The Emperor has passed away.

The Empress Dowager has passed away.

The Prince of Chu has committed treason.

The Noble Consort Shu has been executed.

Who could have imagined.

That suddenly, within the Imperial Palace, so many earth-shattering events would occur.

One alone is enough to be unbearable.

And yet so many, all converging at once.

The citizens of Daxuan Kingdom and officials who had not participated in this coup had no idea why there were such sudden changes?

And the news released by the Royal Palace was that.

The Prince of Chu had plotted treason, the Prince of Chen rushed back from the border leading troops to rescue the Emperor, but everything happened too abruptly, the Prince of Chen arrived too late, and both the Emperor and the Empress Dowager were assassinated by the Prince of Chu. The Prince of Chen stormed into the Imperial Palace as the Prince of Chu secretly fled, the Noble Consort Shu as his birth mother, also involved in the treason, was executed on the spot. The other ministers and traitors who assisted the Prince of Chu were all captured and imprisoned in the Dungeon. On the day of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager’s funeral, they will be beheaded and displayed to the public.

Both the officials and the citizens believed without doubt.

Within the Imperial Palace, due to the Emperor’s passing and the Empress Dowager’s demise, everyone was extremely busy. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Xiao Jinxing took charge of overseeing all related matters in the palace, leaving him no spare time whatsoever.

As Xiao Jinxing’s Princess, Ye Qichi stayed by his side throughout.

Ye Qichi originally thought of taking advantage of the situation to leave.

After all, everything had settled down.

But according to the Royal Family’s rules, when the Emperor has passed away, and the Empress Dowager has deceased, all related family members are required to attend the mourning, so Ye Qichi was not able to get away.

She could only stay continuously in the Imperial Palace.

She was thinking.

Once Xiao Jinxing finished handling the funerary ceremonies for the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, he would ascend to the throne as a matter of course.

Once Xiao Jinxing ascends the throne.

She would retire with her mission accomplished.

With such plans in mind for Ye Qichi, even if her days in the palace were somewhat exhausting, she felt, after all, uplifted.

...

Outside the palace.

Xie Ruotong was fully responsible for tracking down Xiao Jinsen’s whereabouts.

When news of the Emperor’s demise and the Empress Dowager’s death came from the palace, Xie Ruotong thought the Prince of Chen would be too busy to care about anything else. Yet, he still made sure to send someone with a message, insisting that she must not relax in searching for Xiao Jinsen’s whereabouts and report back to him promptly with any significant information.

Xie Ruotong was thus entrusted with an important mission.

She headed towards the Dungeon.

In the dark and damp prison.

Xie Ruotong, accompanied by her two personal guards, entered.

These two personal guards were Lin Qianyu and Hong Shu.

Xie Ruotong paused at the door of a cell.

Inside, a man dressed in pale blue clothes was leaning against the corner, sleeping.

At this moment, he was stripped of his usual noble elegance; his entire body was soaked with blood, his hair disheveled, and his face was pale.

Sensing someone approaching.

He opened his eyes, gazing indifferently at Xie Ruotong standing in front of the cell.

Looking at her emotionless face.

"Bring him out," Xie Ruotong ordered the prison guard.

"Yes, Master Xie," the prison guard hurriedly obeyed with respect.

Xie Ruotong turned away coldly and walked out.

Then she sat down on a chair in the dim interrogation room.

Song Yanqing was roughly dragged out of his cell by the prison guard.

Bruised and battered, yet no one handled him gently.

So brutal that it agitated his unhealed wounds, some of the more severe ones had started bleeding again.

Xie Ruotong just watched coldly as the prison guard shackled Song Yanqing’s hands and feet with chains onto the torture rack in front of her.

"Are you ready to talk?" Xie Ruotong asked Song Yanqing.

Yesterday, she had ordered the use of torture on Song Yanqing.

She had left behind the instructions that as long as he didn’t die, it would suffice.

Now it seemed, indeed, that he had only just not died.

Song Yanqing just watched Xie Ruotong, still remaining silent.

"Song Yanqing, my patience is actually limited." Xie Ruotong’s voice was cold and indifferent, devoid of any anger.

But Song Yanqing could detect the bloodthirstiness in her words.

After being tortured last night, he thought he would die here.

In the end, they still left him a breath of life.

It seems that Xie Ruotong wouldn’t easily kill him if she couldn’t extract anything from him.

When faced with hatred and her mission, Xie Ruotong still chose the latter.

Being able to remain so clear-headed, Xie Ruotong would likely accomplish much following the Chen King.

"Still not speaking?" Xie Ruotong raised her eyebrows.

Song Yanqing simply closed his eyes.

Indeed, he couldn’t speak.

Even though he didn’t know the Chu King’s route, he had guessed from his conversation with the Chu King where he must have gone in the end.

Where he went, would be the absolute safety for the Chu King.

"Bring me a basin of saltwater," Xie Ruotong commanded.

Her tone was plain, without a ripple of emotion.

As if the task at hand was just another trivial matter.

The prison guard hurriedly complied.

In no time at all.

A bucket of saltwater was brought over.

"Song Yanqing, the emperor has passed away." Xie Ruotong didn’t command her men to pour the water over Song Yanqing directly but first informed him of the current situation, "Now everything is under the control of the Chen King. You being clever should anticipate the next development."

"Hmm," Song Yanqing acknowledged.

So.

It’s not that he can’t speak due to his injuries.

It’s just.

He doesn’t want to speak.

"The Chu King is already history, and aiding him brings you no benefits," Xie Ruotong continued.

It was her lack of emotion that made her treat him so coldly.

"By the way, let me inform you that all ministers who helped the Chu King in his rebellion have been captured and thrown into the dungeon. Once the emperor’s funeral is over, they will be beheaded for all to see," Xie Ruotong observed Song Yanqing’s expression.

Watching him appear indifferent to anything he heard.

Still not even opening his eyes at this moment.

Just silently listening as Xie Ruotong said a lot to him.

"Song Yanqing, are you sure you won’t speak?" Xie Ruotong asked again.

In the end, Song Yanqing still lifted his eyes to look at Xie Ruotong.

He could feel her anger.

She was probably out of patience with him.

He said, "If I speak, will I be beheaded for all to see just like all those ministers?"

"Song Yanqing, being alive isn’t necessarily better than dying," Xie Ruotong stated slowly.

"But everybody wants to live," Song Yanqing murmured.

"Not necessarily," Xie Ruotong replied affirmatively.

Song Yanqing was still not persuaded.

"It seems that last night’s torture was still not enough for you," Xie Ruotong’s eyes flickered slightly, looking towards the bucket of saltwater.

Song Yanqing saw where her gaze landed.

"Come here, pour it over his body," Xie Ruotong ordered.

The prison guard promptly stepped forward.

"Song Yanqing, I’ll give you another chance. Are you really not going to speak?"

Song Yanqing remained silent.

Xie Ruotong’s eyes were cold, a single glance from her.

The prison guard directly splashed a bucket of saltwater over Song Yanqing’s body, wounds already covering it.

The saltwater on the bloody wounds brought such pain, sharp and bone-chilling.

Xie Ruotong just watched coldly as Song Yanqing clenched his teeth, not allowing himself to utter a sound of agony, yet his body uncontrollably trembled with intense pain, excruciatingly so!