The cell was already gloomy and damp, and now, in the midst of a cold winter, it became even more chilling. The floor was only covered with dry straw, and there were only two dirty and smelly thin blankets that looked black and greasy, having not been washed for who knows how long.
In the winter days, the cell lacked expensive items like cotton quilts, and the only thing available to fend off the cold was a blanket sewn with reed catkins.
Moreover, who knew how many people had used these blankets? They were dirty and smelly, and the reed catkins inside were clumped together, unevenly distributed, offering no warmth at all.
Madam Lu and Zhou Xuennian could no longer quarrel, the couple clung tightly to each other, clutching the filthy blanket over themselves, its terrible stench almost suffocating them.
But without covering themselves, they could only freeze.
