“We’re here! This is the place…” The Dali Temple jailer opened the prison door and spoke respectfully to Old Lady Fu. “Thank you!” Old Lady Fu gestured for the nanny beside her to reward the jailer, smiling as she said, “You’ve worked hard. Please have some tea.”

With shackles on both legs, kneeling on straw, having lost one arm, and with a face covered in grime, Fu Ruoxi looked up. By the dim light of the Dali Temple prison, he saw his mother’s stern features. Fu Ruoxi’s hands resting on his knees tightened, and his dry, cracked lips pressed together firmly.

The jailer weighed the money pouch in his hand and smiled as he tucked it into his sleeve: “Old Lady Fu, what are you saying! The Crown Prince has given orders—how could we jailers not comply? Please take your time chatting! This humble one will withdraw first!”

Old Lady Fu smiled and nodded to the jailer. Only after watching him leave did her gaze fall upon Fu Ruoxi in the cell, disheveled, filthy, and missing one arm.

Old Lady Fu’s eyes were red. She said to the old nanny beside her, “Let me know if anyone comes.”

“Yes!” The old nanny bowed and walked aside to keep watch with small steps.

Old Lady Fu entered the cell, her red eyes burning as she stared at Fu Ruoxi.

Fu Ruoxi’s throat worked as he supported himself on the straw with his single hand. The sound of iron chains rustled at his feet. He lowered his eyes, not daring to meet Old Lady Fu’s sharp gaze, and kowtowed heavily to her.

Seeing her son’s empty sleeve, Old Lady Fu couldn’t hold back her tears. She straightened her back, gripped her walking stick tightly, and spoke: “For the Empress, you dare to do anything! You don’t care about this old woman who refuses to die, you don’t care about your brothers and nephews, you can ignore your wife—but what about your two sons? For the Empress, would you have them die too?”

Hearing Old Lady Fu’s angry, choked voice, Fu Ruoxi hunched his body even lower: “Mother… the Empress, she’s pregnant, it’s my son…”

Before Fu Ruoxi could finish speaking, Old Lady Fu raised her walking stick and struck him, causing him to grunt in pain.

Old Lady Fu’s tears fell like broken pearls. Gritting her teeth, she swung the stick again, blow after blow. Fu Ruoxi knelt there, supporting himself with one hand, clutching the straw beneath his knees tightly, saying nothing as his body tensed, letting Old Lady Fu beat him, nearly falling to the ground.

No one knew how many times Old Lady Fu struck Fu Ruoxi before she was too exhausted to continue, and the walking stick slipped from her trembling hands.

Old Lady Fu also knelt on the ground and cried aloud, clenching her fists to pound Fu Ruoxi’s shoulders: “Have you lost your mind?! Do you know what fate awaits our entire Fu family once these words are spoken?! Are you willing to ignore everything for that woman Zhong Shaorong? The Fu family has hundreds of people, and your two sons… the younger one is only six years old! What wrong has he done to lose his life for that woman? Are you willing to see the entire Fu family—from eighty-year-old elders to babies just out of their first month—all go to the execution block together to pave the way for that woman’s future?!”

Fu Ruoxi thought of his youngest son’s innocent face and closed his eyes, his heart unable to bear it.

“Think about the Jian Congwen family from back then! Censor Jian’s little grandson was only four years old when he went to the execution block with them, crying for sugar candy—do you remember what you said then? You couldn’t bear to see other people’s children suffer, yet your son is only six! Six years old! How can you bear to be so heartless toward him!” Old Lady Fu grabbed Fu Ruoxi’s collar and wailed.

Remembering how Jian Congwen’s young grandson had been bound and taken to the execution block, telling his mother he wanted to eat sugar candy when he got home, Fu Ruoxi felt blood rush to his head, and tears streamed down his face.

At that time, hearing the four-year-old child’s words, Fu Ruoxi had been moved to pity and had nearly rushed into the palace to beg His Majesty to spare the innocent child.

But blinded by guilt and misplaced loyalty, he had completely disregarded his old mother, wife, and children.

“Mother…” Fu Ruoxi choked and cried aloud, “Mother… your son has wronged you, wronged my brothers, wife, and children.”

Old Lady Fu was too choked up to speak. She took a deep breath, grasped Fu Ruoxi’s shoulders, and said solemnly: “My son, your life cannot be saved by your mother, but at least I can preserve the lives of the other Fu family members and save your sons and wife! Tell them about how the Empress wanted to use you to force the palace and put Prince Xin on the throne. Say that the Empress threatened you with the lives of the Fu family! Then the Crown Prince will spare the lives of the other Fu family members.”

“Mother… the Crown Prince’s word may not be trustworthy!” Fu Ruoxi said.

“If the Crown Prince cannot be trusted, surely Princess Zhenguo can be? Your mother first went to find Princess Zhenguo—it was Princess Zhenguo who directed me to find the Crown Prince!” Old Lady Fu bit her lip and lowered her voice, “Princess Zhenguo’s meaning is that she cannot save you, but she can preserve the children. As long as we prepare in advance and spend some money to reduce the children’s suffering, when the Crown Prince ascends the throne and grants a general amnesty, the children will be able to return.”

Fu Ruoxi still trusted Bai Qingyan.

Fu Ruoxi wasn’t someone who couldn’t see clearly. He knew that when Bai Qingyan had severed his arm that day without taking his life, using the capital Fu family to wake him up, it was to leave a way out for the capital Fu family.

Otherwise, if he had died then, it would have confirmed the assassination attempt on the Crown Prince. Not to mention nine generations—at least the entire capital Fu family would not have survived.

Based on this alone, Fu Ruoxi trusted Bai Qingyan.

But if he fabricated that the Empress had threatened him with the Fu family’s lives, could the Empress still live?

“My son! You cannot hesitate any longer!” Old Lady Fu’s face was crisscrossed with tear tracks in every wrinkle, her anxiety extreme.

“Mother, when Minister Lu from the Dali Temple comes to interrogate me, I will… tell the truth as it happened, but asking me to falsely accuse the Empress—I… cannot do it!” Fu Ruoxi choked.

“Good! Good! You are a good son! A good husband! A good father!” Old Lady Fu shook her head and stood up unsteadily, “The Fu family members don’t matter—only Zhong Shaorong matters! I really… gave birth to a good dog for Zhong Shaorong! It’s I who has wronged your wife and your sons… If I had known, why did I arrange a marriage for you? Not only did I harm that good girl, but I also harmed my grandsons… I have wronged your in-laws and daughter-in-law!”

Old Lady Fu’s voice was weak and powerless: “Your mother-in-law entrusted her daughter to my hands before she died, hoping I could protect their youngest daughter’s peace for life! Against my conscience, to cover up your affair with Zhong Shaorong, I arranged for you to marry your wife. All these years when you weren’t here… she managed the household, served her mother-in-law, perfectly and thoroughly! Such a good daughter-in-law, such good grandsons, yet… because my son cannot let go of his feelings for another woman, they must die…”

“Mother…” Fu Ruoxi’s fists clenched tightly as he wept uncontrollably.

“Don’t call me mother! I am not your mother!” Old Lady Fu beat her chest and stamped her feet, looking up and crying in anguish.