Chapter 175 Private Prison
On the fifth day after Princess Yongning was demoted to a commoner, another major event occurred in Yanjing City.

The county magistrate Xue Huaiyuan, who was framed and imprisoned in the Tongxiang case last time, or Lord Xue Lingyun, who was once the Minister of Works of Northern Yan, went to Chang'an Gate early in the morning and beat the stone lion drum to appeal for justice.

The stone lions in front of Chang'an Gate had been silent for many years, but in just half a year, they were awakened twice. And the owner of both cases seemed to be the same person.

This time was different from the last time, because the Tongxiang case was of great importance, and during the court discussion, people also understood that this poor county magistrate was once an important official of Northern Yan, so Emperor Hong Xiao attached great importance to it and met him in person.

Soon, the injustice Xue Huaiyuan wanted to sue came out. Xue Huaiyuan sued the current princess, no, Yongning, who was now a commoner, and Shen Yurong, who was once a secretary, for having secretly colluded with each other a year ago and conspired to kill the heir. They falsely accused Xue Fangfei of having an affair with someone, but in fact it was for their own selfish desires. This is the first one.

Xue Huaiyuan also sued the current Jingzhao prefect for colluding with Princess Yongning to murder her son Xue Zhao, Xue Fangfei's younger brother, and for ordering someone to kill Xue Zhao and pretend that he was killed by bandits in order to destroy the evidence. This is the second point.

The two complaints immediately set off a huge uproar in Yanjing City. You should know that the affair between the top scholar's wife Xue Fangfei and someone else was a big deal in Yanjing City, and everyone knew about it. Now Xue Huaiyuan jumped out and explained the case. The people of Yanjing City began to talk about it with relish.

If it is fake, let's not talk about it. But if it is true, Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong are really ruthless and cruel, without a trace of humanity. Although the truth has not yet been revealed, the people believe that this matter is most likely true. Putting aside the people who are just watching the fun, at least the previous incident in the Golden Palace has confirmed that Shen Yurong and Princess Yongning have an affair. If Shen Yurong is really as affectionate to his deceased wife as he appears to be, how could he be with Princess Yongning? This can only show that this person is a double-faced person. In this case, it is not surprising that he can do such a thing to his wife.

On the other hand, people immediately recalled that when the Tongxiang case was a big deal in Yanjing City, there was a rumor that Feng Yutang, who had ordered Xue Huaiyuan to be framed, was actually under the orders of Princess Yongning. However, at that time, the royal family ordered to keep silent and not allow people to talk nonsense. Moreover, there was no solid evidence for this matter, and Princess Yongning had no need to travel thousands of miles to embarrass a county magistrate who had never had any contact with her. Now it seems that there is a lot of news about this matter.

Xue Huaiyuan is Xue Fangfei's father, and Xue Zhao is Xue Fangfei's brother. The Xue family has been in trouble one after another. If the second daughter of the Jiang family had not learned about this when she returned to Xiangyang and saved Xue Huaiyuan, I'm afraid that none of the three people in the Xue family would have stayed, and there would have been no Xue family in the world. In just a year or so, the Xue family was so unlucky. If you say that there is no one behind the scenes, no one will believe it. Not to mention the outcome of this case, as soon as Xue Huaiyuan's complaint came out, the people of Yanjing City suddenly understood. After the interests were clear, the matter became clear.

It was obvious that Shen Zhuangyuan wanted to marry the princess to be his consort, but his original wife was so beautiful and virtuous that he could not find any fault with her to divorce her. So he decided to go all out and directly killed his original wife and her unborn child, not even sparing her father and brothers. This was extremely cruel.

People couldn't help but think of Xue Fangfei, the talented woman who was once the most beautiful woman in the capital.

Now think about it, that beautiful and gentle Madam Shen, whose talent and character are also among the best in Yanjing City, and the ladies who have interacted with her feel like they are in the spring breeze. Shen Zhuangyuan gave up such a good wife and went to please Princess Yongning, which shows that he is also very greedy for power. Not only that, a day of marriage is a hundred days of grace, but he could actually kill his own wife, what a ruthless heart he has.

For a while, the whole city of Yanjing was filled with people cursing Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong as adulterers. But no one knew if these people who were cursing so vigorously now had also cursed Xue Fangfei vigorously in the past.

Because this case is of great importance, if the charges are proven, it is murder of the official's family. Although the saying that the prince is guilty of the same crime as the common people is useless in most cases, it is very useful here to beat the dog when it is down. Princess Yongning is no longer a princess, and Shen Yurong is no longer a court official. Emperor Hong Xiao certainly doesn't mind "severely punishing" them again. The people's will is a very delicate thing. The people's scolding and disgust for Princess Yongning at this moment will naturally flow to King Cheng, which is also very unfavorable for King Cheng's future actions.

Emperor Hong Xiao, on the other hand, could win greater favor among the people and allow the people of Northern Yan to see clearly that he was a fair and upright emperor.

In public and private, Emperor Hong Xiao would not hold back on Princess Yongning in this case. Even when Concubine Liu came to plead with tears and Prince Cheng tried to find out, Emperor Hong Xiao just asked Eunuch Su to go out and deal with it, and refused to see them.

The case was tried jointly by the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate.

When Xiao Deyin heard the news, she was also very surprised. These days, she has been staying in the mansion and has never gone out. When she heard that Princess Yongning and the Li family broke up, she was very happy. When she heard that Princess Yongning was demoted to a commoner, she was even happier. But it is not foolproof. Things change over time. Princess Yongning has lost her power now, but if one day she makes a comeback, she will still be in danger.

At this time, Xue Huaiyuan's lawsuit was like a timely rain, which revived Xiao Deyin's heart. If Xue Huaiyuan's lawsuit was successful, according to the laws of Northern Yan, Princess Yongning would be dead. In this way, no one would know what she had done, and Princess Yongning would be even less likely to silence her, so she could rest assured.

Xiao Deyin just didn't expect that Xue Huaiyuan, who had long been rumored to be a disabled madman, would actually wake up, and the person who came forward was Xue Huaiyuan. She thought that Jiang Li would have to come forward in this matter, but Jiang Li didn't say a word at all.

But it doesn't matter. Xue Huaiyuan doesn't know her. No matter whether it is Xue Huaiyuan or Jiang Li, whoever sues her will be a witness. She will give Princess Yongning one more push on the road to hell and make her leave quickly.

Xiao Deyin smiled and plucked the guqin in front of him, and the gloom of the past few days was swept away.

……

When Yanjing City was in chaos because of Xue Huaiyuan's injustice, the princess's mansion was also sealed. At night, the guards who sealed the mansion dozed off at the door of the princess's mansion. All the gold and silver treasures in the mansion were sorted out, and the servants and servants were sent away. It was just an empty mansion. The princess's mansion, which was originally bustling and magnificent, was deserted in an instant, which was a pity.

However, the officials who were in charge of confiscating the princess's mansion did not have any emotion. It was because the treasures in the princess's mansion were jaw-dropping. Although Princess Yongning was a princess, she naturally had no less money than others. But it was even richer than the family of a first-rank minister, which was a bit intriguing. If a princess was like this, what about King Cheng? What about the people behind King Cheng? Does it mean that King Cheng's money might be more than the national treasury?

Some people are jealous of money, while others regard it as dirt. For example, Wen Ji and Zhao Ke, who are clinging to the eaves of the princess's mansion, have been squatting and waiting for the guards at the door to get drunk.

Although the guards could accomplish some tasks without being drunk, it would be more troublesome. Of course, only the smart people in the Duke's Mansion could easily solve the problem without being discovered.

There were some people in black on the eaves of the four sides. They were all from the Duke's Mansion, waiting here to meet them. Zhao Ke said, "Here they come."

At the same time, the two guards at the door fell against the door frame with a thud, and fell asleep holding the jar of wine.

It was not the guards' fault for neglecting their duties. It was because the princess's mansion had been emptied, and since it was emptied, no one would come again.

Zhao Ke and Wen Ji looked at each other, and hurried along the eaves. When they reached the inner courtyard, they turned over and jumped down, landing on the ground in the courtyard. There, Ji Heng was already standing there waiting for them.

He finally stopped wearing fancy clothes. His nightgown looked simple and neat, but because of his face, he looked less ordinary. He walked to the innermost room, which was a teahouse. There was only a low table, and even the teapot and teacups on it had been taken away. Nothing was left.

Ji Heng walked around the room, stretched out his hand and touched the walls one by one, and stopped when he touched a spot. He pressed hard inside, and with a slight "click", the brick sank, and then the whole wall began to move slowly, changing its side and revealing a door.

Ji Heng walked in first, followed closely by Wen Ji and Zhao Ke.

It was a long secret passage, with torches lighting the way. The lamps holding the torches were extremely gorgeous, just like an underground palace. There was also a faint sound of water inside. When you reach the end of the secret passage, the space suddenly opens up and the entire secret room appears before your eyes.

This is a private prison. Because it is surrounded by iron bars everywhere, just looking at it, it seems like you have come to the prison of the Ministry of Justice. However, even the prison of the Ministry of Justice may not be as cruel as it is now. There are bloodstains everywhere on the ground, and there is a foul smell. There are even some figures behind the iron bars that are motionless, obviously they have been dead for a long time. But no one has cleaned them out, and they slowly turned into a pool of mud here. Even the closest people would not recognize them if they saw them.

There were bloody hooks on the wall, and red-hot irons were thrown on the ground in a mess. Rats in the dungeon were squeaking and gnawing on a bloody mess with relish. There were whips with salt water, wooden horses with thorns, and silver needles soaked in medicine. Even guards like Wen Ji and Zhao Ke, who had seen a lot, couldn't help but feel a little disgusted when they saw everything. They were guards, and they had seen these things on weekdays. But Princess Yongning was a princess, and it seemed that she didn't have any deep hatred for anyone on weekdays, but she tortured them in such a way.

"Look for Jiang Youyao." Ji Heng said, "If she is conscious, take her out and throw her at the door of the Jiang family. If she is unconscious, feed her one of Situ's medicines and don't let her die."

Zhao Ke and Wen Ji followed the order. It was not easy to find Jiang Youyao among so many dead and half-dead people. Everyone here was dark and smelly, and it was hard to tell them apart for a while. Zhao Ke and Wen Ji went to look for someone, while Ji Heng walked slowly in the prison.

They all had slightly distorted faces, so they were not afraid of being recognized at a glance. However, except for those who were dead or unconscious, the remaining people behind the iron bars were either tortured to the point of losing their minds, dancing and singing inside. Or they were still alive, but had no life left. Even if Ji Heng walked by, they just stared blankly without saying a word, like fools who didn't know how to ask for help.

After being in such an environment for a long time, coupled with the torture of Princess Yongning, I think these people have long lost hope. If they were to say what they hope for the most, I'm afraid it would be that someone would come and give them a knife, so that they could end this pain of being helpless as soon as possible.

Ji Heng walked along the prison nonchalantly. In this hellish scene, his expression remained calm, as if he was still walking in a contemporary banquet, unaffected at all.

Until they arrived at a prison.

The man seemed to have heard the sound long ago, and he crawled out little by little. I say "crawl" because there were two clear bloodstains from the deep inside the cell to the iron fence. I don't know what happened to his knees, but the blood had already coagulated. He knelt on the ground, and his whole body looked like he had been fished out of a pool of blood, and his face could not be distinguished.

This man was the only one in the private prison of the princess's mansion who was moving and looked like a living person. Although he looked very scary, his eyes were very clear and stubborn. He pulled the fence with both hands, and even his hands were covered with scars. He wanted to pull Ji Heng's boots through the fence, but he seemed to be afraid of blood on his hands, so he stopped in front of Ji Heng's boots.

Ji Heng lowered her head and met the man's eyes.

The man's face was covered with scars and blood, and nothing could be seen clearly, but his eyes were not stained with any dirt. He even tried to force a smile towards Ji Heng, even though this smile was very scary in the gloomy private prison. Wen Ji had already found Jiang Youyao, and Zhao Ke just walked over and saw Ji Heng stopped in front of a strange prisoner. Zhao Ke asked, "Sir, this man...?"

The man opened his mouth with great effort, trying to speak, but no sound came out, whether because he was given a mute drug or because his throat was temporarily unable to make a sound. But his mouth could still be seen clearly, and the words he uttered were about four words.

He said: Please, save me.

"Take him back." Ji Heng said, "See if Situ can cure him."

"Huh?" Zhao Ke was a little surprised. Ji Heng was never a kind-hearted person, and it was even more impossible for him to help others when he saw injustice. The people in this private prison were all enemies of Princess Yongning, and had nothing to do with Ji Heng. He came here today just to find Jiang Youyao as requested by Miss Jiang Er. As for the others, it goes without saying that the people in the Duke's Mansion had no sympathy. It was because even if these people were rescued, they would most likely be useless. For these people, the best relief was death.

"I'm cured. I'll keep you company." Ji Heng said.

Zhao Ke said: "Sir, I'm afraid this man's legs are broken."

They were all martial artists, and Zhao Ke could tell at a glance that the man's legs had probably been broken a long time ago. And it had been so long that it was impossible to heal him. Even if he was rescued, he probably wouldn't be able to serve as a guard in the Duke's Mansion.

"It doesn't matter." Ji Heng said, "As long as it's useful."

The bloodstained man immediately showed a grateful expression after hearing this. The only way to tell his expression was from his eyes. Fortunately, his eyes were born to speak. Zhao Ke looked at him and suddenly felt that the man's eyes were familiar, and they were somewhat similar to the second daughter of the Jiang family. Gentle and calm, in the dark and dirty private prison, it was like the sun that lit up this hell.

"He looks different from the others." Zhao Ke said, "I don't know how he offended Princess Yongning to end up like this."

"Go back and check his background." Ji Heng finished speaking and looked at the other side. Wen Ji was coming from behind. Wen Ji said, "Master, Jiang Youyao has been found, but she looks mentally confused and cannot be helped for the time being. Follow the master's instructions and feed her Miss Situ's medicine. She won't die in a few days."

Zhao Ke said to Wen Ji, "Please lend a hand, sir, please rescue this man."

Wen Ji was surprised when he heard this, but he said nothing and pulled the man out of the cell. When he pulled him out, he found that one corner of the man's clothes was white. He was not wearing a reddish-brown dress, but a white dress, which was soaked in blood.

But not dead yet?
It's not like I haven't seen people with strong wills before, but it's really surprising that he didn't die after losing so much blood. Ji Heng glanced at this man, thought for a moment, and said, "Princess Yongning did it. She deliberately spared his life and tortured him slowly."

Zhao Ke and Wen Ji understood that Princess Yongning was afraid that this man would die too easily, so she deliberately sent him medicine to keep him alive so that he would not lose his life, and tortured him slowly.

"But he still looks quite lucid," Zhao Ke said. "It's not easy. An ordinary person would have gone crazy or lost all hope after being tortured for such a long time. But he still has a lot of life. It's just that he can't speak or move now. Tsk, if his legs weren't disabled, he would look like a good candidate."

When the man heard that, his eyes dimmed for a moment, but soon disappeared. Ji Heng saw it and seemed to be thinking about something.

"I don't know how he offended Princess Yongning," Zhao Ke muttered to himself as he carried the bloody man on his back. The man was probably as thin as a piece of paper due to hunger, so Zhao Ke didn't feel the weight of the man on his back. He said, "What a pity."

The three of them left the private prison in the princess's mansion. When they were about to leave, Ji Heng and Zhao Ke went in first. After they left, Wen Ji squatted outside the tea room in front of the private prison and lit a cigarette stick.

There was a loud "bang" that was particularly resonant in the city of Yanjing late at night. The two drunk guards at the door were awakened. They jumped up, shouted "What's going on", and ran towards the tea room.

Wen Ji's figure disappeared into the night.

……

On the other side, in the Duke's Mansion, Zhao Ke, who had received Ji Heng's order, ran back and put the bloody man on his shoulders outside Situ Jiuyue's medicine room, shouting, "Miss Situ, Miss Situ!"

The door opened with a snap, and Situ Jiuyue appeared at the door and asked impatiently, "What's the matter?"

"My Lord, you have rescued a person from outside. I don't know if he can be cured. If Miss Situ is fine, please come and have a look." Zhao Ke wiped his sweat. Ji Heng did not return to the Duke's Mansion after leaving the Princess' Mansion. She probably went to do her own things. Zhao Ke did not dare to ask. However, he did not dare to neglect the person on his back. This was a person that Ji Heng personally rescued. He could not deal with him casually.

"Ji Heng saved someone?" Situ Jiuyue frowned slightly and asked, "What kind of joke are you talking about?"

"It's true." Zhao Ke was afraid that Situ Jiuyue would not save the man. This Miss Situ was very willful. If she was dissatisfied with something, she would dare to disobey the emperor's order. She only listened to Ji Heng's words reluctantly. Zhao Ke said, "Miss Jiuyue, this man is seriously injured. Your Excellency doesn't know if he can be saved. But this man is quite interesting. Please take a look at him first and then decide whether to save him or not."

"I said I'm not a doctor." Situ Jiuyue was displeased, but still leaned to the side of the door and motioned Zhao Ke to carry the patient in.

The four words "quite interesting" attracted her. There are not so many interesting people in the world. If she met one, of course she would save him, because this is also an interesting thing.

Zhao Ke carried the man in and laid him flat on a small bed in the alchemy room that was only big enough for one person to sleep on. Situ Jiuyue went forward and saw that the man was still conscious, but could not move, and smiled at her.

Situ Jiuyue was stunned.

She had seen many faces in her life, including gratitude and fear when she was a doctor, and disgust and hatred when she was a poison girl. No matter which face it was, whether it was saved or destroyed, it would not be so calm. People could never remain calm when facing extremely important things related to themselves.

But this man could still smile at her, a calm, relaxed, even warm smile, which reminded her of the sunshine in March, precious and beautiful.

"Who is he?" asked Situ Jiuyue.

"I don't know. My Lord asked us to check this man's background," Zhao Ke did not hide it from Situ Jiuyue, "He was found in Princess Yongning's private prison."

"Princess Yongning?" Situ Jiuyue raised her eyebrows. "Her again? Ji Heng must have gone to help Jiang Li."

Zhao Ke scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. What else could he say about his master's affairs? Just smile.

Situ Jiuyue reached out and lifted up the man's clothes. His clothes were almost attached to his flesh, and when they were lifted up, there was a sound of separation.

The person on the bed trembled, as if in extreme pain, but he still held it in.

Zhao Ke took a breath of cold air.

This man's body was covered with scars, not a single intact spot. Princess Yongning probably used all the possible punishments on him.

"Miss Situ," Zhao Ke felt pity for the man and asked, "This man is seriously injured... I think his leg is broken. Can it heal?"

Situ Jiuyue glanced at the man's knees and said, "Impossible."

(End of this chapter)