CHAPTER 686: CHAPTER 666: PRISON

The two guards at the courtyard gate were the most suspicious suspects. They were Second Prince’s attendants, and they had a reason—they neglected their duty to fetch a kite for the Sixth Princess and didn’t anticipate General Meng’s assassination. Everyone in the Prince Manor was interrogated, particularly the newly arrived young men, who were questioned even more thoroughly. Each person was interrogated separately. Xie Jue did not lie; he said he had stepped away to relieve himself. If he didn’t tell the truth and one of the attendants he was with revealed this, he would have been a prime suspect.

The Beiman people are known for their straightforward and blunt nature; their interrogation methods are simple and direct, with no room for fabrication. They wouldn’t even bother asking down to the specifics, like how long an attendant had been away to relieve himself, so Xie Jue felt somewhat reassured. During his training, he had studied the Beiman people and found their personalities to be genuinely straightforward. In Beiman, lying is considered a grave crime.

All testimonies were consolidated and laid before both the Second Prince and Sixth Prince. Other than the two gate guards and the maidservants close to Sixth Princess, almost everyone else was ruled out as suspects. If someone had entered the Prince Manor, committed murder, and left, there should have been signs. However, at the time of the incident, no one was observed entering or leaving the Prince Manor, so the Sixth Prince determined the murderer must still be inside.

Following this, Xie Jue and the attendant were confined to the same cell. The Second Prince, in a fit of rage, demanded bloodshed—he would rather kill wrongly than let the culprit go free. If the murderer did not come forward, he threatened to execute every attendant in the manor. Naturally, this incited opposition from both the Sixth Prince and the Princess, but the Second Prince wouldn’t listen; retribution was all that consumed his thoughts.

Xie Jue and the attendant helplessly watched as the Second Prince let bloodthirsty dogs maul the two negligent guards to death. Their pitiful cries echoed throughout the prison, as the ferocious wolves gnawed their bodies clean to the bone. Blood sprayed onto the walls, painting them crimson. Xie Jue’s ears were filled with their anguished screams, and the overpowering stench of blood made him nauseous.

This was the first time since coming to Fox City that Xie Jue directly confronted such naked cruelty and ferocity from his adversaries. One single misstep, and he too could end up as wolf fodder.

Father and elder brother would never find him!

The attendant shouted in terror, insisting he wasn’t the murderer and begged to be spared. Xie Jue pretended to be afraid, telling the attendant he didn’t want to die, that he missed his parents and elder brother. The attendant was already trembling uncontrollably, cursing whoever killed General Meng. Xie Jue secretly observed their cell while feigning fright, wondering why the Beiman had detained the two of them together. They were clearly interrogated separately—shouldn’t detention be separate too? Could someone be eavesdropping on them from behind the scenes?

Xie Jue wasn’t certain, but another thought struck him. The Crown Prince was currently on the battlefield, while the Second Prince was trying to win over the Sixth Prince. The Crown Prince’s advisors frequently visited Prince Manor. Though the Sixth Prince appeared neutral, he undoubtedly had his own agenda. Killing General Meng could prevent the border defense plans from being leaked, and also deepen the rift between the Second Prince and Sixth Prince.

"A Yanyang man dead is just that—a death. Why are we being locked up? We didn’t kill him," the Beiman attendant said, his fear escalating. "Are they planning to make all of us pay with our lives?"

Xie Jue intentionally replied in a languid tone, "I don’t know. We’re just insignificant lives; no one cares about us. But a Yanyang man dying in the Sixth Prince Manor like this is certainly odd. Who benefits the most from his death?"

Xie Jue’s probing prompted the attendant to take the bait. "I got it! It’s the Crown Prince. Maybe he sent someone to kill him. His advisors frequently visit the Sixth Prince Manor and must know about the Yanyang man’s betrayal."

"But why would the Crown Prince kill the Yanyang man? If he’s providing intelligence, we can win the battle," Xie Jue replied, feigning confusion.

"You’re so naive. You just arrived in Fox City, so you don’t know. The Crown Prince and Second Prince are the strongest contenders for the throne. Our Sixth Prince is indifferent to power and never interferes in their struggles, but both of them want to win him over. If intelligence leads to a victory, the credit would go to the Second Young Master. How could the Crown Prince accept that? He must sabotage their cooperation."

Xie Jue feigned a sudden revelation. "So that’s it. But how did the Crown Prince know the Yanyang man was in the manor?"

"Could it be that the Sixth Prince informed him? He acts neutral but secretly sides with the Crown Prince?"

"You must not say such things. The Sixth Prince is kindhearted and would never scheme against his own brothers. However... I’ve never seen the Crown Prince. The Second Prince is brave and skilled in battle—he’s our Beiman hero. Back in Qianling Town, we often heard stories of the Second Prince’s valor. If he became the Beiman King, we Beiman people could march straight to Ningzhou and no longer have to eke out a living in frozen desolation." Xie Jue’s words carried evident admiration for the Second Prince.

"If you admire the Second Prince so much, why did you come to serve in the Sixth Prince Manor?"

"I had no choice. The steward assigns us where to go, and we go. People from Qianling Town have low status in the Imperial Court. The steward repeatedly warned us not to reveal that we can speak Yanyang language, or we’d face utter doom. We can only keep quiet and act like mutes."

"No wonder you’re usually so silent. You even speak Yanyang language?" The attendant seemed surprised.

Xie Jue achieved his goal. If someone were truly eavesdropping, they must have been sent by the Second Prince. His scheme was bearing fruit. "Yes, in Qianling Town, we’re separated from Ningzhou by the Shaling River. Many of the women in our town are captured from Ningzhou to become wives. Lots of people in Qianling Town know Yanyang speech. I can even read some Yanyang characters, though I don’t know much."

"That’s impressive!" The attendant asked, "Is Yanyang really as the rumors say—sunny, full of flowers, sheep and cows everywhere, warm as if soaked in hot water?"

"I wouldn’t know. But Qianling Town’s spring and summer are very nice, quite warm. Fox City is so cold; I’ve never felt anything like this before."

This was probably the most Xie Jue had spoken since arriving in Fox City. He usually kept to himself in the Prince Manor, quietly doing his work. After being disciplined a few times, he spoke even less. His silence was one of the reasons the Princess assigned him to serve in the study. People serving in a study must have tight lips.

The attendant was not usually talkative either, but today, perhaps fear had gotten to him. Nervousness makes people talk more.

Any suspicious testimony resulted in the Second Prince unleashing hounds to tear the witnesses apart alive, and everyone was confined in the cage to watch as the wolves ripped open throats and feasted on flesh.

More and more people broke down, shouting and raging. Xie Jue played along, pleading his innocence like the others. Inside the cage, the air stagnated, filled with the stench of blood and decaying corpses, cold and damp. Fever struck Xie Jue hard, quickly muddling his consciousness, but he dared not truly faint.

If he passed out, he wouldn’t have control over what he said or did. If he spoke fluent Yanyang language, it would undoubtedly spell his doom.

Thus, Xie Jue was ruthless against himself. Even as his consciousness blurred, he took a small blade and scraped the flesh on his waist, stroke by stroke, forcing himself to stay awake!