bayedsolid Chapter 405 Misplaced Trust (Revised)
Chapter 405 Misplaced Trust (Revised)
After winter sets in.
The weather is starting to get cold.
Although it wasn't as cold as outside, it wasn't warm either.
There were thick clothes and blankets, but they were all ice-cold.
The only source of heating and lighting was an oil lamp.
An oil lamp that is about to burn out.
The water and dry rations they brought into the secret room were almost gone, and rats would occasionally dart around, trying to steal their food.
Jiang Zijin was terrified and was now leaning weakly against Ya'er.
Having lived two lives, when had she ever suffered like this or seen anything like this?
Now they have to compete with rats for food.
She knew she had been trapped in this dark and gloomy place for more than ten days, because she had only prepared ten days' worth of food and water.
She had thought that Prince Chen would come to take her away in five days at most.
Unexpectedly, Prince Chen did send someone, but not to pick her up.
It cut off her only way to survive.
Now the food is gone, the water is gone, and even the only oil lamp burning in the secret room is almost burned out.
She could only wait to die slowly in the darkness, letting herself rot and stink.
She regretted it, she hated it, she was unwilling to accept it.
She thought she had at least a 60% chance of winning this bet.
Unexpectedly, they lost miserably.
She didn't laugh at herself for being foolish or naive; she just laughed at herself for being blind and misjudging the wrong person.
It is said that victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, but this time she lost completely and utterly.
There will be no more.
Although she never trusted Prince Chen as a person, she did believe in his feelings for her.
She also understood that Prince Chen would eventually tire of her.
But to my utter surprise, just a few days ago they were showing concern for each other and seemed very affectionate.
He turned around and abandoned her, even going so far as to kill her.
This makes even the slightest bit of trust seem like a joke.
Jiang Zijin's heart turned ice-cold the moment the secret room was sealed shut.
This time, she had no hope of surviving.
Because in this world, apart from Prince Chen, probably no one else knows where she is or where she died.
Years later, or perhaps decades later, the new owner of this courtyard will discover two skeletons hidden in this secret room.
Jiang Zijin looked at the little maid beside her, "Ya'er, it's my fault for dragging you down with me to this place."
Even now, the only person by her side is this little maid.
We met by chance, and were not related by blood or marriage.
The young maidservant, grateful for just one meal, became devoted to her and was willing to risk her life for her.
Yet she dared to trust her based solely on her memories from her previous life.
Trust between people is a really strange thing.
"Your Majesty, are we really stuck here?" Ya'er asked, unwilling to give up.
Their worst-case scenario was that Prince Chen would abandon them and leave them to fend for themselves.
Unexpectedly, Prince Chen not only ignored them, but wanted them to die.
Men in the world are all fickle.
She felt sorry for Jiang Zijin.
Ya'er got up and groped her way to the door of the secret room, banging on it vigorously.
Turning that useless mechanism.
I shouted until my throat was hoarse, but there was still no sound outside. I even scratched my fingers raw, but I still couldn't open the door to the secret room.
Jiang Zijin propped herself up and sat up. "Don't waste your energy. This wall is very soundproof. Even if you shout your lungs out, no one outside can hear you. Prince Chen wants us to die quietly inside and turn this secret room into our tomb."
"My lady..."
Ya'er stopped what she was doing, sat down next to Jiang Zijin, and snuggled up to her. "Your Majesty, don't be sad. Even if you die, I will accompany you on the road to the Yellow Springs. You won't be alone."
She felt sorry for the Empress.
I don't understand how Prince Chen could be so cruel to the person he sleeps with.
They seem so affectionate on the surface, but beneath that gentle facade lies a hidden knife, each cut drawing blood.
Jiang Zijin smiled bitterly: "I'm not sad. I just lament the fickleness of fate. I've tried my best to change my destiny, but I'm still worse off than in my previous life. Maybe I just took the wrong path from the very beginning."
"Your Majesty, you must hold on... Someone will come to save us..." Ya'er didn't know what her mistress was talking about and thought she was starting to talk nonsense.
He quickly stuffed the last bit of dry food into his master's mouth.
The master is delicate and precious, and she hasn't fully recovered from her illness yet, so she can't compare to her.
She was orphaned at a young age and sold from hand to hand by brokers. No matter how difficult her life was, she never thought of dying.
We used to go hungry and cold; a meal or two wouldn't kill us.
Let's just get through each day as it comes.
Jiang Zijin watched the flickering light in the oil lamp gradually dim, just like her life.
It's slipping away little by little.
There's no way anyone will come to save her; there's no one in this world who cares about her anymore.
Perhaps, it's this little maid in front of me.
She had already accepted reality and felt no emotion whatsoever.
I didn't feel the same grief and indignation I felt when I first learned I couldn't get out.
She stroked the dagger in her arms.
This dagger was originally given to her by the Prince of Chen for self-defense, but now she is going to use it to end her own life.
Starving to death or freezing to death would be extremely difficult to endure.
It would be better to die cleanly while still conscious.
The lights dimmed and dimmed until they went out.
The last light went out.
It was an endless darkness, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Darkness intensifies people's inner fears.
Scenes from her past life overlapped with those of her present life, flashing before her eyes one after another.
She saw herself in her previous life as an empress.
He also saw his mother, his maternal grandfather and grandmother, and even Prince Jing and Mu Qianxue.
Suddenly I feel like my life is a joke.
Unable to distinguish between dreams and reality.
Life is so short.
She died before she even reached the age of fifteen.
She didn't understand what the meaning of rebirth really was.
Is it to let her watch herself lose everything little by little, until she has nothing left?
……
I went to my maternal grandmother's house.
Miao Miao then dragged her second brother to the outskirts to look for Xiao Bai.
They rode their horses to explore many places: in the mountains and forests, by the lakes, and on the vast grasslands...
Wherever she went, she would play the bamboo flute.
Xiaobai was still nowhere to be seen.
"Miaomiao, let's go back. It's getting dark, and Mother is waiting for us at home." Jiang Ziyan pulled his cloak tighter and wrapped his younger sister in his arms.
"Brother, do you think Little White doesn't want us anymore? Will it come back?" Miao Miao looked back at the woods behind her with reluctance.
"We will meet again if fate allows, or perhaps it has simply left this forest and gone to a faraway place, where it will no longer hear your flute."
"is it?"
"Of course, this is the outskirts of Beijing, where people hunt from time to time. Xiaobai must have gone to the deep mountains."
"What will happen to Jiang Zijin if we can't find Xiaobai?" Miaomiao looked up at her second brother, after all, the person they were trying to capture was his half-sister.
"There will be a way, Miaomiao, don't worry, your brother will catch her." Jiang Ziyan's eyes remained expressionless.
To him, this so-called sister was a poisonous snake.
Casinos are used to amass wealth, causing countless families to be ruined, and people to sell their wives and children.
She ruins people's marriages and toys with men.
He defied the imperial decree and slipped away to curry favor with Prince Chen.
What is there that she wouldn't do? How could the Jiang family produce such a woman?
This woman is more venomous than a snake.
The snake is in the dark, while the man is in the light.
I'm afraid she might suddenly jump out and bite me at any moment.
As long as Jiang Zijin is alive, he will never have a moment's peace of mind.
Miao Miao snuggled into her second brother's arms, only her eyes showing. "Brother, let's go back."
Although she was a little disappointed at not finding the little white wolf, she understood the situation.
Human lifespan is finite, and so is that of wolves.
Birth, aging, sickness, and death are in accordance with the laws of nature.
Wolves also have their own lifespan.
Mother said that Little White's father must be a wolf. Little White's sudden departure was most likely because the old wolf had left and returned to the jungle to fulfill its duties.
Judging by the lifespan of wolves, Little White has been with her for most of her life.
They are no different from family members.
Although she could understand, Miao Miao was still feeling down because she hadn't seen Xiao Bai.
Jiang Ziyan shared the same sentiment, stroking his younger sister's head to comfort her, "Does Miaomiao like puppies?"
"I don't like it." Miao Miao shook her head.
She knew her second brother wanted to get her a puppy, but it couldn't be the same thing.
A novice is a novice; there's no substitute for them.
Speaking of dogs, Jiang Miaomiao immediately thought of them.
"Second Brother, I have a feeling that Jiang Zijin is still in that house. Why don't we find a dog and go check again?"
Jiujiu said that Jiang Zijin never left that house from beginning to end.
This situation can only mean that there are either secret rooms or underground passages in that villa.
If we can't find Xiaobai, then we can only find a dog, since dogs have a similarly keen sense of smell.
"Okay, then let's find a dog to search again." Jiang Ziyan turned around and glanced at the woods behind him.
If you don't have a wolf, you can find a dog to replace it.
Those dogs that specialize in searching for criminals.
Given Jiang Zijin's abilities, if she were truly hiding in that house, she would have definitely used incense beforehand to mask her body odor.
That's why the government officials couldn't find them at first.
But if you search again in a few days, you might be able to find it.
The scent of incense has faded.
As long as Jiang Zijin is still in that house, she can find even a dead person.
……