It's easy to be a villain, but hard to be a princess

Halfway through Han Zixiao's meal, Chu Muqing finally made a move, and said to Ye Qing: "You wait outside, my king will accompany him."

It was only then that Ye Qing realized that he had been occupying the seat, he hurriedly got up and responded, "Yes." Turning his head to Han Zixiao, he said, "Young Master, I'll go out first, you can eat more."

"I see." Han Zixiao replied.

After Ye Qing went out, Han Zixiao bowed his head to pick up the rice, Chu Muqing was about to sit on the floor, Han Zixiao quickly raised his head, "Don't sit down yet."

Chu Muqing froze, Han Zixiao hurriedly put down his rice bowl, went to the wall and moved the broken mat, spread it behind Chu Muqing, and said: "The floor is dirty, the prince sits on the straw mat."

Chu Muqing paused and sat down on the straw mat.Han Zixiao sat back to his original position, still eating with his head down.

"Why don't you dare look at me?" Chu Muqing asked.

Han Zixiao lowered his head, "I'm ashamed to see the prince."

"How can I have no face to see you?"

Han Zixiao said in a low voice: "The lower officials bribed and shamed the lord, and I feel guilty."

Chu Muqing said calmly, "But I don't feel ashamed."

Han Zixiao's heart warmed up. After being imprisoned, this sentence was the only thing that could really comfort him.Chu Muqing said: "Although you are guilty of bribery, you did not embezzle and bribe after becoming an official in the court. On the contrary, you have made great achievements in solving the corruption case of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. This king will try to reduce your sentence for you."

"Thank you, my lord."

Chu Muqing opened the bottom of the food box, and put a few books in it, "I picked a few books, if you're bored, read them."

"Enen." Han Zixiao took a few mouthfuls of rice, ate a few pieces of braised pork, remembered something, and said: "My lord, I have something to ask."

"What's the matter?"

"I don't want my parents in Suzhou to know about Xiaguan's imprisonment. Although it will be exposed sooner or later, it's only a matter of time. My parents have worried about Xiaguan for [-] years. Xiaguan doesn't want them to worry about me anymore. "

Chu Muqing replied: "This matter has not been spread yet, and it will not reach their ears in a short time."

Han Zixiao put a stone down in his heart. He did not arrange the bribery at the beginning, but Han Yunyin sent someone to manage it.If he does not bear the charges, then the entire Han family will suffer.

Han Zixiao ate two bowls of rice at once, half of the food was left, Chu Muqing said, "Eat more meat."

Han Zixiao shook his head, "Don't eat, I'm full."

Han Zixiao stacked the compartments of the food box one by one, Chu Muqing held his hand, and he shrank back very quickly.Chu Muqing was startled, Han Zixiao said: "The hands of the officials are dirty, don't stain the hands of the prince."

Chu Muqing reached out to hold his hand again, and led him over, "Sit here."

"The lower official has a musty smell all over his body, so don't..."

"I don't mind, what do you mind?" Chu Muqing interrupted him.

Han Zixiao was led by him to sit over, while Chu Muqing held his shoulders and let him lean on her body.Han Zixiao stayed in prison for two days, and his body was indeed stained with mold, but Chu Muqing didn't seem to mind it at all.

Han Zixiao thought, the person he felt sorry for most in his life was Chu Muqing.When he approached him at the beginning, he just wanted to help the emperor get rid of his power and did many things that hurt him. Now that he is down and out, he doesn't dislike him at all.

Chu Muqing sat on the straw mat and quietly put her arms around Han Zixiao for nearly a quarter of an hour.Didn't say anything, didn't even do anything else.

After Chu Muqing left, Han Zixiao picked up the remaining roast chicken and handed it to Xu Huang next door.Xu Huang gnawed on the chicken leg, looked at Han Zixiao and said, "If I remember correctly, the one who just came is the Regent?"

Han Zixiao nodded, "Exactly."

"Yo, you're not bad, you even caught the regent king."

Han Zixiao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Actually, I don't deserve him at all, it's just that he fell in love wrongly."

"Love in this world is sometimes involuntary. There is no such thing as wrong love." Xu Huang chewed all the bones of the chicken leg, licked his fingers, and said, "But, to be honest, you are in prison. , he is outside, and if things go on like this, love and love will fade away very easily."

Han Zixiao nodded, "I understand."

"But don't be too sad. Since you came here, you should have been mentally prepared. Half of your life will be ruined. You must not delay the lives of others." Xu Huang said with emotion.

Han Zixiao sat against the wall, and he quite agreed with Xu Huang's words.I have been in prison for ten or eight years, and it will be [-] years after I get out.Chu Muqing was six years older than him, and ten years later, he was almost forty years old.

However, perhaps ten years later, Chu Muqing already had several wives and concubines, plus three or two young children.

Not long after, several jailers came in holding the quilt straw mat and unlocked it. The tattered straw mat was replaced with a new one, and the quilt was replaced with a new one, and the last jailer carried a basin of water. Come in.

"This is……"

The leading jailer said: "This is the order of the prince."

Han Zixiao looked at the quilt on the jailer's hands, and knew that he ordered it without asking.Han Zixiao washed his face with the basin of water, pulled a piece of cloth off his body and used it as a handkerchief to wipe his body.

After the jailer who brought in the things left, Xu Huang from the next door pointed to Han Zixiao's old straw mat and old quilt, "Brother Han, you don't need the old ones on the left and right, so you might as well give me a little more money."

The quilts and straw mats inside Xu Huang were not as good as the old ones on his side. Han Zixiao stuffed the old ones through the cracks in the fence. Xu Huang smiled, "Thanks."

Han Zixiao admired Xu Huang's ability to laugh at any time, "Brother Xu is still so optimistic when he is in prison, Han is really amazed."

Xu Huang was making his own bed in the cell, "To be honest, when I first came in, I was ready to die, but after thinking about it, I was living my life everywhere, so I saw it through as time went by."

Han Zixiao sat on the new straw mat, "It's not too bad to think so."

At dinner, the food was much better than yesterday, so Chu Muqing must have ordered it.The meal at noon was very filling, so Han Zixiao divided Xu Huang's meal into half.

The days in the dungeon felt like years, but fortunately there were a few books brought by Chu Muqing, and when I read them in my spare time, I felt that the time was running fast again.Occasionally, I chatted with Xu Huang next door, and the day passed like this.

It was pitch black in the prison at night, and the jailer put out the candles early, probably to save money on lamp oil.Han Zixiao lay under the quilt, thinking that he would have to spend the next ten years like this every day, and his heart ached and he was not reconciled.

fan mansion.

Lin Manxu had lived in the basement of Fan's mansion for several days, and Fan Youcheng treated him well, entertaining him with good wine and meat.Lin Manxu was still a little dissatisfied. Although there was good wine and good meat here, he couldn't even see the sun all day long, and he was very depressed.

The mechanism in the basement was touched, the stone door slowly opened, and Fan Youcheng came in from the outside.Lin Manxu hurriedly greeted him with a smile, "Your Majesty has seen you."

Fan Youcheng glanced at him, "You lived a comfortable life here."

"It's comfortable to live comfortably, but it's really boring to live in such a palm-sized place every day."

Fan Youcheng narrowed his eyes, "Why, you still want to go out for a stroll?"

When Fan Youcheng looked at Lin Manxu like this, he felt trembling, "I don't mean that, I just feel that now that Han Zixiao is in prison, the wind outside is not so tight, I should go to the ground to get some air, it should still be OK."

Fan Youcheng said: "Although Han Zixiao is in prison, the people from the criminal department are still investigating, so it's better to be careful."

Fan Youcheng is just too cautious, Lin Manxu has fallen into this situation, and now he can only listen to him, "My lord, when will the servant go out?"

"Master Lin, why worry, you have to know that you are more comfortable with this official than Han Zixiao eating leftovers in the dungeon."

Lin Manxu smiled flatteringly, "My lord is so kind and virtuous, I will never forget it."

"I remember what you said at the beginning, you arranged for someone to hold the charges against you and me. Now that Han Zixiao has been imprisoned, should you still be on guard against me?"

The smile on Lin Manxu's face remained unchanged, "Don't worry, my lord, as long as the subordinate is still alive, that person will not do anything against you."

Fan Youcheng's face was gloomy, and he glanced at Lin Manxu from the corner of his eye, "It seems that you want to use this to blackmail me for the rest of your life."

"How dare you, when the news dies down and the officials go far away, the evidence will naturally be destroyed."

"Then Mr. Lin, before he leaves for another country, it's better to stay here honestly, so as not to blame me for any accident." Fan Youcheng snorted softly and went out.

"Thank you for your advice, my lord." Lin Manxu arched his hands at his back.

Two days later, Ye Qing came to the prison with a food box to visit Han Zixiao, but Chu Muqing did not come.

Ye Qing said: "My lord pleaded for the son in front of the emperor, saying that you were meritorious in solving the case and the punishment should be reduced, but Uncle Guo insisted that the lord was trying to cover up his own interests, and he even said in front of all the civil and military officials that the lord cheated on the public for personal gain. "

"How do you know these things?" Han Zixiao asked.

"Master Qin Xiao Qin said it."

Han Zixiao's face was heavy, Fan Youcheng's move was clearly an excuse to suppress Chu Muqing.According to Fan Youcheng's temperament, if he seized Chu Muqing's weakness this time, he would definitely get worse.

Han Zixiao asked again: "What else do you know?"

"The prince seldom speaks after returning to the mansion these days, and he also eats very little food. I think he may be thinking about the young master in his heart."

Chu Muqing seldom expressed his emotions, anger, sorrow, and joy, so he couldn't tell what was going on in his heart on weekdays.Han Zixiao's face was extremely bitter, "I'm not worthy of his concern."

Ye Qing said: "My lord, don't say that."

"Isn't it? Since I met him, I haven't done a single good thing to him, but I have done countless things to hurt him." Han Zixiao's lips evoked a smile of Zhichao, "He still has something in his heart." Me, it's just because he doesn't know how many things I have done to hurt him secretly, if he knows, maybe he will hate me."

Ye Qing shook his head, "No, I can tell, the prince likes you. Today I can come in to visit you, thanks to the token that the prince gave me."

Han Zixiao looked at Ye Qing and said nothing.Chu Muqing likes him, but it doesn't mean that love will not turn to hate after knowing the truth.