Once this quiet suspicion took root in her heart, her gaze grew profound. The seed of doubt sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, growing larger and larger. She turned and looked toward the staircase.
Li Shun had carried Mo Sen upstairs. When Shen Qingyao saw the bandage wrapped around his head, she still felt a pang of guilt in her heart.
“Lord Mo…”
She hurried forward to greet him. “Are you alright?”
Mo Sen looked up at her, then gave her a reassuring smile. “This official is fine. Thank you for pleading on my behalf—my position has been preserved.”
He knew that the prince had not dismissed him not because he had made amends afterward, but to grant this young lady a favor.
When she had written the letter, they had all read it. Its content was bold yet subtle.
Shen Qingyao shook her head with a smile. “There’s no need for formalities, my lord. It was what this commoner should do.”
As she spoke, she stepped aside. “Please go inside and rest to recover from your injuries.”
Mo Sen nodded. Li Shun carried him inside, and just then, Qian Tong came rushing up the stairs. He first nodded to Shen Qingyao, then entered the room.
Shen Qingyao followed him in. Seeing Li Shun helping Mo Sen lie face down on the bed, she thought for a moment and said, “My lord, please rest well and recover. This commoner will return to the quiet room now. Don’t worry, I’m not afraid.”
Mo Sen lay there looking at her, thought for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. Qian Tong, escort Miss Shen downstairs and settle her in. Assign two Punishment Guards to take turns guarding outside the quiet room, keeping watch over her at all times. There’s no need to lock the door.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Miss Shen, please.”
“Alright.”
Shen Qingyao bowed to Mo Sen and then followed Qian Tong away.
Descending that passageway once more, she no longer felt nauseated by the foul smell. But halfway down, when she saw Qian Tong open a hidden mechanism, she was inwardly surprised.
So the quiet room was here, not down there. Then last night…
Immediately, she understood—it must have been that fellow who ordered Lord Mo to deliberately frighten her.
Shen Qingyao was speechless, but she could make sense of it.
Following Qian Tong into the passage, she observed each quiet room she passed. They all had heavy black iron doors with a small opening, though they were locked.
When they finally reached her room, Qian Tong opened the iron door. She glanced inside—it was pitch black, without even a lamp.
“Go in. I’ll light a lamp for you.”
“Oh!”
Qian Tong took out a fire starter, blew on it, and the room instantly brightened. Shen Qingyao surveyed her single room, her lips twitching.
It was clean, but there were too few daily necessities. And behind the bed…
She walked over. When she saw that it was a hollow wall made of black iron, pitch-dark and seemingly bottomless inside, with a faint animal-like smell wafting toward her, she froze!
“Punishment Guard Qian, what is this place? Why does it smell like animals?”
Qian Tong lit the oil lamp, and after extinguishing the fire starter, the room grew much dimmer. His eyes flickered. “Oh! This used to be the horse confinement area, specifically for holding untamable, fierce horses. Later, it was abolished and converted into quiet rooms. But the quiet rooms shouldn’t be too large, so only half was converted.”
Shen Qingyao turned to look at him, her expression and mood indescribable. “But this doesn’t seem like the smell of horses. It’s more like a gamey, pungent odor?”
Qian Tong smiled. “That’s because it hasn’t been ventilated for a long time. Don’t worry, it’s empty inside now. Stay here for now. I’ll arrange for two Punishment Guards to watch over you. If you need anything, just tell them.”
With that, he turned and left.
Shen Qingyao stared blankly as he left, then turned her head to look inside the iron bars.
Damn, could snakes or rats crawl in here? How could anyone feel at ease sitting in jail like this?
Not long after, two low-ranking Punishment Guards came to report to her. Their attitude was polite, and they carried clean food, saying they would be right outside if she needed anything.
Shen Qingyao chose not to close the door. After finishing her meal, she took the oil lamp to shine light inside the iron bars, wanting to see what it was like inside. Unfortunately, the bean-sized light couldn’t penetrate the darkness.
She was starting to doubt her life choices!
In the Hall of Heavenly Mandate, Xiao Mei knelt trembling in the middle of the hall. She had been found by Ye Zhao at the Shen family’s old residence.
The Shen family’s old residence hadn’t been sealed off. In fact, those six shops hadn’t been sealed either—the officials from the detention department were just going through the motions.
Song Jiuchen stared at Xiao Mei and asked, “Why did your young lady try to fool this prince?”
He mainly wanted to understand Shen Qingyao’s true thoughts. As her personal maid, she couldn’t be completely unaware.
Xiao Mei shrank back without uttering a word. She was fiercely loyal—this concerned her young lady, and she absolutely couldn’t betray her out of fear of death.
Song Jiuchen grew impatient. “Speak.”
A sharp command, his icy tone carrying an unavoidable pressure that weighed heavily on Xiao Mei’s head.
Xiao Mei trembled all over in fear and immediately couldn’t hold out any longer. She didn’t dare not answer. “R-Replying to Your Highness, the young lady was afraid she couldn’t refuse you honestly, so she lied and claimed she was already… damaged goods.”
Song Jiuchen shook his head. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “This prince wants to know the reason for her refusal—her true thoughts. Explain in detail.”
??
The reason for her refusal?
Her true thoughts?
Xiao Mei trembled, then her eyes began to dart around.
Could she say it?
Her young lady’s thoughts were downright rebellious!
Seeing her hesitate again, Song Jiuchen completely lost his patience and issued an order.
“Drag her out and beat her to death.”
“No, no, no, Your Highness…”
Xiao Mei immediately begged for mercy. “This servant will speak, I’ll speak right now.”
Then she swallowed hard.
Young lady, I’m sorry. The prince may be reluctant to kill you, but he has no problem killing me.
“Replying to Your Highness.”
Xiao Mei straightened her back and said, “The young lady said she would never marry or become a concubine in this lifetime. She only wants to live a single, independent life because she has no interest in men who might take multiple wives and concubines at any time.
She also said that if a man isn’t a virgin and falls in love with one woman today and sleeps with another tomorrow, then no matter how handsome or powerful he is, she would look down on him. Even if he wanted to marry her as his principal wife—or even make her empress—she wouldn’t care for it.”
Song Jiuchen: ??
Ye Zhao, Ye Se: ??
The three men were instantly stunned, staring at her with looks of utter disbelief.
What kind of rebellious thinking was this?
Song Jiuchen sighed helplessly, rubbing his forehead. That woman!
Fortunately, it was him who heard this. If it were to spread… forget it!
“Ye Zhao, take her away and arrange a place for her. Then summon Liu Hui.”
“Yes.”
Not long after, Liu Hui, dressed in plain clothes, entered the hall under Ye Yu’s guidance.
He could no longer refer to himself as a subordinate official and appeared very humble, almost pressing his head to the ground as he knelt and saluted. “This commoner pays his respects to Your Highness.”
Song Jiuchen stared at him, then ordered his two personal guards, “All of you, leave.”
“Yes.”
After the two left, a secret conversation took place in the hall, with no one able to overhear.
About half an hour later, Liu Hui finally walked out of the hall. There was no visible change in him, except that his departing footsteps were much lighter than they had been the day before.
By now, the sky had darkened. Song Jiuchen emerged from the main hall, first glancing at the bright moon overhead before descending the steps and heading in a certain direction.
Ye Zhao and Ye Yu followed, while Ye Se remained to guard the hall.
At the entrance to the Punishment Mansion, when the two rows of Punishment Guards on duty saw Song Jiuchen appear, their previously stone-like expressions all turned to astonishment. They hurriedly knelt on one knee, a dark mass of figures.
Why would His Highness personally come to the Punishment Mansion?
Such a thing had never happened before!
In the watchtower, Qian Tong had already scrambled in panic to inform Mo Sen.
“Sir! Sir! His Highness is here, His Highness has come in person!”
“What?”
Upon hearing this, Mo Sen hurriedly tried to rise in alarm. “Quick, help me up!”