The Double-Chapter 617 - 181 Visiting the Prison

"Mr. Shen, what should we do now?" Princess Yongning said.

Up to this point, neither Prince Cheng nor Empress Dowager Liu had come to communicate with her, not even to speak a word of comfort, to ask her to wait, a single sentence would have settled Princess Yongning’s heart. But there was nothing, not one of her own people had she seen since the joint trial by the three judicial offices ended. Even when she invoked the names of Prince Cheng and Empress Dowager Liu, these people ignored her; the way they looked at her was as if they saw a person doomed to die.

Princess Yongning finally felt fear, she felt uncertainty about the future. In her whole life, she had never imagined that one day, she would find herself so helpless in a prison cell. She used to keep a private prison in the Princess’s Mansion, using all kinds of bizarre methods to torment those people, listening to their screams, watching them beg for life but unable to beg for death. The more frightful their cries, the more pleased she was, reveling in the thrill of controlling life and death.

However, now, with others holding the knives and her the fish on the chopping block, she had become a prisoner awaiting the decision of others regarding her life or death. Such an absurd situation, she thought, was almost like a dream.

Without Prince Cheng, without Empress Dowager Liu, and stripped of her princess title, she had no choice but to clutch at her last straw, Shen Yurong. She pushed Shen Yurong through the bars, "Mr. Shen, speak, will you!"

Shen Yurong turned his head, glanced at her indifferently, and for some reason, his lifeless, flat eyes suddenly made Princess Yongning feel afraid. She unconsciously released her grip on Shen Yurong’s sleeve.

"There’s no way out," Shen Yurong said, "I have no way out."

Princess Yongning was stunned for a moment, as if she only then realized what Shen Yurong was saying. She shrieked, "How could there be no way out? How can you say you have no way out at such a time? You’re lying to me, aren’t you, aren’t you? You still have a way; we won’t die, will we, Mr. Shen?!"

Her voice was filled with urgency and pleading, fear and madness. Her expression, as it fell into Shen Yurong’s eyes, for some reason, brought a flash of satisfaction to his heart.

As if to deliberately crush her spirit, Shen Yurong added, "I’m not lying to you, it’s true there’s no way out. Resign yourself to fate, Yongning, this is retribution."

...

Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong had been locked in the Ministry of Punishments’ Heavenly Dungeon; no visits were allowed for those condemned to death.

In Fangfei Garden, Jiang Li sat at a table, staring out the window in a daze.

It had started to drizzle, February was coming to an end, and as early March approached, the rain in Yanjing City began to increase. The pitter-patter of rain hitting the windowsill, fine droplets that felt cold and soft upon the skin. The land, dry from a winter’s season, was now moistened and sprouting new greenery.

No further news had come from the palace; it seemed that Empress Dowager Liu and Prince Cheng had run out of options. It was unlikely Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong would escape this calamity. The things Jiang Li initially set out to do, seemed already accomplished. She had cleared her own name of false charges, identified the true killer of Xue Zhao, pronounced the evil deeds of the murderer for all the world to see, and avenged the Xue Family. These things, she had done them all, even saving her father’s life. But when all was done, she did not feel the relief or satisfaction of wishes fulfilled. Instead, she felt desolate.

She did not know how long she would continue to live, unrecognized by her father. Everything that happened in the past was irrevocable, and indeed, there was no longer a person named Xue Fangfei in this world. In this lifetime, she had no desire to marry and have children. The dreams of her youth, to travel through famous mountains and rivers, were now even less likely to be realized as the Chief Minister’s Daughter. Living, but not living as she wished, seemed rather pointless.

"Miss," Tonger came over to close the window, saying, "Have you decided what to send to the Duke Residence?"

Jiang Li previously visited Jih Heng at the Duke Residence, requesting Jih Heng to rescue Jiang Youyao from Princess Yongning’s private prison. Although the outcome was different from what she had envisioned, it was ultimately achieved. Jiang Li, after much thought, could not decide what she could possibly offer Jih Heng in gratitude. Jih Heng lacked neither gold nor treasures, and Jiang Li had no exquisite beauties to offer.

Along this journey, her initial hostility, caution, and suspicion towards Jih Heng had inexplicably evaporated at some point. In their place was a trust that even she had not noticed earlier and perhaps, even a bit of reliance.