The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort

Chapter 21: Who Is Worse Off Than Whom?

After being silent for a while, Jiang Lisa asked, “Have you been here for a long time?”

The woman saw that Jiang Lisa was willing to speak. On ordinary days, she was afraid she would get stifled and choked in this prison. Therefore, she immediately came clean and spoke, “I have been here for almost a year. And for more than half a year, not a single person has been brought in. Little girl, what have you done to be locked in here?”

Jiang Lisa smiled faintly, “I did nothing.”

“How is that possible...” The woman was surprised. She wanted to ask more questions in order to understand the situation further. “Is it that you have also been wrongly accused ? When I look at you, you seem to look like the daughter of an influential family. How could they dare...?”

Jiang Lisa looked at her. “What do you mean?”

The woman shrugged. “No, nothing.”

Jiang Lisa sighed gently. The sigh contained her helplessness, as if she had experienced great grievances in life, as if there was a heavy load in her heart that made her feel immense sadness. The woman secretly looked at Jiang Lisa through the hair covering her eyes, and in seeing this, made Jiang Lisa smile. Her eyes were full of strength and warmth. They seemed to immediately make one feel comfortable around her. The person in front of her was clearly just a young girl like herself, however, she was full of a kind of charm and exuded an aura of enchantment that made it so that others couldn’t help but look twice.

The girl swallowed. “You are not aware, since you have just come. To get out of this place, you have to rely on silver. I was just an ordinary young woman and when I got married, my husband went to the sea on business. But, unfortunately, he met with some gangsters there and never came back. Only my mother-in-law and I lived together. Who knew that my husband had a brother... he had invested some money with my husband and one day when I was out of the house, he strangled my mother-in-law and then blamed me. The prefectural magistrate here was a muddle-headed official who had been bribed by my brother-in-law. I was forcibly taken to the prison and eventually had to confess under torture. Although I wasn’t sentenced to beheading, I was confined to live in this prison for a long time.” When the young girl told her story, she appeared sad, but her voice was toneless. She didn’t have any tears. She had been in the prison for a year already and her tears had already dried up. Although it was painful, she could only accept life as it was.

Seeing that Jiang Lisa remained silent, the girl slowly grew comfortable with her, saying, “But, little girl, I see that you are different from me. Although your clothes don’t look very good, I can see you are not an ordinary family’s daughter. How have you ended up here?

Jiang Lisa smiled slightly. “Even a small family has its share of scheming and intrigue, so will a large and wealthy family lack those backyard politics?”

When the woman heard this, she felt that it was reasonable. Her gaze towards Jiang Lisa became more compassionate. “Little girl, this prison is no better than the outside. I have lived here for a year. No one can stay here. Since both of us share the same cruel fate, it will be good to talk to each other often. My name is Shu Fen. You can call me Fen jiejie[1].”

[1] Jiějiě ( 姐姐 ) – Elder sister; A girl friend who is almost a sister to you.

Jiang Lisa nodded, “Fen jiejie.” She looked around, “Have all the prisoners here been wrongly accused?”

Shu Fen shook her head. “Not everyone, but the experiences of most people here are just like mine. Some of them are really guilty, but they don’t have enough silver to bail themselves out. But anyone who is guilty of crime, yet possesses the monetary resources, will easily be able to get out.”

Qian Wan Li was the prefectural magistrate of this area. Jiang Lisa remembered clearly that this person loved money and was extremely greedy. Even with a dead goose, he would want to pluck off a few feathers to make profit. Over these past few years, there had been no lack of opportunity to fleece others. This time, he took Chen Zhao’s money, but he really thought far ahead of Chen Zhao’s means. Knowing her identity, he locked her up wanting to extort more money from Jiang Quan.

This transaction, Jiang Quan would certainly make. And Jiang Su Nancy and her mother would also beg for her forgiveness. But she would not allow others to take advantage of her like that. If Qian Wan Li wanted to eat a fat goose, she didn’t mind letting him try being killed in the process.

“If you had the chance to get out of here, are you willing to speak up?” Jiang Lisa asked Shu Fen.

Shu Fen was startled. She looked at her and said, “How can there be another opportunity to seek justice? I have already spent a year here. I can see things clearly. There is no fairness or justice in this system. If you are thinking of causing a commotion, I can tell you right now that it is a mistake. Listen to this jiejie. It is best not to do that, or you yourself will suffer.”

Jiang Lisa smiled. "Fen jiejie must not forget that my father is not an ordinary person. He knows that I have been imprisoned here and will inevitably come to save me. I am innocent. You must take this opportunity, that I am bringing to your attention, to get out; I will certainly not forget you outside of these walls even though our family situations are so different.”

Listening to Jiang Lisa speak about her father, Shu Fen’s expression was slightly hesitant. “Does your father really have that ability?”

Jiang Lisa nodded.

“If that is the case, then things will be better.” Shu Fen suddenly saw a glimmer of hope in the darkness, however, a nagging suspicion arose shortly. “But if your father loves you, how could he have let you fall into this miserable situation?”

Jiang Lisa lowered her head. Seeping through the small, dark window in the cell, little rays of sunshine fell on her white neck. Her fluttering eyelashes concealed the emotions in her eyes. Only, her weak shoulders appeared so fragile that people couldn’t help but pity her.

Shu Fen sighed, “Well, alright, I won’t ask about your family. It is just that... will your father really come to save you?”

“Yes, my maids must have already sent him a letter by now. My father will soon send someone to pick me up.” Jiang Lisa blinked.

“When?” Shu Fen still had some doubt.

“Tomorrow,” Jiang Lisa smiled. “I think there will be an opportunity for you to appeal for justice tomorrow, Fen jiejie. At that time, not only you, but all the prisoners in this prison should seize the opportunity and shout loudly. You must remember, the louder you shout, the more likely you are to be released.”

Shu Fen nodded, and began to inform everyone in the prison about the plan.

The night passed quickly. On the tenth day of the month, the sun was completely hidden behind thick clouds. The skies were covered with bits of snow, falling softly like feathers. The ground was covered with a layer of snow. Inside the prison cells, it was dark and damp, and ice was frozen in some corners. Shu Fen found some straw lying scattered around her and gave it to Jiang Lisa so that she could warm herself.

Jiang Lisa shook her head gently. The prison cell here was heaven on earth when compared to the horrifying situation she had experienced in her last life. At that time, she had been placed in the most terrifying cell, the darkest of dungeons, for being a criminal. She was soaked in a half-filled pool, her entire body immersed in chillingly cold water. There were also mice running around, waiting to feed on her body. The freezing water constantly flowed against her body, causing a chill in the viewer’s heart. Even if such a snowfall occurred today, it could not compare to even a thousandth of her experience.

These days, it seemed like the incidents of her past were repeating themselves. She was once again locked up in a prison. But this time, she would no longer be as miserable and helpless as she was in her previous life. She would not let herself be tortured. Now that she was still still alive, she owed some people and some people owed her. She needed to collect her debts. The suffering she was experiencing at present, combined with her grievances from her previous life, must all be returned in full to all the people who had been the cause of it. Until then, let’s see who is worse off than whom!