Chapter 20: She Was Getting Better and Better at Surprising Him

Yes, thinking of this, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of impatience. That cruel and heartless woman, cowardly and selfish, had killed a princess. This time, not even the Empress could save her.

This place was the territory governed by the Second Princess, and she and the Second Princess never got along. Even though she usually lived in luxury, here she could only eat scraps and rotten food, sitting on the cold ground. Once locked in this prison, she was nothing. She was probably already crying and begging for release. Or perhaps she had already given up and taken her own life? The more he thought about it, the more excited Shangguan Ning became, his eyes sparkling with intensity, and his steps quickened with eagerness.

After turning several corners and descending another level, he noted that this prison had eighteen floors, each designated according to the status and rank of the prisoners. The top floor was for common criminals handed over from the county authorities—serious offenders and death row inmates. Descending further meant prisoners of higher status, and the deeper inside, the darker and more desolate it became, with fewer inmates. That was why Yun Qian’ge was confined on this lowest level.

Silence enveloped him as he went down one final floor. Shangguan Ning took the food box from Huoyue with a cold sneer and continued downward.

Just as he stepped down, the once dark and gloomy cell suddenly brightened as if night turned to day—the place was brilliantly lit.

What had been a filthy and chaotic prison was now spotless, with a fiery red carpet laid out. Expensive paintings adorned the walls, and rare antiques and curiosities were displayed everywhere. A woman wearing a mask reclined sideways on a jade couch. Her rose-red gown accentuated her graceful figure, and her fair legs, simply crossed, exuded a captivating allure. A snow-white fox fur shawl draped over her shoulders made her posture even more enchanting and naturally seductive.

Most astonishing was her mask. Its craftsmanship was exquisite: a pale blue mask bordered with delicate diamonds, a diamond-shaped red gem set in the center of the forehead, and three snowy white feathers attached to the left side. The mask was stunningly beautiful.

Wearing the mask made the woman even more mysterious, stirring the imagination.

Shangguan Ning frowned. If he was not mistaken, the woman peeling grapes for her, the one massaging her shoulders, and the two women stoking the fire beside the jade couch all wore prison warden-style uniforms—warden here referring to the equivalent of modern prison guards. So what did that make this woman...

“This place is so boring. Ning’er, you coming here to keep me company is really thoughtful,” the woman’s voice was like a nightingale’s song, yet it caused Shangguan Ning’s heart to sink sharply. He gripped the food box tighter. Sure enough...

Sure enough, it was her. Did she really think a mask could hide her ugliness?

No matter how beautiful her face might be, she was the filthiest woman in the world because she harbored the vilest heart.

A trembling man approached her, his clear, glass-like eyes filled with panic. He seemed frightened just passing by the cell and pitifully said, “Bad people, bad people. Huoyue told me to come see if you’re doing alright. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come. The people outside were so scary—they reached out trying to grab me.”

His large eyes shimmered with tears, looking so sorrowful that it seemed he might break down at any moment.

Shangguan Ning guessed this must be one of the other wrongfully accused prisoners in the prison. After all, this was a matriarchal nation, and the prison was damp and dark, filled with heavy resentment. It was understandable that Shangguan Ning was afraid. Yun Qian’ge rubbed her forehead in frustration. “Of course I’m fine. In this world, money makes things easier. Look, I slipped some antiques and paintings to the prison chief. Now life is so much more comfortable. Huoyue, don’t let Shangguan Ning come to places like this again. Besides, you know his condition.” Yun Qian’ge tapped her own head, hinting to Huoyue that since her master was already mad, he shouldn’t be dragged around everywhere.

Huoyue, standing silently nearby, twitched the corner of his mouth. Wasn’t it the master who wanted to come watch the spectacle? What did it have to do with him?

The man’s beautiful eyes flickered, and the fingers hidden in his sleeve suddenly clenched tightly. Hah, she even knew about bribery? The useless, incompetent princess was increasingly full of surprises…