That night, in the secret chamber of the prefect's mansion.
Liang Jingzhuo curled up and knelt on the ground, his whole body trembling, with an inexplicable fear welling up in his eyes.
In front of him stood a man in a black robe.
With his hands behind his back, the black brim of his hat covered his entire face.
"Lord Liang, do you know that the master is very angry?"
The voice was shrill, making it hard to tell whether it was male or female.
Liang Jingzhuo's throat tightened. "I was careless in this matter. I've troubled the master to clean up the mess for me. I'm guilty! Please spare my life, master!"
"Alright. The master said that the crown prince is not easy to deceive. Considering that you've served the master for many years, this matter will not be pursued further."
Hearing this, Liang Jingzhuo secretly let out a sigh of relief.
His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he gently wiped the thin sweat on his forehead.
The shrill voice rang out again. "The master also said that if you ruin the master's major event, then your Liang family will disappear from the world."
Liang Jingzhuo's eyes widened slightly, filled with fear.
Kneeling on the ground, he exclaimed, "Please rest assured, master. I will surely do my best to help the master achieve success!"
-
On the other side, outside the dungeon.
After Qin Yuan distracted the guards of the dungeon.
Ruan Jiu and Xie Jingchu sneaked in secretly.
Poor Qin Yuan though, for he would be hunted down again.
"A Jing, look." Ruan Jiu pointed at the rusty iron cage.
Immediately afterwards, the two walked closer together.
The closer they got, the more clearly they could smell the putrid stench in the air.
In the iron cage, the man's wrists and ankles were rubbed raw and bloody by the iron chains.
It made anyone who saw it couldn't help but take a sharp breath.
The man sat in the cage, his messy hair covering most of his face.
"Sir, are you okay?" Ruan Jiu called out softly.
The man hung his head and remained unmoved.
Ruan Jiu continued, "Sir, we're here to rescue you."
Hearing this, the man's neck moved.
He raised his head, his dull eyes staring intently at the two people in front of him.
After a moment, he opened his mouth. His voice was hoarse. "You're not related to me. Why would you rescue me?"
Years of imprisonment had made it impossible for him to trust anyone easily.
Ruan Jiu didn't say a word. She just exchanged a look with Xie Jingchu.
Then Xie Jingchu took out the dagger from his bosom and tried to hack open the chain on the cage.
But after several attempts, the chain remained intact.
The man tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Don't waste your efforts. This is made of black iron. It can't be hacked open."
"Sir, don't be discouraged. We will surely rescue you." Ruan Jiu comforted him.
For some reason, she always had a feeling.
This old sir must be a very important person. Otherwise, Liang Jingzhuo wouldn't have locked him up here for so many years.
As long as they could rescue this person, it might deal a fatal blow to Liang Jingzhuo.
After hearing Ruan Jiu's words, the man sneered.
Discouraged?
He had never thought that he could walk out of this place alive. So where did the so - called discouragement come from?
"You'd better leave. It's too dangerous here."
Out of gratitude for their good intentions, the man reminded them again, "Liang Jingzhuo is a treacherous and cunning man. He has a powerful backer behind him. You're no match for him."
Hearing this, Xie Jingchu stopped what he was doing.
A powerful backer?
This man had been locked up here for so many years. Maybe he didn't know the situation outside.
Immediately, his eyebrows furrowed tightly. "Is his backer Concubine Shu?"
After hearing this, a flash of surprise suddenly crossed the man's calm eyes.
But it quickly subsided. He said coldly, "How can that sycophant Liang Jingzhuo be compared with the noble concubine!"
Xie Jingchu asked suspiciously, "Do you know Concubine Shu?"
The man hung his head and didn't want to say another word.
Seeing this, Xie Jingchu and Ruan Jiu exchanged a look.
Then they suddenly remembered that Concubine Shu had said that she had sent a confidant to Shuozhou to find Liang Jingzhuo.
Could it be this old sir in front of them...
Thinking of this, Xie Jingchu immediately asked, "Are you Concubine Shu's confidant?"
The man suddenly raised his head and looked at the two of them in disbelief.
Seeing the vigilance in the man's eyes, Ruan Jiu understood that he must have some concerns in his heart.
So she quickly said, "Sir, please take a good look at him first."
Ruan Jiu pointed at Xie Jingchu.
If this person was really Concubine Shu's confidant, he must know about the Huo family's affairs back then.
Since Xie Jingchu was of the Huo family's bloodline, his appearance naturally bore some resemblance to General Huo.
Maybe it could make the old sir let down his guard.
Hearing this, the man suddenly stood up. Regardless of the restraint of the iron chains on his body, he tried his best to lean forward.
When he saw clearly what Xie Jingchu looked like, he said excitedly, "You're the general's..."
Xie Jingchu frowned and nodded solemnly.
The man suddenly burst into laughter. As he laughed, tears welled up in his eyes and couldn't stop flowing.
His voice trembled. "God has opened his eyes. God has opened his eyes!"
But Xie Jingchu knew that this wasn't the time to talk about these things. There were still many questions in his mind that hadn't been answered.
"Sir, why were you locked up here by Liang Jingzhuo?"
The man wiped the tears on his face and choked as he slowly told the story of that year.
It turned out that Mu Rongcheng was not only Concubine Shu's confidant but also the deputy general under General Huo. Fortunately, he had stayed in the capital to protect Concubine Shu back then, so he had managed to escape the disaster.
Back then, when General Huo died in battle, Concubine Shu sent him and his younger brother Mu Rongli to Shuozhou to find Liang Jingzhuo, hoping to use the Liang family's power to search for the blood - written petition in Yizhou.
After finally finding the blood - written petition, unexpectedly, Liang Jingzhuo suddenly turned against them. Only then did he know that Liang Jingzhuo had already become a lackey of Gu Kexing.
He fought with all his might to send Mu Rongli and the blood - written petition away. Even so, half of the blood - written petition still fell into Liang Jingzhuo's hands.
Liang Jingzhuo imprisoned him here in order to get the other half.
He told Liang Jingzhuo that the secret letter he had written with his own hand must be delivered to Mu Rongli on the first day of every month. Otherwise, Mu Rongli would make the blood - written petition known to the world.
"Young master, I didn't do this just to live on feebly!"
Xie Jingchu understood.
Back then, the entire Huo family had been massacred. The Mu Rong brothers had no one to rely on. Coupled with Gu Kexing's overwhelming power, how could the two of them be their match?
If they hadn't done this, I'm afraid that not only would the two brothers have lost their lives long ago, but the other half of the blood - written petition would also have fallen into Gu Kexing's hands.
Rather than saying they were living on feebly, it was more like they were biding their time.
"Uncle Mu Rong, Jingchu is deeply grateful to you!" Xie Jingchu bowed respectfully with his hands clasped.
Then he continued to ask, "The Huo family and the Liang family have been on good terms for generations. Liang Jingzhuo and my aunt grew up together as childhood sweethearts. Why did he still defect to Gu Kexing?"
"Precisely because Liang Jingzhuo and the noble concubine grew up as childhood sweethearts. After the noble concubine entered the palace, Liang Jingzhuo became resentful out of love.
Back then, General Huo was trapped in Yizhou, and the military rations from Shuozhou were delayed. At that time, the prefect of Shuozhou was exiled by the emperor's order. Liang Jingzhuo took over the position of the prefect of Shuozhou smoothly.
There might be Liang Jingzhuo's handiwork in this."
Speaking of this, Mu Rongcheng's eyes were filled with hatred.
It turned out that Liang Jingzhuo had already defected to Gu Kexing a long time ago.