Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn - Chapter 129
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 112
Chapter word count: 4067 Update time: 09-09-10 11:57
On the morning of the third day at Tianya, Shen Zexuan had only been out of the house for a short while when a commotion broke out outside the courtyard. Upon reaching the gate, he saw that the manor's guards and a group of imperial guards were locked in a standoff.
The leader of the Imperial Guards held up his gleaming yellow token: "We are acting under imperial orders. Are you planning a rebellion?"
The head guard simply said, "His Highness has ordered that no one is allowed to take Miss Mo out of this courtyard."
So they came for me.
No wonder. After making such a big fuss in Xiangzhou, how could the emperor not know? How could he let me stay here peacefully? Does Shen Zexuan really intend to defy the emperor's decree and keep me here, or is it just a show for certain people?
Standing at the door, she coldly watched what would happen to them. In any case, her fate was never in her own hands, and now that she was all alone, she didn't really care what would happen to her. The only thing she felt a little regretful about was Shen Haoyu.
The guards of the prince's residence ultimately dared not directly clash with the imperial guards who were acting on the emperor's orders. While letting me be taken away by the imperial guards, they sent someone to notify Shen Zexuan.
Looking back at Tianyaju one last time, this is probably the last time.
The Imperial Guards took me directly to the Heavenly Prison, not the Ministry of Justice's prison, which deprived me of even the faintest chance of finding out about Aunt Yun. The Heavenly Prison was dimly lit, with torches burning in the corners even in broad daylight, and a strange, unpleasant odor permeated the air. I held my breath, just to avoid inhaling that kind of air, and I deeply admired the prison guards who had been watching over me there for so many years.
The women's prison was sparsely populated and quiet. There were no shrill cries as I had imagined, nor did I see any women resembling vengeful ghosts. It was so quiet you could hear the mice scurrying about. When someone passed by, they would merely stop, glance at the person with their small, dark eyes, and then continue with their tasks. The female warden was in her forties, dark and thin. From the moment I entered the main gate until she pushed me into my cell, she never uttered a word, always keeping her lips tightly pressed together, her face expressionless. Well, this kind of warden was much more pleasing to the eye than those who looked sleazy and unkempt.
After locking the door, the jailer turned and left. Looking around, I saw a wooden plank against the wall, piled high with straw. It was hard to tell how long the straw hadn't been changed; cockroaches were scurrying in and out. There was a wooden bucket in the corner, probably for relieving oneself. Fortunately, no one lived there, so there wasn't a particularly unpleasant smell. Looking around, it seemed I was the only one imprisoned in the visible part of the corridor.
Sunlight streamed in through the narrow window, revealing countless dust particles swirling in the air. Tired of standing, I crouched down against the bars, refusing to cross to the wooden planks. I never imagined I'd experience prison life; most women probably never had this chance. But why didn't the emperor just kill me? Or was he trying to cultivate a reputation for leniency?
Time passed incredibly slowly, each second dragging on. There was no sound, no life, no one to talk to, not even the will to daydream. I squatted on the ground, hugging my knees, refusing to touch anything else. I'd never lived the life of a pampered young lady, yet I was still very afraid of getting dirty.
Will the emperor keep me locked up here forever? He'd rather kill me.
Slowly, I moved closer, until it was finally pitch black outside, with only a dim light from the torches at the end of the corridor. By the faint light, I cleared the area within a meter radius with my toes, and then I heard clear footsteps approaching me. Peeking out, I saw it was the female jailer, carrying a plate with two bowls on it, lighting the torches in the corridor as she walked.
When the female jailer approached me, I knew she had brought me food. Before I even took the bowl, I could smell the sour odor. Looking at the other bowl, I saw it contained water, which wasn't clean either, covered in a layer of white foam. I licked my chapped lips; this kind of food would infest me with worms and make me sick. No matter how hungry or thirsty I was, I couldn't touch it.
He shook his head and did not take the two bowls from the jailer.
The jailer didn't even glance at me, and carried the plate back the way he came.
Not everyone can go to jail. Someone like me would starve to death before anyone even has to torture me. But even if I starve to death, I still won't touch anything unclean.
Leaning against the gate, I drifted off to sleep. When I awoke, my legs were completely numb and I couldn't move them at all. I rubbed them for a while before I could barely stand up. I stretched my joints. Two of the torches in the corridor had gone out, and the remaining two swayed precariously in the cold wind blowing through the corridor, not knowing when they would be extinguished. The sky outside was still pitch black. I pulled out the hairpin from my hair and drew a line on the wooden gate. These days had only just begun; when would they end? I recalled the days when I was on the run with Shen Haoyu. Those days were much better than this.
Confined in this cramped cage, it felt as if countless tiny insects were crawling inside me, making me incredibly frustrated, yet I had nowhere to vent my frustration. The emperor is indeed shrewd; this is far more painful than simply killing me.
Listening to the rustling sounds of small animals moving about in the straw, I slowly began to practice a set of boxing techniques that Jiang Ming had once taught me. My hands were chained and I couldn't move them fully, so many movements could only be done mentally. But this gradually immersed me in the wonderful memories of practicing martial arts with Song Zhixuan and the others. The past began to well up in my mind little by little, and time began to seem less painful.
Daylight finally broke, and I could even hear the melodious chirping of birds outside. I yawned, blinked my sore eyes, and realized it was the second day. I used the hairpin to carve a second line where I had drawn yesterday.
After a long while, the jailer came again with the food. She glanced at it, shook her head, and turned to leave without a trace of expression.
He hadn't uttered a single word all day, and now his hoarse voice was too dry to speak anything.
In prison, I was given two meals a day, one at dawn and one after dark. But after two days, I didn't eat a single grain of rice or drink a drop of water. When I had the strength, I practiced my fist and foot techniques over and over again. After finishing my fist and foot techniques, I practiced sword techniques with my bare hands. When I was too tired, I would squat on the ground, half asleep and half awake, leaning against the gate, thinking about the happiness I once had.
I was sleeping more and more, and I knew that if this continued, I probably wouldn't live for more than two days. It was okay if I didn't eat, but I hadn't even drunk water. My body had reached its limit.
At dawn on the third day, a third line was drawn on the wood, but it was much shallower than the previous two. She slid softly against the gate and sat down on the ground, thinking that if she were to die like this, she would dream of all her relatives and friends, dying sweetly and peacefully. If she could survive and walk out, she would make sure Emperor Youjing never had a moment's peace.
I heard footsteps approaching again, but this time I didn't stand up and shake my head at the jailer. I remained slumped on the ground. The jailer still didn't speak, but nudged me. When I didn't react, she walked away. It was then that I couldn't help but wonder if she was actually mute.
I finally drifted off to sleep again, dreaming that my aunt was sitting under the old locust tree, embroidering and smiling as she watched me teach Zinuo to read. The scene changed; it was still my aunt, but this time she was chasing after me to pierce my ears. As I ran, I smiled sweetly at her and said, "Auntie, how about you pierce Huai'en's ears when she comes of age or gets married?" Before my aunt could answer, Zinuo took a lit incense stick and set fire to the cotton my aunt had prepared to make winter clothes for us. A roaring fire immediately shot into the sky, and my aunt and Zinuo quickly disappeared in the flames…
I screamed in terror, "Auntie! Zinuo!" I reached out to grab where they had disappeared. I could feel the heat of the fire burning me, but it didn't burn me. I searched for them in the sea of fire, but I couldn't find anything. Only my own voice echoed in despair.
"Huai'en, Huai'en, wake up, wake up, Huai'en..." An urgent male voice rang in my ears, and I was being shaken repeatedly. Wasn't I alone? Who else was beside me? Who? Was it Shen Haoyu? He called me that last time too...
It's good that I'm not the only one anymore.
It took her a long time to open her eyes, and what came into view was a somewhat familiar but very haggard face. After hesitating for a while, she asked, "Are you... Brother Ting?" Her voice was unusually hoarse, and her throat was stinging. She swallowed hard and stared straight at the person in front of her.
"Yes, it is me. I'm sorry, I've made you suffer again." Shen Tingxuan's voice wasn't much better than mine. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his short stubble was unkempt. You couldn't recognize him at all if you didn't look closely.
What does his detention have to do with me? I wanted to say that he hadn't done anything wrong to me, but after opening my mouth for a long time, I could only utter a few unpleasant sounds due to the pain in my throat. I really don't know how I managed to say the first sentence.
Seeing this, Shen Tingxuan quickly covered my mouth: "Your throat is so dry and your fever hasn't gone down yet. Don't talk, just rest. We can talk when you're better."
Looking at the exquisite furnishings of the room and Shen Tingxuan beside her, she suppressed her questions for the time being and decided to ask them when her voice had recovered.
After two days, my fever finally subsided completely, my throat wasn't so sore anymore, and I was able to say a few short words. With my strength restored, I got out of bed and walked around, looking at the flowers and plants in the courtyard, and listening to Shen Tingxuan recount the scene of bringing me out of prison.
According to Shen Tingxuan, I was already unconscious and had a fever when he went to pick me up from the prison. He asked the jailer and learned that it was because I hadn't eaten or drunk anything for three days. He took me back to the Second Prince's residence and immediately sent someone to fetch the imperial physician. Because I had been starving for so long, my physical condition was very poor. I remained unconscious after being brought back, and he couldn't take any medicine or porridge. I almost died.
Fortunately, I finally woke up. But the maid told me that during the days I was unconscious, Shen Tingxuan stayed by my side almost without taking off his clothes, and he himself was almost exhausted.
I was very curious about why Shen Tingxuan was able to go to the Heavenly Prison to pick me up. After asking him several times, Shen Tingxuan finally stammered, "I told my father that you are the daughter of Marquis Qiyun."
Looking at Shen Tingxuan with some suspicion, he thought, "She's just a daughter who's been kicked out of her home. Does the Emperor really need to give Marquis Qiyun so much face?"
Seeing my disbelieving look, Shen Tingxuan finally said, "My father has decreed that we should get married on the sixth day of the eleventh month, and that you will be my concubine."
This news was so shocking that I stood there stunned, unable to react for a long time.
The Emperor wants me to marry Shen Tingxuan? What is he thinking?
Looking at Shen Tingxuan again, I noticed that his gaze seemed different from usual.
After a long silence, Shen Tingxuan slowly said, "Huai'en, do you know that I never intended to be just your Ting-gege? It's just that I didn't recognize you sooner, I didn't find you sooner, otherwise, I wouldn't have married your sister. I know that we have already missed our chance, and I only planned to watch over you and protect you from the sidelines from now on, but this happened. This time, Father Emperor's decree to make you my concubine is indeed a disservice to you, but if it weren't for this, you would have to stay in the Heavenly Prison forever."
I stared blankly at Shen Tingxuan. I had always thought of him as the Ting-gege from when I was a child, but I never knew that he had such thoughts and feelings. How could I bear it?