Although Bu Hua had confessed everything, his betrayal of the crown prince and attempt on the crown prince's life were irrefutable. Shen Lingyun didn't let him off easily.
"Execute him with the most severe punishment. Don't let him die too quickly. Keep him alive until the crown prince returns. Then let the crown prince deal with him personally."
The jailer replied, "Yes, Your Highness. I'll follow your order!"
Shen Lingyun left Bu Hua's cell and walked out.
Zixi and Ziyan, who followed behind her, looked at her with more respect in their eyes.
First it was Concubine Shu, and then Bu Hua. Shen Lingyun's methods were becoming more and more ruthless.
Even Concubine Shu subconsciously shrank into a corner, trying her best to reduce her presence.
However, when Shen Lingyun's footsteps stopped outside the cell again, Concubine Shu trembled like a sieve. The poisonous insects in her abdomen started acting up again.
"Shu Keyu, do you want to live?" Shen Lingyun asked coldly from outside.
Concubine Shu was in so much pain that snot and tears streamed down her face. Realizing that Shen Lingyun might want to use her, she fought back her fear and crawled towards Shen Lingyun with difficulty. "As long as I can live, from now on, I'll do anything Your Majesty the Queen asks of me!"
Shen Lingyun looked at Zixi. Zixi handed her a porcelain bottle and whispered, "There's medicine in here to soothe the Gu worms. Take one pill every three days, and it can keep her alive for a month. After a month, if she doesn't get the real antidote, the Gu worms will still torture her to death."
Shen Lingyun threw the porcelain bottle in front of Concubine Shu and said to her, "I'll let you out. Find a way to get close to Feng Wenyi. Find out the inside story of the crown prince's death from her and pass the information back to me.
"If I confirm that the information you give me is true, I'll give you the antidote and spare your life. Otherwise, after a month, without the antidote, you'll die a painful death with your intestines rotted."
Concubine Shu didn't dare to disobey. She immediately kowtowed and agreed.
"I... I'll definitely accomplish it."
...
As Shen Lingyun walked out of the prison, the fresh air hit her face, sweeping away the turbidity and depression on her body.
She stood outside the door, took a long breath, and her fingers were still trembling slightly.
She was just indifferent by nature, not without a temper.
Even though she didn't love Xiao Tianye, for her, Xiao Jingcheng was her whole world.
He was the child she had carried in her womb for ten months, growing from a baby as small as two palms to what he was now. She had poured all her energy into him and would never allow anyone to hurt her child!
She also knew very well that if Xiao Tianye had been more capable and not doted on that mother - and - son pair so much, their ambitions wouldn't have grown so big. They wouldn't have dared to scheme all this and try to usurp the position of the crown prince!
After relaxing, Shen Lingyun felt dizzy and almost lost her balance. Zixi was quick - witted and caught her before Biwu.
Biwu had witnessed everything with Shen Lingyun. Seeing Shen Lingyun's complexion worse than when she was in the Cold Palace, she felt extremely heart - ache.
Holding Shen Lingyun's hand, she said, "My lady, His Highness the Crown Prince is blessed by the gods. He will surely be safe. They have lost all conscience, and God will surely punish them severely. You must take good care of yourself and wait for news of His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Shen Lingyun naturally knew this.
No matter how the bet between her and Xiao Tianchi turned out, no matter what choice Xiao Jingcheng made, as long as she could hear news of him again and confirm that he was still alive, she would be relieved.
"Your Majesty." A eunuch walked towards them. Shen Lingyun opened her eyes. It was the eunuch who had been directing the sedan chair and followed them to the prison.
"The journey is long, and Your Majesty is weak. Please get on the sedan chair. I'll escort you back to the Jiaofang Palace."
They had followed them all the way from the Wenshou Hall. Shen Lingyun knew that if she didn't get on the sedan chair today, they wouldn't give up. This was the sincerity Xiao Tianchi showed her, and it was also his psychological warfare.
Sighing imperceptibly, Shen Lingyun said nothing more. Supported by Zixi and Ziyan, she got on the sedan chair and headed back to the Jiaofang Palace.
In the Imperial Study, a secret guard stood in front of Xiao Tianchi and told him everything that had happened in the prison just now in detail.
Xiao Tianchi smiled faintly, his eyes gentle.
As he had expected, Lingji seemed cold on the surface, but in fact, she had a very strong character. Once it came to matters related to her son, she would fight back fiercely and wouldn't let others take advantage of her.
But thinking that when he was away, she had not only been hurt by Xiao Tianye but also banished to the Cold Palace by him, Xiao Tianchi's face darkened again.
"Since she has my token in hand, do everything according to what she says. Make sure that Shu Keyu can get close to Feng Wenyi smoothly," Xiao Tianchi said.
The secret guard responded and quickly disappeared.
Xiao Tianchi lowered his eyes and looked at the table.
There were two case files on it that had just been intercepted by their people. The contents of the two case files were the same, but the handwriting was completely different, and the signatures were also two different names, one was Prince Ning, Xiao Wuchen, and the other was Prince Xuan, Xiao Yixuan.
What was written in the case files were all the details and confessions of the assassination of Crown Prince Xiao Jingcheng in Ningzhou.
Obviously, it was Xiao Wuchen who had investigated the case and obtained the confessions of the criminals. But later, Xiao Wuchen had copied it again in Xiao Yixuan's handwriting.
Xiao Tianchi was very familiar with these tricks. It seemed that Xiao Yixuan had taken credit for Xiao Wuchen's work and used him thoroughly.
However, Xiao Wuchen had left a flaw in the case file. If you observed carefully, you could see that some of the handwriting was exactly the same, indicating that they were written by the same person.
These two case files were sent back to the capital before the change in the capital, but their appearance was just right and could be used by him.
Xiao Tianchi slowly wiped the jade seal in his hand and blinked slowly.
Xiao Jingcheng, I wonder how much longer you can endure?
...
"Boom -"
Another muffled thunder roared in the sky. It had been raining for two days, and the air was filled with moisture. Even the clothes on their bodies seemed to have become damp.
In the front hall of the Huichun Hall, Jiang Mian and Li Zhao were sitting opposite each other. Dahuang was lying on the ground not far away, closing his eyes and taking a nap.
This was the first time the two of them were alone after learning each other's identities.
Jiang Mian completely removed the disguise on her face. Li Zhao finally got to see her true face. He didn't rush to speak but carefully sized up her eyebrows and facial features with a loving look in his eyes.
Normally, Jiang Mian wouldn't feel nervous. She would even chat and laugh with Li Zhao and ask him for advice on observation skills. But now, thinking that he was her biological father, she felt a little panicked and at a loss.
"I..." She broke the silent atmosphere and clenched her fingers. "Is my mother already asleep?"
Li Zhao nodded. "Yes. She fell asleep after eating."
After taking that step, Jiang Mian was finally no longer afraid.
She summoned up her courage, looked directly into Li Zhao's eyes, and asked, "When did you recognize me, and when did you guess that my mother should be in Dongli Town?"