In that dream, the moment the jailer called her name, she immediately stood up and rushed over.
This time, her hesitation instead allowed Elder Zhang to bow to her first, saying respectfully: “Miss.”
“What are you standing there dazed for?”
Seeing Luo Wanqing remain motionless, Yao Zelan couldn’t wait any longer. She pulled her up and said happily, “Hurry up and go.”
Luo Wanqing couldn’t speak. Looking at the person standing respectfully at the door, she felt as if she were walking toward a tiger’s den.
Every detail from the dream replayed in her mind. When Luo Wanqing stood before Elder Zhang, she felt her whole body trembling slightly.
Yao Zelan, who was pulling her along, noticed her abnormality and turned back in confusion: “Wanqing, what’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.”
Luo Wanqing forced herself to calm down, raised her eyes to look at Elder Zhang, suppressed all her fear, and tentatively responded using the same words from her dream: “Elder Zhang, did Shaoyan send you? Where is he?”
“The young master is busy with affairs and cannot spare the time. He specially ordered this old servant to come visit Miss and Madam.” Elder Zhang smiled and bowed to Yao Zelan, uttering the same sentence as in Luo Wanqing’s dream word for word. Then he looked at Luo Wanqing: “And to pass along a message to Miss. I hope Miss will be prepared.”
Hearing these words, Luo Wanqing looked up in shock.
Elder Zhang didn’t hesitate. Every one of his movements was within Luo Wanqing’s expectations. He repeated every detail from the dream. First, he took out a golden bottle that fit perfectly in his palm, then produced a completely black dagger. He held the two objects, one in each hand, and presented them to Luo Wanqing.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Yao Zelan sensed something was wrong and became suspicious.
Elder Zhang paid no attention to Yao Zelan. He only looked at Luo Wanqing, his eyes carrying some pity, and sighed: “The young master says he has done his best regarding the master’s case, but the evidence is ironclad, and he is powerless to change the situation. Now the Luo family’s judgment has been passed—the master has been sentenced to death, and the rest of the family members will be exiled. The only thing the young master can do for Miss now is to give Miss more choices. This bottle contains deadly poison that kills upon contact with blood, causing no pain.”
As the same words from her dream emerged, Yao Zelan’s eyes widened, but Luo Wanqing gradually calmed down.
Elder Zhang extended the dagger toward Luo Wanqing and continued: “Or you can choose this dagger, which cuts through iron like mud. Miss can carry it for self-defense.”
Luo Wanqing said nothing. She quietly looked at these two items, feeling only that the world was absurd.
Yao Zelan reacted and spoke anxiously: “Elder Zhang, what does this mean? Is Shaoyan abandoning us? Elder Zhang, tell Shaoyan to come here. The Luo family didn’t do these things—we still have room to turn things around! Tell him to come…”
“Miss.”
Elder Zhang completely ignored Yao Zelan. He looked at Luo Wanqing, who remained silent and was calm to an almost eerie degree, speaking earnestly: “Don’t be too heartbroken. The young master has you in his heart. He’s giving you these things for your good. He asked me to convey a message to you…”
“In his heart, although we haven’t married, he already considers me his wife.”
Luo Wanqing spoke directly. Elder Zhang was stunned, then saw the delicate woman before him raise her eyes, which seemed to contain suppressed fire, as she asked through gritted teeth: “The road to the frontier is long and arduous, and he hopes I will preserve my chastity for him?”
“Ah… yes!” Elder Zhang nodded in shock and asked in confusion: “How did you know?”
How did she know?
Terror completely engulfed her. She finally believed this wasn’t a dream. She couldn’t help but grip her sleeve tightly, controlling her overly intense emotions.
In that dream, she had believed those words, taken that bottle of poison, walked thousands of miles, and spent her entire life trapped in Lingnan, waiting for him with her life!
Waiting until her family was destroyed, waiting until she was riddled with illness, remaining in the world like a vengeful ghost, day and night, waiting for news that Jiang Shaoyan had met a terrible end!
But she could never wait for it.
She never managed to wait for it in her entire lifetime, couldn’t even leave Lingnan to see him one more time.
“I want to see him!”
Fear and anger surged together, and her obsession burst forth.
Elder Zhang smiled helplessly, trying to continue placating her: “Miss, if the young master could come to see you, he would have come already. It’s just that he truly is busy with affairs…”
Before he could finish speaking, Luo Wanqing suddenly reached out and snatched the dagger from Elder Zhang’s hands.
Everyone was shocked. The jailers instantly drew their swords, but before they could speak, they saw Luo Wanqing draw the dagger and press it against her own throat, distancing herself from those around her and shouting: “Let me see him!”
“Miss.”
Seeing her threatening her own life, Elder Zhang wasn’t afraid. Like looking at a child, he said helplessly, “Don’t throw a tantrum. Put down the dagger.”
As he spoke, Elder Zhang even pushed the bottle of poison forward a bit, saying gently, “If you want to seek death, use this. It won’t hurt.”
“What nonsense are you spouting!”
Hearing this, Yao Zelan reacted and shouted angrily, then turned to look at Luo Wanqing cautiously: “Wanqing, don’t be impulsive. He’s just a man. You still have your parents. Don’t do anything foolish. Give me the dagger.”
“Go tell him—”
Luo Wanqing ignored Yao Zelan and stared at the calmly composed Elder Zhang, speaking through gritted teeth: “Jiang Shaoyan was saved by my Luo family five years ago. My Luo family treated him as a son-in-law, never showing him the slightest neglect. He and I are betrothed through a matchmaker’s arrangement. Now that my Luo family’s judgment hasn’t been finalized, in terms of emotion and reason, public and private matters, he should come to see me. If he doesn’t come, I’ll consider that he has transferred his affections elsewhere and feels guilty, too ashamed to face me. Today, I will kill myself here to expose his shamelessness and ingratitude. The hundreds of people present can all bear witness,” she suddenly raised her voice, “In the future, in court records and history books, Jiang Shaoyan will be stained with my blood, Luo Wanqing’s blood. Don’t think he can remain clean!”
Hearing these words, Elder Zhang’s expression changed dramatically.
Others couldn’t understand, but he knew clearly.
If Jiang Shaoyan were an ordinary person, Luo Wanqing’s words would naturally carry no weight. They could even be said to lack logic.
But it so happened that Jiang Shaoyan was a prince.
This matter had already been sent to the Eastern Capital, and many high-ranking officials in Jiangnan already knew about it. Saying that Jiang Shaoyan couldn’t see Luo Wanqing was inexcusable, no matter how you looked at it. Moreover, Jiang Shaoyan and Zheng Biyue had indeed already met, and they might even marry in the future. If Luo Wanqing died here today because she couldn’t see Jiang Shaoyan, this would be a massive stain that political enemies would use to frantically attack the Jiang and Zheng families.
After all, the Luo family had shown kindness to him—this was indisputable, and even His Majesty already knew about it.
Elder Zhang thought briefly and realized he couldn’t make this decision. He hurriedly said, “Miss, please calm down. I’ll go find the young master right away to ask if there’s any other way for him to come in and see you.”
As soon as these words left his mouth, Luo Wanqing’s heart sank, knowing she had gambled correctly using the information from her dream.