AUBTN -Chapter 177 Detention and Interrogation

This was no longer mere cruelty—it was the act of a complete and utter demon!

Every gaze directed at Li Yunxi had turned into shock and disgust.

Her body wavered, teetering on the brink of collapse. She shook her head frantically, her voice hoarse as she tried to defend herself: “No… it’s not… it was that wretched woman who seduced the prince consort first… she deserves to die! I didn’t—”

But the eunuch’s voice trembled as he read the final verdict:

“Prince Consort Shen Zhen personally witnessed the tragic scene. Overcome with terror, his mind shattered. In a fit of rage, Li Yunxi quarreled with him and accidentally pushed him from the high steps. The prince consort struck his head, bled profusely, and died instantly! To cover up her crime, Li Yunxi falsely claimed he had suddenly fallen ill and coerced all witnesses and servants to forge documents, deceiving the imperial court. This is the full record of the case, with the seals of dozens of servants from Xizhou as evidence!”

When the last words were spoken, Li Yunxi’s legs gave out, and she collapsed completely to the ground.

“Accursed wretch! Truly accursed!” The Empress Dowager finally found the moment to erupt. She stood abruptly, pointing at the collapsed Li Yunxi, wailing with grief and fury:

“Late Emperor! Look at this! This is the princess you doted on! The honor of the royal family, the laws of the Great Wei—all ruined by her alone! Your Majesty! Such wickedness enrages both gods and men! If she is not severely punished, how can the law of the state be upheld? How can the spirits of the dead be appeased? How can we face the people of the realm?”

The ministers, incensed by this shocking scandal, all fell to their knees, voices rising together in righteous fury:

“Your Majesty, investigate this case thoroughly! Punish the Princess to uphold the law!”

“Your Majesty, avenge the Prince Consort!”

The roar of voices swept through the entire Golden Throne Hall like a tide.

Lu Yan and Shen Jue stood at the front with the generals and eunuchs, expressionless, watching coldly as the fire they had ignited with their own hands consumed the court.

The young emperor sat on the dragon throne, observing the fervent ministers below and the grief-stricken Ning’an Marquis.

He took a deep breath. For the first time, he felt the true sensation of absolute control, the weight of an emperor.

He spoke slowly, his voice stern and clear, echoing through the hall:

“Proclaim my decree!”

“Princess Li Yunxi, your conduct is improper, and you are suspected of plotting to harm imperial kin. From this moment, you are placed under house arrest in the Princess’s Mansion. Without my order, you shall not step outside the mansion gates.”

“This case shall be jointly tried by the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Censors, and the Imperial Inspectorate. Commander of the Brocade Guards Lu Yan and Director of the Eastern Depot Shen Jue will assist in oversight. I give you one month to investigate thoroughly, uncover the truth, provide justice to the Ning’an Marquis, and deliver an answer to the people of the realm!”

“Long live the wise emperor!”

The ministers shouted in unison once again.

The joint investigation of the three offices produced results quickly.

Under the weight of overwhelming evidence and the bitter accusations of the Ning’an Marquis’s household, Princess Li Yunxi’s crimes were confirmed one by one.

Considering the honor of the royal family, the young emperor ultimately did not sentence her to death. Instead, he issued an even more humiliating imperial decree: Li Yunxi was stripped of her princess title, reduced to commoner status, and three days later would be escorted out of the capital to be exiled to the barbaric southern borderlands, never to return to the capital for life.

The southern frontier was wild and inhospitable, filled with miasma, snakes, and insects. For Li Yunxi, born into imperial privilege, it was a living hell far worse than death.

When the news spread, the people of the capital all rejoiced.

As for the Empress Dowager, she spent several days in unbroken delight, as if a long-held worry had finally been healed.

Everything seemed to have settled.

Yet, everyone underestimated the fury of a tiger cornered into despair—how wild and ferocious its final strike could be.

The night was darker than ink, colder than ice.

Deep in the dungeons of the Ministry of Justice, Li Yunxi curled up in a corner.

She wore coarse prison clothing, her once lustrous black hair now dry, brittle, and tangled, covering most of her face.

The face that had once bewitched countless souls now held only bone-deep resentment and defiance.

Exile to the barbaric lands? Never return to the capital?

She, Li Yunxi, the most cherished daughter of the late emperor, born to stand above the clouds and look down on all beneath her—how could she endure being forced to scavenge like a filthy rat in the miasmatic mud of the southern frontier?

She refused to accept it!

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t figure out where she had lost.

Was it to that scheming old hag?

Or to those two mad dogs, Shen Jue and Lu Yan?

No… it was neither.

In her mind, the images kept flashing—the cold, piercing gazes of Shen Jue and Lu Yan on the Golden Throne, and before that, the two women named Su Hewan and Yu Qing!

Why?

Why should she, the favored daughter of heaven, lose to two women of lowly status?

“Ha… hahahaha…”

In the dark, damp cell, Li Yunxi suddenly erupted into a low, eerie laughter.

“Do you think… that counts as victory?” she murmured to herself.

“If I can’t have peace, then neither will any of you! I will make you know that even if I, Li Yunxi, descend into hell, I will drag those you hold most dear down with me!”

At that moment, a jailer carrying a food box silently approached the cell door.

He made no sound, simply took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door.

He entered the cell, knelt before Li Yunxi, and retrieved from a hidden compartment in the box a set of night clothes and a dagger.

“Your Highness, everything has been arranged.”

This was her last loyal confidant.

Li Yunxi looked at him, her smile twisting further into something grotesque and terrifying.

She slowly stood, taking the night clothes, her voice hoarse and ghostly: “Send the orders—tonight, let the entire capital… be buried with me!”

At the stroke of midnight, silence blanketed the city.

From the west side of the capital, in the direction of the Ministry of Justice prison, a sudden blaze shot into the sky, instantly staining half of the night with fire!

“The prison is on fire! The Ministry of Justice prison is ablaze—”

A shrill cry shattered the calm of the capital.

Immediately, deafening gongs and alarms rang out across the city.

The fire spread with terrifying speed; the raging flames mixed with thick, rolling smoke, engulfing the entire prison.

Screams of prisoners, shouts of guards, and the cracking of collapsing beams merged into a hellish cacophony.

In the Northern Garrison of the Jinyiwei, Lu Yan was studying a map of the city’s defenses when a Jinyiwei officer came rushing in, dropping to one knee.

“Report! Commander, the Ministry of Justice prison is on fire! The flames are massive, and it seems that dangerous criminals are using the chaos to escape!”

Lu Yan’s head snapped up, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

The Ministry of Justice prison? Li Yunxi?

Almost instantly, he sensed the faint whiff of a conspiracy.

“Relay my orders! Assemble five hundred cavalry immediately and head to the prison to fight the fire! Seal off all surrounding streets; no one may enter or leave without permission!”

“Yes, sir!”

Meanwhile, at the Eastern Depot headquarters…

Shen Jue reclined on the soft couch, idly spinning a jade ring between his fingers while listening to his subordinates’ reports.

“Master Supervisor, the fire started from the death row cells. It’s highly suspicious. Most of the Jinyiwei and city garrison troops have already rushed over.”

Shen Jue slowly straightened, and the usual smile in his peach-blossom eyes had vanished, replaced by a cold, piercing gaze.

“Lure the tiger away from the mountain…” he whispered, the soft, eerie tone of his voice sending a chill down the spine.

“What she wants… has never been to escape.”