Chapter 585: A Lifeline

Chapter 585: A Lifeline

Sure enough, when he looked up, he saw Luo Jingshen, clad in a dark robe, his face grim, striding in with long, forceful steps.

Forgetting everything else, he hurried forward a few steps and knelt down to kowtow in greeting.

"Your subordinate pays respects to the Crown Prince. Unaware of Your Highness's arrival, I failed to receive you properly. I beg Your Highness's forgiveness."

Luo Jingshen paid him no attention and asked directly.

"Where is Second Miss Ji?"

Before Zhao Chengjiu could speak, Ji Qingqing, from inside the prison cell, shrieked with excitement.

"Your Highness, I'm here! I'm over here!"

She waved her hands, beside herself with excitement at seeing Luo Jingshen again.

She had completely forgotten how ruthlessly and heartlessly Luo Jingshen had treated her before, even forcing her to lose the baby.

Hearing the commotion, Luo Jingshen turned his head and indeed saw Ji Qingqing, filthy and disheveled.

She looked even uglier and more repulsive than the last time he had seen her.

Luo Jingshen was deeply disgusted, but knowing he had important matters to ask Ji Qingqing, he suppressed it.

He glanced at Zhao Chengjiu and said indifferently, "I need to speak with Second Miss Ji alone. Lord Zhao, take your men and get out."

Zhao Chengjiu dared not defy him and quickly replied, "Yes, I'll take my leave."

After everyone had gone, only Ji Qingqing and Luo Jingshen were left in the cell.

Ji Qingqing gazed at Luo Jingshen's handsome face adoringly, afraid to blink.

Scared he'd disappear from her sight if she blinked.

Ji Qingqing never imagined that Luo Jingshen, who had once sworn to cut ties with her, would come to the prison on his own to see her.

When she had stabbed Ji Qingfeng, she had already felt hopeless.

Now, seeing Luo Jingshen, she thought she might still be saved.

The Marquis of Yongning's household refused to help her, but what about Luo Jingshen?

As long as she could win his favor, she'd definitely get back at the Yongning Marquis's people later.

Ji Qingqing knew very well that Luo Jingshen was her only lifeline right now.

She pushed down her feelings, clutching the cell bars, staring at him with lovesick eyes.

"Your Highness, did you come here just to see me?"

Luo Jingshen heard her fake, simpering voice and felt his stomach turn; he almost threw up his last meal.

Still, he hid it well.

Instead, he said in a serious tone, "Qing Qing, you've been through a lot."

"I did come here today to see you."

These two brief words made Ji Qingqing's heart flutter with joy.

She was even more convinced he still cared for her.

She cast her eyes down and said shyly, "I knew it—after all these years of feelings between us, Brother Crown Prince must still have a place for me in his heart."

Then she looked up, watching him warily.

"Can you get me out of here today, Brother Crown Prince?"

"I really can't stand it here anymore. This place isn't fit for a dog. They mistreat me, starve me, and whip me. I haven't had a bath in ages."

She whined pitifully, knowing he was soft-hearted and weak to a woman's charms.

In the past, whenever she had been wronged, a little coaxing would get him to defend her.

She was sure it would work this time too.

Little did she know, she was no longer the woman she used to be.

Luo Jingshen frowned almost imperceptibly, but his face gave nothing away.

He decided to calm her down first and get her to spill what she knew.

"Qing Qing, it's not impossible for you to leave, but you have to answer a few questions first."

Hearing this, Ji Qingqing's eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded. "As long as I can leave this place, I'll do anything you ask, Brother Crown Prince."

A fake smile curled at the corner of Luo Jingshen's lips, but he didn't have the cell door opened.

He saw blood splattered on the floor and on Ji Qingqing, and knew at once it was human blood.

Since Ji Qingqing was not injured, the blood certainly was not hers.

Remembering Zhao Chengjiu had just been there, he figured Ji Qingqing had done something crazy again.

However, he had arrived in haste and had not yet had the chance to ask.

He snapped back to attention when Ji Qingqing's voice rang out.

She asked, "May I ask what Your Highness wishes to ask me?"

Luo Jingshen said, "Do you still remember that Miss Xuehua I brought last time?"

Ji Qingqing was taken aback, her expression instantly turning cold. Her hands beneath her sleeves clenched into fists.

Remember her? How could she possibly not remember!?

That bitch Hua Feixue, just like Ji Yuntang, made her seethe with hatred.

Even if she were reduced to ashes, she could never forget her.

With that thought, Ji Qingqing gritted her teeth and said to Luo Jingshen, "Your Highness, she is not some Xuehua at all. She is Hua Feixue, the woman my second brother brought back to the residence."

"It was she who wrote to the Wu family, getting them to come to the capital, and personally destroyed our betrothal ceremony. She threw the marquis's residence into chaos, then heartlessly abandoned my second brother and left without even a word of farewell."

"I may not know what methods she used to stay by Your Highness's side, but what I can be certain of is that she has been deceiving you all along. She is not as innocent as she appears."

"Your Highness, you must not trust her. Her approach to you is certainly not out of good intentions."

Luo Jingshen clenched his fists. If he had not believed Ji Qingqing's words before, after she said that Hua Feixue had left without even saying goodbye, he felt that what she said must be true.

Because Snow had treated him the same way.

He could not even figure out how she had managed to escape the East Palace, evading the guards' notice.

Suddenly struck by a thought, Luo Jingshen pressed on, "When she was at Marquis Yongning's residence, was she skilled in martial arts?"

Ji Qingqing answered without a moment's hesitation, "Yes, and she was really skilled."

"Once, before I could even see clearly, she zipped from far away to right beside me, slapped me hard across the face, and my face hurt for days before the swelling subsided."

As she spoke, Ji Qingqing touched her own cheek, looking both aggrieved and pitiful.

She pouted and said, "Your Highness, I think Hua Feixue is not a woman at all. Think about it—what woman is that tall and that vicious?"

Ji Yuntang was just as vicious, but she stood a head shorter than Hua Feixue.

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