Imprisoned For A Crime I Did Not Do

Yu Fen's eyes were brimming with tears when she pulled at her young lady desperately. First Madam had ordered for Xiao Yue to be detained until 'General Long Zhao Xue' came back to deal with the issue. Yu Fen realized that the person of authority in the place was none other than the First Madam. She thus stopped pulling at Xiao Yue and dropped on her knees in front of the First Madam.

"Please, First Madam. Don't do this to Third Madam. She cannot be put in jail. My... my Young Lady will not last three days!"

First Madam knitted her forehead. She spoke in a sharp tone to Yu Fen.

"Yu Fen, I will not treat your Young Lady poorly. She is convicted of a crime, of course we have to detain her. Guards, take her away!"

Xiao Yue glanced back at the First Madam, whose face looked as if it was chiseled out of marble. And then at Yu Fen who again tried to hold onto her and was thus held back by the others.

>>I am sorry, Yu Fen...<<

Long Zhao Xue's residence included a single-cell prison with stone wall and door. There was only a little flap at the lower side of the door to shove some food in and a window with thick iron bars to allow some light into the narrow space. A bed made of a pile of straw and a dirty sheet stood in a corner. Save for the bed, the prison was empty.

Xiao Yue was led into the prison, then it was locked from the outside. The young woman went to lie on the makeshift bed. Her mind was initially blank, and then some thoughts flowed into her mind.

So this was how it felt to be captured.

To be convicted of a crime.

Her life depended on Long Zhao Feng's decision. Would he spare her again? Or would he send her to the palace to be sentenced to death? Xiao Yue started imagining herself being locked and chained inside a cage, and then paraded through the city just like Uncle Ma was. Her heart dropped like a heavy stone to the bottom of her stomach.

The baby was the Long family's only heir right now. It did not even matter whose baby it was. If Long Yan was Long Zhao Feng's child, it was more the reason for him to send Xiao Yue to the execution platform.

He must hate her very much.

The thought alone was enough to make her cry.

Her tribe killed his brother.

She tried to kill him.

And now, baby Long Yan was poisoned.

What excuse could Xiao Yue give? What alibi to defend herself? The wolfsbane came from her garden. She might be framed by someone, but if she did not plant the wolfsbane, she would not be in this spot. Xiao Yue could blame no one but herself. Xiao Yue sobbed into her hands and cried to her heart's content, surrounded by cold stone walls. After she got tired from crying her eyes out, she fell asleep. When she woke up and saw that she was still locked inside a prison and reminded of what had happened, she cried again. The cycle repeated itself a few times until her tears dried and she stopped crying and just went on sleeping.

In the prison, Xiao Yue lost sense of time. She slept for a long time. When she woke up, she did not feel like waking up so she continued to sleep. She was jolted awake a few times when a tray of food was shoved into the cell through the flap but she did not feel hungry. Without taking a look at the food, she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

Xiao Yue remained in that state for heaven knew how long. She slipped in and out of sleep, and despite sensing that she grew weaker over time, she still did nothing. She found peace in sleeping so she did not intend to do anything else. Thankfully the gods had different plans for her. The next time Xiao Yue was awake, she heard some people chatting. A man and a woman. Long Zhao Feng and the First Madam. They were talking about her.

"... She has not swallowed a single bite of the food."

"Yes, she can be quite stubborn."

A warm, large hand pressed at her forehead and covered her eyes at the same time. Xiao Yue's eyelashes trembled, tickling the man's hand like a feather.

"She's a little warm. Might be dehydrated as well."

"Ah," the woman gasped. "She also did not drink the water provided with the meal."

"Ah."

First Madam must be feeling guilty, because she then quickly went into defense mode.

"Feng'er, I do not mean to starve her. I made sure that she got food and water three times a day."

"Sister-in-law is mistaken. I never blame you for what happened. You have done well in my absence."

A sniffling sound followed, then First Madam cleared her throat.

"How are Wan Rong and A-Yan doing?"

"Wan Rong is still agitated. The medic prescribed a sleeping drug every night to calm her down. A-Yan has stopped throwing up and is the fever is gone as well. He is a little weak, but no real damage was done."

"Mmm. Thank you, Sister-in-law."

"Then, I will leave you two alone."

"En."

The door opened and closed. First Madam left. A pair of strong arms lifted Xiao Yue's body and leaned her head at his chest.

"Thirsty..." Xiao Yue whispered, her eyelids felt as heavy as the stones at the base of a mountain.

She inhaled the man's scent and felt the warmth of his body. Long Zhao Feng tipped her head up with a finger. And then, very gently, he kissed her. The pair of cold lips pressed against her own.

Xiao Yue froze for some time before she snapped back to her senses and moved her face to the side to evade Long Zhao Xue's lips.

"Unh... mmh..."

Unrelenting, Long Zhao Feng grabbed her jaw firmly and their lips were once again locked in a passionate kiss. This time, he used his tongue to pry open Xiao Yue's mouth. Xiao Yue was so shocked that she parted her lips involuntarily. Long Zhao Xue's tongue was quick to invade her mouth and a cold liquid unexpectedly poured into Xiao Yue's throat.