Chapter 21: Shufen
After a moment of silence, Jiang Ruan finally spoke, "Have you been here long?"
Seeing that Jiang Ruan was willing to talk, the woman, who had likely been starved for conversation, immediately poured out her words like beans from a bamboo tube. "I’ve been here almost a year. No one new has come in for over half a year. Little girl, what did you do to get locked up here?"
Jiang Ruan smiled faintly. "I did nothing."
"Then how—" The woman paused mid-sentence, as if suddenly realizing something. "Could it be you were wrongfully accused too? But you look like a young lady from a noble family. How dare they—"
Jiang Ruan looked at her. "What do you mean?"
The woman hesitated. "N-nothing."
Jiang Ruan sighed softly. The sigh carried a weight of resignation, as if she had endured some profound suffering in life, pressing heavily on the heart and evoking a pang of sorrow. The woman peeked at Jiang Ruan through the strands of hair covering her eyes. Jiang Ruan met her gaze with a smile, her upturned eyes brimming with strength and warmth—reassuring, despite her being just a girl in her early teens. There was something compelling and almost mesmerizing in her gaze, making one feel an urge to confide everything.
The woman swallowed hard. "You’ve just arrived, so you wouldn’t know. To get out of here, you need silver. I was just an ordinary woman. A year after my marriage, my husband went to sea for business but encountered sea bandits and never returned. It was just me and my eighty-year-old mother-in-law left. But then my brother-in-law... he coveted the money my husband left behind. While I was out, he strangled my mother-in-law and framed me for it. The magistrate here is a corrupt fool. He took my brother-in-law’s silver and threw me into prison without a second thought. They tortured me until I confessed. Though I wasn’t sentenced to death, I’m doomed to rot in this cell forever." By the time she reached the painful part, her voice had grown hoarse, but no tears fell. Likely, after a year in prison, she had cried herself dry. Despite the heart-wrenching pain, she could only resign herself to fate.
Seeing Jiang Ruan remain silent, the woman steadied herself and continued, "But little girl, you seem different from me. Your clothes may not look like much, but I can tell—you’re no common girl. How did you end up here?"
Jiang Ruan smiled slightly. "Even humble households have their complexities. How much more so for grand families with their endless schemes?"
The woman found this reasoning sound and looked at Jiang Ruan with even greater pity. "Little girl, prison is no place for people. I’ve been here a year—it’s hell. Since we’re both unfortunate souls, we should look out for each other. My name is Shufen. You can call me Sister Fen."
Jiang Ruan nodded. "Sister Fen." She glanced around. "Are all the people here wrongfully accused?"
Shufen shook her head. "Not all, but most. Some are in the same boat as me. Others actually committed crimes but don’t have enough silver to buy their freedom. Those who have both crimes and silver—Qian Wanli lets them walk free."Qian Wanli was the prefect here. Jiang Ruan remembered clearly that this man was extremely greedy, the type who would pluck feathers from a goose flying overhead. Over the years, he had skimmed plenty of profits here. This time, he must have taken Chen Zhao's silver, but Qian Wanli was more cunning than Chen Zhao. Knowing her identity yet still imprisoning her, he clearly wanted to extort another sum from Jiang Quan.
Jiang Quan would undoubtedly agree to this deal, and Jiang Susu and her mother would be more than happy to see it happen. But she wouldn't let these people have their way. If Qian Wanli wanted to bite off more than he could chew, she wouldn't mind letting him choke on it.
"If there was a chance to plead your innocence, would you take it?" Jiang Ruan asked Shufen.
Shufen froze, studying her skeptically. "How could there be such a chance? I've been here for a year and seen it all clearly. There's no justice left in this place. If you're thinking of pleading innocence, you're sorely mistaken. Let me advise you, sister—don't even try, or you'll suffer for it."
Jiang Ruan smiled faintly. "Sister Fen, don't forget, my father isn't an ordinary man. Now that he knows I'm here, he'll spare no effort to rescue me and clear my name. If I get that chance, I won't forget you."
At the mention of her father, Shufen hesitated. "Your father... really has that kind of influence?"
Jiang Ruan nodded.
"If that's true, then nothing could be better." A glimmer of hope flashed in Shufen's eyes, but it quickly faded into doubt. "But if your father dotes on you so much, how could he let you end up in such a state?"
Jiang Ruan lowered her head. A thin sliver of sunlight from the cell's small, grimy window fell on her pale neck. Her slightly lowered lashes concealed the emotions in her eyes, making her frail shoulders appear even more fragile, her posture unconsciously evoking pity.
Shufen sighed. "Fine, I won't pry into your family matters. But... will your father really come for you?"
"Yes. The maid by my side has already gone back to deliver the message. Soon, my father will send someone to fetch me." Jiang Ruan blinked.
"When?" Shufen still seemed doubtful.
"Tomorrow." Jiang Ruan smiled. "I think tomorrow will bring that chance to plead innocence, Sister Fen. When the time comes, not just you, but every prisoner in this cell block must seize that opportunity and shout for justice with all their might. Remember—the louder you shout, the greater your chances of being freed." And the more miserable Qian Wanli's end would be.
Shufen, grasping this opportunity, nodded eagerly and immediately spread the word throughout the cell block at the top of her voice.
The night passed quickly. On the tenth day, the sun was completely hidden behind thick clouds, and goose-feather snowflakes drifted from the sky, filling the air with large, heavy flakes. The prison was dark and damp, ice forming in several spots. Shufen gathered some straw from her side and gave it to Jiang Ruan to pad beneath her, making it slightly warmer.
Jiang Ruan shook her head gently. Compared to the Heavenly Prison she had endured in her past life, this cell was practically paradise. Back then, branded as the Nation-destroying enchantress, she had been confined to the most terrifying, pitch-black water dungeon. Submerged up to her waist in icy water, fat rats gnawed at her flesh while the current battered her body, chilling her to the bone. Even a snowstorm like this couldn't compare to half the torment she had suffered there.Now it seemed like history was repeating itself. Once again, she found herself imprisoned, but this time she wouldn't be as helpless and miserable as in her previous life, subjected to endless torment without recourse. Though she remained confined here now, every debt would be repaid—the suffering she endured today, along with the pain from her past life, would be exacted in full from those responsible! When that time came, they would see whose fate turned out more wretched!
(End of Chapter)
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