Xia Chuli slowly opened his eyes in the darkness. His feet and hands were bound by iron chains respectively and shackled together. As long as he moved a little, he could hear the clanking sound of the cold iron colliding, which sounded particularly eerie in this dark and damp cell.
Although he was the crown prince and the case hadn't been officially settled yet, those from the Ministry of Justice didn't seem willing to give him any privileges. He realized this when he was roughly thrown onto the cell floor by two men.
The cell floor was covered with stinking moss and dried bloodstains. There were also filth like feces and urine left in the corner.
Before he could sit up straight, the jailer behind him sneered contemptuously and then slammed the cell door shut.
Although he was out of favor, he had at least lived in the palace since childhood and had never been in such a gloomy and stinking place. After feeling nauseous in his stomach and retching countless times, he finally sat in a relatively dry and clean corner, wrapped his prison clothes tightly around him, curled up, and shivered in the cold cell.
The sky darkened. It was still the end of winter in Lige. The night wind was still cold. The north wind blew in through the skylight of the cell, mercilessly taking away the little warmth he had managed to get by wrapping himself tightly.
It was so cold.
Xia Chuli's teeth chattered, and his mind was in a complete mess. Shen Qingfeng's face flashed through his mind. He knew that Shen Qingfeng was trying to save him, but what did they have? Nothing! The old men in the Prime Minister's Mansion had long annoyed the king. They couldn't shake the king's decision at all.
He cupped his hands in front of his mouth and blew gently. The cold made him a bit dazed. Maybe his body's craving for warmth made him keep thinking of the years he and Shen Qingfeng had spent in the cold palace when they were young.
It seemed to be such a cold winter back then. They hadn't moved to the Eastern Palace yet. There wasn't even a maid in the cold palace. Shen Qingfeng and he could only huddle in an old cotton-padded quilt, listening to the howling wind outside and counting the time until the sun rose.
Although it was cold then, Shen Qingfeng was with him. Looking back now, he couldn't remember the howling north wind at all. All he could remember was the warmth of Shen Qingfeng's breath and the heat of the two young boys clinging to each other for warmth.
Shen Qingfeng had a cold constitution and basically spent the winter coughing. He often coughed so hard that his lungs ached. So Xia Chuli went to beg Queen Qi for that black bear fur robe. In front of Xia Yonglin and Xia Yanhe, he showed all kinds of flattering looks. At that time, he didn't care about anything because he only had one goal then, which was to survive.
Survive, such a humble and ridiculous thought, but it had become his simplest and most difficult wish at that time.
He couldn't remember how long they had persevered together during that period. It was not until later that Shen Shiqiu accidentally learned about Shen Qingfeng's miserable situation. Shen Shiqiu, who had always thought that Shen Qingfeng was living well in the palace, got really angry. He rallied the whole Prime Minister's Mansion to go to the Shanhe Hall to demand an explanation. Only then were he and Shen Qingfeng able to move to the Eastern Palace.
However, at that time, Shen Qingfeng had a very bad relationship with the Shen family. Shen Qingfeng accompanied him all the time and wouldn't even mention the names of Shen Yu and Shen Shiqiu.
But now...
Xia Chuli buried his head in his arms.
When did they start to have less contact?
Right, it was because of Qi Mengmeng. After that, Shen Qingfeng changed. He no longer paid attention to Xia Chuli, no longer lived in the Eastern Palace, no longer got close to him, and even... fell in love with Lu Yan.
Something in his heart was slowly changing.
It was like the frozen soil could no longer hold back the raging lava inside. Xia Chuli suddenly felt that what he used to think he could touch just by reaching out his hand was now slipping away bit by bit even if he tried hard to hold on to it.
Shen Qingfeng, this name had been engraved into his soul like a habit, but at this moment, it was being dug out bit by bit with a knife, along with his blood and flesh.
He couldn't get used to Shen Qingfeng leaving him, and he couldn't accept that Shen Qingfeng had fallen in love with Lu Yan.
A wicked thought welled up in his mind and swept through his entire consciousness before he even realized it.
He was too weak. He couldn't hold on to anything, couldn't keep anything.
Xia Chuli looked down at his dirty hands. The cold iron chains on his wrists were extremely eye-catching and cold.
And that damned Xia Yonglin, Qi Yan, Qi Shuhuan... So many people were trying all kinds of tricks to make him die.
He couldn't die!!
Xia Chuli's eyes seemed to be filled with blood, as if he had broken through the shackles of hell. He gritted his teeth, making a clicking sound like a dangerous growl from the depths of darkness.
If he wanted to survive, he had to break through the layers of shackles the Qi family had painstakingly put on him.
Suddenly, the scene in front of him changed. He seemed to have returned to a late night many years ago. He was kneeling in the mourning hall, looking helplessly at his mother's pale face in the coffin. She had suddenly lost her life. In the huge hall, he was the only one kneeling. He kowtowed countless times. As a young child, he thought that this could move the gods and make them tell him why his mother had died for no reason.
But where were the gods?
The gods had long been blind and couldn't see anything.
There were many places in this world abandoned by the gods, and the Bian Palace was one of them.
Suddenly, his mother's face in the coffin began to change. Slowly, it turned into Shen Qingfeng's equally pale and lifeless face.
Xia Chuli's heart skipped a beat. He let out a shrill scream, grabbed his hair with both hands in a panic, and tugged at it frantically.
He didn't want this! He wanted to change! To change! Where was the way out? Where?
He looked around blankly, but all he could see were the black, mossy earthen walls.
As a deposed crown prince without power or influence, he couldn't think of any way for a moment.
—Kill them.
Xia Chuli suddenly stopped his actions.
This voice seemed to come from nowhere, but it suddenly rang out clearly in his mind.
He stood there blankly, his eyes empty, staring blankly at the earthen wall in front of him, as if he was carefully pondering this sentence.
Just then, there was the sound of chains clanking at the door. Several jailers kicked the door open and then, amidst Xia Chuli's questions and struggles, they quickly put a wooden cangue on him and dragged him out. They dragged him all the way to the interrogation hall of the Ministry of Justice.
Above the interrogation hall, the eight characters "Upright and honest, abide by the law and etiquette" were extremely eye-catching and ironic.
It was midnight. Xia Chuli wasn't surprised but was very flustered.
He wasn't surprised because the Ministry of Justice wouldn't conduct an interrogation at midnight for no reason. Most likely, they were going to extort a confession. Given Xia Yonglin's character, he had already guessed this. He was flustered because he didn't expect that even after Shen Qingfeng had sent someone to tell him that they had managed to get the case transferred to the Discipline Department, Xia Yonglin still dared to have someone torture him!
Several people dragged Xia Chuli directly to the center of the hall. Xia Chuli stared fiercely at Gu Mingde sitting on the high seat. He stood upright and didn't move.
Gu Mingde felt uncomfortable under Xia Chuli's stare. He shivered and, as if to embolden himself, slapped the table and shouted, "Crown prince, you are now a prisoner. Why don't you kneel down!"
Xia Chuli snorted contemptuously and said, "The case hasn't been judged yet. How can I be a prisoner? I'm the true dragon crown prince. Do you want me to kneel to you? Aren't you afraid of shortening your lifespan!"