Hidden genius: Black belly snake

The dungeons in the royal palace were located underground, right next to the torture chambers, and away from the private quarters of the royal family members, except for the Crown Prince.

His section of the palace was right above the underground dungeons, with him as the final guardian in case any prisoner was foolish enough to try and escape.

The cell rooms were made of pitch-black stones and bricks, making the entire place extremely dark, devoid of any light or hope.

Only when a guard or someone else occasionally passes by, the faint light from their lamp might rarely provide some sort of visibility to the prisoners.

And currently, two of the royal elven guards were escorting Tang Yue down to the prisoner dungeons.

The two guards, however, had weird expressions on their faces.

Their newest prisoner was behaving a bit abnormally compared to what they were used to.

In their service, they had escorted several prisoners down to these cells, where even the sunlight didn't reach, including women, children, and old elderly citizens.

The one thing they all had in common was the look on their faces, something that spoke volumes about what they were expecting.

But Tang Yue was not like them.

There was no fear, no sadness, and particularly not even a trace of anger on her face.

This had to be the happiest prisoner they had ever escorted to the abysmal dungeons!

And why wouldn't Tang Yue be happy?

The Empress had rewarded… oops… punished her with everything she had ever wanted in one fell swoop!

She simply had to endure the pitiful amount of 1000 lashes per day and after 10 short days, she would have finally escaped this miserable queen consort title and the caged life amidst the royal elves.

Sure, she might face some harsh words back at home, and maybe even some sort of corporal punishment, but who cared about that?

Tang Yue could barely stop herself from giggling like a maniac and jumping up and down in joy.

Just a mere 10 days time and she will be one lucky and more importantly, free snake.

If she had known that this would happen beforehand, she would have hugged Charlotte even tighter and given her a few more long and loving kisses with lots and lots of tongue.

The guards ignored the weird princess and quickly escorted her to an empty dungeon cell.

Just like the other cells, Tang Yue's cell was also dark and gloomy, and once the guards leave, the small flickering lamplight would also be non-existent.

Tang Yue didn't quite mind it though. Her mind and heart were at ease.

She flopped onto the cold hard stone floor and sighed in relief.

"Should I start working on my bristle wolf bloodline?" She pondered.

Typically, the prisoners were stripped off of all their belongings when locked underground, but since Tang Yue was a member of the royal family and was only temporarily imprisoned, she was permitted to keep her things including her storage pouch.

They had left her with at least this much dignity and respect.

But before she could start working on her to-do list, another figure loitered in the corridor and strolled towards her.

"Mmm… Who do we have here? How is life underground, your highness?" Councilman Madou chuckled and placed the lamp in his hands down on the ground, casting terrifying shadows on the wall behind it.

He was responsible for overseeing all matters pertaining to underground prisons.

Since a high-profile habitant had arrived today, he decided to personally pay a visit.

"Sure. Everything is just peachy." Tang Yue answered, her eyes gazing at the small tongue of flame atop the lamp.

"Arrogant, aren't we? Don't rest yet, princess. You are still to receive the 1000 lashes for the day." The middle-aged elf muttered, his eyebrows raised in contempt.

"Okay, Dokey. Shall we start now?" Tang Yue enthusiastically stood up, dusting her back.

Councilman Madou's lips twitched.

The royal harem women were all indeed sharp-tongued and full of attitude, just like he had heard from the rumors!

"You sound angry and agitated, princess?" He probed.

"You might think that we are heathens and lawless monsters, punishing you just because of your race."

"But you should know that the Empress has issued a special order to me to further investigate the case and find concrete evidence."

"You better be grateful and thankful to her lenience." He lectured.

"Ahh" Tang Yue immediately stuttered. Why can't they just let it be? She sighed.

This panicked expression on her face finally satisfied Madou and he nodded.

"Come out, princess. I will escort you to the torture chambers."

"Don't worry. A ruffian like me won't be fulfilling your punishment. Her highness Isabella will be personally carrying out the task herself." He said.

Tang Yue's smirked, a subtle shade of anger flashed in her eyes. But ultimately, she didn't care.

The one and only thing she looked forward to was the exile part of the punishment!

While Tang Yue and councilman Madou were chatting in the upper layers of the underground dungeon, a pair of eyes flashed open in a deep dark cell in the bottom most layer of the dungeon.

Inside the cell, a creature desperately clung on to its last inch of life as it wheezed its breath in and out.

She was neither permitted to remain alive nor permitted to die a peaceful death.

She was mercilessly stranded on the death's very door without any choice.

But right at this moment, there was a fire in her eyes. Her lifeless figure shuddered slightly and her parched throat moaned.

And a coarse deathly voice escaped from the bottom of her stomach.

"The daughter of Medussa has returned. The elves will burn once again."

"The daughter of Medussa has returned. The elves will burn once again."

"The daughter of Medussa has returned. The elves will burn once again."

She repeated thrice and then once again, she returned back to her lifeless trance like state.