Xiao Jin Yu had been watching indifferently until Tan Zhang grabbed his wheelchair and threw it out with a loud crash.
Tan Zhang patted the thin dust off his hands, smiling as he looked at Xiao Jin Yu’s cold, stern gaze. "Prince An, I must trouble you to move a little... The Heavenly Prison does not allow prisoners to bring in their own medicine."
Xiao Jin Yu’s face turned slightly pale. "Tan Zhang, you’d do well to leave yourself some room for retreat."
Tan Zhang took a few steps closer, his round belly nearly pressing against Xiao Jin Yu, and looked with satisfaction at the already unsteady prince. "I will certainly seek Your Highness’s guidance on how to write the words ‘room for retreat’ someday... But for now, I’d like to ask Your Highness, what does it mean to lift a stone only to drop it on your own foot?"
Before he finished speaking, Tan Zhang let out a shrill laugh. "No, no, my apologies, my apologies... Your Highness’s feet are merely for show anyway—even if they were crushed, you wouldn’t feel any pain, would you?"
Tan Zhang kicked Xiao Jin Yu’s still-swollen knee hard, and Xiao Jin Yu’s body swayed before he fell heavily to the ground like a withered tree torn from its roots.
Tan Zhang leisurely dragged the medicine chest outside, then returned and tossed a set of tattered prison clothes beside Xiao Jin Yu. "Prince An, will you change into these yourself, or shall I assist you?"
"Get out..."
Tan Zhang chuckled as he flipped the prostrate Xiao Jin Yu over, taking in his pale, blue-tinged face drenched in cold sweat. "Your Highness is in such a helpless state. If I don’t take good care of you, it would truly be a crime against heaven."
"Wang Ye, Wang Ye..."
In his dazed state, Xiao Jin Yu heard a familiar voice calling him, so close it seemed right beside him.
It must be a dream...
Ever since he had lost consciousness under Tan Zhang’s stone-like fists and kicks, Xiao Jin Yu had heard this voice countless times. Each time, a warmth would rise in his heart, only for him to open his eyes and stare blankly at the empty, icy prison cell, his heart turning cold again—as cold as his nearly numb body.
The cell had only one tiny window, so dim that he couldn’t distinguish day from night. He could only estimate, based on the number of times Tan Zhang brought cold meals, that he had been lying on the ground by the bed for a full day.
After waking the first time and realizing that even his crutch had been taken by Tan Zhang, he had tried to crawl to the bed. But he collapsed again beneath it and lost consciousness. When he woke once more, he couldn’t even turn over.
Each time, Tan Zhang placed a bowl of cold rice by the iron-barred door, far beyond Xiao Jin Yu’s reach. Thus, he had gone an entire day without food or water.
Having such hallucinations was only natural, wasn’t it?
Hearing her voice, he felt the chill in the prison lessen slightly.
"Wang Ye, wake up... It’s me, Chu Chu..."
She couldn’t come in, nor should she... She was an excellent coroner and would never abandon a case.
"Wang Ye, please wake up..."
A damned hallucination...
Xiao Jin Yu couldn’t resist any longer. With great effort, he opened his eyes and vaguely made out a gentle silhouette in the dim light. He froze, his heart sinking abruptly.
Such a vivid hallucination... Had his body reached its limit?
"Wang Ye, you’re awake!"
Xiao Jin Yu stared greedily, afraid to blink, afraid to breathe.
"Wang Ye, please take your medicine quickly..."Two black pills were delivered to his numb, cold lips by a warm little hand. Xiao Jin Yu instinctively parted his lips slightly, and the two pills were slipped into his mouth.
The unfamiliar medicinal taste slowly dissolved in his mouth, growing increasingly bitter and potent.
Hallucinations... couldn't feel this real.
Xiao Jin Yu subconsciously wanted to reach out and touch the person before him, but couldn't feel his own body at all. Lowering his gaze, he discovered he was resting in the arms of the person he'd been yearning for day and night, wrapped in a thick silk quilt that covered his completely numb body. "Chu Chu..."
Xiao Jin Yu's voice was so faint it was barely audible, yet Chu Chu beamed through her tears, pressing her warm cheek against his icy one. "Wang Ye!"
Xiao Jin Yu struggled to swallow the two pills, his throat burning with pain as if scraped by blades, his body trembling uncontrollably.
"How... how did you get here..."
Chu Chu picked up the white porcelain teacup from the bedside, carefully feeding warm water into Xiao Jin Yu's mouth. She watched patiently as he drank it bit by bit, wiped the droplets from his lips, and helped him lie back down slowly.
Only then did Xiao Jin Yu realize he was lying on the bed that Tan Zhang had stripped bare. Now, however, it was covered with thick bedding, his tattered prisoner's clothes replaced with clean underwear. A wooden chest stood against the wall at the foot of the bed, smaller than the original but wide open, revealing it was filled to the brim with medicine bottles and packets.
Chu Chu held Xiao Jin Yu's hand, watching him cautiously as if afraid he would send her away. "Wang Ye, please don't be angry... I came only after I finished examining the corpses!"
Xiao Jin Yu stared blankly at the tear tracks on her peach-blossom cheeks. "How did you..."
"Brother Jing said he could only get you out after I finished examining the bodies, so I checked them over several times until everything was clear. Then he gave me a token... I didn't even know what it was, but when I showed it to the prison guards, they let me in and allowed me to bring all my things." Chu Chu said all this in one breath, her eyes glistening with fresh tears. "Wang Ye, I've examined everything thoroughly. Brother Jing will definitely get you out soon..."
"Chu Chu..."
Chu Chu gripped his numb hand tightly. "Wang Ye, I saw that Lord Tan - the one from Shangyuan County! Was it him who mistreated you?"
"Chu Chu... hold me..."
Chu Chu climbed onto the narrow wooden bed, slipped under the covers, and wrapped her arms tightly around Xiao Jin Yu's body.
"Chu Chu... I can't feel anything..."
Chu Chu stroked his icy body. "When I first came in, your joints were so swollen they were deformed, covered in bruises everywhere. I was afraid you were in too much pain, so I gave you the medicine Grand Tutor Xue sent. If your body feels numb, you won't feel the pain... You've been asleep for a whole day, wouldn't respond no matter how I called you... Grand Tutor Xue said to give you those two pills when you woke up, and you'll be fine soon."
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