Chapter 181: The Truth Finally Revealed
Yun Chu presented the token, and the guards at the entrance allowed her to pass.
She led Madam Luo inside. Upon reaching the dungeon entrance, she said, "I'll take Zhan Ge'er in alone. Madam Luo, please wait here."
Madam Luo knew the Dali Temple Dungeon was an important government facility where not just anyone could enter freely.
She stood waiting by the side gate.
Yun Chu held the child's hand as they entered the dungeon. A damp, gloomy atmosphere assaulted their senses, making the child shrink back in fear.
Those imprisoned here were all death row inmates, major criminals of the court whose only fate was execution.
She walked through the narrow corridor until she reached Qin Mingheng's cell. Standing outside were people from the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor, who immediately bowed to Yun Chu.
Yun Chu said calmly, "Open the door."
The guard took out a key and unlocked the cell door.
"Zhan Ge'er, relax," she said softly. "The person inside is your father. Don't be afraid."
Luo Zhan followed Yun Chu across the threshold into the cell.
Qin Mingheng was covered in wounds, drifting in and out of consciousness. He only opened his eyes when he heard the noise.
He had thought it was just another routine interrogation, but upon opening his eyes, he saw Yun Chu again.
He had known Yun Chu would come back for him... Before he could say anything, he heard a childish voice.
"Father... what happened to you? Who hurt you..."
Luo Zhan's eyes widened, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Qin Mingheng also couldn't believe he was seeing his child: "H-how did you get here?"
"Madam Luo personally handed Zhan Ge'er over to me," Yun Chu smiled. "Zhan Ge'er, your father made some mistakes and is being punished, just like... if you don't study properly, your teacher would rap your knuckles. Understand?"
Luo Zhan seemed to partially understand.
Yun Chu casually picked up a branding iron and placed it in his hand: "This thing is quite interesting. Look, isn't it fun?"
A six or seven-year-old child could easily be attracted by strange objects and immediately grabbed the branding iron, playing with it curiously.
The sparks flying made Qin Mingheng's eyes blaze with fury.
"Yun Chu!!" He wished he could pounce and snatch the branding iron away. "I knew you were a venomous woman, but I never imagined you could be this malicious!"
He hadn't taken Yun Chu's threats seriously because, in his heart, Yun Chu was so kind, so pure, that she would never harm an innocent child...
Was Luo Shi an idiot? How could she give the child to Yun Chu!
Luo Shi treated Zhan Ge'er as her own life—how could she so easily hand the child over to this venomous woman!
Yun Chu completely ignored Qin Mingheng, smiling as she said to Luo Zhan: "Pick it up and press it against the wall. See what happens?"
Luo Zhan obediently pressed the branding iron against the wall. The damp wall sizzled when touched by the hot iron, continuously emitting white steam.
"Do you know what would happen if this thing were pressed against a person's body?"
Yun Chu knew that at this moment, she was thoroughly a wicked woman—using a child's curiosity to force a father to compromise.
But she had no other choice.
She needed to learn the complete truth in the fastest way possible.
Yun Chu took the branding iron from Luo Zhan's hand, heated it in the blazing fire for a while, then picked it up and pointed it directly at Luo Zhan's face.The young child gazed curiously at the branding iron, his small face glowing red from the firelight. If Yun Chu moved just a little closer, if the child made even the slightest careless move, the branding iron would touch the child's skin.
Qin Mingheng was on the verge of collapse.
Having been imprisoned for so long, he had endured every form of torture imaginable. The sensation of the branding iron pressed against his chest was a torment worse than death.
Zhan Ge'er was still so young—he simply couldn't withstand it.
Even if he survived, how could he live with a brand on his face?
"Zhan Ge'er, come here, lean closer..."
Yun Chu's voice was coaxing, persuasive.
Qin Mingheng struggled violently, the chains clanking loudly.
Luo Zhan turned to look at his father.
That single movement brought the branding iron closer.
Qin Mingheng saw the child's hair beginning to curl from the intense heat...
"Yun Chu, I've lost, I admit defeat, alright?!" he roared. "Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything!"
Thud!
Yun Chu threw the branding iron back into the fire.
She commanded, "Take the child out."
Guards from outside entered, leading the child out of the prison cell and closing the door behind them.
Qin Mingheng glared at her, teeth gritted. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything. All of it." Yun Chu sat down in a chair. "A reminder—my patience is limited."
Qin Mingheng knew she was capable of anything.
They said a night of marriage created a bond lasting a hundred days, yet she had mercilessly killed the one who shared her bed. She was no longer the pure, kind-hearted Yun Chu he had once adored.
How could he still hold any illusions about her?
He began, "On the night of your wedding to Xie Jingyu five years ago, after I brought you to the Marquis Xuanwu's residence, I went to bathe. When I returned, I saw Prince Pingxi."
Yun Chu's heart felt as if gripped by a giant hand.
She hardly dared to breathe, listening as Qin Mingheng continued.
"He, relying on his status as a prince, took you right from under my nose. It was him—he was the one who stole your innocence!"
"Yun Chu, the one who ruined your purity was Prince Pingxi. If you seek revenge, you should go after him. Why should I bear all this?"
"I loved you so much, I was willing to give everything for that one night with you... I even offered the Qin family heirloom. But Prince Pingxi—what did he sacrifice?"
"He admired your beauty, coveted your jade-like body, yet he didn't dare propose to the Yun family. Why? Because he was a prince, and your father was a military general. The Emperor would never allow a daughter of the Yun family to marry him!"
"He only dared to snatch you from my hands!"
"He didn't dare take any risks at all. He feared exposure, feared a rift with the Yun family, feared arousing the Emperor's suspicion. So, he pinned the blame on me!"
"I may be despicable and shameless, but Prince Pingxi is even worse. He's nothing but a coward!"
Yun Chu's heart trembled.
So, the man from that night was indeed Prince Pingxi!
And the two children Prince Pingxi had seemingly produced out of thin air, the ones with no known mother—could they be... her own poor twins...
Thump! Thump! Thump!
She could hear her own heart pounding violently.
Did it even matter anymore who the man was that night?
What mattered was that the children were alive.
The children—both of them—were alive and well. They had already grown so much.
This was the best news she had ever heard.
Tears streamed from her eyes.
Yun Chu couldn't hold them back—tears of joy flowed freely down her face."That's right, Prince Pingxi's two children are yours. I never dared to speak of it because Prince Pingxi threatened me not to reveal it!" Qin Mingheng enunciated each word deliberately. "If the Emperor were to learn that Prince Pingxi's two children were born of the Yun Family's legitimate eldest daughter, what do you think would happen? Prince Pingxi, that selfish coward, would rather let the children grow up without a mother, would rather abandon you... all to protect himself. But if the day comes when he needs your Yun Family, he will surely use the children as bargaining chips to force the Yun Family Army to fight for him... He is truly despicable, utterly unworthy of being the father of your children..."
"He is a rotten man through and through, even more vile and shameless than Xie Jingyu!" Qin Mingheng roared hoarsely. "Yun Chu, in this world, only I truly love you. What I desire most is to make you my wife..."
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