The dungeons in the mountains were divided into upper and lower levels . The lower level was the death penalty for serious crimes . There were also some people whose ident.i.ty was unknown, but they are said to be n.o.bles . But as long as they got in here, they couldn’t expect to be rescued for the rest of their lives .

those detained in the upper level were minor like Wen Rus.h.i.+ and Mo Xie, whose penalty wasn’t too heavy and might be released in the future .

The jailer wouldn’t especially make things difficult for them . Who knew when the wind and water would take turns .  At first, she may be staying in this place, but in the next moment, perhaps Marquis Wen would use his authority to bring her back .

(TL: 風水輪流轉 = Reversal of the wheel of fortune . /Every dog has his day . )

Prisoners were also well versed in the way of survival . Therefore, when Wen Rus.h.i.+ handed out a pair of pearl earrings through a small window on the iron door, he gave her a meaningful glance and gave an old and small oil lamp to her .

Although the lamp wasn’t worth much outside, in this dark and terrible place, a little light might make a prisoner hold on for several months .

The old jailer wiped the dust off the pearls with his wrinkly hands then put them into his clothes, and continued to patrol his territory .

In addition to medicine and freshwater yesterday, he had helped his daughter to a.s.semble a complete set of earrings and a jade bracelet .

Most of the Miss Qianjin who was imprisoned here hadn’t suffered much . Their bodies were so delicate . Before long, they would automatically take out their belongings in exchange for more things . (TL: Miss Qianjin = unmarried daughter of a wealthy family)

The prisoner who cooperated so much was his favorite . As he walked, the old jailer thought to himself that something was missing in that foolish Ninth Miss’s cell .

His wife specially brought out bedding from the bottom of their chest at home yesterday, but she didn’t mention anything when she was changing things .

Did that fool from the Wen household hadn’t ever tried to sleep on a ragged cotton quilt, so she wanted to try it for a few more days? It’s strange . The old jailer scratched his head and was puzzled .

No matter what the old man thought about Wen Rus.h.i.+, she carefully lighted the oil lamp and put the faint light on the ground beside Mo Xie . He was sleeping now .

It’s just one day and one night after being captured, but it seemed like she had gone through a lot in here . Mo Xie started to have a high fever last night, not long after he was given the medicine .

Other people, who had a fever, would be confused . They would talk about secrets from their past that was hidden at the bottom of their heart . But when Mo Xie arrived here, he just gritted his teeth and said nothing .

Sweat soaked his fine black hair and Mo Xie was tossing and turning in his sleep .

There were too many dead souls under his sword . Mo Xie never refuted that after his death, he would fall into the Avici h.e.l.l forever . He would pierce the man’s heart with his sword and then closed his eyes in silent . (TL: The Avici h.e.l.l is the last and deepest of the eight hot h.e.l.ls . )

His fate should be like that . From the day Mo Xie killed a child for the first time in the hidden guard camp, he knew that he would never wash his blood-stained hands .

He seemed to be trapped in a sea of dead bodies at this moment . All that was visible to his eyes were red blood which had blotted out the sky and covered the sun .

When he looked up at a city wall in front of him, he suddenly saw a woman’s body hanging on top of it . The familiar moon-white wide-sleeved clothes were covered with bloodstains and her blood was dripping down from her sleeves . Her dark long hair came loose and gently drifted in the wind .

Marquis Wen and Pei Renqing stood on the top of the city wall and looked contemptuously down to him . It was as if they wanted to say, ‘what can you do to me?’

He seemed to be able to hear her whispering his name in a gentle voice .

It must be his imagination . How could a dead woman keep whispering in his ear? She was dead .

He grimaced at the scene in front of him and struggled to crawl through the pool of blood .

A cold sweat broke out on his forehead . Wen Rus.h.i.+ soaked a little piece of cloth that she just tore off with water, and used it to wipe his face over and over again .

She should only blame herself for being too complacent and just blurt out something without thinking it through yesterday . Even when Marquis Wen didn’t let her out, she was willing to die in prison with Mo Xie .

Her words were like a declaration to get what she wanted from a tantrum child . She didn’t expect to stir up his guilt .

Wen Rus.h.i.+ didn’t know that when she had fainted by Marquis Wen’s kick, Mo Xie hated himself for not listening to her .

He wasn’t defeated by the guards of the Wen household . When her captive put the knife on Wen Rus.h.i.+’s neck, Mo Xie gave up his resistance and waited for them to tie his hands .

He could have gone, but Mo Xie, who was overwhelmed by fear, preferred to endure their fierce beatings than take a step towards the courtyard door .

He wouldn’t live if his master died . This was a simple thought that he kept thinking even when he fell unconscious .

Wen Rus.h.i.+ sneezed . She patiently dipped her fingertips in water and moisturized his chapped lips little by little .

Maybe Mo Xie was used to fighting everything by himself . What a lonely teenager he was . Only in this way could he hold his fear and grievance in his heart and take all his faults into his own hands .

When Wen Rus.h.i.+ was thinking about Mo Xie’s problem, she began to regret her imprudent action . She should be more careful when treating such a pure and royal man like this .

Fortunately, his fever has gradually gone down . Otherwise, Wen Rus.h.i.+ didn’t know what to do . After brus.h.i.+ng his hair on his forehead away, she bent over to put her forehead against his and confirmed that it was not as hot as before . She could finally breathe a long sigh of relief .

His beautiful thick eyebrows twitched, and his long eyelashes fluttered slightly from his restless dreams .

Wen Rus.h.i.+ enveloped her arms around his waist and leaned gently against his chest . She said softly, “Fool, get better soon . I’ll take you out of here . Believe me, everything will be all right . ”

Mo Xie didn’t know how he had survived the nightmare, perhaps it was because of her whispers, or the warmth from her embrace that he could feel even in his dream .

So when he woke up and saw Wen Rus.h.i.+ sleeping on his chest, he wasn’t surprised at all .

His fingers moved for a while, but he couldn’t help raising his hand to gently touch her cheek .

She’s still alive . This wasn’t a dream .

His eyes reddened . He could also felt the warmth on his fingertip when he touched her . He slowly s.h.i.+fted his arm to make her more comfortable, lest his movements would wake her up .

Mo Xie didn’t notice that his actions at the moment were far from the past him who reminded himself to keep her at a distance . His heart was simply filled with joy, and he was glad that Wen Rus.h.i.+ was still alive and sleeping in his arms .

Nothing was more important than her being alive .

Mo Xie, who had just survived the gate of h.e.l.l, recovered very quickly . By the afternoon, he was able to sit up with her support .

The days in prison were very boring . Seeing that Mo Xie had pa.s.sed the dangerous period, Wen Rus.h.i.+ was in a good mood .

When you were in a good mood, you began to talk more .

When Mo Xie was at the end of his patient in the past, he could escape through the window . However, he was locked up here . The cell was so big . Let alone run, even if he could walk as if he had a pair of wings, he couldn’t escape from this place .

Wen Rus.h.i.+ pulled at his cuff and said all the words she hadn’t had time to say in the past seven years before she escaped .

Wherever you wanted to go, you could say it . Wen Rus.h.i.+ was so chatty that he completely forgot all about the sadness of following his master .

He had no choice but to lay on the stinky ragged quilt and stared at the ceiling using a faint light from the old lamp . He silently counted the lines on the rocks to distract himself from Wen Rus.h.i.+’s voice .

“Mo Xie, don’t you think so?” She didn’t hear his reply after waiting for a long time . Wen Rus.h.i.+ grinned and leaned down to him . She brushed a strand of his hair away to pull his ear .

Mo Xie turned his head and sighed, “Yes…” In fact, he didn’t understand what she was talking about . The story about a complicated relations.h.i.+p between Eighth Aunt and Seventh Uncle had already made him dizzy .

Mo Xie didn’t understand why he should care about the family life of those wet nurses and maids in Wen household . If you had any spare time, you might as well train to improve your swordsmans.h.i.+p .

“You can’t be so negative . ” Wen Rus.h.i.+ shook her head and turned his face towards her, “If we want to blend into the crowd in the future, you have to learn how to deal with strangers . Otherwise, you won’t know it when they bully you . ”

A flush crept up his face . He wasn’t used to the way Miss liked to do things to him . It was a good thing the light was dim, so no one could see his blush .

He looked down and whispered, “No one can bully me, except the young lady . Mo Xie doesn’t care what others think . ”

Wen Rus.h.i.+ stared blankly at him . She was at a loss for words .

Don’t tell me this was the legend which forced him to be strong, the wind blowing the hills, he crossed by himself, the bright moon s.h.i.+ning on the great river? It seemed like her little guard’s bottom-line was too low .

(TL: 他強由他強，清風拂山崗；他橫由他橫，明月照大江; This is from 《倚天屠龍記》 . It’s a novel written by writer Jin Yong . This sentence narrates the resentment and hatred of various factions and figures in the rivers and lakes . )

Wen Rus.h.i.+ blinked . The problem was that she didn’t want Mo Xie to be like this in the future . She wanted him to be a little more cheerful and not looked like he couldn’t live without her .

His life was also very precious . He couldn’t always risk his life for every time she was in danger or tried to solve every matter for her .

How could Wen Rus.h.i.+ be at ease when Mo Xie was so single-minded like this? If she was taken away later, or could not return to him for a while, he would go crazy again .

Wen Rus.h.i.+ didn’t know what to say for a while, so she changed the topic, “Are you hungry? Shall I go exchange something for you?”

Mo Xie looked up at her hair . There was only one jade hairpin left on it . Had his young lady ever been so frugal? During the time that he was in a comatose, he didn’t know how much suffering she had to bear .

Mo Xie felt sad in his heart . He shook his head gently, “I’m not hungry . You don’t have to ask for those people who are trampling high and low . ” (TL: 扒高踩低 = bullying)

“How can that be regarded as bullying? I don’t need to ask for help . It’s fair to pay for the goods with one hand and receive them with another . Your injury wouldn’t heal so quickly without them . ” Wen Rus.h.i.+ smiled before pinching his stiff face . She took the jade hairpin off and turned to the door .

If she didn’t get some goods, how could Mo Xie make up for so much blood loss? If he only ate a pickle and steamed buns, he wouldn’t have the strength to raise a sword by the time Marquis Wen released them .

Wen Rus.h.i.+ tapped the iron door and shook the white jade hairpin before the old jailer’s wrinkled face, “This is the best-carved jade hairpin crafted by a skillful craftsman . I will exchange it for something cheaper . I want a pot of Chicken Soup, add a lot of jujube in there too . ” (TL: Jujube/red date; Jujube has the reputation of “natural vitamin pills”, which has the effect of nouris.h.i.+ng yin and nouris.h.i.+ng yang . )

Seeing him squinted his eyes and laughed loudly with his yellow tooth, Wen Rus.h.i.+ added, “Send in another bowl and remember to ask for a new one . But if there’s a trace of us using them, our deal will be canceled . ”

The jailer laughed and rubbed his hands . He went to prepare what she wanted .

He knew that she still had a lot of good things hiding in there, so he wouldn’t be so foolish to kill a hen to get eggs . Marquis Wen’s order just came . He was asked to carefully serve Ninth Miss, but he dared not let her suffer any more injuries . (TL: 殺雞取卵= get immediate benefits, but discarding long-term interests)

When General Pei returned to the city in a few days, Marquis Wen would dress her up beautifully and send her to the city . If he dared to be rude to Wen Rus.h.i.+ and interrupted Marquis Wen’s plan, then he must be tired of living .

It was good nowadays . Everyone kept on good terms, and each took what they need . The great masters were all happy too .

He pondered how could he let his wife add more good things in the soup that cost little to no money . He needed to make sure that Ninth Miss was satisfied . The young lady was beautiful . When she entered Peifu, he wondered how the general would spoil her . It would be good to have a good relations.h.i.+p with her .