Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1144: Chapter 1146: Infiltrating the Sky Prison_1

Bai Ruozhu hung her head and dared not speak more, for she knew the gravity of the situation from the Empress Dowager’s demeanor. In fact, it was something she had suspected but never dared to articulate as bluntly as Ning Yu.

”Both the Empress Dowager and the Princess are weary, Ruozhu will take her leave first,” Bai Ruozhu said after some thought.

The Empress Dowager glanced at Bai Ruozhu and said, ”Good, you are a clever one, knowing what should and shouldn’t be said.”

Bai Ruozhu’s heart skipped a beat, involving the Former Emperor and possibly affecting the reputation of the Imperial family, how could she carelessly speak up?

”Yes,” Bai Ruozhu said no more but her stance was resolute.

The Empress Dowager sighed in relief, ”You may leave.”

As Bai Ruozhu was paying her respects to leave, just as she reached the entrance of the Main Hall, a shrill voice of a eunuch came from outside: ”The Emperor has arrived!”

Bai Ruozhu had to pause mid-step and step aside to pay her respects.

The Emperor moved swiftly, casting a glance at Bai Ruozhu out of the corner of his eye as he entered the hall.

”What has happened, Mother? Why is the disciple of the National Master arrested?” asked the Emperor, as he already reached the Empress Dowager and paid his respects.

The Empress Dowager’s gaze drifted, and she said to Bai Ruozhu, ”You have paid your respects to the Emperor, you can go back now.”

Bai Ruozhu heaved a sigh of relief, bowed, and quickly left Cining Palace. She hurried toward the Palace Gate, but before she could get there, suddenly a troop of Royal Guards rushed over.

”Bai Family, His Majesty has ordered me to arrest you to await trial in the Sky Prison, and no one is allowed to visit!” the Captain of the Royal Guards said coldly.

If it had been any other day, Bai Ruozhu would have argued, thinking it was some trickery by Consort Liu, but today she didn’t say a word and obediently followed the Captain of the Royal Guards to the prison.

This was her second time entering the Imperial Guard Dungeon; the first time was to visit Jiang Yichun, but this time it was she herself who was imprisoned. Indeed, how unpredictable life was.

If Jiang Yichun had been present today to hear Ning Yu’s words, perhaps the Emperor would have only scolded him a few times, or even threatened a little, but with her as a substitute, the Emperor would likely not feel at ease and would have her arrested. So, she indeed guessed it right.

The Captain of the Royal Guards escorted her deeper into the dungeon. She cooperated fully without showing any displeasure, not even asking half a question, which made the Captain quite puzzled.

”Madam Jiang, why are you...” Ning Yu’s surprised voice suddenly came from the side. He sprang up from the ground and rushed to the cell door, clutching the bars as he looked at Bai Ruozhu.

Bai Ruozhu smiled and shook her head at him, indicating her helplessness.

Guilt flashed in Ning Yu’s eyes. ”I’ve implicated you.”

Bai Ruozhu shook her head at him again and formed a silent shape with her lips: Speak no further.

Ning Yu paused for a moment and by the time he snapped back to reality, Bai Ruozhu had already walked past, being arranged in a deeper prison cell. Looking closely, the two were separated from the others, clearly to prevent them from talking at random with anyone else.

”Madam Jiang, please enter. If you need anything, you can ask the guards. The Empress Dowager has instructed us to take extra care of you,” said the Captain of the Royal Guards.

”Thank you, sir. I have no particular demands, but I would like to ask you to convey a message to the Empress Dowager on my behalf. Please ask her to send word to my family, just to say that I am detained in the Palace and will return in a few days,” Bai Ruozhu said politely as she bowed to him.

The Royal Guards Captain nodded his head, ”I’ll pass on the message, but I cannot guarantee how the Empress Dowager will arrange things.”

”I understand, thank you for your efforts, my lord.” Bai Ruozhu thanked him and bowed again.

The Royal Guards Captain turned and walked away, quickly exiting the prison.

Bai Ruozhu looked at the simple prison cell, walked to the bed, blew off the dust that had settled on it, spread her handkerchief on top, and sat down on the handkerchief.

It was truly an unexpected disaster. She really shouldn’t have agreed to be the Array Eye.

...

In the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager looked worriedly at the Emperor, ”Your Majesty, I still feel that this is not right. Please release Ruozhu. She knows her place and won’t speak nonsense.”

Princess Diao Bin was already in tears beside her,”Yes, Your Majesty, my brother. It was all my fault. If I had known, I wouldn’t have been in such a rush to treat my illness.”

The Emperor snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, and said, ”Fine, staying in jail for two days won’t cost her a piece of flesh. Is an outsider really worth your concern?” His expression turned cold, ”If it weren’t for her role as the Array Eye, there wouldn’t be Ning Yu’s rambling nonsense. I suspect they’ve been in cahoots for a long time. We will discuss this after it’s been investigated.”

”How could that be possible, Ruozhu was called into the palace today without knowing anything, and even brought a medical box thinking she was going to diagnose Imperial Concubine Yue’s pulse. How could she have conspired with Ning Yu?” As the Empress Dowager spoke, she pointed to the medical box on the ground of the Main Hall, which was indeed brought by Bai Ruozhu. Earlier, Bai Ruozhu was in a hurry to leave and accidentally forgot to take it with her.

”Enough, I know what I am doing. If it’s clear after the investigation, I will naturally allow her to go home. I will surely heed Mother’s wishes in other matters, but this time it involves...” The Emperor did not finish his sentence.

The Empress Dowager and Princess Diao Bin knew the Emperor’s temper and could only close their mouths. Shortly after the Emperor left, the Royal Guards Captain arrived to convey a message from Bai Ruozhu. The Empress Dowager immediately said, ”Right, Ziyi, you go deliver the message. You know what should and should not be said.”

Ziyi was unaware of what had happened in the hall, but knew for sure it was something that needed to be kept quiet and quickly agreed. Within half an hour, Ziyi had already conveyed Bai Ruozhu’s message to the Bai Family, only saying the Empress Dowager wanted Bai Ruozhu to accompany her for a few days. Lin Ping’er didn’t think much of it, but Little Dengdeng sensed his mother would not come home and threw a little tantrum.

...

In the dungeon, it was impossible to tell if it was day or night, but Bai Ruozhu had a pocket watch to check the time. She looked at it and felt that the dungeon had become even darker.

She hoped her second brother would not find out she had been locked up, and she believed the Emperor would not let the news spread. Otherwise, she was really afraid her second brother would worry too much.

She carefully tucked the pocket watch inside her collar, contemplating that if no one was watching at night, she would go soak in the hot spring within the Space; the dungeon was both damp and smelly. She wasn’t sure if it was psychological, but she felt unbearably itchy.

Just as she was considering whether to lie down, footsteps came down the corridor. They were light, the kind made by someone skilled in Martial Arts.

Soon, a figure appeared outside the prison door, dressed in the same uniform as the squad captain from earlier, grinning smugly at Bai Ruozhu.

A twitch went through the corner of Bai Ruozhu’s eye. Wasn’t this the Royal Guards Captain who had plotted against her with Concubine Liu last time? She had mentioned it to the Empress Dowager, but due to Imperial Concubine Yue’s matter, the Empress Dowager had been too preoccupied, and it seemed they had not punished Wu Zhishang in the end, saying he had been deceived by a fake letter, merely docking his salary for a few months.

”Bai Ruozhu, we meet again,” Wu Zhishang sneered sinisterly.

”My family name is Jiang, courtesy of my husband. Please mind your words when you speak, Team Leader Wu,” Bai Ruozhu retorted without any politeness.

Wu Zhishang suppressed his voice and chuckled, ”After tonight, let’s see if your husband still wants you!”