At the dungeon entrance.
Shen Zhong returned, accompanied by the post station attendant.
This time, behind him were two more station guards, carrying a large wooden barrel half his height, filled with steaming millet porridge, with a basket of white flour buns beside it.
No one dared act up this time; everyone queued obediently.
Shen Qingzhu took a clean ceramic bowl from Shen Zhong, ladled half a bowl of porridge, and grabbed two buns.
Then she slowly walked toward the prison carriage.
She stopped in front of it.
“My name is Shen Qingzhu.”
“I know who you are.”
A voice came from inside the carriage.
“This porridge and these buns are clean,” Shen Qingzhu said, extending them forward. “Our family eats them ourselves, but here’s a portion for you.”
Silence followed in the carriage for a moment.
The surrounding prisoners’ expressions grew more complicated.
What exactly was Shen Qingzhu trying to do?
“Why?” Zhao Jingzhan’s voice sounded again.
“Because right now, we’re grasshoppers on the same string,” Shen Qingzhu said, lifting her eyes to meet him.
Zhao Jingzhan said nothing.
Shen Qingzhu didn’t mind. She gently placed the food on the carriage.
“Whether to eat or not, Your Highness decides.”
With that, she turned and returned to her family.
…
Back with her family, she whispered to the already anxious Lin Shi and Shen Laofuren, “Mother, Grandmother, it’s fine.”
She took a bowl from Shen Zhong, distributed the porridge to her family, but only took a bun for herself, eating in small bites.
“Zhu’er,” Shen Qingdai leaned close, voice low and full of worry, “Eldest sister… she’s in very bad shape. She just had another episode, her pulse weak and floating. This dungeon is cold and damp—if she stays, I fear… I fear the baby won’t survive!”
Shen Qingzhu paused mid-chew.
Her eyes shifted to her eldest sister, Shen Qingyao, leaning against their mother, face pale as paper, cold sweat on her forehead.
Her hands clutched her abdomen tightly, brow furrowed even in semi-sleep.
No more waiting.
Originally, she planned to observe for the night, but now it was clear her eldest sister couldn’t make it to morning.
“I understand,” Shen Qingzhu’s eyes turned icy and resolute.
She leaned close to Shen Qingdai and Lin Shi, speaking almost inaudibly, “Mother, Second Sister, listen carefully. Tonight, we leave.”
Lin Shi shuddered, eyes wide with fear.
Shen Qingdai nodded firmly.
“Grandmother,” Shen Qingzhu then turned to Shen Laofuren, “take care of Miaomiao. No matter what happens, don’t make a sound. Hold her tightly.”
Shen Laofuren opened her mouth, then, meeting her granddaughter’s calm, determined gaze, nodded heavily, hugging her youngest granddaughter close.
With her family arranged, Shen Qingzhu’s gaze swept over the entire dungeon again.
Thanks to Shen Zhong’s preparations, the guards and station attendants outside had been given buns and a small jar of wine, now drinking and laughing, their vigilance at its lowest.
Inside the dungeon, after finishing the steaming millet porridge, exhaustion from the long journey hit the prisoners like a tidal wave. One by one, they collapsed, soon snoring heavily.
Li Ze slept like a dead pig; Madam Zhou forgot her leg pain and drifted into slumber.
Even the vigilant He family boy leaned against the wall, head down, motionless.
Time ticked by.
Snoring filled the dungeon, ebbing and flowing; even outside, guards holding wine jars fell asleep.
Shen Qingzhu retrieved a device from her sleeve.
On the screen, infrared heat imaging displayed the dungeon clearly.
Red silhouettes representing human bodies were motionless, except for one that emitted steady, alert heat.
—By the carriage, the gray-robed monk, Hui Ren, sat cross-legged.
In front of him, the porridge and two buns Shen Zhong had brought remained untouched.
Just as expected.
Shen Qingzhu smirked coldly.
She silently stood, gesturing for her family to stay quiet, and retrieved two items from her spatial storage.
A small night-vision device and a tranquilizer gun.
She raised the gun, aiming through the subtle glow of the scope, centering the crosshair on Hui Ren’s back of the neck.
She inhaled deeply, slowly pressing the trigger.
“Pfft.”
Through the night-vision, Hui Ren’s body stiffened, then collapsed forward onto the ground.
Success.
Shen Qingzhu didn’t relax yet.
She waited a full minute to ensure Hui Ren was truly “asleep,” then lowered the gun and walked toward the carriage.
Squatting by Hui Ren to check his state, suddenly—
A drastic change!
The previously motionless monk’s eyes snapped open.
He flipped upright instantly, giving Shen Qingzhu no time to react, his gaunt hand infused with extreme force, striking straight at her!
Feign the hit!
Shen Qingzhu’s pupils dilated. She tried to evade, but the overwhelming force locked onto her, freezing her body.
At that critical moment—
“Clang—!!!”
A black iron chain shot from the carriage like lightning, wrapping precisely around Hui Ren’s wrist mid-strike!
“Get off!” Hui Ren roared, wrenching his wrist to break free.
The chain held firm, its immense tension stopping his strike just inches from Shen Qingzhu.
She narrowly avoided disaster, rolling backward to create distance.
Zhao Jingzhan yanked the chain sharply.
Hui Ren, caught off guard, staggered.
In a battle between masters, victory lies in the smallest of margins.
Though Hui Ren was a half-step grandmaster, Zhao Jingzhan, even imprisoned, unleashed astonishing combat power.
Yet Hui Ren’s internal strength was formidable; he stabilized, unleashed a burst of energy, and pulling back, made the entire carriage shake violently!
Zhao Jingzhan, constrained by shackles, quickly lost advantage.
Seizing the moment, Shen Qingzhu raised her tranquilizer gun again, firing continuously at Hui Ren, who was entangled with Zhao Jingzhan.
“Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!”
The darts struck his back mercilessly.
“Hmm?!”
Hui Ren felt an intense numbness, followed by overwhelming drowsiness and weakness spreading through his body.
Alarmed, he realized this was a weapon capable of bypassing his protective qi!
He attempted to force his energy to expel the toxin, but Zhao Jingzhan held him fast, giving no chance to recover.
Meanwhile, Shen Qingzhu continued firing darts at any exposed skin, systematically subduing him.