Chapter 94: Cinnabar: Done on Purpose

In the county yamen prison of Yumu County.

It was crude and dilapidated, with the air thick with an inescapable musty rot.

A few pine torches were stuck into iron rings on the stone walls, crackling as they burned. The flickering flames barely dispelled a small patch of darkness, casting twisted, ghostly shadows onto the uneven walls.

In the deepest death row cell.

Qiu Mingsong had endured a long day and night alone.

He huddled in a filthy, sticky corner, his official robe—symbol of his status—stained with sewage and straw scraps, wrinkled like a rotten rag. Greasy sweat and dried tear tracks crusted on his face. Hearing the noise, Qiu Mingsong looked up toward the corridor—

Footsteps mixed with the scraping of iron chains on the ground.

Before he could make out the newcomer, several rough shouts shattered his hopes.

“Sneer, still think you’re the county magistrate? Get in there!!”

The iron chains on the cell door clanged open, and a figure was roughly shoved inside. The person stumbled a few steps and fell onto the damp, yellowish ground in front of Qiu Mingsong, kicking up musty dust.

Luo Xiutong was much fatter than Qiu Mingsong, but at that moment, he looked even more disheveled. His deep green official robe was torn to shreds, his face bearing fresh abrasions and bruises—clearly the work of enraged laborers.

He lay on the ground, coughing violently.

Still in shock, his turbid eyes were filled with panic and disbelief.

“Luo… Luo Xiutong?!” Qiu Mingsong’s voice was hoarse and cracked, laced with twisted, ghostly astonishment. But that astonishment was quickly replaced by frenzied resentment. “You damned plague! If it weren’t for you, how would I have ended up like this!?”

The sudden roar startled Luo Xiutong. He struggled to lift his head and, upon seeing Qiu Mingsong in the corner, the fear in his eyes was instantly replaced by a nameless evil fire.

“You’ve got the nerve to blame me!?” Luo Xiutong writhed like a maggot, struggling to stand but tripping over the heavy shackles on his ankles. He could only prop himself up and curse at Qiu Mingsong. “It’s all because of you! You idiot who botched the job—murdering an imperial envoy?! What kind of pig brain comes up with that stupid idea!”

“Bullshit!” Qiu Mingsong sprang from the corner, his eyes bloodshot, the wooden collar around his neck clanging loudly. “If you hadn’t been so bold as to recruit workers from Yumu County at a time like this, how would I have gotten involved with the imperial envoy!? You’re the filthy bug who dragged me down!”

“You stupid pig!”

“You plague!”

The two hyenas tore into each other.

Mouths full of rotten fur, like rats in a sewer.

The two jailers dozing outside were roused by their quarrel and strode in. The young jailer leaned against the wooden bars, arms crossed, and said coolly, “You two should save your strength. If you love making a fuss, you can keep arguing on the road to the Yellow Springs.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but spit at them. “Usually acting all high and mighty, exploiting the common folk without batting an eye. Now look at you… dying together in this mud pit. Bah!”

“Keep a close eye on them. Don’t let anything happen,” the older jailer glanced at them as if they were livestock. “Lord Zhao instructed that their heads must be clearly displayed on the city gate tower, to give the people they’ve harmed some closure.”

Too lazy to watch the farce any longer.

The two turned and walked out of the corridor without looking back.

Shouts filled with resentment, fear, and despair echoed through the corridor. Luo Xiutong and Qiu Mingsong screamed accusations at each other until their voices grew weaker from exhaustion.

The firelight illuminated their ugly, snot- and tear-streaked faces.

They both knew who had cast them… into this hell.

But they still had family at home.

So, they didn’t even dare mention that person’s name.

The cold iron shackles locked their bodies, nailing them to this cage. The light in the prison grew dimmer, but outside the window—the sky finally brightened.

The faint morning light was like a gentle breeze.

It scattered the thick ink of night, generously moistening the land.

In front of the county yamen gates, a spacious carriage was already harnessed, the horses occasionally snorting and pawing at the cool bluestone pavement.

“The Heir Apparent might not see you,” Qin An carefully checked the carriage harness and, confirming it was secure, glanced sideways at Hong Xiujie standing nearby. She frowned. “The urgent matter you mentioned—is it that they want to thank the Heir Apparent in person?”

“A simple thank you is fine. It’s their heartfelt intention. They begged me for so long…” Hong Xiujie explained.

Luo Juaner was her benefactor.

Unable to refuse, she had half-heartedly brought them along.

“Overseeing the distribution of disaster relief grain might not come with an official post, but it’s still helping the Heir Apparent. People helping the Heir Apparent shouldn’t be distracted by all this nonsense,” Qin An said coldly, her doll-like face feigning maturity.

“Hey? I’m an upstanding citizen—how did I become ‘nonsense’?” Luo Juaner had bruises on her face. She covered her daughter’s ears with both hands, raised her eyebrows, and looked at Qin An disapprovingly. “I’m teaching my child to be grateful and repay kindness. We’ve received a noble person’s grace, so we should thank them in person.”

“Your intentions aren’t bad, but so many people from the two counties want to thank the Heir Apparent personally. Does that mean the Heir Apparent has to hear them all one by one?”

Luo Juaner muttered softly, “But this is our chance…”

“I’ll pass on your thanks,” Qin An crossed her arms and turned to Hong Xiujie, exuding a bit of a little leader’s authority. “Xiujie, take them and go.”

“It’s just a thank you—we won’t delay your departure!” Luo Juaner gripped her daughter’s hand, gritted her teeth, determined to seize the opportunity. “We won’t bother Lord Zhao. If—”

She saw Qin An suddenly bow in salute.

Luo Juaner stood with her mouth open and turned toward the yamen gates.

A moon-white brocade robe was edged with golden light, the hem sweeping over the threshold like drifting clouds.

Ebony hair was loosely pinned with a jade clasp, her light brown eyes like amber soaked in snowmelt. She carried an aloof chill that kept others at a distance—not deliberate arrogance, but the innate sharpness of fine cold jade.

“Mother! There’s a fairy… Mmph… mmph?!”

Before her daughter could finish, Luo Juaner covered her mouth, looking embarrassed. “The child doesn’t know better. Please don’t hold it against her, Lord Zhao.”

Looking at the mother and daughter before her, Zhao Huairen furrowed her sword-like brows slightly.

“This lady is Hong Xiujie’s neighbor, and that’s her daughter,” Qin An scratched the back of her head and explained before Zhao Huairen could speak. “They were tricked into Changlin County and separated from her daughter. After being rescued, she wanted to come thank you personally, so I… agreed…”

The girl had eaten her fill for a few days but was still skinny.

But her eyes now had a spark, unlike the hollow darkness when they first met.

Her gaze lingered on the mother and daughter for a moment before Zhao Huairen’s thin lips parted, her clear voice like a dewdrop on a lotus leaf. “Young Master Yan hasn’t come out yet. Wait for her.”

The others didn’t understand Zhao Huairen’s meaning, but Qin An got it immediately. She turned to Luo Juaner. “See? Didn’t you want to thank the Heir Apparent?”

“Thank you, Lord Zhao!” Luo Juaner’s eyes lit up as she pushed her daughter forward. “Leding, hurry and kowtow to your benefactor!”

“No need for kowtows.”

Luo Leding froze in place.

She looked at her mother, unsure what to do.

“Hey, why are you just standing there like a fool?” Seeing her daughter dither, Luo Juaner glared at her and was about to speak when Zhao Huairen did.

“Do you have other family at home?”

Suppressing her excitement, Luo Juaner swallowed and said, “This common woman dares not deceive you, my lord. In my home… it’s just this widow and her orphan daughter.”

“Mm.” Hearing footsteps behind her, Zhao Huairen curved her lips slightly and said warmly, “If you’re willing, you can work with Xiujie. She happens to need a helper—two taels of silver per month.”

Even grueling work in Changlin County only paid three hundred wen.

To stay by her daughter’s side, with two taels of silver a month.

“This common woman is willing! Willing!” Luo Juaner nodded eagerly, pressing down on Luo Leding’s head. “Thank you for your great kindness and grace, Lord Zhao. You saved our lives and now point out a path for us!”

“The people pay taxes and tribute, so the court should protect you. No need to thank me.”

If you didn’t pay taxes and tribute, you’d get beaten—that much Luo Juaner understood. As for whether it “should” happen, she had no idea. Since she could remember, she’d only known that officials didn’t fight with the common folk. An official like the one before her was the first she’d ever seen.

Gratitude deepened in her eyes.

She stroked her daughter’s hair, her gaze filled with relief and bewilderment.

Taking in the expression on Luo Juaner’s face and looking at the girl thin as a stalk, Zhao Huairen’s heart pricked like with a fine needle. The people’s fear was a national calamity, and the fault of a hundred officials.

The Emperor was muddle-headed and incompetent, the Crown Prince narrow-minded, Prince Gong insidious and ruthless.

If the person Qingqing mentioned truly existed…

One day, would things… be entirely different?

A bright haitang red cut through the quiet before the gates. The neatly tailored turned-down collar robe outlined the woman’s graceful figure, her ink-black hair tied high at the back with only a single red-gold clasp. Her features were lush and beautiful, her dark peach-blossom eyes strikingly bright. “I was only half a quarter-hour late—why is the Heir Apparent staring at me like that?”

Her long lashes trembled almost imperceptibly, hiding the threads of darkness in her eyes. Zhao Huairen’s gaze fell directly on her, and she said warmly, “The lady is so beautiful, it’s hard to look away.”

After meeting Yan Yiqing, her life was no longer stagnant water. Though absurd, she couldn’t help but nurture an expectation—

A seed called ambition.

It had already sprouted in her heart, unnoticed.

“So many people around—don’t tease me, Heir Apparent.” Yan Maomao tried to suppress her smile, walking calmly to Zhao Huairen’s side. She subtly clenched her fingers, secretly delighted in her heart that she’d changed into this outfit at the last moment.

Warm cinnabar dotted ink bamboo.

Cold isolation turned into vivid, fragrant tenderness.

“Isn’t the Heir Apparent in a hurry to return to the capital?” Yan Yiqing blinked and asked.

The charges were settled.

She didn’t need to oversee the aftermath personally.

In a few days, it would be the death anniversaries of her father and brother. Before leaving, she had promised her mother she would return to Yanjing by then.

“Mm, let’s go.” Zhao Huairen nodded lightly, and Yan Yiqing, standing at her side, naturally extended her left hand, pouting. “My arm is injured. I have no strength. The Heir Apparent has to help me up.”

Qin An, standing nearby, gaped in shock.

What did an injured arm have to do with getting into a carriage?

If she remembered correctly, General Yan used to vault onto horses.