When the guard saw the bracelet, his eyes lit up. He snatched it away and looked at it carefully under the light. Seeing that it was not bad, he said with a smile, “In that case, I’ll help you. However, it’s a good thing that your brother came to see you. Why don’t you want to see him?”
Shen Qing forced a smile and said, “I really feel bad for involving my family in such a mess this time. I’m too ashamed to see them.”
The guard nodded, but his gaze was filled with disdain. If she was really such a self-respecting woman, why would she do something adulterous behind her family’s back? She even got pregnant before marriage. Now that she said that she felt bad and was too ashamed to see her family, it was really a little pretentious. However, the guard didn’t say that out loud. He agreed and left.
After the prison guard left, Shen Qing squatted down and hugged her shoulders helplessly, burying her head in her knees, hoping that when she opened her eyes again, she would wake up from this dreadful dream.
She slept like this for a long time until she heard someone knocking on the bars. She looked up in a daze.
In the flickering light, a familiar face was reflected. If it were in the past, she would definitely be overjoyed to see this face. However, after hearing Shen Miao’s words and looking at her face, Shen Qing was so frightened that she fell to the ground and looked at the person in front of her in panic.
Shen Yuan said, “Sister, are you doing well?”
“Second Brother, why are you here?” Shen Qing asked and took a step back.
When Shen Yuan saw her move, he frowned slightly, but he did not say anything. He took out a key from his sleeve and opened the cell. Seeing this, Shen Qing was stunned for a moment before standing up happily. “Second Brother, are you here to save me?”
Shen Yuan shook his head. “I can’t save you for the time being.” He took out a bag of snacks and handed it to Shen Qing. “I came to see you and get you something to eat.”
Shen Qing was a little disappointed. Shen Yuan had already walked in. As if he felt that the prison was too dirty, he looked a little disgusted. When Shen Qing saw this, she felt a little sad. She took the basket from Shen Yuan and removed the cloth. In the basket filled with pastries, the smell was fragrant and pleasing. It was her favorite chestnut cake.
“You’ve suffered a lot these days.” Shen Yuan said gently, “I know you like to eat this the most, so I brought you some.”
Shen Qing felt a lump in her throat and almost cried. Over the past few days, she had been eating rotten food in the prison and had never been full. She lived in fear every day. Now that she saw her favorite food and her second brother, she suddenly couldn’t help but cry.
“Don’t cry. After eating, I’ll take you out in a few days,” Shen Yuan said gently.
Shen Qing took out a piece of pastry and was about to put it into her mouth when she saw Shen Yuan’s gentle smile. Her hand suddenly trembled, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on her. For some reason, Shen Miao’s words echoed in her ears. “He could have a good official career and a bright future, but because of you, he’s in constant trouble. Do you really think he’ll want to save you?”
The pastry was right in front of her mouth, but Shen Qing could not bring herself to bite it.
In the past, Shen Qing would definitely choose to trust Shen Yuan without hesitation. However, ever since Prince Yu’s incident, Shen Qing had also seen the coldness of the Shen family with her own eyes. Was this second brother really willing to take such a huge risk to save her for her sake? If Shen Yuan were in prison, she would probably not want to take the risk. Shen Qing suddenly thought of the jade bracelet she had given to the prison guard. At that time, she told the guard that if Shen Yuan came to see her, tell him to go back. However, why did Shen Yuan insist on coming in? Was it because the prison guard took her thing but did not do what he promised, or was it because Shen Yuan used some other method to get in?