely silhouette appeared especially desolate.
There were no obvious wounds on him.
Apparently, the emperor still lacked sufficient evidence and had yet to subject him to torture.
Avoiding the guards’ line of sight, Xin Long quietly slipped into Xiao Jinghe’s cell from the darkness.
The cold, damp air wrapped around her, carrying an overwhelming odor of mold that made her frown.
“Xiao Jinghe.”
She softly called his name, her voice echoing through the empty prison.
Xiao Jinghe, who had been sitting on the ground with his eyes closed, opened them at once.
His eyes were naturally peach blossom-shaped, their outer corners slightly upturned, with a faint reddish tint at the corners. Under ordinary circumstances, they seemed as gentle and affectionate as autumn waters, dazzling with warmth.
But now, in the darkness of the prison, his gaze resembled that of a ferocious beast lying in wait.
Sharp.
Cold.
Violent.
As if he might pounce and tear someone apart the very next second.
During the apocalypse, Xin Long had encountered countless desperate criminals and terrifying mutated monsters.
Yet this was the first time a man’s gaze alone had sent goosebumps racing across her skin.
So this… is the gaze of a general who commands an army of a million while guarding the nation’s borders?
It carried an almost suffocating sense of pressure.
Recognizing Xin Long from her eyes despite the veil covering her face, the hostility surrounding Xiao Jinghe gradually faded.
He returned to his usual gentle and refined demeanor.
The icy chill in his eyes melted away, replaced by a trace of confusion.
“Miss Spirit,” he asked softly, “what are you doing here?”
Miss Spirit?
So Xiao Jinghe truly believed she was some kind of supernatural being.
Xin Long found it rather amusing, but she had no intention of correcting him.
“I’m here to rescue you,” she said.
“I have a way to get you out. Will you come with me?”
Instead of answering directly, Xiao Jinghe simply looked at her and asked quietly,
“How are my mother and my sisters-in-law?”
Understanding his concern, Xin Long briefly explained the situation.
“Eunuch Rui’an just brought people to search the Xiao residence for the fake Imperial Jade Seal. But I never placed it where we’d agreed, so they found absolutely nothing.”
“Since they couldn’t find the fake seal, the emperor locked me up instead.”
Hearing that, Xiao Jinghe lowered his voice.
“I’m sorry. I’ve dragged you into this.”
Xin Long merely shrugged.
“It’s nothing. I can leave whenever I want.”
“You’re the one I’m worried about. Since the emperor still hasn’t found the fake seal, once the morning court begins tomorrow, those officials impeaching you will probably come up with another excuse to confiscate your family’s estate.”
She studied his expression.
Half of his face remained hidden in the shadows.
It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Xin Long couldn’t help feeling that the entire Xiao family was pitiful.
They had devoted themselves wholeheartedly to their country, their people, and their emperor.
Yet in the end, their reward was exile for the entire family.
She didn’t mind seeing her good deed through to the very end.
“The capital isn’t safe anymore. Are you really not considering leaving now?” she asked.
“I can find a way to get your entire family out of the capital.”