The master and madam also required appeasement with money. It had been so long, and yet no one from the mansion had visited them. Sometimes he considered extorting them or simply abandoning his post, but his conscience told him he couldn't. Nevertheless, the Wu mansion declined at a visible rate.
When Wu Caiwei learned that the master and madam Wu were living quite comfortably in prison thanks to the money provided by the steward, she became displeased.
A year passed quickly. Were they to be released smoothly after a year and return to the Wu mansion to continue living in luxury? Although it was possible the Wu mansion would no longer exist by then, they were elders, after all. Wu Yuxuan would still be under their control.
In this era where filial piety was paramount, one could neglect siblings but not parents. To solve this once and for all, she needed to find a solution. She immediately sent someone to inquire about the inmates in their prison cells and what crimes they had committed, so she could devise a plan accordingly.
Before long, someone came to visit the fierce female prisoner. After her visit, her gaze towards Madam Wu was no longer the same. For some reason, Madam Wu felt a chill run down her spine and tried to minimize her presence, keeping her distance from the other inmate.
Soon, she realized her premonition was correct. The other prisoner, abandoning her usual demeanor, brought the porridge to her own side. After distributing a small portion to another female inmate, she consumed the rest herself. Madam Wu was stunned. She had not eaten her fill during this time, and now this woman was deliberately starving her. Was she trying to starve her to death?
Still shaken by the previous physical altercation, knowing she was no match for the other woman, she approached with a hint of subservience. "Can you spare me a little something to eat? We're in the same cell. You can't just watch me starve to death, can you?"
The female inmate looked at her meaningfully. "How many good people are there among us here? Let alone watching you starve to death, killing someone would be nothing."
Madam Wu's heart trembled at her words. She retorted somewhat irritably, "I haven't provoked you recently, have I? Why did your attitude change so drastically after you went out?"
The female prisoner said with a hint of joy, "You didn't provoke me, but you provoked someone else. In fact, I should thank you. If it weren't for you, I might have been stuck here for the rest of my life. They said that as long as I take good care of you and don't let you leave here alive, they will get me out."
Madam Wu was bewildered. After a long moment, she finally understood. Recalling the person who had framed her in secret, she urgently pressed, "Who was that?"
"They said you pushed their mother into a pond and drowned her. Naturally, as a daughter, she wants revenge for her mother," the female inmate said, almost in tears. This reminded her of her own two daughters.
They were flesh and blood from her own body. One was beaten to death by her mother-in-law, and the other, while sick, was ordered by her mother-in-law to wash clothes by the river. She accidentally fell in and drowned. It was all because they were girls, and the family valued sons over daughters. Her husband had also ignored their plight.
While she wept silently for her daughters, they paid no heed. Since the daughters were dead, no one else would live. Thinking of this, she felt a sliver of relief. She had personally sent those who tormented her daughters to hell. It was a pity her daughters could never return.
"It was her?" Madam Wu murmured to herself, then thought of the princess in the mansion who looked almost identical to her. Her eyes suddenly widened, and she looked up sharply. "I should have realized it was her long ago. How could there be two unrelated people who looked so alike? This also explains why she protected Wu Yuxuan so fiercely."
After a while, she suddenly burst into laughter, and as she laughed, tears streamed down her face. "I fought with you my entire life. I sold your daughter, found a way to break your son's leg so he became a cripple and could no longer distract the master, and drowned you. In the end, I still lost. Even heaven is on your side. I sold her, and by chance, she became a princess. If I'm not mistaken, your son's leg has also recovered quite well. I lost. I lost completely."
The female inmate had initially felt some guilt. After all, she hadn't been wronged by Madam Wu, yet she had targeted her and even intended to kill her just to get out of prison. She couldn't quite overcome this hurdle. However, upon hearing Madam Wu's words, she suddenly felt at ease. This woman was not a good person at all; she had ruined the lives of a mother and her children for a man. It was only natural for them to seek revenge. Sudan Novel Network
From Madam Wu's words, she also gleaned an important piece of information: the woman she had met recently was actually a princess. Therefore, her promise to her was not a jest, as it was merely a word for her.
From then on, Madam Wu discovered she was truly living in hell. Every day, the female inmate would beat her, and afterward, give her a little porridge, just enough to keep her alive. New wounds were added to old ones each day, causing her unbearable pain. Sometimes, she wished she could dash her head against the wall and end her life, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
In the beginning, she worried about her son and daughter. But as time passed, she realized they hadn't come to see her even once. At this point, she had to admit her failure as a mother. Her son was a failure, spending his days indulging in debauchery and showing no filial piety. Even her daughter was heartless.
Slowly, she found her days to be unbearable. The injuries on her body increased slightly each day. If this continued, she would eventually be beaten to death. She could foresee her future but was powerless to change it.
Wu Master shared a similar fate. Initially, he felt a sense of unease sharing a cell with the other man. But suddenly, the man's disposition changed. Every day, he would beat Wu Master. If he wasn't beaten for a day, he would feel an unbearable itch. Wu Master longed for the way things used to be.
Ultimately, neither of them lasted two months in prison before passing away successively.
When the yamen notified the Wu family to collect their bodies, the second young master was bewildered. Hadn't his father and mother gone to prison for a while? How had they lost their lives so quickly? He had many questions, but he lacked the courage to go to the yamen and ask the officials for clarification.
The steward had already anticipated this outcome. A month and a half ago, when he had gone with money to bribe the guards and no one accepted it, he knew something was wrong. He had informed the second young master upon his return, but the latter had paid no heed, believing that prison was not a place for people like them to enter and exit freely.
Soon, white banners hung over the Wu mansion, and a mourning hall was set up. When the wealthy families in the city heard of Master Wu's death, they had no intention of offering condolences. In their eyes, Master Wu's death meant the collapse of the Wu family. When people depart, warmth fades, and there was no need for further association.