CHAPTER 1286: CHAPTER 1281: GOING TO ZONGRENFU

The walls of the mountain cave were unexpectedly hollow. With a powerful swipe from the black bear, it instantly broke open a large hole.

The black bear followed the momentum and fell into the dark hole. After a long moment, the muffled sound of the bear hitting the ground echoed from below.

Jin Zijin and Yue Rujing exchanged looks. Judging by the sound, the hole was very deep.

Yue Rujing picked up a lit tree branch and tossed it into the pitch-black hole. Through the flickering firelight, they could see that the cave was not only deep but also vast.

What surprised them even more was the unmistakable signs of artificial excavation within the cave. At the center of the cave was a large circular platform, resembling an ancient altar crafted by human hands.

"Who would carve out a cave in such a high mountain?"

Jin Zijin furrowed his brows and gently shook his head.

"Should we go down and take a look?"

"Of course we should." Jin Zijin picked up the torch and began to search for a path downward.

Once they entered the cave, a sudden loud crash erupted from behind them. Countless stones fell from the entrance of the cave. They dodged frantically and managed to avoid injury. When the chaos settled, Yue Rujing cursed angrily.

"Senior Brother, it’s bad— the exit is blocked!"

...

Lin Qianqing had arrived at the Zongrenfu. The Zongrenfu was not somewhere ordinary people could gain entry to. In order to see King Jin there, she first visited the Crown Prince Residence to meet Gu Youyou, who helped request a decree from the Emperor.

She held the decree, which Gu Youyou had managed to obtain after considerable effort, and made her way to the Zongrenfu to meet King Jin, feeling waves of unease rising in her heart.

"Miss Lin, do you want to go in or not?" The guards of the Zongrenfu were far more arrogant than the jailers of ordinary prisons. Anyone who appeared here was either royalty or someone of noble birth—but so what? Here, they still had to abide by the guards’ authority. For this reason, they never bothered to show any respect for the daughter of Lord Lin, the former Princess Consort of King Jin.

"Of course, I’m going in," Lin Qianqing said calmly, handing the Emperor’s decree to the gatekeeper.

After verifying it as a genuine decree, they finally dared to let Lin Qianqing enter.

"Hurry up, then. People imprisoned here, royal or not, are still criminals."

Although the Zongrenfu was used to confine criminals, the differing statuses of those confined here made the conditions far better than a common jail.

Once Lin Qianqing entered, she was taken to a courtyard. The person escorting her then left, and the courtyard door was locked behind her.

In the corner of the courtyard, a man was crouched on the ground working on something. When he heard someone approaching, he turned his face toward her.

Upon seeing the visitor, he was so shocked that he dropped the small shovel he was holding onto the ground.

His mouth moved as he stammered in disbelief, "Why are you here?"

Lin Qianqing looked at King Jin, and in that instant, her heart was flooded with an overwhelming sadness.

It had only been a year since they last met, but King Jin seemed like a completely different person.

His once youthful face was etched with weariness. His cheeks were unshaven, covered in scruff, and amidst his jet-black hair, scattered streaks of white could be seen.

How old was he now? Just over twenty—and yet white strands of hair had already appeared.

At just over twenty years old, he was destined to spend the rest of his life in the prison of the Zongrenfu.

Lin Qianqing took a deep breath, stepped forward, and threw herself into his arms, her sobs muffled as they escaped her lips.

"Cousin, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have left. I should have stayed with you to face this together..."

King Jin’s entire body stiffened. He raised his hand, wanting to pat Lin Qianqing’s back, but seeing the dirt covering his hand, he finally hesitated and lowered it again.

He forced a small smile and said, "What nonsense are you saying? How could you have stayed?"