CH 139.2

Translator – Xiao He Lian

Wednesday Updates –> Chapter 8/12

Chapter 139.2

Wen Liang raised his head and said in a daze, “To see Prince Xuan?”

The eunuch’s expression turned cold: “What? You don’t want to accept Eunuch Zhu’s favor?”

“No.” Wen Liang said, “I…”

As soon as the words came out, they were all stuck in his throat.

Wen Liang finally understood that his being able to sit in this carriage had nothing to do with His Royal Highness, it was all thanks to his good brother.

He ran around, begging so many people but in the end, even the news that Shi Jin was going to be executed was said by a soldier. But now, he was able to see Shi Jin easily just by obtaining the mercy of that good brother of his.

For a moment, Wen Liang couldn’t express what he felt in his heart.

Bitterness, numbness, suffocation, regret…

All kinds of emotions intertwined into a huge net, covering him from top to bottom. He opened his mouth and after a long time, he only let out a long sigh: “Thank you, Eunuch, for your kindness. I will remember Eunuch Zhu’s favor in my heart for the rest of my life.”

“Not at all.” The eunuch waved his hands disapprovingly and didn’t say anything more to Wen Liang but went to the front and whispered a few words to the coachman.

Soon, the carriage started moving.

Wen Liang stretched out his hand to open the curtain next to him and looked out, only to see that the surrounding scenery was receding and those soldiers he had spoken to not long ago also turned their heads to look at him, and in no time at all, they were left far behind by the carriage.

The carriage passed through the palace gate unimpeded and headed inward.

Wen Liang put down the curtains, stared at his own toes in a daze. The eunuch was sitting opposite him and had no intention of communicating with him and had closed his eyes to rest his mind.

Wen Liang didn’t know how long it took, but the carriage finally stopped.

The eunuch hadn’t fallen asleep, he opened his eyes immediately after sensing the movement. He looked at Wen Liang and said: “Get out of the carriage.”

Wen Liang quickly nodded in response, then followed the eunuch and got out of the carriage.

Looking around, he saw that this place was remote and quiet. Except for a group of soldiers guarding outside the prison, he couldn’t see anyone else. But he could see the dark gray fence was so high that it covered the sky. Standing in front of this fence, the feeling of suffocation followed him like  a shadow, as if an invisible hand pinched on Wen Liang’s neck.

Wen Liang opened his mouth, but still felt out of breath.

The environment here was too depressing and he was a bit overwhelmed just after getting down from the carriage.

But the eunuch who led the way seemed to have been to these places a lot. He walked over casually and whispered to one of the soldiers for a while.

The soldier glanced at the stiff figure of Wen Liang, nodded and turned around to call a soldier.

The soldier said to the eunuch, “Eunuch, this way please.”

The eunuch prepared to follow but suddenly thought of something, turned around and saw Wen Liang was still standing there stupidly and immediately spoke unhappily: “Aren’t you coming? Do you want me to find someone to invite you in in a palanquin?”

Wen Liang came back to his senses and hurriedly followed the eunuch.

In fact, this was the place where serious criminals are held, and it is called the heavenly prison. Throughout the ages, many relatives of the emperor or high-ranking officials who used to have power have been held here. The environment was not comparable to those ordinary prisons that hold ordinary people.

But when Wen Liang walked in, he was still so suffocated by the obvious smell in the air that he blocked his nose with his index finger.

Although the layout here looks the same as that of an ordinary mansion, with tables, chairs, beds and cabinets all available, it was dark and humid here, with black reptiles flashing past from time to time.

Wen Liang was afraid of those bugs since he was a child, so he couldn’t help shivering and quickly rubbed his arms, trying to use this movement to push back the goosebumps that had arisen on his body.

The soldiers and eunuchs who led the way didn’t notice Wen Liang’s emotions, or rather, they didn’t care about Wen Liang’s thoughts at all.

It wasn’t until they came outside a cell that the soldiers leading the way stopped.

The eunuch also stopped behind the soldier.

Then, the soldier took out the key chain from his waist, found one of the keys and opened the heavy iron lock on the door.

The soldier made a gesture: “Time is limited, so be sure to make a long story short.”

The eunuch stood still, turning his head to look at Wen Liang who stood behind them.

Wen Liang didn’t expect that after so many days of hard work, he would see Shi Jin so easily. His footsteps were erratic, as if in a dream, as he walked slowly into the cell under the watchful eyes of the soldiers and eunuch.

The damp and unpleasant smell was worse inside than outside.

Wen Liang put down his hand that was blocking his nose and walked in bravely. The first thing he saw was the slightly old tables, chairs and a cabinet. There were a few plates of cold dishes on the table, as if they hadn’t been touched by anyone.

Wen Liang was extremely embarrassed, and for the first time in his life, he didn’t even know where to put his hands. He walked to the table with stiff steps but he didn’t see Shi Jin in this quiet room.

But then he saw an inner room, which should be a place for people to rest and sleep.

Wen Liang turned around and walked towards the inner room, lifted the thin cloth blocking the middle and found the person lying on the bed at a glance.

The man was motionless, as if asleep.

Seeing this, Wen Liang subconsciously lightened his steps. He walked lightly to the side of the bed and saw that the man had neither taken off his shoes nor his clothes, lying on his side on the bed, his back facing him, his unbound black hair strewn on the embroidered pillow.

Wen Liang hesitated for a moment, cleared his throat, and said: “Prince Xuan.”

The man didn’t move and he didn’t know if he had heard him or not.

Wen Liang was so nervous that his voice was trembling. It was the first time for him to face Shi Jin at such a close distance. In the past, he always looked at Shi Jin who was surrounded by crowds from a distance, elusive and unattainable.

He secretly pinched his palm with his nails, forcing himself to calm down quickly and he said again: “Prince Xuan, forgive me, I have something to tell you.”

The man still didn’t move.

Wen Liang hesitated, he thought that Shi Jin might really be asleep. But if Shi Jin was sleeping, what’s the point of him coming here to say such a thing?

“Prince Xuan?” Wen Liang leaned forward, trying to wake Shi Jin up, “Can you wake up and listen to me? What I want to say is very important and you will understand after listening…”

Before he finished speaking, Wen Liang suddenly met a pair of cold eyes.

Wen Liang screamed in fright, stepped back quickly and watched as Shi Jin slowly got up from the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed, his black hair was scattered on his shoulders, his face was as pale as paper. His eyes were empty and his lips were purple and chapped, the lower half of her face was covered with a beard and he looked extremely depressed—where is the shadow of the handsome young man from before?

It turned out that Shi Jin hadn’t fallen asleep just now, it’s just that he didn’t want to talk to Wen Liang.

Wen Liang choked for a moment and he almost didn’t recognize Shi Jin. He simply could not believe ……

Is the person in front of him still the glamorous and gentle Fourth Prince Shi Jin in his memory?

Oh my god…

Why did Shi Jin look like this?

Wen Liang was too shocked to speak.

Shi Jin waited for a while but didn’t hear any sound so he raised his head and looked at Wen Liang with those empty eyes. He seemed to recognize Wen Liang. There was a slight fluctuation in his eyes, but it was fleeting: “Did they send you here?”

Wen Liang realized that the “they” in Shi Jin’s mouth referred to Shi Ye and Wen Chi, and quickly shook his head and waved his hands: “No, no, no, it was me who wanted to come.”

After saying this, he thought of the eunuch who was still waiting outside. That eunuch was someone next to Shi Ye, so he quickly cleared his relationship and said,  “It is true that the crown prince’s people brought me to see you but it wasn’t the Crown Prince who sent me, it was I myself who wanted to see you.”

Shi Jin looked at Wen Liang calmly, there was no doubt or hostility in his eyes. His eyes were empty, like a stagnant water, he said: “What do you want to tell me?”