Chapter 423 – Kept under confinement (2)
The imperial prison was almost pitch black. It was a ghastly place that wasn’t the slightest bit romantic. Not far away from here, there was the sound of rats scurrying around. In the distance, they could also hear the convicted prisoners groaning.
But, when the moonlight spilled through the window, the two of them lied down together. It was probably because the moonlight was too beautiful, so Ji Man couldn’t resist asking, “Marquis, you know that I’m not Nie Sangyu, so why have you never questioned my identity. Are you not curious who I really am?”
Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips. “I did feel curious, that’s why I brought you to a temple, but when we went there, you weren’t scared of the Buddha statues. You even brought me forward to pay respects to them. So, I knew you weren’t an evil spirit.”
The corners of Ji Man’s lips twitched. She really wanted to tell him; Bro, those Buddha statuses aren’t very discerning. It was true that she and Nie Sangyu weren’t evil spirits though.
“I originally wanted to thoroughly investigate your identity, but there was no way to begin. You haven’t done anything unfavorable to me either, so over time, I almost forgot about it.” Ning Yuxuan closed his eyes.
How he could forget something like this? He was too broad-minded, ah. Ji Man was left momentarily speechless. “As a person from ancient times, shouldn’t you be scared of supernatural things? Just from all those hauntings that occurred in your estate, shouldn’t you be scared of me?”
“Will you harm me?” Ning Yuxuan asked.
Ji Man shook her head. “I won’t.”
“Why should I be scare of you then?” He said, “Feelings are the most gentle and warm things in the world. If there are feelings, there won’t be any great evil.”
Haha. Ji Man didn’t agree with this. Everyone had feelings. Weren’t there plenty of people that did wicked things for love?
“You said… As a person from ancient times?” Ning Yuxuan was somewhat confused. “Where are you from then?”
Ji Man thought about how to phrase her next words. Since there was nothing else to do, she might as well boast a bit.
“I’m from the Heavens,” she said, “In order to fulfill the wish of the owner of this body, I intentionally descended to the mortal world. Of course, I don’t have access to my magic, so I have to do everything myself.”
Ning Yuxuan was somewhat taken aback. He opened his eyes and looked at her in shock. “A celestial immortal?”
“Exactly.” It was a rare sight to see this normal astute person looking so stupid. Ji Man suppressed her laughter and kept her expression looking especially serious. “That why sometimes you can’t understand the words I’m saying. It’s because those are words spoken in Heaven. Heaven’s language is very different from the language spoken here. The writing system is different too. That’s why I wasn’t familiar with the words here.”
Ning Yuxuan was skeptical. Furrowing his brow, he propped himself up. “If you’re a celestial immortal, do you have power over your life and death?”
If she did, then he wouldn’t have to worry so much.
“That’s not possible.” Ji Man smiled and said, “If I die here, I don’t know if I can return home. So, you can’t let me die. Of course, I’ll do my best to keep my life too.”
Ning Yuxuan’s gaze dimmed. He gloomily turned his head away. “What’s Heaven like?”
Ji Man described the modern world to him. At the end, she smiled and asked, “Isn’t Heaven really awesome?”
“So that’s why you want to go back so much?” Marquis Moyu’s voice had dropped a bit.
Ji Man paused before smiling as she answered, “I have my own life to live.”
“Then…”
Then, what about me…
Ning Yuxuan closed his eyes. “Nie Sangyu’s wish is just for me to say, “I love you”?”
Ji Man scratched her head and awkwardly smiled. “It’s probably that. Are you willing to give it a try for me?”
“Not willing.” Ning Yuxuan turned over. His expression wasn’t very good as he said, “It’s getting late. Go to sleep.”
Ji Man, “…”
She didn’t know where it had come from, but there was a small ember of warmth in her heart. Ji Man curled up in her quilt and closed her eyes too.
—
Zhao Zhe kept the two of them locked up for several more days. The court officials presented petitions, but he continued to keep Ning Yuxuan under confinement. It was because as soon as Ning Yuxuan was free, he might not be able to keep him from rescuing Nie Sangyu.
His trusted followers also tried to persuade him. She was only a mere woman. Why offend Marquis Moyu because of her? Zhao Zhe pursed his lips and stayed silent. It was easy to find other women, but he couldn’t forget the woman that had struggled to live in the river. In his dreams, he frequently saw the shadow of that memory and the image of her calmly saluting him in later encounters while saying a perfunctory greeting.
Where could he find another woman like her? She was courageous but also capable of scheming. She knew when to advance and when to retreat. He couldn’t let her go. When he was Zhangjun Prince, he had restrained his heart because he needed Shen Clan’s power. Since he was emperor now, why couldn’t he do what he wanted?
For every day that she wouldn’t yield, he would keep her under confinement for another day.
—
Ning Mingjie went to the imperial prison to check on Sangyu. He was deeply worried and even wanted to help the emperor persuade Sangyu to enter the inner palace. How could her days in prison be good? She was only a woman.
But, when he walked to the deeper part of the prison, before he had even arrived at her cell, he heard the faint sounds of laughter.
“Sangyu’s brazen behavior in the past really could have been a match to Zhu Yurun’s. They even both dared to climb over the walls of your estate.” Ji Man was smiling as she said to Ning Yuxuan, “She’s such a wonderful girl that dares to love and hate. If you had properly loved her, I wouldn’t have needed to come here.”