Chapter 434

Bu Yonghan, who was dressed in a red dress, slowly walked over. When she saw Baili Jinchuan’s condition, she exclaimed in surprise, “Your Highness, what happened to your hand? Why is it injured? Someone, come quick! Why are the maids not doing their jobs properly? How can they not notice that you’re injured…”

Baili Jinchuan suddenly lifted his head, and his eyes were like a sharp sword piercing into Bu Yonghan. “Where did you go?”

Bu Yonghan slightly widened her eyes and raised her hand to stroke her temples. Her eyes were filled with a seductive charm. “I went for a walk since I noticed you were in a bad mood and did not have time to spare me some attention.”

Baili Jinchuan sneered. He got up and slowly walked to Bu Yonghan. Then, he raised his hand and pinched her chin. With a forceful grip, he left a bruise on her chin. “A walk? Did you accidentally wander into the Imperial Palace and bump into the Crown Prince, Baili Jinyi?”

A look of panic flashed through Bu Yonghan’s eyes. It was as if she was taken aback by the accuracy of Baili Jinchuan’s accusation. “You were busy with your own matters, and mother is alone in the palace. I simply went there to visit her and happened to bump into the Crown Prince. What are you trying to imply?”

Baili Jinchuan let go of her, took out a towel, and carefully wiped his fingers as if he had just touched something filthy. “You can do whatever you want. Who would care about a pile of trash wherever it is?”

Bu Yonghan’s face turned red, and her anger overwhelmed her. “Baili Jinchuan, you are too much! Hmph, isn’t Shen Ninghua someone you care about? She will be executed in a few days. Once she dies, you will have nothing left to care about!”

Nurse Wu was waiting at the door anxiously, afraid that Bu Yonghan and Baili Jinchuan’s conversation would turn into a fight. After a while, she saw Bu Yonghan coming out and was finally relieved. “Ah! Your Grace, your face…”

Bu Yonghan frowned in frustration. “It’s fine. I’ll go and apply some ointment.” Then, she thought, “Baili Jinchuan, I will make you regret everything you have done to me!”

Nurse Wu sighed. After comforting Bu Yonghan, she wrote a letter and had someone send it to the Great Yue Kingdom. She wrote: The Princess was getting more outrageous. In fact, she even banded with the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was at an advantage now to take over the kingdom. The Second Prince was already in a terrible situation, yet the Princess did not help him and instead, she took the opportunity to backstab him. If this went on, the Princess would not be in a favorable position regardless of whether it was the Crown Prince or the Second Prince who won in the end. Please send people over quickly so that once the Da’an Kingdom was in havoc, they can take advantage of the chaos and bring the Princess back.

Nurse Wu finished writing the letter and wanted to summon a Man of Sacrifice to send it over, but there was still no response a long time after she gave the signal. Her heart suddenly dropped. Since the last assassination incident, the Princess should have four Men of Sacrifice left. Why couldn’t she find anyone now? At once, she thought of Shen Ninghua, who was imprisoned. She heard that assassins were caught in Shen Ninghua’s mansion… Could the Princess have sent the last four Men of Sacrifice to frame Shen Ninghua?

Thinking of this possible scenario, she was angry to the point where she almost spat out blood. Those men were supposed to be the last resort for keeping the Princess safe. How reckless could she be?

In the Fifth Prince Mansion, Baili Junyi was trying to get his children to sleep. After they fell asleep, he gently wiped away the tears on their faces and beckoned Qing Que and Hong Ling to come in. “Look after the Little Masters. I am going out to deal with some matters.”

“Your Highness…” Hong Ling could not help but ask, “Are you going to the Imperial Clan Court to see Her Grace? That place must be filled with traps that are waiting for you to make the wrong move. Her Grace has already put herself in danger so that the plan can succeed. For that to happen, you must stay safe too.” If something bad happened to Baili Juny, not only would Shen Ninghua have sacrificed for nothing, but the children would also end up in a hopeless situation.

Baili Junyi nodded. “I understand.”

At this time, Shen Ninghua was sitting in the Imperial Clan Court’s dungeon, casually looking around. No matter how much the Emperor hated the Third Prince, the latter was only confined to his own mansion. It was absurd that she got locked up.

Xiao Jingran, who was dressed in an official uniform, strode in. When he saw Shen Ninghua looking around, he smirked faintly. “Princess Zhaohua, are you enjoying your time in the dungeon?”

Shen Ninghua turned to glance at him indifferently and said nonchalantly, “Not too bad. You didn’t disappoint me.”

“Haha. Enjoy yourself then.” A sinister glint flashed across Xiao Jingran’s eyes. Shen Ninghua was still reluctant to accept her fate. This dungeon was especially cold. With her six-month-old pregnancy, he didn’t even need to use any tricks and could easily kill her in three to five days!

When Xiao Jingran was about to turn around and leave, Shen Ninghua chuckled. “Old General Xiao, you are hailed as the God of War. Have you been sleeping well recently?”

Xiao Jingran sneered, “Yes. I feel at peace.”

“Oh? Is that so? I wonder if it’s because too many things have happened, but I have been dreaming recently. I dreamed of the Xia Family’s elders. I dreamed that they were crying out to the King of Hell and said they had died unjustly. They had many soldiers and officers following them, and they were all your subordinates. Tsk tsk, that miserable look they had…”

Xiao Jingran’s eyes twitched. “They didn’t have the power to beat me when they were alive. How dare they complain to the King of Hell now that they are dead? It’s impossible for the King of Hell to intervene in the mortal world. Even if he could, I have a deathly aura. If he comes, I will scare him off!”

“Old General Xiao, you are so mighty. Even I got scared by your words. How will you deal with me?” Shen Ninghua looked over with a faint smile.

Xiao Jingran laughed loudly. “Haha, I thought you were talking nonsense because you wanted to do something. So this is what you wanted to know all along. Are you afraid now?”

“Of course I am! I have enjoyed the wealth of being a Princess Consort, and I’m pregnant now. I want to protect everything, including my wealth, power, and descendants. It is only sensible for me to be afraid, and now, you have the Crown Prince, who has all the authority under the sky, by your side. Wouldn’t I die in vain if you do something to me in prison?”

“Hmph. I thought you were intelligent, but apparently, you’re not. Don’t worry. Before Baili Junyi gets arrested, I won’t do anything to you. It is up to you how long you can endure the conditions here,” Xiao Jingran sneered sarcastically.

When Xiao Jingran left, Shen Ninghua looked down and silently closed the lid of the porcelain bottle in her hand. Then, she lifted the ice-cold quilt and spread it across the stone bed. Then, she sat down on it. “Xiao Jingran, I hope you can still sleep well from today onward.”

Shen Ninghua sat for a while. Her surrounding was eerily quiet. The Imperial Clan Court was only meant to imprison royal family members who committed crimes. In recent years, Baili Qingcang had been excellent in managing political affairs, so this place had been vacant for many years.

Suddenly, there was a slight sound. Shen Ninghua turned her head and saw Baili Junyi dressed in black. He could almost pass off as a shadow. “Junyi, why are you here?” She couldn’t help but look in the direction of the prison door. Seeing that no one had rushed in, she was relieved.

Baili Junyi looked at Shen Ninghua and then checked her surroundings. He felt as if his heart was bleeding. “Ninghua, are you alright?”

After seeing him, Shen Ninghua felt her anxious heart calming down. She couldn’t help but smile. “I’m good. Although it’s cold here, I made preparations in advance. It’s fine.”

There was a heavy lock at the old prison gate so Baili Junyi couldn’t go in. They could only look at each other tenderly through the prison bars.

“Ninghua, I’m sorry.”

Shen Ninghua chuckled. “It’s not a big deal.” She could feel his guilt, but she did not mind doing this at all. She was happy to be able to do something for him, even if it meant putting herself in a risky position.

Her short response almost made Baili Junyi lose his composure. He reached out to hold Shen Ninghua’s hands and felt slightly relieved when finding her hands did not feel cold. “Ninghua, I will get you out very soon.”

Shen Ninghua’s smile faded slightly. “Junyi, as long as you are safe out there, I will not be in danger here. Don’t take too much risk just because you want to save me quickly.”

“Okay. I will keep that in mind.”

The sound of soldiers patrolling came from outside. It was time for the soldiers to change shifts. With that, Baili Junyi said softly, “Ninghua, I should go.”

“Yes. Stay safe.”

Baili Junyi took a long look at Shen Ninghua. Then, he turned around and quickly left. He had snuck in during the change of shifts and had to leave before the shift change was over. Otherwise, he would be trapped in the Imperial Clan Court.

Soon after Baili Junyi left, Xiao Jingran returned. With a sharp gaze, he looked around the prison. He saw that Shen Ninghua was still sitting in the Heavenly Prison calmly, and there was nothing abnormal around her. With that, the suspicion in his eyes faded a little. “Did someone come just now?”

Shen Ninghua turned around and glanced at him. “Old General Xiao, you are hale and hearty indeed. You are still patrolling outside at such an old age. However, your eyesight must have weakened with age. Except for your people, even a fly can’t enter here, let alone a person.”

“Hmph, it’s best if no one came in. If someone had come in, I would have been the first to slice him into pieces!”

Shen Ninghua’s expression was cold, and she didn’t want to look at his disgusting face anymore. She got up and spread the quilt again. “You came at the right time. Hurry up and get someone to get two more blankets for me.”

“Hah, do you think this is the Fifth Prince Mansion where you can make requests?”

“What’s wrong? Do you intend to murder my unborn imperial son? Moreover, I haven’t been convicted yet. Even if I am convicted, you will have to wait for me to give birth to the imperial son peacefully before you can execute me. This is Da’an Kingdom’s law. How could you not know about this?”

“Alright. I will have someone send you a blanket. You must make sure that you don’t have a miscarriage and lose the imperial son in your belly.”

“There is no need for you to worry about this matter.”

The next day, the news of Princess Zhaohua being imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court went viral in the capital. The people were puzzled but did not dare to discuss it openly like before. Even though the royal family was out of their reach, they could sense that something was wrong. The Emperor had just returned to the capital in a coma. A few days later, Princess Zhaohua was imprisoned. The people were speculating that these two matters were related.