Several people spread out, searching room by room.
The maximum-security cells were mostly empty, as the Ye family members were confined in the outer cells.
Suddenly, a cough echoed. Liu Xing, from across the way, quickly called out, "Quick, someone's here!"
Murong Chong flickered and rushed over. Yun Xiao's hands tightened together in nervousness. She didn't know what had happened to her once noble and heroic father and could barely bear to look at him, yet she had to.
Through the dim light, several people stood outside the cell door.
Indistinctly visible inside the cell was a person wearing a white prison uniform, sitting upright. Even as a prisoner, he retained the toughness and resilience of a soldier.
Although his hair was disheveled, his face dirty, and his clothes in disarray with whip marks, his hands and feet were shackled with iron chains.
Yet, his posture of standing proudly in the cell showed no fear or timidity. On the contrary, his spine was straight, and his face was full of righteous indignation.
Who could this person be but Prince Yun?
After coughing, he slightly closed his eyes as if resting, paying no mind to the sounds outside the cell. Only when Yun Xiao gripped the cell door and softly called, "Father?" did the person inside the cell suddenly open his eyes. His dark pupils shot out a piercing gaze, fixing on the people outside the door.
Yun Mo stood up from the cell. Despite his disheveled appearance, his proud spirit could not be diminished. His thick eyebrows arched, and his dark pupils were sharp.
Unable to see the people in front of the door clearly due to the reflection, he narrowed his eyes. His tall, sturdy body, with the build of a tiger and ape, moved forward a few steps.
As he moved, the iron chains clanked. Yun Xiao could only watch, tears welling up in her eyes, but she forced herself to hold them back, not wanting her father to see her sadness.
"Father."
"Xiao'er."
Yun Mo finally saw the people in front of the cell door. It was his beloved daughter, Xiao'er. Through the iron bars, the chains rattled.
It was heartbreaking to see, but Yun Mo took it in stride. He clasped Yun Xiao's cool, pale, and delicate hand and said reproachfully,
"Xiao'er, hurry and leave. Are you mad? Is this a place for you to come? Never come here again. If you take care of yourself, Father will be happy."
"Father."
A choked sob, so much affection, all unspoken. In the dimly lit cell, tear-like glints shone, like sparkling crystal beads, sliding down her cheeks and falling into the dust.
"It's alright. This is something Father must do. Xiao'er, don't be sad. Get along well with your brother from now on."
This was his only wish. With Yun Zhen protecting Xiao'er, he had no further worries. He only hoped that his imprisonment would not bring disaster to anyone in the Yun family.
"Father, wait for me. We will rescue you."
Yun Xiao took a deep breath, controlling her emotions. Her clear eyes were as sharp and cold as moonlight piercing a canyon. In the dim yellow light, her face was exceptionally striking. A slight curve of her lips produced words that resonated powerfully.
Yun Mo was greatly alarmed. He tightly gripped Yun Xiao's hand and said in a deep voice, commanding, "Xiao'er, you are mad. This is not an easy task. Moreover, Father is a prince of Dong Qin. If the sovereign wants his minister to die, the minister must die."
In the darkness, his voice was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.
There was a deathly silence. No one expected Yun Mo to be unwilling to leave. Startled back to reality, they recalled that he was still an old general of the battlefield, a minister heavily relied upon by the late emperor. Even in death, he would likely not beg for survival.
The torches on the wall leaped and crackled, their fiery sounds echoing in the prison.
Broken points of light fell on everyone's faces. The group was stunned, unsure how to react. Even Yun Xiao had not expected her father to be determined to die.
Furthermore, even in death, he was protecting those who wanted him gone, even blocking the news of his capture.
"Since ancient times, who has not faced death? A loyal heart shines through history."
He was a powerful minister, a loyal minister, but he had placed his trust in the wrong person. Like a river flowing into the sea, his efforts were lost in the vastness, utterly meaningless. Yun Xiao suddenly felt a pang of pity.
If her father knew that the person he had always protected and cherished was merely a treacherous villain, how heartbroken he would be.
Everyone fell silent. Time was passing, and if they didn't speak soon, there would be no time left. But if Prince Yun did not leave, what would be the use of them breaking him out?
A person suddenly approached. His wide sleeves flashed like flowing light, and a faint, alluring fragrance wafted. A burning, cold light fixed intently on Yun Mo.
Under the flickering firelight, a pale, jade-like hand reached into the cell. Everyone watched, puzzled, at the distinct, perfectly beautiful hand.
The hand slowly opened, revealing something in its palm: a dragon jade.
Moist and smooth like the finest cream, it emitted a faint azure ripple in the dim prison.
Yun Xiao, who was closest, instantly understood Murong's intention. Perhaps her father had seen this before, so...?
She quickly looked up. In the cell, her father's weathered face showed disbelief in his dark, profound eyes. He reached out a hand, taking the dragon jade, his expression a mixture of doubt and fear.
In the flash of a moment, his face had cycled through countless expressions. Finally, he spoke heavily, "Who are you?"
His voice was hesitant and somber, like an elder stumbling through mist, lost behind layers of curtains with no end in sight.
"Yun Mo, you are not yet qualified to die. If you still remember your promise to the late emperor on the day of the Orchid Pavilion gathering, you should atone for your mistakes instead of clinging to the idea that if the sovereign wants his minister to die, the minister must die. Where is your sovereign? Who bestowed upon you the title of minister?"
This piercing, cold remark struck Yun Mo like a thunderclap. His body swayed, and the dragon jade in his hand slipped. A faint light, a shadowy, flowing sleeve.
A hand caught the dragon jade. He looked up at the person behind the iron bars, his face now etched with fear, his countenance ashen.
The Orchid Pavilion gathering was a secret between him and the late emperor.
In the Orchid Pavilion, the late emperor, holding him with one hand and the young crown prince with the other, placed the crown prince's hand into his own, smiling as he spoke.
"Yun Mo, I personally entrust the crown prince to you. I ask you to always stand behind him and give him strong support. This is the Shangguan family's dragon jade, the crown prince's personal item. Seeing the dragon jade is like seeing me."
The past events flashed vividly in his mind, the late emperor's admonitions echoing in his ears.
"Yun Mo, seeing the dragon jade is like seeing me."
The appearance of the dragon jade. Could it be that the person wearing the mask before him was the crown prince? Then...
Yun Mo collapsed to the ground in an instant. The imprisonment had not broken him, but the truth of the situation struck him to his core. He knelt with a thud and spoke loudly, "This guilty minister deserves death."
"Yun Mo, rise. If you truly remember what you said to the late emperor in the Orchid Pavilion, then you will know what to do."
Murong Chong's sharp gaze flashed with icy coldness, captivating the heart. Yun Mo uttered no further protest and said in a deep voice, "Your subject knows what to do."