Font Size:
Regardless of the mystery hidden in that sentence, Shen Ning decided to seek the truth personally. Before that, she should first return to Nan Dynasty to settle the accounts that needed to be cleared.
In the evening, upon returning to the Regent’s residence, Shen Ning went to the dungeon herself. After two months, she saw Han Rong again, the man she hated with every fiber of her being.
The dungeon of the Regent’s residence was not large, perhaps not often used to house prisoners. The cell had a musty smell of dust, and the air was not good, but Shen Ning was no delicate young lady. Such harsh conditions were negligible to her. It didn’t matter if she was just visiting, even if she had to stay for a few days, she could endure it.
Only Han Rong was imprisoned in the dungeon.
So, even though it took her a good while to recognize the contours of his face from the bloodstained visage before her, she never doubted his identity.
Outside the cell was a tall rack, with chains clanking and all sorts of whips covering the entire wall—long whips, short whips, thick and thin, light and heavy, and even whips with barbs.
Of course, the instruments of torture were not limited to whips. Even though there were many kinds of whips, in a place like the dungeon, they were the most mild and not very intimidating. A mere glance at the other instruments could terrify the faint-hearted.
Shen Ning stood in the cell for about half a moment, able to confirm that Han Rong had been living well these days, served with at least “four dishes and one soup” daily. With just a cursory look, she could see that his body was covered with injuries from at least a dozen different forms of torture.
Fortunately, the Regent’s residence had not only cruel punishments but also plenty of good medicine to keep him alive with daily doses, allowing him to endure the various tortures.
Shen Ning closed her eyes briefly and then opened them, finding that the anger that had been suppressed in her chest had vanished. Now she could face this beast, once considered her mortal enemy, with composure.
“Han Rong!” The jailer in the cell, seeing that he had been motionless for a while, worried that Shen Ning would grow impatient from standing too long, coldly called out.
Han Rong, huddled in the corner, heard the jailer’s voice and his body instinctively began to tremble, a habitual physical reaction, obviously terrified to the extreme.
Shen Ning watched expressionlessly, knowing that he was probably so tormented that he was scared, so much so that just hearing the jailer’s voice made him tremble all over, like a frightened bird.
A sneer crossed her lips: “Han Rong, you’ve only been in the Regent’s residence for a few days, and you can’t take it anymore? The War Goddess Princess was tormented by you for two whole years. Was she as cowardly and timid as you back then?”
Han Rong probably didn’t expect to hear a woman’s voice in the cell, or perhaps it had been so long since he heard Shen Ning’s voice that he instinctively stiffened. After a while, his trembling body gradually calmed down.
He raised his head and brushed aside the disheveled strands of hair on his forehead, looking at Shen Ning standing outside with a dull and frightened gaze. His pupils contracted slightly, and he suddenly became agitated, unable to control his body from lunging forward.
However, his injuries were too severe, and his hands and feet were shackled, making it difficult to move freely.
As soon as he attempted this movement, he fell to the ground in a disheveled heap. A suppressed sound of pain escaped from his throat. He was shivering from the pain and couldn’t get up for a long time.
“There’s no need to be too excited, nor is such a grand gesture of greeting necessary.” Shen Ning said indifferently. “I came here today only to tell you that the troops sent by the Yong Kingdom have breached Nan Dynasty’s border. Nan Dynasty is only a cavalry ride away from the imperial city from being destroyed. Time-wise, it shouldn’t take more than two months.”
Han Rong was shaken, and the color drained from his face, hidden by his hair. His lips trembled, and his hands clawed at the ground.
Nan Dynasty was going to be destroyed?
Then what was the point of everything he had worked so hard to achieve?
His power, his title, his family.
He had only enjoyed three years of prosperity and wealth, and was it going to end so soon?
No, he was not willing to accept this.
Why was fate so unfair to him?
“You will have five days to recover from your injuries.” Shen Ning said with a slight smile, as if granting a favor. “During these five days, you won’t be tortured, and your meals will be improved. Once you’ve regained your strength, we’ll take you back to Nan Dynasty and let you see with your own eyes what Nan Dynasty looks like after its destruction.”
Shen Ning suddenly remembered something: “Oh, and your like-minded master might be groveling at your feet like a stray dog begging for mercy. That will surely be a delightful sight.”
“You…” A hoarse and broken voice finally squeezed out from his throat, sounding as if it had just been scorched by fire, yet unable to conceal the bone-deep and powerless hatred, “Who are you?! We have no enmity, why are you doing this to me?”
No enmity?
Shen Ning stared at him expressionlessly for a long time: “Han Rong, you are truly slow. You still don’t know who I am.”
Should she say that he was deceiving himself, unwilling to face reality, or was he really so slow that he hadn’t noticed her identity yet?
Shen Ning gave him one last cold look before turning to leave.
Han Rong, lying on the ground, felt a chill throughout his body. During the two months he had been imprisoned in the dungeon of the prince’s residence, he had been tortured to the brink of death several times. Every day was a cycle of pain, exhaustion, hunger, and drowsiness, yet there was always a breath of life hanging on, allowing him to cling to the hope of returning to Nan Dynasty one day.
However, Shen Ning’s arrival tonight had plunged him into despair.
Nan Dynasty was going to be destroyed.
He would be left with nothing. He might even… even end up like the former War Goddess Princess, reduced to a prisoner or slave, subjected to humiliation and trampling for the rest of his life…
The most terrifying thing was that, for a moment, he seemed to have really seen the War Goddess Princess standing outside the cell, looking at him with a condescending and pitying gaze, as if looking at a dying ant.
A dying ant.
An ant…