The Second Young Master of the Chen family was stunned at first, thinking he had misread. He quickly looked at his brother for confirmation. Everyone nodded in tacit agreement. He wasn't just thinking about the bright lights; he suddenly grasped the crux of the matter. Disappointed, he said, "Father, we are your beloved sons. You can't just watch us die before your eyes. There must be a way out, right? Even he has a backup plan, so why wouldn't we?"
Elder Master Chen looked at the eager eyes of his sons. It was true that he regretted it. As his sons said, everyone seated here were his beloved sons, except for the one who left. That person was of little consequence in his heart. But the crucial point was, he didn't know who had saved him. And because he had trusted Prince Ping too much back then, he hadn't left any contingency plans. As a result, now that he was imprisoned, and the second son was also imprisoned, Prince Ping had not appeared to rescue him. He knew that in Prince Ping's heart, he had likely become useless, not worth sacrificing for. It was impossible not to resent him.
"I'm sorry to you all. If there is a next life, I will compensate you." Elder Master Chen's eyes turned slightly red. Suppressing the sorrow in his heart, he tilted his head up, preventing tears from falling.
The Second Young Master of the Chen family looked at his father angrily. He didn't want to hear about the next life; he only wanted to live a comfortable life in this one. He knew nothing and had participated in nothing, yet he had to go to the executioner's block with them. The thought made him indignant. He quickly went to the prison gate and shouted, "I want to see the Emperor. I have something important to tell him. Chen Renjie has escaped."
"Actually, I had an agreement with Prince Ping back then. I just don't know if he will honor it. If you reveal Renjie's matter now, don't blame me for turning ruthless and cutting off your last hope of getting out," Elder Master Chen said, seeing his son disregarding the bigger picture and only fixated on his petty jealousy. Before the prison guards could hear, he quickly threatened him.
The Second Young Master of the Chen family felt as if his throat was being choked. His voice immediately stopped. He turned back and looked at his father with disbelief. He never imagined his father would withhold such important information from him. If he hadn't shouted loudly from the cell, wouldn't he have been abandoned again if they escaped? But as his father said, what if they had knocked him unconscious or even killed him when they left? Where would he go to seek justice? In an instant, he made his choice.
"Who was that just now? I think I heard the name Chen Renjie." Elder Master Chen looked at the prison guard in front of him and quickly explained, "You must have misheard. My second son and youngest son have a very good relationship. Seeing his tragic fate today, he was momentarily overcome and spoke nonsense. Please forgive his foolishness."
The prison guard, relieved by his explanation, cast a questioning, slightly threatening glance at the Second Young Master of the Chen family, silently inquiring.
"My fifth brother must have escaped and gone to live a happy life. He couldn't have disappeared. You must be mistaken." As he said these words, the Second Young Master of the Chen family was filled with helplessness, even a sense of dejection. To outsiders, his demeanor looked like that of someone deeply loyal and righteous. Their gaze involuntarily softened.
But there was truly nothing happening here, so they quickly left. It was he who had brought Wu Caiwei to see Chen Renjie. Having heard the commotion, he was the first to volunteer to check. Elder Master Chen and the Second Young Master of the Chen family recognized him the moment they saw him and knew things were about to get bad. They quickly tried to smooth things over.
After returning, Yu Zhu quickly reported the situation. Subsequently, two other Yu Zhus came to investigate. They found that it was as he had said and left, relieved. As they walked away, they complained about how troublesome things were.
After the Yu Zhus left, everyone turned their hopeful eyes to their parents, praying for Prince Ping to rescue them. After all, their family had fallen into this predicament because they had helped Prince Ping.
A thousand miles away, Prince Ping was also discussing the matter. "Regarding the Chen family's situation, what are Your Highness's thoughts?"
"Logically, the Cheng family is imprisoned because of our affairs. However, given the current circumstances, it doesn't seem advantageous for us to go rescue them. Do you have any good strategies?" Prince Ping looked at them with a troubled expression. In fact, when he first received the weapons and provisions, he was very happy and grateful. He hadn't expected Elder Chen to be caught so quickly. However, this incident also made him realize that Elder Master Chen was not a wise person. If it were him, he would have covertly sought refuge with others, making subtle arrangements that couldn't be discovered. But this man, Chen, was incompetent and only caused trouble. He had merely tried to conceal it slightly, thinking the Emperor was blind.
If Elder Master Chen knew what he was thinking, he would have felt incredibly wronged. Did he think stealing weapons and grain was an easy task? Although he had used all of the Chen family's connections and acted in secret, the commotion was too great and he was discovered. If no one had investigated, it might have been fine. But when questioned by the Emperor, they could only tell the truth.
However, Prince Ping did not think so. To win him over, he had also sent him many precious gifts. They were all looking for mutual benefit. Although he looked down on Elder Master Chen in his heart and didn't want to associate with him, believing him to be innocent, he couldn't say these things in front of so many people who were working for him, for fear of disheartening them.
Everyone looked at each other, with no good ideas. They had long heard that the imperial prison was like an impenetrable fortress, with cleverly designed mechanisms and heavy guard. Those with weaker martial arts skills would have no return. Although they had openly rebelled and were not afraid of offending the Emperor, they knew the Emperor would have set traps for them. Even though they knew it was impossible, they still wanted to rescue the Chen family. Otherwise, those loyal to Prince Ping would secretly murmur. If they also encountered such a situation, would they be abandoned? Then, what was the point of pledging their allegiance to him?
Seeing that they had been discussing for a long time without any good ideas, Prince Ping sighed and said, "This matter has stumped even you. It seems truly difficult. Since you can't come up with any good solutions, I can only send people to research the situation. Of course, those people are also my subordinates, and I value their lives. When they encounter mortal danger, I expect them to prioritize their own safety before attempting a rescue."
Everyone nodded unconsciously. Although they felt that the Prince was not putting in his full effort, as he said, the people sent for the rescue would be those he had carefully trained for a long time. If even they couldn't rescue the people, then no one else could.
To be honest, they had already guessed the outcome. If the imperial prison were that easy to infiltrate, wouldn't the families of so many death-row inmates find ways to rescue them? Moreover, rescuing Elder Master Chen alone might be slightly simpler. But Elder Master Chen was already old. He might not want to escape himself but would want to leave the chance of survival to his sons, thus ensuring the Chen family would not be without descendants.