Chapter 266: Imprisonment
The ancestral business was destroyed in her hands. Listening to the occasional cough coming from the cell opposite, the old lady in prison clothes and shackles looked pale and her heart tightened. She was old and it would be fine if she died, but the Xiao family had only this one legitimate grandson. It seemed that God really wanted to destroy her Xiao family.
Prince Yan would suppress the Xiao family, and the old lady had made sufficient preparations, but she never dreamed that she would be demoted and her property confiscated!
That day, Xiao Jun and Xiao Yun told her and the eldest master that Meng Xi was the God of Medicine. The old lady was shocked and regretted it so much that she wanted to divorce Meng Xi again and again in the past two years because of the ancestral teachings. She even ignored the eldest wife's harsh treatment of her, which chilled Meng Xi's heart...
Although Mengxi is guilty of deceiving the emperor, as long as she relieves the plague in the south, she will be the first meritorious service. Not only the crime of deceiving the emperor, but even the crime of the second master can be exempted. Originally, he wanted to find a political backer, but now he finds that Mengxi is not only the amulet of the Xiao family, but also the backer of the Xiao family, the real amulet of the Xiao family.
Once Mengxi is brought back, Yichuntang will become the Xiao family's power. What will the Xiao family be afraid of then?
According to the old lady's judgment, even if Mengxi's identity was leaked, Emperor Jin would not punish the God of Medicine in a time of national crisis. What's more, it was just a little maid who delivered porridge who overheard it. How could she be so bold as to leak the matter? Even if we make the worst plan and it is really leaked, Mengxi cannot be caught. As long as the Xiao family refuses to admit it during the trial, with the prince's mediation and the threat of plague in the south, Prince Yan can do nothing.
So even though Xiao Jun was worried, the old lady was still very calm. After discussing with the eldest master, she agreed to Xiao Jun's arrangement and asked Xiao Qing and Xiao Yun to go south overnight. The young ladies were secretly sent out of the Xiao Mansion, and Xiao Jun stayed behind for the time being. For no other reason, the old lady was absolutely unwilling to let the prince go south alone with her family's amulet. Xiao Jun must go with the prince.
Xiao Jun was turned away at Yichun Hall and failed to contact the prince. The old lady didn't care. As long as the prince didn't leave, there was nothing to be afraid of. She comforted Xiao Jun and told him not to worry and to try again tomorrow...
In theory, the old lady's judgment was correct, but that was for ordinary people. In this extraordinary period, she encountered a King of Yan who would do anything to achieve his goals, a cruel and hysterical King of Yan. It was destined that she miscalculated.
Overnight, the Xiao family, which had been passed down for a hundred years, was uprooted , and the Da Qi family, which had stood for a hundred years, collapsed in an instant.
The eldest grandmother was fine, squatting in the corner, still trembling, but she had calmed down and prayed silently that the master and his daughters would be safe. The eldest wife, however, had gone a little crazy, lying on the straw in the cell, her face ashen, and kept muttering, how could this happen, how could this happen...
Looking at the eldest wife's expression, the old lady shook her head. The Xiao family was really ruined by her. It was not that she could not tolerate Xi'er and treated her harshly. I'm afraid that Xi'er would not be disappointed, nor would she commit the crime of deceiving the emperor in order to conceal her identity. The second master's family was convicted because of the good deeds of her sister from her natal family...
Just as I was thinking about it, I saw the prison boss walking in along the corridor with an iron rod in one hand and a bunch of keys in the other, shouting as he walked:
"Xiao Jun! Xiao Jun! Princess Yan is here to see you..."
As they were talking, the jailer had already arrived at the door of Xiao Jun and the master's cell. Seeing that Xiao Jun seemed not to have heard anything and was still sitting on the haystack, he unconsciously raised his voice and said:
"How dare you! Death row prisoner Xiao Jun, the Princess of Yan is here, why don't you come over and kowtow!"
"Prisoner Sun, stop shouting and open the door."
"My Lady Princess, it's dirty and smelly inside. Please wait here while I call him over."
The jailer finished speaking and was about to shout again when he heard someone in the cell behind him shout:
"Xiu'er, Xiu'er, it's really you. Now that you're here, I knew you would come to save us..."
The Princess of Yan and the jailer turned their heads at the same time. It turned out that the eldest wife saw Xiu'er, the concubine of the Prince of Yan, coming. She crawled over like crazy and lay on the iron railings, shouting incoherently. When she saw Xiu'er looking at her, she said:
"Xiu'er is here. She is still very loyal and considerate. She came to see us because she cares about her aunt. Xiu'er is now the Princess of Yan. Go and beg the King of Yan. Our Xiao family is wronged. Jun'er divorced Mengxi a long time ago. Mengxi is no longer a member of the Xiao family. The crime of deceiving the emperor that she committed has nothing to do with the Xiao family. She is the one who should be cut into pieces. It is she who harmed our Xiao family. Xiu'er begs the King of Yan to release the entire Xiao family and go and capture that vixen!"
After patiently waiting for the first wife to finish her endless chatter, Xiu'er turned around and said to her word by word in a very gentle manner:
"They say that old ginger is the wisest. Auntie, I never thought that you are so old, with wrinkles all over your forehead, but you are still so naive! How could the Xiao family be wronged? When Mengxi violated the imperial decree, she was still the daughter-in-law of the Xiao family. Do you think that if you divorce her, the Xiao family will be exempted!"
After Xiu'er finished speaking, she turned around and stopped looking at her, and said sternly to the prison boss:
"Open the cell door!"
The jailer shuddered and hurriedly opened Xiao Jun's cell door. Xiu'er walked in slowly with steady steps.
"Xiu'er! Xiu'er! Considering that your aunt has treated you like her own daughter over the years, go and beg your father, beg King Yan, our Xiao family is wronged..."
"Shut up, crazy woman! If you scream again, I'll cut off your tongue!"
Seeing Xiu'er left without mercy, the eldest wife shouted desperately like a drowning person grabbing a straw. Seeing the impatience on the face of the princess, the jailer hit her twice with an iron rod and shouted. The frightened eldest wife quickly shut her mouth, but her hands were still tightly holding the iron railings, staring at Xiu'er closely.
The old lady, supported by the grandmother, also walked over tremblingly, leaned on the iron railing and looked at the opposite side.
When Xiu'er entered the cell, she saw Xiao Jun, who was wearing prison uniform and with bruises all over his cheeks. He sat there arrogantly. Although he looked haggard, there was still a kind of arrogance and unyielding spirit in his bones. When he saw Xiu'er coming, he looked up at her coldly.
When Xiu'er saw him, her heart tightened and she decided to forget this person. But once she faced him, even though he was so miserable, her heart still beat fast.
When the master saw her come in, he said:
"Xiu'er is here."
After glancing at the master, Xiu'er said nothing, only looking at her cousin. Seeing this, Xiao Jun opened his mouth and said:
"The princess is here. Please forgive me for having torture instruments on me and not being able to greet her."
After hearing her cousin's distant words, Xiu'er's eyes flashed with resentment, and then she said lightly:
"Cousin, I didn't expect that you would have this day!"
Seeing that her cousin was silent, Xiuer continued:
"Cousin, do you regret what you said? If so, just kneel down and beg me to take back what you said. I will ask the King of Yan to spare your life, and you can live happily ever after."
Before Xiao Jun could speak, the eldest wife shouted from the opposite side:
"Jun'er, tell me now, you've already regretted it, you like Xiu'er..."
"Ding! Ding! Ding!..."
The jailer raised the iron rod and hit the railing a few times. The eldest wife shut up and looked nervously across, fearing that her willful son would speak without restraint and annoy Xiu'er, thus losing the only chance of survival. Her Jun'er must live!
The cell fell silent, and Xiao Jun said:
"My Lady Princess, I will only love her throughout my life, without any regrets."
"you……"
Xiao Jun spoke in a calm tone, and when he mentioned the word "she", there was an infinite tenderness in his eyes, and Xiu'er's face flushed instantly. After saying the word "you", she couldn't say anything else. After a long while, she finally breathed and said through gritted teeth:
"Cousin, do you know why I want to marry King Yan?"
Seeing Xiao Jun shaking his head, Xiu'er continued:
"Cousin, the reason why I married King Yan is because King Yan promised me to help me destroy the Xiao family!"
After hearing Xiu'er's words, everyone in the prison was shocked, especially the eldest wife, whose eyes were as big as copper bells, looking at Xiu'er in disbelief.
I only heard Xiao Jun say lightly:
"My princess, you are wrong. The Xiao family supports the prince. Even if you don't marry the prince of Yan, he will still destroy the Xiao family. He just doesn't have the chance. The prince of Yan is just using your relationship with the Xiao family. My princess, you are just a pawn in the hands of the prince of Yan. Sooner or later, you will be abandoned."
Xiu'er's eyebrows raised, then her expression softened and she said softly:
"Cousin, you have betrayed me. This is the retribution your Xiao family deserves! Do you know why the second master and his entire family were convicted?"
Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Xiuer smiled slightly and said slowly:
"I gave Bing Xin to Xiao Nian, who was beside the eldest master. In order to please Bing Xin, Xiao Nian stole the secret letter from the eldest master's study. That's how my father got evidence of the second master's crime..."
"You vicious woman! My Xiao family treated you well, but I never thought you would turn kindness into hatred. I, Xiao Chen, was blind to make friends with your Zhang family. You are a family worse than pigs and dogs!"
The veins on the master's forehead bulged, the muscles on his cheeks trembled, and he pointed at Xiu'er and cursed. Xiao Jun hurriedly supported his father, patting his back and saying:
"Father, don't get excited. It's not worth getting angry with a woman like this. It will only hurt your health."
"Cousin, do you know why you are here? Ha! Ha... You didn't expect it, did you? Originally, Prince Yan and I just wanted to convict the Second Master first, and then slowly squeeze out the Xiao family's assets. Unexpectedly, this time, even God is helping me..."
Ignoring the master's scolding, Xiu'er looked at Xiao Jun with dark red eyes, revealing a sense of pleasure and madness after revenge , and began to speak slowly.
It turned out that Xiu'er had bribed many people in the Xiao family's courtyards over the years, including Concubine Cui. In order to take revenge on Xiao Jun, before she got married, she sent someone to find Concubine Cui, who was originally a servant of the Xiao family. Xiu'er asked Concubine Cui to find an opportunity to go to Xiao Jun's study and steal some documents and letters related to the Xiao family's business, saying that the King of Yan wanted to take her in as his wife, and promised her property and free her family from slavery.
The happiest time in Aunt Cui's life was the seven days when she was a concubine. After that, she tried every trick in the book, but Xiao Jun never looked at her again. Gradually, love turned into hate, and she hesitated in the face of Xiu'er's temptation. Finally, she was intimidated by the power of the Xiao family and did not dare to act rashly, but she did not report Xiu'er either.
That day, Xiao Yun went to the study to find Xiao Jun and sent them away. Seeing the serious expression of the Third Master, Aunt Cui had an idea. After she went back, she came back with a bowl of porridge. Coincidentally, the gatekeepers were all in the room and did not notice that she had come back, so they told the Second Master that no one was entering or leaving the second door. Xiao Jun then thought that it was the maid from Xiao Xiangyuan who brought the porridge, and did not think about her.
Cui Ping just wanted to hear what big thing happened in the Xiao family that made the Second Master divorce the Second Wife. She never expected to learn the secret that the Second Wife was the God of Medicine by accident. She also heard that the Second Master had a terminal illness. She was so shocked that she broke the porridge bowl. Without time to clean up the bowl, she ran to hide in the ear room next to the east wing.
Later, Aunt Cui returned to the Begonia Garden. She was shocked, thinking that the Second Master had a terminal illness. Once he died, she would have to spend the rest of her life in Qingxin Temple without having any children. She also thought of his ruthlessness, so she gritted her teeth and directly instructed Si'er to pass the news to Miss Xiu.
After all, being the wife of Prince Yan is more tempting than facing the ancient Buddha with green lamps!
