"Have you taken the medicine I gave you?"
Ye Zhinan took out another ointment and pasted it on the other person's back through the prison door. As soon as her hand touched the back, she felt a chill.
"Those people are really cruel!"
Looking at the deep, bone - visible wound on Sister Hong's back, Ye Zhinan's eyes turned red.
"I'm fine. I'm used to it. I'll go and tell the county magistrate that I did everything. That way, I can keep you safe!"
Ye Zhinan frowned slightly, and her eyes flickered. "You still don't understand. They're after me. Even if you sacrifice your life, it won't help. Instead, it's better to let you out. Besides, I'm already in here. Don't even think about getting me out. If you want to repay me, just get out safely and take good care of my parents for me!"
After saying that, Ye Zhinan didn't argue with her anymore. She lay down on the grass and closed her eyes.
This straw mat is so hard!
She had a sleepless night.
The news that Ye Zhinan was imprisoned quickly spread in the village. Ye Shenyan and Han Xiangmei were so worried that they didn't sleep all night.
Early in the morning, Ye Shenyan leaned on his crutch and went to find the prefect.
However, the gate of the prefect's yamen was tightly closed. He waited for a whole day. Apart from the gate guards coming out twice to check, he didn't see anyone else.
How cold - hearted the world is!
Ye Shenyan returned home empty - handed. Han Xiangmei was standing at the door, looking longingly into the distance.
"Did you find the prefect?"
Ye Shenyan shook his head. His aged body seemed even more burdened, and he seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.
"I'll go and find Inspector Qin!"
"Stop!"
Han Xiangmei was startled by Ye Shenyan's roar. The foot she had just taken out immediately retracted.
"He's not here."
After a long while, Ye Shenyan said hoarsely, "Since this matter is targeted at the Ye family, we should solve it. Tomorrow, I'll go and find the county magistrate."
Han Xiangmei was stunned. "My lord, you..."
Before she could finish her sentence, her body couldn't bear it anymore and she fell down.
Ye Yingfeng quickly supported his mother. "I'll go. How can I let father suffer!"
"It's already decided. Since this matter started because of me, it should end with me."
"None of you need to go!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded, and a slender shadow appeared in front of everyone.
While the people outside were in great anxiety, Ye Zhinan was lying leisurely on the grass in the county prison. She was weaving a straw man with her hands and chewing on a straw rope. She watched as Sister Hong was released without charge.
After Sister Hong left, the cell became really cold and quiet, but it was also more convenient for Ye Zhinan to enter and exit her space.
The prison guards would deliver meals regularly. She just had to avoid the time when the guards came and then enter the space.
She took out some ready - made marinated ducks, grilled fish, etc. from the space to satisfy her craving. She also took out a few books and read them until a noisy sound came. There was a familiar figure standing outside the prison door.
"My dear niece, you've suffered!"
"Prefect?!"
Ye Zhinan had thought many people would come to see her, but she never expected the prefect.
"Has your honor found out the truth and come to release me?"
The prefect paused for a moment. His thick eyebrows sank slightly without being noticed. Then he looked at her with pity in his eyes and said, "Yes, I'm here to release you. But you still need to sign this document!"
With that, a densely - written confession paper was stuffed into the cell.
Ye Zhinan took a glance at it. Her eyes instantly lost their luster, and she looked at the prefect hesitantly.
"Is this a confession?"
"Your case has both witnesses and evidence. Only by confessing can I plead with my superior for mercy."
The prefect's voice was cold and heartless, completely different from his previous appearance.
Ye Zhinan understood.
No matter how powerful the Wei family was, they couldn't cover the sky. In this remote place in the northern border, everything depended on the local officials.
The prefect was really good at playing the role of a pig to eat the tiger!
"What? Can't I guarantee the safety of your family?"
The prefect pressed on step by step. What he meant was that Ye Zhinan had to die, whether she wanted to or not. It was just a matter of whether one person died or the whole family died.
Ye Zhinan snorted and threw away the confession paper.
"Who is your superior?"
The prefect was stunned for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed.
"My dear niece is really naive! How can I answer this question?!"
"Just tell the truth. What, have you told so many lies that you don't know how to tell the truth anymore?"
The prefect's face darkened. His turbid eyes were instantly covered with a layer of cruelty.
"Sign quickly, or you'll suffer physically."
"Humph!"
Ye Zhinan turned around and sat down facing the wall, ignoring him.
The prefect widened his eyes and angrily winked at the yamen runners behind him.
Instantly, two yamen runners rushed into the cell, dragged Ye Zhinan up, and carried her to the interrogation room.
There were tables, stools, branding irons, whips, rattan canes, etc. inside, just like what was shown on TV.
No wonder people say that those who are not good at their jobs have a lot of tools. It's the same both in ancient and modern times.
While Ye Zhinan was thinking, she had already been tied to a wooden frame. The prefect was sitting in front of her, and two yamen runners were standing on each side, holding rattan canes in their hands.
"For the sake of my friendship with Minister Ye, I'll ask you one more time. Will you sign?"
"Just start hitting. It's said that villains die because they talk too much. If you don't hit soon, you won't have a chance."
"You..."
The prefect was so angry that his eyebrows stood on end and the veins on his neck bulged. He waved his hand, and the yamen runner beside him swung the whip and whipped Ye Zhinan hard.
There were crackling sounds. The whip landed, and her clothes were torn. The whip was instantly stained with bright blood.
Looking at Ye Zhinan again, her skin was lacerated. She let out a dry heave, spat out fresh blood, and fainted.
"She can't even take a beating. Go and hold her hand to sign!"
With that, a yamen runner threw away the whip in his hand, grabbed Ye Zhinan's finger, dipped it in the blood flowing from her mouth, and pressed it hard on the confession paper.
The next day, a notice was posted. Ye Zhinan was convicted of colluding with other countries and was sentenced to be beheaded after the autumn. The Ye family was exempted from the death penalty because Ye Yingfeng had reported the crime meritoriously.
When Han Xiangmei heard this news, she fainted on the spot and fell ill.
Liu Ruonan and Lu Yanlai came to take care of her. Even Ye Yingfeng was so anxious that his hair turned white overnight.
Sister Hong didn't dare to visit the Ye family after she was released from prison. When she heard that Han Xiangmei was seriously ill, she came with full of guilt.
As soon as she arrived at the Ye family, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for forgiveness.
Ye Shenyan leaned on his crutch and walked unsteadily. At first glance, the wrinkles on his face were even deeper.
He called her to get up in a hoarse voice.
Sister Hong refused, but was finally helped up by Ye Yingfeng.
"If I hadn't been framed and caught red - handed back then, I wouldn't have harmed Miss Ye."
"Can you tell me what happened that day?"
Ye Shenyan drooped his eyelids, as if his eyes were bearing a heavy burden. But his voice was still powerful. Sister Hong couldn't help but feel that there was still hope for Ye Zhinan, so she told him everything that had happened that day.
"I see. I should have thought of him earlier."
"Him? Father means..."
Ye Shenyan's eyes flashed. A cold light instantly flashed through his kind eyes.