Chapter 338
Chapter 338
Ning Yan started to run toward Yun Mengze. She had intended to throw herself right into his arms, but for some reason, she stopped just before she reached him. It felt as if throwing herself into his embrace would be an improper act.
‘Strange. Did I ever need to preserve my virtue for anyone?’
Yun Mengze carefully reached out and placed a hand gently on Ning Yan’s head.
“Grand Princess Ning Jue wouldn't help you? It must have been difficult.”
Tears streamed down Ning Yan’s face as she spoke.
“Brother, no one cares about me. I can’t do anything. I won’t be able to save Shen Lang.”
“We’re all useless. I realized that a long time ago. Have you only just figured it out? But isn’t it better to be a fool? When you see the world for what it truly is, of course it’s painful.”
“Then what are we supposed to do now?”
“You were going to storm the prison, weren’t you? Then I, your brother, will go with you to raid the Supreme Court prison.”
“There are too few of us. We won’t even be able to get in.”
“We just need to cause a big enough scene.”
“Alright, let’s go storm the prison right now.”
Princess Ning Yan then turned her horse around and shouted.
“Everyone, listen up! Follow me! We’re going to storm the Supreme Court prison!”
The imperial envoy, Yun Mengze, and the scourge of the capital, Princess Ning Yan, led a hundred or so able-bodied female warriors toward the Supreme Court prison. And so, they rushed off to storm the prison.
‘I, Ning Yan, may be useless and a laughingstock, but I am no coward. Shen Lang, even if I can’t save you in the end, I will risk my life and give it my all to try!’
* * *
Su Nan’s younger sister, Consort Xiao, was a peerless beauty. Though she was already over forty, she looked no older than a woman in her early thirties. As she looked at the Sixth Prince Ning Jing, who was massaging her shoulders, her face was gentle and affectionate. However, when she turned to see Ning Zheng kneeling before her, she frowned in distaste. This ominous son had nearly brought great disaster upon her. Setting aside his short and stout build, his dark skin and the birthmark on his lower jaw were particularly displeasing to the eye. On top of that, he stuttered.
The moment Ning Zheng was born, a meteor had fallen, not only crushing dozens of people to death but also burning down hundreds of homes. He was nearly drowned at birth, but her elder sister, Su Peipei, had intervened, admonishing that “even a tiger will not eat its own cub.” Those words saved the ill-fated Ning Zheng but angered the King. Because of this, from his infancy until now, Consort Xiao had never raised Ning Zheng, treating him as if he had never been born.
Consort Xiao said coldly, “Shen Lang, that wretched bastard, can just die. Why are you in such a hurry? Ning Zheng, you have never once come to see me, never once set foot in my palace. Are you kneeling before me now, trying to act like a filial son? There’s no need.”
There was no one else here, so she had no need to pretend to have any affection for this son of hers. The Sixth Prince Ning Jing spoke up.
“Ning Zheng, Shen Lang has crossed our Xiao family more than once. Wouldn’t it be better if he died?”
Before Ning Zheng could finish speaking, Consort Xiao immediately clamped a hand over her son’s mouth.
‘How can you say ‘our Xiao family’ here? Ning Jing, you are a son of the King, a Ning, not a Xiao.’
Fortunately, she had already cleared the area, so no one else heard him. Ning Zheng pressed his forehead to the floor and said in a trembling voice.
“Mother Consort, please speak to Marquis Xiao. Tell him that Shen Lang will leave the capital and return to Xuanwu City. Ask him to show mercy for the sake of our kinship.”
Consort Xiao said coldly, “Ning Zheng, I don’t understand what you are saying. Shen Lang brought this upon himself and incurred the King’s wrath. What does the Xiao Clan have to do with any of this?”
The Sixth Prince Ning Jing sneered.
“Ning Zheng, are you siding with an outsider? Marquis Xiao is your maternal uncle, while Shen Lang is nothing but a lowly live-in son-in-law. Who cares if a dog like that dies? You don’t think the Jin Clan would rebel over him, do you? In the past, the Jin Clan cared about Shen Lang because he was useful. Now that they have secured the title of Marquis of Xuanwu, what use is a mere live-in son-in-law, nothing more than a hunting dog? If he dies, you, Ning Zheng, might shed a tear or two, but Jin Mulan will be overjoyed and remarry. It’s not like they ever shared a bed or she got pregnant. Everyone says he's useless in that department. You can’t just let a peerless beauty like Jin Mulan go to waste, can you?”
The Fifth Prince Ning Zheng asked in a trembling voice, “Mother, can you truly not show any mercy?”
Consort Xiao closed her eyes and said, “Get out! Guards, come and throw this unlucky thing out.”
Two warriors entered from outside, dragged Ning Zheng away, and tossed him out. They didn’t just escort him out—they literally threw him out.
* * *
Pushing himself up from the ground, Ning Zheng touched his forehead and found a smear of blood. Even though he had been acting, as Shen Lang had instructed… he couldn’t help but feel utterly indignant.
‘I, Ning Zheng, am truly a useless good-for-nothing.’
Logically, the act was over, and he should leave. But he wasn’t content to just stand by and do nothing. Even a good-for-nothing should at least try his best, shouldn’t he? Soon, he headed for Consort Bian’s palace. It was the first time he would have an audience with the King’s most favored consort.
* * *
Cradling her swollen belly, Consort Bian looked at the Fifth Prince Ning Zheng, who was kneeling on the floor before her. Crippled by his inferiority complex over his stutter, Ning Zheng rarely entered the palace, and he certainly never visited the quarters of the king’s consorts. Moreover, whenever the royal family held events or celebrations, Ning Zheng would voluntarily claim illness and stay home, and the King also treated him as if he didn’t exist. Thus, Consort Bian had rarely had the chance to see the rumored stuttering and ill-omened prince.
“Mother Consort Bian, Shen Lang is a talented man skilled in the art of medicine. I implore you, Mother Consort, to step in and help him.”
Upon hearing this, Consort Bian felt a little displeased.
‘Is he cursing me and my child right now?’
However, she replied in a gentle tone.
“Ning Zheng, you know as well as I do that the women of the inner palace must not meddle in state affairs. If Shen Lang is innocent, His Majesty will surely handle the matter with justice.”
“My Royal Father is not in the capital at present, so someone will surely try to harm Shen Lang in his absence. Shen Lang also has enemies in the Blackwater Terrace, and they will surely use this chance to torture him mercilessly. I implore you, Mother Consort Bian, to say a word. Then the people of the Blackwater Terrace will only interrogate him, not torture him. Shen Lang’s body is frail; he will not be able to withstand harsh torture.”
Consort Bian said gently, “It is a very good thing that the Prince has a compassionate heart. But I cannot step beyond my duties as a consort, so it is difficult for me to intervene.”
“My Aunt Ning Jue served in the Blackwater Terrace for a long time. If she were to intervene, the people there would not dare to torture Shen Lang. If Mother Consort Bian would just say the word, Aunt Ning Jue would surely step in.”
That was certainly true. Consort Bian had Bian Wu behind her and was the King’s most favored consort. If she made a request, Ning Jue would surely grant it. Consort Bian hesitated for a long moment before speaking gently.
“Ning Zheng, I would very much like to help, but it is an age-old rule that the women of the inner palace must not meddle in state affairs.”
Ning Zheng pressed his forehead to the floor until it bled and said, “I have troubled Mother Consort Bian. I, your son Ning Zheng, will take my leave.”
After leaving the royal palace, Ning Zheng felt a chill run through his entire body. He felt as if there was no place for him in this vast capital.
‘Am I, Ning Zheng, truly this useless?’
* * *
Inside the Supreme Court prison.
Shen Lang sat quietly. Thousand-Household Commander Yan Miyi of the Blackwater Terrace stared at Shen Lang with cruel eyes and spoke.
“It wasn't easy, but you've finally fallen into our hands.”
By ‘our’, he didn’t mean the Blackwater Terrace, but the Xue Clan. Twenty years ago, the Xue Clan had betrayed the Earl of Jinyu, bringing a great catastrophe upon the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. More recently, when the Jin Clan was at its most vulnerable, the Xue Clan had come to break off the engagement, humiliating them. When the Hidden Yuan Society came to collect debts, the Xue Clan’s heir, Xue Pan, had also come demanding repayment. The Jin Clan had shown the Xue Clan immense kindness, yet the Xue Clan constantly sought to push the Jin Clan to their deaths.
In terms of shamelessness, the Xue Clan was on par with the Xiao Clan, but since Su Jianting had personally attacked the Count of Xuanwu's Estate and injured Mulan and his mother-in-law, Shen Lang had made the Xiao Clan his first target for annihilation. But now, as the Xiao Clan sought to harm him, a lackey of the Xue Clan had unexpectedly jumped out, unable to restrain himself.
“Shen Lang, do you know how many methods of torture we have in the Blackwater Terrace? Hundreds of them, each one unique. Have you heard of Piercing the Intestines with a rod? The Flaying of the Backside? Shall we try Scooping the Eggs with a Ladle? Or shall I make you like a plucked chicken? Don’t you worry. You crossed our Xue Clan, so I will be sure to let you taste every single torture and make it so you can neither live nor die.”
Yan Miyi continued coldly.
“Criminal Shen Lang, confess now! How did you conspire against Noble Lady He Wanwan, causing her to lose her chastity? By what means did you deceive the sovereign and frame Li Wenzheng for cursing the Crown Prince, thereby instigating factional strife? Hah, you won’t speak? Then don’t blame me for using harsh methods. First, have a taste of this hot iron. I’ll brand that fair face of yours to mark the beginning of the many tortures you will receive today.”
After speaking, Thousand-Household Commander Yan Miyi of the Blackwater Terrace raised a red-hot branding iron. The moment it touched a face, the flesh would burn and sear. The pain would be excruciating, yet to the Blackwater Terrace, this torture was merely an appetizer. Shen Lang spoke to him calmly.
“I will not speak unless I am interrogated by one of His Majesty’s confidants.”
Yan Miyi said quietly, “I don’t want you to speak. I want to use this opportunity to torment you. Taste the hot iron.”
“You should not touch me. If you do, your entire family will be annihilated. Half of them are already dead. Your sister, your brother-in-law, your parents, your wife, your younger brother, and so on. A total of fifteen family members are dead. I believe you have another household, with eight family members in total, do you not? Your concubine, your mistress, and most importantly, your two sons—they are your life, are they not? If you so much as touch a hair on my head, the rest of your family will all die, and you will die too! If you don’t believe me, go home and check right now. One of your two households has been completely wiped out. If my words don’t scare you, then go ahead, lay a finger on me!”
Shen Lang was not mistaken. Not long after Yan Miyi had arrested Shen Lang, a startling clap of thunder had echoed, and lightning had struck the home of this Blackwater Terrace’s Thousand-Household Commander. The neighbors, terrified, had screamed that divine punishment had struck. Believing they were protected by their son’s position in the Blackwater Terrace, Yan Miyi’s family had committed all manner of evil deeds. The fire that spread from the lightning strike did not die down; it became a great blaze that could not be extinguished no matter how much water was thrown on it, and it killed all fifteen members of Yan Miyi’s family.
Hearing Shen Lang’s words, the expression of the Thousand-Household Commander of the Blackwater Terrace changed drastically.
“Shen Lang, do you take me for a three-year-old? Do you think you can openly commit murder here in the capital and bring death upon yourself?”
“Commander Yan, would my people commit murder? My Jin Clan is most scrupulous in observing the laws and rules of the kingdom. Your family continuously committed evil deeds, so lightning struck from the heavens, setting your house on fire, and your entire family burned to death, did they not?”
Yan Miyi said angrily.
“You think I’d believe that? How dare you curse my family to die! You’re courting death!”