Phoenix Rising

089

Before she even laid eyes on the queen, Zi-ning already saw the wooden bench that had been laid out in the middle of the queen's front courtyard. Two palace stewards stood by the side, eyeing her with menacing, derisive looks once they saw her enter.

Instead of leading her into the parlour, Lady Ru stopped just before the bench.

"Miss, what should we do?" Lianyue whispered to her.

Zi-ning shook her head subtly. Anything they did now would only serve to increase their own suffering, so why bother?

"Your Majesty, Han Zi-ning is here," Lady Ru announced.

Moments later, Queen Ci strolled out from her quarters, accompanied by Lady Ouyang and Ouyang Sangya. The queen's complexion was ashen and dark circles ringed her eyes. In fact, she was so frail that she could barely stand upright without support, legs trembling as she made her way forward. A scowl appeared on her face when she saw Zi-ning, and white-hot anger flamed in her eyes.

"What are you waiting for?" the queen demanded. "Beat her! Beat her until she's dead, so that my Quan-er will have a companion in the afterlife!"

The two stewards immediately stepped forward and grabbed Zi-ning by the shoulders, forcing her belly-first onto the wooden bench. Lianyue and Lianxin immediately sprung into action, kicking the stewards aside to try and rescue their young mistress.

"How dare you!" Queen Ci shouted. "Guards, arrest those rebels!"

"Lianyue, Lianxin, don't!" Zi-ning called out.

Their duty was to protect her, but this was the royal palace, and there was no way the two of them would be able to stand up against the might of the royal guard. Resisting would only earn them more punishment.

As would be expected of Zhenghuan's secret guard, Lianyue and Lianxin proved to be a tough match for the imperial guards, even though they were outnumbered. It took the guards a good amount of time before they finally apprehended the two girls, much to the queen's horror and chagrin.

Pointing one accusing finger at them, Queen Ci said, "Absurd! Utterly absurd! Throw them into the prisons and have them flogged!'

"Your Majesty, please," Zi-ning intervened, "I beg for leniency. My servants only wanted to protect me. They did not mean to offend. This is my fault, so I will take the punishment on their behalf."

"Miss!" Lianyue and Lianxin exclaimed in disbelief. Zi-ning turned to them with a stern glare, willing them to keep quiet.

The queen scoffed. "Trying to be a hero in this state?" She walked over and bent down, grabbing hold of Zi-ning by the chin. Her long fingernails cut into Zi-ning's skin. "At least you have some self-awareness. This is all your fault. If it weren't for you, my son would not have gone to Wulihe. If he hadn't gone, then he wouldn't have died. Du Zhenghuan is what? Missing?" She spat onto the floor. "I don't believe that bullshit. He was the one who killed Ru-quan. And if I can't get my hands on him, then you can pay for his crime."

Zi-ning had already had an inkling about why the queen had summoned her, and this was confirmation of that. Shaken by the grief of losing her son, Queen Ci needed an outlet for her to vent her anguish on, and she was the most convenient target. Judging from the satisfied smirk on Ouyang Sangya's face, it seemed like the Ouyangs also had a role to play in nudging the queen into this. Sangya had been the favourite to become crown princess, and later queen, but with Ru-quan dead, all her dreams had come to naught.

"Your Majesty, Han Zi-ning is still Minister Han's daughter, should we..." Lady Ru said in a hushed tone.

"Why should I care about the mere daughter of a minister!" Still, she hesitated for a moment, before saying, "Give her thirty strokes."