Princess Promotion

Deep in the dim women's cell, the damp air was filled with the smell of mold and rust.

The torches on the wall flickered with a faint light, casting distorted shadows.

Li Yi's steps were quick and heavy, his heart filled with anxiety and self-blame.

"General, we must find An Tian quickly." Li Yi's voice trembled slightly. The scene of that night kept replaying in his mind. The decision that made him hesitate has now become the source of An Tian's suffering.

Fu Hongxuan did not answer, but just quickened his pace.

Finally, they found An Tian in a small cell.

Her body was curled up in the corner, her clothes were tattered, and her body was covered with scars of varying ages.

He was obviously tortured.

"You...are finally here." An Tian's voice was weak and hoarse. She tried hard to support her body and sit up straighter.

Li Yi practically fell to the ground, his knees slamming heavily against the cold stone slabs. His voice was filled with regret: "I'm sorry, it's all because of me. If I hadn't been soft-hearted that night and let Meng Fan go."

That night, Li Yi spotted Meng Fandu, but considering that he was just a child, he pretended not to see him.

An Tian sneered: "This is the consequence of not eradicating the problem at its roots."

Li Yi seemed to want to say something, but seeing An Tian's miserable appearance, he didn't dare to open his mouth.

An Tian: "You think Meng Fan is innocent, but I don't think so. His father, Mengchangjun, did all kinds of evil things, and he enjoyed all the wealth he plundered. But when Mengchangjun paid the price, he didn't need it anymore."

Some people may say that the disaster will not affect the family, but An Tian thinks that is nonsense.

An Tian's voice was calm. "I'm asking you, if Mengchangjun hadn't fallen, his family would have been able to enjoy these ill-gotten gains without any scruples. Then you let those whose families were destroyed because of Mengchangjun be forgiven with just a simple statement that Mengchangjun is dead and all debts are wiped out."

An Tian continued, "If every evil person claims to have a family and that they commit all kinds of evil for their family, then when those family members enjoy these blood-stained wealth, have they ever thought about those whose families have been broken up?"

In the dim cell, An Tian's fingers tightly grasped the iron bars of the cell, her knuckles turning white from the force, as if she was supporting herself and expressing the indomitable spirit and anger deep in her heart.

"In the sixth year of Emperor Wu of Zhou, famine ravaged the land west of the Yellow River. The court distributed 100,000 taels of silver for disaster relief. This money was supposed to help the victims, but Mengchangjun profited from it."

An Tian's voice was heavy and slow, and every word seemed to carry a thousand pounds of sin.

"He colluded with disaster relief officials and replaced life-saving grain with sand, leading to widespread famine and the death of over 50,000 victims."

"In the eighth year of Emperor Wu of Zhou, he again sought women and boys to satisfy the lusts of corrupt officials, causing the destruction of countless families and the death of countless people."

An Tian's voice trembled: "Haven't you heard about the Qin girl murder case that shocked the government and the country that year?"

"The zither girl was married and had a son, but because of her beauty, she was spotted by one of Mengchangjun's men. Overnight, her husband was brutally murdered, and her son, because of his pretty face, was sent to be molested by an official with a fetish for children. In the end, her son also did not escape the clutches of death."

"And what happened in the end? The court still dealt with the matter hastily. If it hadn't been an official who died, no one would even know such a woman existed in the world."

"Over the years, Mengchangjun has colluded with government offices and committed so many unscrupulous acts!" The smile that always appeared on An Tian's face has completely disappeared.

In the dim cell, An Tian's words were like a sharp sword, piercing people's hearts.

Li Yi's face was pale and his body was shaking uncontrollably, obviously shocked by what An Tian had said about Mengchangjun's crimes.

"This...is this all true?" Li Yi's voice was weak, almost talking to himself.

He knew that Mengchangjun was guilty of heinous crimes and deserved death, but he did not expect that he would be so cruel and insane.

An Tian did not answer Li Yi but suddenly asked about the dungeon they found in the Meng Mansion.

Fu Hongxuan nodded solemnly, recalling the dungeon he had found in the Meng Mansion.

A cold light flashed in An Tian's eyes: "Isn't it easy to find?"

Fu Hongxuan's eyes suddenly widened as he realized the deeper meaning behind An Tian's words. "You mean...Meng Fan...he actually knew?"

An Tian laughed sarcastically: "Even if you guys can find the dungeon on your first visit to the Meng Mansion, how could Meng Fan, who grew up in the Meng Mansion, not know about it?"

An Tian said with a hint of coldness: "Meng Fan not only knows about that dungeon, but also enjoys torturing people at a young age. Many of the injuries on your brother Xu Biao's sister are caused by him."

Mengchangjun deliberately built the room for imprisoning women next to the dungeon in order to give them a warning and tell them how terrible the consequences would be if they did not obey.

Li Yi and Fu Hongxuan were both shocked by An Tian's words.

"But why did Meng Fan do this? Doesn't he have any humanity at all?" Li Yi's voice trembled slightly.

An Tian looked at him as if he were a fool. "Humanity? In this world full of desire and power, humanity is often the most easily discarded thing. Meng Fan may have been kind once, but under the influence of Mengchang Jun, he gradually lost himself and became a cold-blooded tool."

Li Yi clenched his fists and said angrily, "Damn it! I'm going to kill this little beast right now. A real man should take responsibility for his own actions. Miss An, you're putting all the blame on me. I'll take the blame for you."

An Tian: "Who would believe you? Do you think the presiding official is a fool?"

Li Yi: "As long as Meng Fan is dead, there will be no witnesses or evidence. You have plenty of money. Mengchang Jun was able to bribe those people with money back then, so you can do the same."

Is this the legendary "returning the favor in your own way"?

An Tian almost choked on her saliva: "What about Elder Xiao? He can't be bought off with money."

Li Yi: "He is the one you don't need to worry about the most. Everyone thinks you two are in cahoots. Is it possible that he would force himself to be implicated just because you were acquitted?"

At that time, Lord Xiao insisted that someone had framed him, and if An Tian could be cleared of suspicion, it would only benefit Lord Xiao and not harm him.

If Lord Xiao jumped out at this time and said that An Tian was actually in cahoots with the old ministers, no one would believe him, because the old ministers were not crazy enough to find someone to frame Lord Xiao.

Then they whitewashed this person and cleared the name of Lord Xiao. Aren’t they messing around like this?

Unless Lord Xiao can prove that An Tian was not on either side from the beginning to the end, and that she deliberately framed him and bribed old officials to clear herself after being arrested.

Even Lord Xiao himself didn't believe this, so in the end he could only swallow his pride and suffer the consequences.

An Tian looked at Li Yi strangely and asked, "Why did you suddenly become so smart?"

Li Yi was silent: "I really want to do this."

An Tian also fell silent, he was in trouble!

It turns out that you can’t play tricks with warriors, they are serious when they need help!

At this time, both of them looked at Fu Hongxuan. Fu Hongxuan pinched his forehead with a headache and said, "Enough of playing, let's talk about business!"

An Tian regained her familiar smile and asked, "When did you realize that I was deliberately walking into a trap?"

Fu Hongxuan: "I also noticed Meng Fan that night. You brought so many experts with you and easily controlled the Meng Mansion. How could you miss a child without martial arts skills?"

Unless An Tian deliberately wanted to let Meng Fan go, there was no other possibility.

An Tian clapped his hands in admiration, and a man dressed as a jailer came over and opened the cell door.

An Tian walked out of the cell naturally and led them to another room.

Except for the lack of windows, the room is luxuriously decorated, with complete furniture and silk and satin.

An Tian even put on a fox fur cloak and started making tea.

Fu Hongxuan still asked, "How much silver did you spend?"

At first, An Tian didn't react to what Fu Hongxuan was asking, and subconsciously thought he was asking how much the tea cost.

But he felt something was not right, and thought of the look Fu Hongxuan gave him when he came in.

An Tian still understood clearly and said, "I spent ten thousand taels of silver to bribe this jailer."

Li Yi gasped. Oh my god! He had never seen so much silver in his life. He had only heard of it.

Are the jailers so lucrative?

Fu Hongxuan's face froze. He had only spent a few hundred taels at the beginning, but it turned out that he had not spent enough.

But if he had to spend 12,000 yuan to move to a new cell, he would rather go back to his original dirty and messy cell.

Fu Hongxuan asked: "What are you going to do next?"

Although living here is good, these punishments really make An Tian suffer.

An Tian said: "Of course I have to find a way to get out as soon as possible!"

Fu Hongxuan thought this was nonsense, but he still said, "If you need anything, just say it."

An Tian: "Other things are easy to talk about, but you absolutely cannot take any action in this matter. His Majesty has other plans for you. If you get involved, it will disrupt His Majesty's plan."

Li Yi interrupted and said, "General, if you are not in a position to take action, can I?"

An Tian rolled his eyes. "What's the difference between you and your general? In the eyes of others, it's all your general's orders."

Li Yi thought about it and without hesitation pulled his brother out to block the knife and said, "Don't we still have Xu Biao? He is definitely a man and will never betray us."

Li Yinhan, who had been standing outside the door, finally couldn't help but speak out: "Alright, those few people you have, don't recommend yourself here, we have people."

Fu Hongxuan looked at Li Yinhan and asked, "Why are you here?"

Li Yinhan picked up the food box in his hand and shook it, saying, "I'm here to deliver food, unlike some people who come to visit the prison empty-handed."

Fu Hongxuan looked at Li Yi, and Li Yi's eyes were looking elsewhere. He really hadn't thought about these things.

At this time, a jailer hurried over and said, "Miss An, someone else is coming. Please go back to the cell immediately."

An Tian muttered to himself, "My cell is really lively."

Li Yinhan was also curious about who would come to see An Tian at this time!

Putting down the food box, Li Yinhan ran to the cell next to An Tian, took down a brick from the wall, and put his eyes close to it to take a look.

Fu Hongxuan followed suit, picked up a brick and put his head over.

An Tian walked over, casually pulled the straw mat, lay down and adjusted his posture.

It looked similar to the scene that Fu Hongxuan and the others had just seen.

Fu Hongxuan couldn't help but twitch his lips. It would be a waste if he didn't go to the theater to perform with such acting skills.

Under the dim light, Lord Xiao's attire was low-key, almost blending in with the shadows around him. Only his sharp eyes flashed coldly in the faint light.

Elder Xiao saw a woman curled up on a worn straw mat, with scars of varying ages on her body, and it was obvious that she had just endured a brutal torture.

This was within the expectations of Lord Xiao. Li Jinglong would definitely torture An Tian as soon as possible to get something out of him.

But the problem was that he really didn't know this woman at all.

Elder Xiao approached slowly: "Who are you? And who is behind you?"

Hearing what Lord Xiao asked, Fu Hongxuan glanced at Li Yinhan who was watching with great interest nearby.

In his heart, he silently helped Lord Xiao to give the answer.

An Tian's body trembled slightly from pain and fear, but she still mustered her courage, raised her head and looked directly at Xiao Ge Lao: "No one ordered me to do this, I did everything myself."

Li Yi couldn't help but be amazed when he saw An Tian's frail appearance. This woman was so vigorous in front of them that she could ride on horseback for three days and three nights without any hesitation.

Elder Xiao almost laughed out of anger: "You did it all by yourself? Then why are you going around accusing everyone of being from the Xiao family?"

An Tian's voice trembled slightly. "I have a cargo ship in the State of Yan, and I accidentally brought back a batch of precious spices."

"Spices are scarce, so their price is comparable to gold. However, I have too much inventory on hand. If I sell them all now, the price will surely fall."

“These spices are extremely valuable, but they are very susceptible to moisture and deterioration. Once damaged, all our efforts will be wasted.”

"Later, I learned that many merchants in the Western Zhou Dynasty had stockpiled large quantities of grain on the eve of the war, but they did not expect the war to end so quickly, resulting in their grain being unsalable."

"So, I came up with a plan and used this batch of spices to exchange for a large amount of food and farmland deeds."

An Tian looked at Lord Xiao's increasingly gloomy face, but still continued to speak.

"I borrowed the Xiao family's name because, in these troubled times, having a powerful backer can save me from a lot of unnecessary trouble. I thought those merchants were afraid of the Xiao family's power and wouldn't easily question or verify it."

Elder Xiao snorted coldly, "Your story is outrageous. If you were simply seeking to profit from my name, then it would be fine if Lord Mengchang refused to trade with you, but why did you exterminate his entire family?"

People like her who use other people's names to seek benefits would definitely not dare to harm others' lives if they are only seeking money. This is why everyone believes that there must be someone behind An Tian, and if it is not Lord Xiao, it must be someone else.

At this moment, An Tian's eyes suddenly filled with intense hatred: "Everything I did was to avenge Mengchangjun!"

"My father is An Wenbo, the Minister of Rites. Although I am a concubine, I am still the daughter of an official."

"Three years ago, I was spotted by a wealthy businessman from Yan State at a banquet. In order to cooperate with him, Lord Mengchang drugged me and sent me to his bed."

"From then on, my reputation was completely ruined. My family considered me a disgrace, yet they were afraid of Lord Mengchang's power and dared not seek justice for me."

"I have gone through great hardships to escape back to Western Zhou, and I swear to make Lord Mengchang pay for it!"

An Tian's voice was filled with grief and indignation: "You can check these things. All of this was done by me personally. It has nothing to do with you, Lord Xiao."

After hearing this, Lord Xiao sneered in his heart. He was innocent to begin with, and he still needed you to prove it.

In the secret room next door, Fu Hongxuan and Li Yinhan witnessed all this. They were so angry that they almost dragged the late Mengchangjun out of the grave and whipped his corpse.