Chapter 470 Resembling an Old Acquaintance

Chapter 470: She Looks Like an Acquaintance

Luo Jingshen really didn't want to go in. He found the place filthy and dark, totally beneath someone of his noble status.

He felt dirty just thinking about stepping foot inside.

How the hell did Ji Qingqing even survive in a place like this?

But when Luo Jingshen saw Hua Feixue's eager expression, he quickly changed his mind.

"Lord Zhao, you've got it wrong. Of course I must go in. Isn't it just a prison? If the guards can go in, why can't I?"

He had already promised Hua Feixue that he would bring her to the government office to see the world. If he couldn't even set foot in a prison, wouldn't that make him look useless to her?

Though Luo Jingshen was arrogant, he still didn't want to lose face in front of the woman he loved.

Seeing that Luo Jingshen insisted on going in, Zhao Chengjiu didn't argue further and stepped aside to let him pass.

"Then by all means, Your Highness!"

"Snow, don't be afraid. Stay behind me..." Luo Jingshen turned around, instinctively wanting to remind Hua Feixue to follow him and that he would protect her.

But when he turned around, Hua Feixue was nowhere to be seen!

Startled, Luo Jingshen quickly asked, "Where is the young lady who was just beside me?"

Zhao Chengjiu's mouth twitched. He said awkwardly, "Reporting to Your Highness, that young lady ran inside on her own while you were talking to me!"

Luo Jingshen: "..."

Luo Jingshen: "!!!"

He didn't care about anything else and quickly said, "Follow me in now!"

The prison was full of all kinds of people, many of them murderers. He was genuinely afraid Hua Feixue might get hurt in there.

The moment he stepped into the prison, Luo Jingshen nearly vomited.

The stench of rot and mold hit him right in the face. Rats and cockroaches scurried across the corridor, feeding on the bloodstains that had yet to dry in the cells.

When the prisoners saw someone come in, they got all riled up. Their hair a mess, they pressed against the iron doors, sticking withered hands through the bars, shouting their grievances at Zhao Chengjiu.

"Lord Prefect, I've been wronged! I didn't kill anyone! You've arrested the wrong person!"

"Lord Prefect, please save me! I have an eighty-year-old mother and three children at home. My whole family depends on me to put food on the table!"

"Lord Prefect, I beg you to release me!"

"..."

As he walked by, the prisoners' wails erupted one after another, echoing through the whole prison.

Luo Jingshen was disgusted. He covered his nose and sped up.

Suddenly, a rotten egg flew out from a cell and hit Luo Jingshen directly.

"You corrupt bastard! If you're gonna kill me, just get it over with! Why do you keep feeding me rotten food every damn day? Prisoners are human too! This is abuse! I'm gonna report you to the imperial court!"

The egg hit Luo Jingshen right in the face, and his expression turned sour instantly. He roared angrily, "How dare you! You threw a rotten egg at me?!"

"Your Highness, please calm down," Zhao Chengjiu said, quickly handing him a handkerchief before turning to scold the prisoner. "How dare you throw an egg at the Crown Prince! You got a death wish or what?"

The prisoner had never seen Luo Jingshen before. He just thought the man was dressed sharp and looked imposing, with an air of nobility.

Who would've thought the Crown Prince himself would show up at a prison? Scared for his life, the prisoner dropped to his knees and begged for mercy.

"Your Highness, please spare me! I had no idea the Crown Prince was here. I was an idiot and didn't recognize you. I meant to throw it at that dog... I mean, the Lord Prefect! I didn't mean to hit the wrong person. I'm really sorry!"

Luo Jingshen was livid. He wiped his face with the handkerchief, then washed it twice with water, but the smell still wouldn't go away.

But since Hua Feixue was still waiting for him up ahead, he dropped the idea of changing clothes. He shot Zhao Chengjiu a cold, sharp look.

"Lord Zhao, the prisoners in your jail are way out of line. They need to be taught a lesson!"

Zhao Chengjiu broke into a cold sweat. He knew Luo Jingshen wanted him to find a way to kill that prisoner.

Not daring to defy him, he just kept nodding. "Yes, yes, Your Highness. I understand."

Luo Jingshen flicked his sleeves, snorted coldly, and walked off without looking back.

When he turned the corner, he saw Hua Feixue running toward him, looking all wronged.

"Your Highness, Second Miss Ji was talking trash about me..."

Hua Feixue instinctively wanted to throw herself into Luo Jingshen's arms, but as she got close, she caught a weird smell on him.

She stopped dead in her tracks, turned her head away in disgust, raised her arm, and covered her face with her sleeve, putting on a look of total innocence.

Seeing his beauty in tears, Luo Jingshen panicked and quickly asked, "Snow, what the hell happened?"

"I wanted to help you out, Your Highness. I went to see Second Miss Ji out of kindness and suggested she get rid of the baby in her belly. But instead, she called me a nosy busybody, said I had a seductive face and was a fox spirit who specializes in luring men. She even said..."

Hua Feixue's eyes were all teary, and she looked even more wronged. Luo Jingshen immediately pressed, "What else did she say?"

"She also said I look a lot like someone she knows. She said that person stole money from the Marquis Yongning estate, played with her second brother's feelings, and was a real bitch..."

Right after Hua Feixue finished, everyone heard a frantic, furious scream from a cell up ahead, loud as hell.

"Hua Feixue, you bitch! Don't think I won't recognize you just because you changed your clothes and makeup! Even if you were burned to ashes, I could still recognize you at a glance!"

"You're nothing but a lowlife selling porn paintings for a living! If it weren't for my second brother taking a fancy to you and bringing you home, what right would you have to step foot in our Marquis Yongning estate?"

"You deceived my second brother's feelings, and now you've hooked up with the Crown Prince! Do you have any shame at all? Do you have to steal every man around me?"

"Hua Feixue, you liar, you bitch! You'll die a horrible death..."

Ji Qingqing's voice was too familiar. Luo Jingshen could recognize her almost instantly, but this was the first time he had heard her curse so crudely.

All sorts of filthy words and obscenities came pouring out of her mouth, nothing like the image she usually presented.

More importantly, the person she was cursing was his beloved Snow.

Luo Jingshen couldn't listen any longer. He gritted his teeth and ordered, "Linchuan, go slap her mouth until it's swollen!"

Linchuan acknowledged and walked straight to the cell where Ji Qingqing was held.

When Ji Qingqing saw Linchuan, her heart leaped with joy. She thought Luo Jingshen had sent him to rescue her!

She stood up and asked excitedly, "Did the Crown Prince send you?"

------------

Chapter 471: Watching the Show

Linchuan kept a cold, indifferent look as he nodded, "Yes."

Ji Qingqing's heart swelled with joy. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, a slap cracked across her face.

"Slap!"

Once she snapped out of her shock, Ji Qingqing covered her cheek and looked at Linchuan in disbelief.

"Didn't the Crown Prince send you to take me out? How dare you slap me?"

"I'm carrying the Crown Prince's child in my womb. Aren't you scared I'll get the Crown Prince to punish you?"

Linchuan looked at her, his expression still as cold as ever, "The Crown Prince did order me, but not to take you out."

"The Crown Prince ordered me to slap that mouth of yours shut. I take orders from the Crown Prince and no one else."

Ji Qingqing panicked and spun around to flee, but there was no way she could outrun Linchuan.

Pretty soon, the sharp crack of slaps rang out.

Hua Feixue listened, a quick flash of smug satisfaction in her eyes.

She went on playing the victim to Luo Jingshen, "Your Highness, I don't know any Hua Feixue, not at all. I've never set foot in the Marquis Yongning's estate, and I've never met her second brother either. This is nothing but pure slander."

"You've already seen my indenture contract. My father's surname is An, and he's from Anzhou. My real name is An Xuehua. You can have someone look into it, Your Highness."

Hearing this, Luo Jingshen took Hua Feixue's hand and looked at her with gentle eyes, "Xuehua, I believe you."

He'd only dared to bring her in because he'd already checked her indenture contract.

Besides, Ji Qingqing had lied to him so many times, she never told a single truthful word. Who's to say she wasn't just trying to frame Hua Feixue?

Not long after, Linchuan came out, and Ji Qingqing's shouting stopped.

Luo Jingshen held Hua Feixue's hand, his voice surprisingly gentle.

"Xuehua, don't be afraid. With me around, she wouldn't dare lay a finger on you."

Hua Feixue gave a shy nod.

When they reached the prison door, Ji Qingqing saw Luo Jingshen and Hua Feixue standing side by side, fingers intertwined, and she nearly lost her mind.

She lunged at the prison door, eyes bloodshot, pointing a finger at Hua Feixue.

"Your Highness, she's lying to you! Her name is Hua Feixue. She's the woman my second brother brought home. Don't you dare believe her!"

Ji Qingqing let out a raspy shriek. Her once pretty face was so swollen it was unrecognizable, her hair a tangled mess like straw. The sight made Luo Jingshen's stomach turn.

"If I don't believe her, am I supposed to believe you?"

"Ji Qingqing, even now, you're still running your mouth. Did you trick me into coming here just to set up Xuehua and get me to kill her?"

"Let me make this clear: not only will I not kill her, I'm taking her as my concubine and making her mine."

"As for you..." He paused, shooting Ji Qingqing a mocking glance, "Do you still think you're the high-and-mighty Second Miss Ji from before?"

"Your own father and brother died because of you. You've got two deaths on your hands. And here's something you don't know—your mother and eldest brother have been taking you to court, demanding compensation from the Marquis Yongning's estate."

"If they don't get it, you'll either end up dead or rot in this prison for the rest of your life, cursed and spat on by everyone."

Ji Qingqing had already seen this coming, but hearing Luo Jingshen say it out loud still broke her.

"No, I don't wanna die. I can't stay in this prison..."

There was just one tiny window, and she used it to check the sky outside and count how many days she'd been locked up.

God only knows how agonizing these past two weeks had been.

She couldn't stand the thought of spending the rest of her life in a place like this.

At that thought, Ji Qingqing's knees buckled, and she dropped to the ground before Luo Jingshen.

"Your Highness, please, for the sake of the child I'm carrying, save me. I'm still so young. I don't want to die."

Luo Jingshen had come today precisely for this matter.

Ignoring Ji Qingqing, he addressed the imperial physician following behind him, "Go check Ji Qingqing's pulse and see if she's really pregnant or just faking it."

The physician replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

The prison door opened, and Ji Qingqing tried to rush out but was blocked by Linchuan.

He said, "The Second Miss Ji better cooperate with the physician's exam."

Ji Qingqing was displeased but dared not refuse.

She knew that the child in her belly was her only chance to turn things around.

Even if Luo Jingshen didn't love her, he should spare her life for the sake of the child.

So Ji Qingqing stopped resisting and cooperated with the physician's examination.

After a moment, the physician stood up and stepped out of the cell.

He respectfully said to Luo Jingshen, "Your Highness, the Second Miss Ji's pulse indeed indicates pregnancy. The fetus is less than a month old."

"However, due to her extreme emotional fluctuations and poor nutrition, the fetus is unstable and shows signs of a threatened miscarriage."

"Additionally, this subordinate has discovered another issue, though I'm unsure if I should speak."

"Speak quickly," Luo Jingshen urged.

"The Second Miss Ji has a yin-deficient constitution with insufficient yin fluids. She may only be able to conceive this one child in her lifetime. It will be difficult for her to become pregnant again."

Ji Qingqing: "!!!"

She was utterly stunned. She could never get pregnant again?

How was that possible?

Ji Qingqing understood better than anyone what a child meant to a woman.

She felt as if heaven had given her good news but then played a cruel joke on her.

If she lost this child, she would never be able to become a mother again!

With that thought, she quickly begged through tears, "Your Highness, please save me, save our child!"

"This is my first child with Your Highness. I can't bear to lose him. If you can save me, I'd even agree to be a concubine."

"I promise I'll never anger Your Highness again. I beg you!"

Tears streamed down Ji Qingqing's face as she kowtowed to Luo Jingshen, not stopping even when her forehead started bleeding.

Hua Feixue was loving every second of it. She hadn't wasted her time today—this show was totally worth it.

Recalling the insults Ji Qingqing had hurled at her, she curled her red lips coldly and said mockingly:

"That's quite a statement, Miss Ji. This is your first child, but not His Highness's first. It's you who can't bear children, not His Highness who can't father them. Why would he take a murderer as a concubine?"

"Besides, with His Highness's stamina—seven times a night—he'll have plenty of kids in the future. Why would he need to keep that bastard in your belly?"

------------