Transmigrating into a book to save her best friend, her sickly husband vies for her affections every

In prison.

Zhao Siwei sat on the ground, staring at the food laid out on the ground, but had no appetite at all.

Hearing a crisp "Get out of here!", Zhao Siwei reacted; it was Zhao Fu'er's voice.

"Auntie!"

The person who jogged in wasn't Zhao Fu'er, but it made Zhao Siwei even more nervous.

"Adin?"

Tingyao, dressed in the clothes of a palace maid, stood before Zhao Siwei's wooden window.

"Time is of the essence, and the task is urgent. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say."

"Your case will be presided over by your father, the Emperor. At that time, Zhang Zhan will confess that he poisoned the Crown Prince..."

After rambling on for five minutes, Tingyao grabbed Zhao Siwei and asked, "Did you hear me clearly? Did you remember it?"

Zhao Siwei: "Did you find Zhang Zhan, or did Zhang Zhan find you?"

“The idea was mine. The Crown Prince faction will only blame you for this. This place is full of their people, so you can’t stay here. As a result, Zhao Sicong will no longer give Zhang Zhan important positions.”

"To murder the crown prince is a capital offense."

“Yes,” Tingyao said, “But you have to think about your father. He doesn’t have many sons to begin with. You and the Crown Prince are his eldest son and his most beloved son, respectively. Naturally, he doesn’t want to lose either of them. So, as long as you make this drama a little more dramatic, His Majesty will have a way to protect you.”

Zhao Fu'er was urging them from outside.

Tingyao grabbed his hand: "This is the only way, or rather, you know who did it."

Zhao Siwei remained silent, and Tingyao handed him the food she had brought.

She's not really good at cooking, except for this peach blossom cake.

After watching the person leave, Zhao Siwei shook his head, holding the peach blossom cake.

That's too simplistic. Doesn't Father know how you intend to protect me?

**

Two days later, when Zhao Sicong was able to get up, Zhao Fucang presided over the trial.

Inside the main hall, Emperor Zhao Fucang, Empress Yan, Consort Xian, and Zhao Sicong were all seated, with trusted maids standing beside them, and trusted confidants available at their beck and call in the shadows.

Tingyao, dressed in palace maid's clothes, followed behind Zhao Fu'er's maid, tilting her head slightly to look at the noble people inside the palace.

A cough sounded, and Tingyao lowered her head again.

There's no need to be afraid; nobody knows her.

Zhao Siwei was brought in, helped in by Zhang Zhan.

Tingyao's hands, which were resting on her waist, clenched involuntarily.

Was torture used?

It was completely undamaged when I checked it two days ago!

Zhao Fu'er's voice rang out, filled with accusation and malice, she was truly angry, "The Crown Prince is so powerful, he was still unconscious, yet he was able to arrange for someone to attack the Ninth Prince. If I hadn't sent Zhang Zhan in time, the Ninth Prince might already be collecting his corpse."

Zhao Siwei knelt on the ground, still wearing the robes from the palace banquet, but they were torn to shreds by the whip, with bloody welts everywhere, revealing how many deadly things he had suffered in the shadows.

Zhao Siwei looked at Zhao Fucang, his eyes showing grievance.

He knew which of his ideas appealed to his father.

Zhao Fucang doted on his youngest son the most, so he immediately turned cold and called out "Crown Prince," which was already a question.

"Your subject was unaware of the situation..." Zhao Sicong's face turned pale.

He was completely exhausted and his stomach was still aching. Fearing that this was a premeditated attack against him, he simply said that it had nothing to do with Zhao Siwei and that he would investigate the rest himself.

Some people even claimed that he "committed suicide" in an attempt to frame Zhao Siwei for plotting to harm the crown prince.

That's a really big pot.

Zhao Sicong's voice softened as well, "Father, you have always been with me, so you must testify for me."

He glanced at Zhang Zhan out of the corner of his eye.

Zhao Fu'er dared to suddenly attack him, so Zhang Zhan must have been cooperating.

In order to win over Zhang Zhan, he tacitly allowed him to use a considerable amount of his influence.

If this meal was Zhang Zhan's idea, then it really was aimed at him.

What a clever ruse!

Zhao Siwei was in so much pain that he couldn't kneel down. He still glared at Zhao Sicong. Zhang Zhan reached out and helped him up, letting him lean against him.

Zhao Fu'er snorted, "The guards at Zhao Prison these past two days have all been from the Crown Prince's side. Do we really need to send a message? I truly admire the Crown Prince's approach."

“My aunt and Ninth Brother are on good terms, so naturally she'll speak up for him…”

Zhao Sicong had his attendants help him up, and as he walked down, he wanted to kneel down between the two of them to separate them. However, Zhao Siwei had already seen through his intention, so he simply leaned half his body over.

Helpless, he could only kneel down beside him and plead, "My ninth brother is innocent. Please forgive him, Father."

His intuition told him that he should try to avoid trouble, otherwise he would not be appreciated.

"Forgive me? When your mother arrested me that day, she wanted to execute me directly." Zhao Siwei refused to reconcile, absolutely refused to reconcile, and looked at Zhao Fucang, "It was Father Emperor who felt something was amiss. If Father Emperor hadn't said he would send me to the Zhao Prison, I would be dead by now."

He was eating venison and drinking wine when suddenly people rushed in and arrested him, accusing him of plotting to murder the crown prince.

For a moment, he even thought that the venison in his hand was the prince incarnate.

Seeing this, Empress Yan, who was sitting next to Zhao Fucang, questioned, "If it weren't for the Ninth Prince, who would dare to lay a hand on the Crown Prince?"

Among the princes and princesses, who wasn't afraid of her? Only Consort Xian and her son dared to go against her, but Zhao Fucang only protected this mother and son.

“What good would it do me to murder the crown prince? List them for me.” Zhao Siwei rolled his eyes again, straightened up by supporting himself on his knees, and his pale, chapped lips moved slightly. “The Empress thinks too highly of me.”

Zhao Sicong couldn't help but say, "Ninth Brother, you're being too insecure. Haven't you caused me enough trouble already?"

Zhao Siwei retorted bluntly, "It's your own fault for meddling in other people's business."

Zhao Sicong: "If you don't wander around on the day of the banquet, you won't become a suspect."

Zhao Siwei retorted irritably, "If I really ran around like this, would your mother be able to catch me?"

The two brothers started talking back and forth, and Zhang Zhan spoke up, "Ninth Prince, please say less."

“You should tell him to say less,” Zhao Sicong said.

Zhao Siwei glanced sideways and pushed away Zhang Zhan, who was trying to help him up, "Go kneel over there, stay away from me..."

Zhao Fucang: ...

Why does this child find fault with everyone when he's unhappy?

“Your Highness, please speak first. What exactly happened that day?” Zhao Fucang began, his head aching from the noise.

Zhao Sicong replied, "Your subject did not feel anything unusual. Suddenly, my vision blurred, and I experienced a sudden, inexplicable, sharp pain in my abdomen. After that, I knew nothing more."

Seeing the look Zhao Fucang was giving him, Zhao Siwei didn't allow himself to hesitate at all. "Zhang Zhan said he got some fresh venison and asked me to go eat it."

The story of Xu Tutu has been omitted.

After he finished speaking, his heart inexplicably skipped a beat, and he felt that he might have said something wrong.

Zhao Siwei couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

He understood Tingyao's meaning: she wanted to muddy the waters and make the matter disappear.

Empress Yan disagreed with this statement, saying, "No matter what you say, Zhang Zhan will listen to you."

This means that Zhang Zhan's words cannot serve as evidence at all; neither he nor his words are included in the authentication or testimony.

They didn't give Zhang Zhan a chance to speak at all.

My son is in trouble, and no murderer has come to light yet. If we can use this to prevent Zhao Siwei from getting back up, then it won't be a waste to send my son to the brink of death.

"I think the Empress caused the Crown Prince's accident and is trying to frame me!" Of all the people Zhao Siwei hated most, Xu Tutu was second, and Empress Yan was number one. All she did was whine and complain.

"Ninth Brother, please be polite to my mother. After all, she is your legal mother," Zhao Sicong said.

Zhao Siwei: "Then hit me! Hit me!"

Zhang Zhan grabbed Zhao Siwei and told him to shut up, saying that now was not the time for empty talk.

"Whose side are you on? You're kneeling next to me, are you loyal to him?" Zhao Siwei said bluntly.

Zhang Zhan: ...