After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

Xiang An: "..." Damn it, he really did see what happened yesterday.

Master Xuanqing stared at her intently, his gaze unwavering: "Since the princess remains silent, I dare to guess: are you crying because you discovered that your soul cannot leave Marquis Anwu?"

Xiang An's eyes flickered slightly, and seeing her reaction, Master Xuanqing's lips curled up slightly: "This old Taoist guesses again: you are crying because you want to return to His Majesty's side but cannot leave."

Xiang An decisively replied, "No!"

“No? Then you only have one reason.” Master Xuanqing’s smile widened. “You are restricted by some kind of restriction and cannot leave. If so, then this old Daoist can lend a hand.”

Xiang An's gaze fell on Daoist Xuanqing. She didn't speak, but stared straight at him. If it weren't for her rosy complexion and lifelike features, coupled with the eerie and terrifying atmosphere of the torture chamber, she would truly look like a demon had descended.

“Princess, your silence suggests you don’t want to leave. I understand. You want to stay in the prison with Marquis Anwu. Indeed, you’ve been raised in luxury since childhood and have never been to a prison before. You want to stay a few more days to broaden your horizons.”

"How do we leave?" Xiang An asked.

It's not that I can't stand his nagging, but that it's unnecessary now.

“There are countless ways to leave, but every one of them is painful. If you don’t want to suffer, Princess, you must tell the old Taoist a few things first: First, did you have any unfinished business in your life?”

"Second, after experiencing yesterday's formation, did you feel any discomfort? Or was your unusual behavior yesterday a consequence of the formation? Third, do you know why you have become like this?"

"You don't know so much?" Xiang An said thoughtfully.

Since that's the case, then it's time for her to raise the price.

Master Xuanqing's heart skipped a beat; he suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Sure enough, the next moment, Xiang An glanced at him, rested his chin on Fu Qingbai's knee, and said casually, "If you want to know, save him first."

Master Xuanqing: "Princess, you and His Majesty are siblings from the same mother, yet you cannot fathom His Majesty's thoughts?"

"I can't control what Xiang Xin is up to, and I don't want to guess. But Xiang Xin touched my people without my permission, does she have a death wish?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiang An felt her cheeks burning. Just as she was wondering if she had become too thin-skinned, she caught a glimpse of bright light coming from a window on the high wall. She realized why—it was too hot.

It was a ridiculous reason that made her completely ignore the unusual weather of heavy snow falling outside.

“You wouldn’t kill someone.” Master Xuanqing didn’t believe him.

"If I didn't know how, how did Xiang Xin get the throne?" Xiang An raised an eyebrow.

"..." Master Xuanqing frowned, his brows furrowed with reluctance. "You answer first."

She chuckled softly, turned her head away from An, and refused to look at him.

After a moment of silence in the torture chamber, followed by a barely audible sigh, Master Xuanqing stood up, opened the door, and soon led in an imperial physician.

Xiang An stepped aside, and Master Xuanqing laughed, "It's alright if you don't step aside; the imperial physician can't see you."

"Others can't see me and can treat me like I'm invisible, but I can't treat myself like I'm invisible. Also, don't talk to me. You can see me, but others can't. You'll scare the imperial physician," Xiang An reminded him.

The imperial physician taking the pulse trembled uncontrollably, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.

Master Xuanqing coughed lightly: "...Take the pulse properly. Don't listen to things that are not your business."

The imperial physician nodded repeatedly, but his trembling fingers couldn't be hidden.

"Hahahahahahaha!" Xiang An clutched his stomach and laughed so hard he bent over.

Master Xuanqing glared at her, which only elicited louder laughter from her. Helpless, he had no choice but to take three steps back to ease the imperial physician's fear.

It's no wonder the imperial physician was frightened; it was just that the place was wrong. A Taoist priest was talking to thin air in the torture chamber where the most dead people were, and the fact that the imperial physician didn't run away in fright already showed his great courage.

After an incense stick had burned, the imperial physician put away his acupuncture: "I have already given Marquis Anwu acupuncture and applied medicine. He is temporarily fine, but the knife wound on his waist is very difficult to heal if it is not properly cared for. It may even ooze pus and rotten flesh."

"If possible, it would be best to carry Marquis Anwu out to recuperate, as the prison is not a suitable place for recuperation."

Master Xuanqing nodded slightly: "I understand, you can go out now."

Without saying much, the imperial physician picked up his medicine box and left. Master Xuanqing grinned and smiled smugly: "Princess, the old Taoist priest has done what you asked for. Now it's your turn."

"Carry him out."

Master Xuanqing's smile vanished instantly: "Princess, don't go too far."

"Excessive? How am I being excessive? I said 'save him.' What do you mean by 'save'? It means waiting for him to wake up and be out of danger," Xiang An said angrily.

To be fair, she didn't even play word games; her initial intention was simply to clear Fu's name and make him aware of the truth.

Even though she kept hoping he would die quickly so she could do some experiments, someone like Fu Qingbai couldn't just die in the torture chamber like that.

A person who is foolish to the point of being extremely great deserves her respect and admiration.

"Fine! You wait!" Master Xuanqing said fiercely, turning to leave. Xiang An couldn't help but sneer: "Don't think I don't know what you're planning. Those vicious needle techniques that can wake him up with one needle, but can also kill him. I advise you not to do them, or you'll never know the answers in your life."

"You don't need to tell me, I'm not as ruthless as you think."

Master Xuanqing was truly enraged this time. Without even turning his head, he strode out.

As the door closed again, Xiang An sighed and squatted down in front of Fu Qingbai, cursing, "You good-for-nothing! I advise you to wake up right now!"

This time she's paid a heavy price. The problem is, even after all that, she still doesn't know why Fu Qingbai was beaten.

However, recalling the scene of Xiang Xin, that pervert, shouting "drawing" in a pile of corpses, while making my scalp tingle, I also rationalized his inexplicable whipping of Fu Qingbai. After all, how can a pervert be called a "pervert" without some crazy actions that are different from ordinary people?

During Fu Qingbai's coma, Master Xuanqing never came again. The imperial physician occasionally came to apply medicine to him, and the whip marks on his body gradually healed. Only the knife wounds on his waist and abdomen gradually festered and grew rotten flesh. He had a high fever that kept recurring every day. The imperial physician brought in bucket after bucket of medicinal herbs and poured countless bowls of medicine down his throat. Finally, the imperial physician picked up a knife and carefully scraped away the rotten flesh from his body one by one, and Fu Qingbai's condition finally stabilized.

Time may have passed for a long time, or it may have been short. There was no way to tell exactly how many days had passed in the dark and gloomy torture chamber. In any case, at a certain time on a certain day of a certain month, Fu Qingbai woke up. Like many male protagonists, he wanted to drink water as soon as he woke up. Unfortunately, he did not receive the treatment of a male protagonist, and no one brought him a glass of water in time.

Xiang An spread his hands: "I don't have any water either. If you hadn't been so stubborn and had handed over the military tally earlier, you would definitely be surrounded by maids and servants by now. How could you be so pitiful?"

Fu Qingbai licked his chapped lips, covered his still-painful wound with one hand, and walked to a dark corner of the cell. He slowly squatted down, carefully parted the straw on the ground, and saw a small pit filled with a puddle of dark water. On the surface of the water floated fine straw leaves and an unknown white moth.