Chapter 325: Chapter 325 Visiting the Prison
In the prison cell, General Ningyuan lay on the bed, his prison uniform stained with blood, looking shocking to the eye.
General Ningyuan was on his last breath.
Marquis Dongxiang approached.
"Marquis," the prison guard called out.
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue stared coldly at Marquis Dongxiang, "Is this how the Ministry of Justice conducts interrogations?!"
"Planning to extract a confession through torture?!" he asked sharply.
Marquis Dongxiang raised his hand and said, "Open the cell door."
The prison guard took out the key and opened the door. Marquis Dongxiang looked at the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and said, "Go in."
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue threw a glance implying "you’re sensible" and then stepped inside.
But as soon as he entered, the prison guard locked the cell door.
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue’s expression changed, "What’s the meaning of this?!"
Marquis Dongxiang looked at him, "Fifteen minutes ago, General Ningyuan confessed that you instructed him to kill the Prefect of Wangzhou. If you don’t stay here, do you plan to have a private cell instead?"
General Ningyuan’s mouth was tight-lipped. Even after dozens of lashes, he gritted his teeth and refused to confess.
But everyone has a weakness; General Ningyuan held on because he believed the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Duke Chong would find a way to save him.
Refusing to confess, one day he would be released, still being General Ningyuan. He preferred to die unyielding, expecting to be heavily relied upon.
Once he confessed, there would be no good outcome.
But what if he learned that his persistence only led to more suffering with no purpose?
What if he was merely a pawn abandoned?
So Marquis Dongxiang prevented visits and set up a murder to silence him while attending court.
Starting a fire was part of this act.
First, set a fire to lure the prison guards away, and then have someone come to kill General Ningyuan, only to be interrupted by a servant dressed as a prison guard from the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion dropping a hidden weapon.
The sharp hidden weapon was just a finger’s length away from General Ningyuan’s head, which made a significant impact on him.
Marquis Dongxiang didn’t allow them to visit, fearing he would confess, so they sent someone to set a fire to divert the tiger and kill him to silence him?
What was the point of holding on and not confessing?!
People tend to be impulsive when angry.
Adding fuel to the fire, instigating a few words, and General Ningyuan confessed.
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was trembling with rage when the prison guard remarked, "Lord Vice Minister personally came to the Ministry of Justice, saving the officials the trouble of arresting him."
They were infuriating enough to make one die of anger.
Marquis Dongxiang had other matters to attend to; he would return later for the interrogation.
It was pitiful that the Ningyuan General Mansion and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Mansion were still full of themselves. Marquis Dongxiang was ruthless and overbearing, but in court, it was Duke Chong’s domain where he couldn’t overturn the heavens.
The Madam of the Ningyuan General was at the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Mansion, waiting for the Vice Minister to bring back news.
But waiting and waiting, she ran out of patience.
"Why isn’t he back yet?" the Madam of the Vice Minister worriedly said.
"Quickly send someone to find out!"
A servant went to inquire and returned to report that the Vice Minister had entered the Ministry of Justice Prison and hadn’t come out.
The Madam of the Vice Minister hurried to the Ministry of Justice Prison.
But she wasn’t allowed inside.
"Wasn’t it allowed to visit the prison?!" the Madam of the Vice Minister angrily remarked.
"Lord Vice Minister has already visited," the prison guard replied.
"If we let everyone visit, wouldn’t the Ministry of Justice Prison turn into the West Street Market?"
"So is our master inside or not?" the Madam of the Vice Minister gritted her teeth.
"He is."
"Please call him out for me," the Madam of the Vice Minister said, having her maid present a silver ingot.
"He can’t come out," the prison guard weighed the silver ingot and said.
"What do you mean?"
"Because Lord Vice Minister has also been arrested."
The Madam of the Vice Minister turned pale.
At Fengyang Palace.
Princess Shouning sat at the desk, reading the palace rules over and over.
But those palace rules that rolled off her tongue never reached her mind.
For so many days, she barely memorized three pages of the thick book.
When she memorized the latter part, she forgot the former.
Thinking she could memorize a book of palace rules in half a year was overestimating her.
The Empress hated her iron for not becoming steel. She couldn’t bear to hit her, couldn’t bear to scold her, but she couldn’t bear to lose the Phoenix Seal either.
Within just a few days, Consort Li had used the Phoenix Seal to eliminate several of her trusted aides.
If she truly let Consort Li hold the Phoenix Seal for half a year, it wouldn’t be easy to manage the harem again when she regained it.
Moreover, Princess Shouning might not even memorize the palace rules in half a year.
The Empress Dowager felt that relying on Princess Shouning was tantamount to giving the Phoenix Seal to Consort Li.
But after hearing Princess Shouning recite the palace rules, the palace maids and eunuchs could recite them, yet she couldn’t.
The Empress Dowager was so angry she wished she could hang her up and beat her.
She had no real skills, but her ability to cause trouble was unmatched.
The Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion could cause trouble but also knew how to clean up after herself.
The Empress was supervising Princess Shouning’s memorization of the palace rules.
The eunuch came in and said, "Empress, the Empress Dowager summons you to her place."
Before the Empress could speak, Princess Shouning said, "Mother, you should go quickly; don’t keep the Empress Dowager waiting."
The Empress stood up and said, "Don’t be lazy."
"Mother, I won’t be lazy," Princess Shouning promised.
But as soon as the Empress left, Princess Shouning threw the palace rules aside and stood up.
The last thing she wanted to see in her life was the palace rules!
Inside Yongning Palace.
The Empress Dowager was drinking tea.
The Empress entered and paid her respects to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager looked at her, "How much has Princess Shouning memorized?"
The Empress sighed.
The Empress Dowager’s face was long, and when she put down the teacup, the sound was heavy, making the Empress’s heart jump with fright.
"Find a match for her and let her get married soon," the Empress Dowager said coldly.
"Empress Dowager...,"
The Empress couldn’t bear the thought of her daughter getting married.
The Empress Dowager’s face was stern, "Without memorizing the palace rules, you’ll never get the Phoenix Seal back. Ask yourself, how long will it take Shouning to memorize the palace rules thoroughly?"
The Empress fell silent.
After a long while, the Empress came to terms with it.
"All will be decided by the Empress Dowager," the Empress said.
After speaking, the Empress asked, "Has the Empress Dowager already chosen someone suitable?"
The Empress Dowager indeed had someone in mind, wanting to marry Princess Shouning to Xie Jingchuan, the son of Princess Nanzhang.
Xie Jingchuan and Princess Shouning were cousins, familiar and well-known to each other.
But Princess Shouning had repeatedly stumbled at Su Jin’s hands, and Princess Nanzhang already found it challenging to deal with Su Jin.
Sending another troublemaker to the woman bandit’s very eyes, how could Princess Nanzhang have a good time?
Fengyang Palace.
Princess Shouning was sitting there, eating pastries.
Under the watchful eye of the Empress, she couldn’t eat anything if she couldn’t memorize the palace rules.
Now with the Empress finally sent away by the Empress Dowager, why wouldn’t she seize the moment to enjoy some happiness?
Thinking about how a princess like her had reached a point where she had to choose the timing to eat, Princess Shouning wished she could bite Su Jin to death.
She bit fiercely into the pastry.
Recalling the incident at Baihua Building, Princess Shouning thought of Prince NanAn.
Being hung there and whipped by the Madam.
The scene where Prince NanAn grabbed the Madam’s whip and pushed her away was etched in Princess Shouning’s memory, unforgettable.
Her eyes softened, chewing the pastry with a smile at the corner of her mouth.
The palace maid looked at her, unsure of what the princess was thinking or why she seemed so happy.
Thinking about those palace rules and the Empress’s Phoenix Seal, how could she still smile?
At this moment—
A little eunuch ran in and said, "Princess, the Empress and the Empress Dowager have decided to marry you off."
Cough cough!
Princess Shouning choked.
The pastry in her mouth sprayed out.
"Who are they marrying the princess to?" the palace maid asked.
"I don’t know yet," the little eunuch shook his head.
"Hurry and find out for me!" Princess Shouning said anxiously.