Chapter 29: You Think You’re Still Qualified to Negotiate with Me?

Confrontation in the Prison

“Hey, get up! Someone’s here to see you—hurry!”

In the Ministry of Justice’s prison, a jailer opened the cell door and kicked Wu Que several times.

Wu Que winced in pain but clenched his teeth, refusing to cry out, only glaring with resentment.

Slap—

A crisp sound rang out as the jailer’s hand struck Wu Que’s face, sending him crashing to the ground. His cheek slammed into the moldy, damp floor.

His lip split, the taste of blood mixing with the putrid stench of decay, making him gag.

But having eaten nothing for days, he had nothing to vomit, only retching up a puddle of yellow bile streaked with blood.

As he struggled to push himself up, a pair of white shoes embroidered with lotus patterns appeared in his vision. The pearl-adorned tips gleamed, starkly out of place in the grim cell.

“Thank you for leading the way, Brother. Our lady wishes to speak with him alone. Please do us this favor,” Qingfang said, slipping a heavy purse into the jailer’s hand.

The jailer took it, a grin spreading across his face. “No trouble at all. I’ll wait outside, but don’t take too long.”

“Rest assured, we’ll just say a few words and leave,” Qingfang nodded.

Once the jailer left, Wu Que dragged himself up from the floor.

How could he not recognize Qingfang’s voice? Seeing Xie Jiu in her splendid attire, his eyes burned with venom.

“What are you here for?”

“To share good news, of course,” Xie Jiu said, her lips curving into a smile, her tone gentle. “You haven’t heard, have you? Today is your sister’s wedding day to Lord Zhou. The Zhou family’s sedan came to fetch her this morning.”

Her breezy demeanor made it sound like a trivial matter.

Hearing that Wu Qingchan had married, Wu Que felt a mix of bitterness and resentment, yet also a flicker of relief since it was his idea.

His emotions were tangled, but his face remained expressionless.

“You didn’t come all the way here just to tell me that,” he said coldly.

He wasn’t that foolish.

Xie Jiu’s True Purpose

Caught out, Xie Jiu fanned herself lightly, her eyes curving with a smile. “Oh my, if you hadn’t reminded me, I nearly forgot. I was so caught up in the joy of it all. There’s another thing I haven’t mentioned.”

She lowered her voice, as if sharing a secret. “Today is also the day the Marquis’s residence is being confiscated.”

Covering her face with her fan, she let out a soft laugh. “Isn’t that quite the coincidence? It really is an auspicious day!”

Seeing her serene, almost gleeful expression, Wu Que ground his teeth, his eyes fixed on her with twisted madness.

“You wretch! You vile wretch!” Wu Que hunched forward, his face contorted like a rabid dog ready to pounce. “The Wu family’s century-old legacy—ruined by your hands! Even if I die, I’ll drag you down with me!”

With those words, he lunged, hands reaching for Xie Jiu’s neck, his eyes blazing with hatred so intense it seemed to spill over.

But the next moment, a piercing scream echoed through the cell.

Xie Jiu had swiftly pulled a gold hairpin from her hair and stabbed it through Wu Que’s palm with such force that it pierced clean through, then yanked it out.

Blood gushed, staining his entire hand red.

Chunrong and Qingfang froze, stunned by Xie Jiu’s quick and ruthless reaction.

Wu Que’s wails filled the cell. Gone was his earlier bravado. His face pale, he clutched his bleeding hand and staggered back until he was pressed against the wall, unable to retreat further.

Meanwhile, Xie Jiu drew a clean handkerchief and leisurely wiped the blood from the hairpin, her delicate brows furrowing slightly, as if displeased.

“Why so impulsive? I wasn’t done speaking.”

“There’s nothing to say!” Wu Que snarled through gritted teeth, his face twisting further in pain, resembling a grotesque demon. “I can’t kill you now, but even in death, I won’t let you go!”

A Calculated Offer

In contrast to his heated words, Xie Jiu remained utterly calm.

Handing the cleaned hairpin to Chunrong, she spoke leisurely. “All this talk of death—it’s so inauspicious. Do you really want to die that badly?”

Her words carried an underlying meaning. Though Wu Que was in a rage, his mind hadn’t entirely deserted him, and he caught the implication.

“Stop beating around the bush. What do you want?”

Xie Jiu raised an eyebrow, her demeanor unruffled.

“You should think carefully about what you still have that could buy your life. Hmm, let me give you a hint—money, perhaps.”

She sighed, feigning sympathy. “We were husband and wife, after all. Despite your vile words, I’ll kindly remind you: the Emperor has only recently ascended the throne, and the treasury is quite empty.”

An empty treasury naturally needed filling.

Confiscating the assets of corrupt officials was an excellent method.

Like today’s seizure of the Weiyuan Marquis Residence.

“The residence has already been confiscated. What could I possibly have left?” Wu Que snapped, feeling toyed with.

Or perhaps he was unwilling to admit anything.

He still hoped to protect his hidden assets.

As long as he had something left, there was hope. Even if he died, Wu Qingchan was still alive.

He could leave it to her.

The Ledger

But Xie Jiu wouldn’t let him have his way. Smiling, she gestured for Chunrong to hand over a ledger.

“The authorities will handle the obvious assets according to the law, but there are still your hidden properties. I’ve managed the household for two years since marrying you. Don’t tell me you have nothing stashed away.”

Wu Que’s trembling hands took the ledger. Flipping through a few pages, his face darkened.

The ledger detailed sixty to seventy percent of the Wu family’s secret assets, all clearly listed.

“You already know this much. Why bother asking me?” Wu Que gripped the ledger tightly, blood from his wound seeping onto the pages, stark against the white paper.

Xie Jiu’s face twisted in distaste, and she let out a soft tsk. “I’m the one asking now. If you confess everything cleanly, I might put in a good word for you with the Emperor. But if you keep hiding things, even if you die, I’ll dig up the rest. Don’t think you can hold onto anything.”

Her tone grew sharp with disdain.

That ledger was the result of her painstaking efforts, and now it was ruined with blood—utterly filthy.

Wu Que sensed the contempt and threat in her words, his body trembling with suppressed rage. Ignoring the pain, he gripped the ledger even tighter.

“You’d better agree to some of my demands. Otherwise, why should I tell you anything? Sure, you could dig it up after my death, but that would take time and effort. I doubt you’d want the hassle.”

He spoke coldly, expecting her to compromise easily. But instead, he was met with a woman’s scornful laugh.

“You think you’re still qualified to negotiate with me?”