Taking her into his tent, he incurred the wrath of a powerful and mad minister, from which he could

Zong Xian abandoned Li Dan and rushed to the cell where Ji Mingyi was imprisoned.

The jailer had already been ordered to open the cell door.

Mingyi lay flat on the straw mat, her small face pale, her eyes closed, looking as if she were asleep, though it was unclear how long she had been unconscious.

Zong Xian strode into the cell, and without a word, bent down and picked her up in his arms. He could feel that she was thinner and much lighter than when she was in the Zong family mansion.

His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, his heart sank, and he quickly carried the person outside.

"Go get a doctor immediately!"

He continued walking without stopping, and gave instructions in a deep voice.

He moved with lightning speed, instantly disappearing into the distance using his light-footed skills.

The two jailers knelt on the ground until Zong Xian's figure was far away before they dared to whisper to each other.

"Who exactly is Miss Ji to the Prime Minister?"

"You idiot, you didn't even understand this! You've wasted your life!"

"Tell me, if the adults care about her so much, why are they so heartless as to imprison her like a criminal?"

"Who knows!"

...

Zong Xian carried Ji Mingyi to a clean room in the backyard of the yamen and settled her on the bed.

The doctor rushed over with his medicine box, and even the newly appointed prefect came.

Ji Mingyi suddenly fainted in prison, which terrified Chen Ping.

He didn't understand why she would faint when he had been providing her with good food and drink.

He immediately ordered someone to summon the jailer and question him about what had happened.

The jailer replied tremblingly, "After Miss Ji was moved to her new cell, she refused to eat or drink anything..."

Even a strong man would not be able to withstand a hunger strike for days on end, let alone a woman whose body is already weak.

Chen Ping was both shocked and furious, but because there were people in the room, he dared not shout at them. He immediately kicked the jailer hard in the shoulder.

"Why didn't you report her refusal to eat sooner!"

The jailer inwardly groaned and immediately knelt down, begging for mercy: "I know I was wrong, please spare my life, sir!!"

Even if we kill these two idiots now, it won't change anything. Chen Ping cursed, "Get out, both of you, get out!"

The room was quiet.

The doctor took the pulse through a gauze curtain, using a silk thread to indicate the pulse.

Zong Xian sat upright by the bed, his face cold and his aura frighteningly low.

After a moment, the old doctor withdrew his hand, bowed, and reported: "The young lady is not in any danger of death. Her fainting was caused by weakness and malnutrition. She only needs to rest and recuperate and take good care of herself, and she will gradually recover."

The old doctor picked up his pen, wrote down a prescription, and then left.

At this moment, Fan Siyuan pushed open the door and entered, holding a wooden box and calling out to the inner room: "All the secret letters that have been seized are here. Take a look and see if there are any omissions."

Zong Xian then stepped out of the inner room, took the wooden box, and examined the secret letters inside one by one. After a long while, he said calmly, "Li Dan is now in your hands."

Fan Siyuan knew that Li Dan was currently preoccupied with the woman in the house and had no time to deal with Li Dan's matter, but he had almost finished dealing with it and Li Dan was no longer a concern.

Fan Siyuan raised an eyebrow, speaking with a hint of mockery, "Feeling sorry for him?"

Zong Xian was too lazy to say anything more to him, and simply said, "This is none of your business." After saying that, he turned around and went back to the inner room.

Fan Siyuan took the anxious Lord Chen away with him.

"Alright, Lord Chen, hurry up and leave. It would be tactless of you to go in and apologize now."

...

Not long after, a servant brought in the prepared herbal medicine.

Zong Xian glanced at it and said, "Just put it there. You can leave now."

"Yes." The servant responded and withdrew.

Zong Xian helped the woman on the couch to sit up and let her lean on his shoulder. Then he reached out and picked up the warm medicine bowl from the side.

After feeding her a little bit, I wiped her wet lips with a handkerchief and then laid her flat on the couch.

Mingyi remained fast asleep, her face pale and lifeless, like thin porcelain, beautiful yet broken.

Zong Xian got up and went out, just as Xie Huaiyu rushed over after hearing the news. The two met at the door.

Xie Huaiyu had just heard about Mingyi being imprisoned in the yamen and then learned that she had fainted, and was filled with anxiety.

In his haste, he didn't notice how deserted the courtyard was, with not a single servant in sight, except for Zong Xian.

"Second Uncle, is Mingyi inside? I'd like to go in and check on her."

As soon as Xie Huaiyu finished speaking, he hurriedly tried to rush inside, but Zong Xian raised his hand and blocked him directly in front of the door.

Xie Huaiyu looked up in confusion, and Zong Xian said, "She is fine, just a little weak. She was just given some medicine and is still sleeping peacefully. If you go in, you might disturb her."

Upon hearing this, Xie Huaiyu had no choice but to stop and say, "Alright..."

Zong Xian slowly withdrew his hand from his side, his gaze towards him carrying a subtle, unspoken meaning: "If you want to see her, there's no rush. You can come after she wakes up."

The tone shifted, becoming more serious: "Li Dan's corruption involves a huge amount of money. You were once engaged to the Li family. This matter must be dealt with cleanly, otherwise it will be detrimental to your future career."

Xie Huaiyu immediately became serious.

The two then left the courtyard together.

As Xie Huaiyu was leaving, she subconsciously turned back and glanced worriedly at the closed door before her gaze returned to Zong Xian's tall and straight back.

I had a vague feeling that something was off.

-

Mingyi slept soundly from daytime until night.

After an unknown amount of time, the person on the bed trembled slightly, slowly woke up, and murmured that they wanted to drink water.

Hearing the commotion, the maidservant who was guarding the room quickly poured a cup of warm water.

After drinking the water, Mingyi lay back down, feeling weak.

Upon seeing this, the maid immediately left the room and hurried to the next room to report.

A moment later, Zong Xian stepped into the room as night fell.

"Didn't you say she was awake?" Zong Xian raised his hand to lift the curtain, frowning as he looked at the woman who was still unconscious on the bed.

The maidservant hurriedly said, "The young lady did wake up for a moment and even drank some water, but perhaps she is too weak and has fallen asleep again."

As soon as he finished speaking, a very soft and faint groan came from the bed.

Zong Xian raised his hand, signaling the maid to leave.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, held her cold hands and rubbed them gently, then softly called her name, "Mingyi."

Hearing the call, Mingyi struggled to lift her heavy eyelids, and the scene before her eyes was once again in the hospital.

She was in a daze and mistook Zong Xian for her brother. A surge of grievances welled up in her heart, and her eyes reddened. She wanted to confide in her brother.

Tell him that he met some very bad people and suffered a lot.

But she was afraid that if she made a sound, her brother would disappear, so she bit her lip tightly and couldn't help but sob.

When Zong Xian saw her crying pitifully as soon as she woke up, he felt a dull ache in his heart, which he figured was probably because he felt sorry for her.

He held the tearful girl in his arms to comfort her, regretting locking her up for so long.

"Stop crying, you should have just given in earlier. If you obediently come back to the capital with me, I will give you whatever you want."