Love Lock

Chapter 339 Dongming Spy
Four armored palace guards carried a stretcher, their steps heavy, as they walked through the gloomy, dimly lit passageway of the imperial prison.

The wall lamp cast a flickering, dim yellow light, stretching their shadows to varying lengths, like ghostly figures.

The air was thick with the smells of mildew, blood, and despair, with only the occasional echoes of footsteps and the dragging of chains breaking the silence.

On the stretcher, Dongfang Jiming stared blankly at the damp, cobweb-covered stone ceiling that kept passing overhead, his face expressionless.

His face, illuminated by the flickering firelight, appeared deathly pale, and the once vibrant red brocade robe that symbolized his status and power was now dull and lifeless.

The bright red brocade robe clung to his body in a wrinkled mess, like congealed, blackened blood.

He closed his eyes, his long eyelashes seemingly cutting him off from all perception of the outside world, numbly awaiting his final fate.

However, as the stretcher passed a narrow cell, a ragged figure huddled in a corner suddenly raised its head.

When Zhao Qiao'er caught sight of that familiar yet dazzling crimson, she suddenly burst forth with an unbelievable light, as if a dying person were seeing a hallucination.

She cried out in a trembling voice, "Young...Young Master?"

Dongfang Jiming's eyelids twitched almost imperceptibly.

The cry was faint and distant, yet it was like a fine needle that pierced through his self-imposed isolation.

He opened his eyes extremely slowly; those once charming and scheming eyes were now nothing but desolate silence.

He looked in the direction of the sound without expression, his gaze landing on the grime-covered face behind the cell door, contorted with agitation.

Just that one glance made Zhao Qiao'er's heart skip a beat, and then she started to ramble wildly.

It's him, it's him!

Even though the person on the stretcher was sickly pale, with disheveled hair and a wretched appearance, she would never forget the face that had captivated her at first sight, nor the noble air that seemed to have seeped into her very bones, even in such a state of despair.

"Young master! Young master, look at me! It's me! We met in the alley!" Zhao Qiao'er cried out, gripping the railing, her voice brimming with barely concealed excitement. "Young master, what are you doing here? Why are you being carried? Are you injured?"

Zhao Qiao'er was incoherent, as if she had grasped at a lifeline. She even excitedly turned to a darker corner and shouted, "Princess! Princess! Look! It's this young master! This is the young master I was telling you about! He's here! He's really here!"

The four palace guards carrying the stretcher seemed not to hear her cries, and without even pausing, they carried Dongfang Jiming straight to the end of the passage.

The outer part of the prison is the women's prison, while the men's prison is located deep in the corridor.

The heavy footsteps of the guards echoed in the empty corridor, mercilessly crushing Zhao Qiao'er's hopes.

Watching those tall figures escort the stretcher and disappear around the corner at the end of the passage, and hearing the heavy clanging of iron chains and the creaking of the prison door opening from that direction, Zhao Qiao'er felt as if her heart was being clenched.

She pressed her face even harder against the wooden railing, peering out and calling out in vain, "Young master! Young master, look at me! It's me!"

At the end of the passage, a guard coldly ordered, "Untie him and leave him here."

Next, the guards warned the jailers, "You must keep a close watch on this man for twelve hours straight. If anything goes wrong with him, you'll lose your heads!"

The voices of the jailers, bowing and scraping, could be faintly heard: "Rest assured, sir, we will guard you carefully and will absolutely not dare to let anything go wrong! Absolutely not!"

Seeing the four guards complete the handover and turn back from the end of the passage, hope rekindled in Zhao Qiao'er's eyes.

She hurriedly and clumsily smoothed her dry, tangled hair at her temples, tugged at her filthy, stained clothes, and forced a fawning smile.

She anxiously inquired of the approaching guards, "Sir, sir, please wait! What happened to that young master just now? Was he seriously injured? Or... or did he commit some crime? Why was he carried here?"

The guards stopped in their tracks. The one in the lead was particularly tall and had a stern face.

He glanced at Zhao Qiao'er, his eyes like venomous needles, and asked in a deep voice, "Do you know that person from earlier?"

Zhao Qiao'er nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice, her face plastered with a fawning smile: "I know her! I know her! I know her!"

Fearing that she was too insignificant to hear any information and even more afraid of losing this opportunity to potentially establish a connection with that noble young man, she hastily brought up Princess Chang Le as well.

"Not only does this humble woman know him, but Princess Chang Le inside also knows that young master! Sir, please... please open the door and let us see that young master! The princess is rich! She can give you a lot of money!"

Seeing Zhao Qiao'er acting all high and mighty, Princess Chang Le, who was sitting in the corner, immediately stood up. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she scolded her angrily, "Zhao Qiao'er! What nonsense are you spouting!"

She had been living in fear in prison these past few days and was no longer the composed woman she once was. Now, she was so angry at Zhao Qiao'er's stupidity that she was trembling all over.

The four palace guards exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with a fierce light.

The leading, cold-faced guard, his hand on the sword at his waist, a chilling smile playing on his lips, ordered the jailer: "Open the cell door!"

The jailer dared not delay and quickly took out his key, which clattered as he unlocked the iron lock on the cell where Zhao Qiao'er and Princess Chang Le were located.

When Zhao Qiao'er saw that the door had actually opened, she thought that her words had worked and was overjoyed.

Thinking that she was about to meet that alluring and noble young man, she disregarded Princess Chang Le's angry rebuke and immediately rushed forward like a bird released from its cage, saying, "Thank you, sir! Thank you..."

Before she could finish speaking, the cold-faced guard suddenly raised his foot and kicked her hard in the stomach!
"what--!"

Zhao Qiao'er screamed and flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing to the ground in an arc.

She clutched her stomach and instantly curled up into a ball, as if her internal organs had shifted. The pain was so intense that her vision went black and she couldn't even make a sound.

"Know him? Very well!" The cold-faced guard strode into the cell, his voice as cold as icy shards striking each other. "That prisoner in red is none other than Dongfang Jiming, the Grand Commander of the Dongming Intelligence Bureau! He is one of the culprits who drove our captured soldiers to the front lines, forced them to perform the sheep-leading ceremony, humiliated our national prestige, and caused the deaths of Marshal Lu and countless soldiers! Your acquaintance with him means you are undoubtedly spies of Dongming!"

The other three guards also filed in, their faces filled with the same indignant anger as the people outside.

These palace guards may not have been on the front lines, but their sense of military honor and loyalty to the country filled them with a deep-seated hatred for the Dongming prisoners, especially high-ranking officials like Dongfang Jiming.

At this moment, all this pent-up anger finally found an outlet.

"Beat them! Beat these Dongming dogs to death!"

"They look so respectable and delicate, I never imagined they were spies from Dongming. I'll beat them all to death!" "They insulted our national prestige and harmed our compatriots; everyone has the right to kill them!"

"I've never had the chance to fight on the battlefield, so today I'll use you two traitors as a sacrifice!"

"..."

Fists and kicks rained down like a dense storm, mixed with foul language and curses, mercilessly striking Zhao Qiao'er, who was curled up on the ground, and Princess Chang Le, who was trying to dodge.

The bones collided with the hard-soled boots and fists, producing a dull, teeth-grinding sound.

"Ah! Don't hit us, we're not spies." Zhao Qiao'er's screams and pleas for mercy quickly faded as she could only cover her head, futilely enduring this undeserved calamity.

Princess Chang Le had never suffered such humiliation and beatings. She was in pain, scared, shocked, and angry, and in the chaos, she put on her princess-like dignity again.

She clutched her head and screamed shrilly, "Stop! You dog slaves! Are you blind?! Look at yourself properly, I am Princess Chang Le! I am a member of the royal family! How dare you hit me?!"

It would have been better if she hadn't revealed that she was a princess; by doing so, she only added fuel to the fire.

The cold-faced guard grabbed her hair, forcing her to lift her face, which was contorted with fear and pain, and slapped her hard with his other hand!

"Snapped!"

A crisp slap echoed through the cell.

"Princess?" The guard spat, his anger blazing even brighter. "As a princess, you should uphold the dignity of the Great Jing and be loyal to the emperor and the country! Yet you have debased yourself, associating with spies from Dongming, betraying your country and colluding with the enemy! Your crime is compounded!"

Another guard kicked Zhao Qiao'er's face repeatedly while shouting, "Even if you are a princess, today we will teach you two traitors a lesson on behalf of His Majesty and the soldiers who died unjustly! After the beating, we will personally go to His Majesty to plead guilty! Let's see if His Majesty believes you two spies who know the enemy chieftain, or us loyal guards who protect his lord!"

Princess Chang Le and Zhao Qiao'er were utterly wronged. Zhao Qiao'er had only seen Dongfang Jiming once by chance, and Princess Chang Le hadn't even seen him clearly, yet they had to bear the heinous crime of being "Dongming spies" and suffer a merciless beating.

Only after they were actually beaten did the two remember to cry foul.

Princess Chang Le pleaded desperately, her voice shrill: "I'm innocent! I don't know him at all!"

Zhao Qiao'er quickly clarified: "Sir, please spare my life! I... I only bumped into him once on the street! Sir, please spare my life!"

However, their explanations were useless against the guards' angry shouts and fists; the guards continued to beat them, and even the jailers joined in.

They don't believe it at all, or rather, what they need right now is someone to vent to.

Seeing Zhao Qiao'er's overly excited and oblivious behavior upon seeing Dongfang Jiming, they would never believe that the two were strangers.

After an unknown amount of time, the violence finally stopped.

The four guards straightened their armor, which had become somewhat disheveled from the exertion, and gave a cold glance at the two women who lay limp on the ground like rag dolls.

Zhao Qiao'er's left arm was twisted at an extremely unnatural angle, clearly broken. Her face was bruised and swollen, blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth, and she was only exhaling, not inhaling, lying on the ground groaning weakly.

Princess Chang Le clutched her right leg, sweating profusely from the pain; the leg was also strangely bent.

She bit her lip hard, tears mixed with blood and dust streaming down her face, but dared not make a sound. She could only look at the guards with eyes full of fear and resentment.

"Hmph! You got off easy!" The cold-faced guard said, turning and leaving the cell with the others. He then sternly shouted at the jailer, "Watch them closely! These two are serious criminals! If they die, you will be held responsible!"

"Yes, yes, yes! I understand!" The jailer turned ashen-faced and quickly locked the cell door again.

The footsteps of the guards gradually faded into the distance, and apart from the groans of Princess Chang Le and Zhao Qiao'er, the prison returned to deathly silence, with only the flames of the wall lamps still flickering tirelessly.

In the special cell at the end of the passage, Dongfang Jiming was roughly moved from the stretcher to a hard bed covered with a thin layer of dry straw. His ankles were once again locked in heavy iron shackles and connected to iron rings embedded in the wall.

He had clearly heard the faint sounds of beatings, cries, and curses coming from the passageway outside. Yet, he remained expressionless, staring at the water seepage marks on the cell ceiling, his empty eyes devoid of any emotion.

Zhao Qiao'er's cries, the guards' brutality, the woman's screams... what did all this have to do with him? It was just a few more insignificant wronged souls added to this abyss of despair.

He even found it somewhat laughable. That foolish woman, because of a fleeting infatuation, had dragged herself and that so-called princess into this abyss of no return. And those guards of the Great Jing were just as blind and violent.

Well, in this cold wait for death, hearing about others' even more tragic experiences might be a small... consolation.
He slowly closed his eyes, completely shutting himself out of the outside world.

In that ordinary cell filled with the smell of blood, Zhao Qiao'er fainted from pain and fear.

Princess Chang Le hugged her broken leg, curled up in a corner, her body trembling from the pain and cold. Her eyes, which had initially been filled with resentment, gradually became as empty and desperate as Dongfang Jiming's.

Last time, because Wei Chengchao's Jinxiufang secretly sent supplies to the Turks, the two of them were also arrested without even realizing it.

After a period of interrogation yielded no results, they remained imprisoned, just like the members of the Wei clan. Emperor Jing was currently preoccupied with the wars in various regions and had not yet paid attention to them.

Originally, if Emperor Jing ever remembered them and showed them mercy, they might have a chance to be released. But now, Zhao Qiao'er's desperate cry of "Young Master," and her eagerness to curry favor, were like the first domino to fall, triggering a series of uncontrollable disasters that plunged them completely into the abyss of being labeled "Eastern Ming spies."

Several palace guards testified that they were burdened with the stigma of being spies for the Eastern Ming Dynasty, a charge they couldn't shake off...

Days passed, and news of the great victory at Dongguan spread throughout the city, much to the delight and elation of the people. However, a tense atmosphere prevailed in the imperial palace.

The joy of the great victory at Dongguan lasted less than half a day in Emperor Jing's heart, because there was still a mountain weighing on his mind. That was—Zhao Zun, the Prince of Cangzhou.

Da Jiu returned with the new army and prisoners to report the good news and claim credit. Therefore, Emperor Jing was unaware that Dongguan and Jizhou had also fallen into the hands of the King of Cangzhou.

He also kept his sights firmly on Qingzhou and Yizhou. After a brief moment of joy, he ordered all the troops in the capital region, including the patrol battalions, to intensify their training in preparation for any confrontation with the King of Cangzhou. Every military camp in the capital was on high alert.

He then dispatched a large number of scouts and secret guards from the north and west gates to Qingzhou and Yizhou to gather intelligence on the movements of the Cangzhou army.

He even stopped visiting the harem, and whenever he had a spare moment, he would immediately pick up his sword and practice his martial arts, preparing to personally lead an expedition at any time.

Little did they know that on that very afternoon, a richly decorated carriage, escorted by guards, slowly entered the city through the east gate of the capital.

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