Each time she stepped foot upon the grounds of the royal palace, Zi-ning could still smell the stench of blood that seeped through its polished floorboards. So many lives had been lost here, cut down cruelly by the owners of this gilded cage, and she had stood by and witnessed too many of them for herself. Perhaps her own tragic end had been retribution for what she had done—or not done—to save all those innocent lives.
She had not cared for them then, until she finally learned that she was no different from them in the eyes of people like Ru-an. Disposable.
After smoothening down the front of her wine-coloured skirt and adjusting the tasselled jade pendant that hung from her waistband, Zi-ning stepped across the threshold of the queen's parlour. Queen Ci sat at the front of the airy hall, gazing out of the circular window at the peonies blooming in her garden. At the side, her lady-in-waiting Lady Ru stood brewing a fresh pot of pu-er tea, its earthy fragrance floating through the air.
"Your Majesty," she greeted, hands folded one upon the other at the right side of her waist as she curtseyed. She could see Lady Ru watching her every movement, before turning her attention back to her teapot.
The queen did not even bother to do the same. Instead, she kept her gaze levelled towards the window, an indication of how insignificant she thought Zi-ning to be. After a long, excruciating moment of silence, she asked, "Han Zi-ning, why did you do it?" She turned towards Zi-ning, her carefully-drawn brows lifting slightly.
"I'm not sure I understand, Your Majesty."
"Why did you risk your life to suggest that unorthodox method of treating the crown prince?" Queen Ci's bright-red lips curled in a sneer. "Is it worth it? The position of crown princess?"
So she thinks I did it to win her favour and become crown princess.
The queen was not entirely wrong. To begin with, she had indeed attempted to draw the attention of the crown prince, in hopes of using his power and status to thwart Ru-an's plans, but after what transpired in the room during the treatment of the crown prince, she had come to realise that the route of crown princess was no longer plausible. There was an additional layer of complexity to the relationships between King Shunde, Queen Ci and her mentor, Lady Li, than met the eye, and judging from the animosity that the queen had towards Lady Li, there was no way the former would allow her—Lady Li's sole apprentice—to become her daughter-in-law.
Still, even if that path was no longer viable, it was still to her advantage that the crown prince survived. As long as Ru-quan still held the title, then he would remain an obstacle standing in Ru-an's way.
She dropped to her knees. "Your Majesty, you misunderstand me. I only suggested the River Immortal's treatment method because I wanted to help the crown prince. I do not have any desire for the position of crown princess," she replied.
"Is that so?" The queen paused, then she picked up her porcelain teacup and flung it to the floor. It shattered into pieces with a loud crash, mere inches away from Zi-ning. "How dare you! Don't you know what the crown prince's life is worth? She was the one who put you up to this, wasn't she? Li Wanle. That woman wants to get rid of me and my son so that she can take my place."
Queen Ci's delicate face contorted with fury, twisting with the ugliness that festered within her.
Zi-ning pressed her forehead to the ground, putting on her best show of fear and deference. Inside, she was scoffing at the queen's delusional behaviour. Lady Li had saved her son's life when she could have done nothing and let him die, yet here she was flinging accusations at them at the behest of her own jealousy. It was no wonder the queen had lost the king's favour.
"Mother, what are you doing!"
Footsteps rushed into the parlour, and Zi-ning found herself being hauled back up to her feet. It was Crown Prince Ru-quan, who was still two shades paler than his usual self, but otherwise looking well on the road to recovery. He placed his hands on her shoulders, studying her carefully from head to toe. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Did you get hurt by any of those porcelain shards?"
She shook her head.
"Ru-quan, what do you think you are doing? Is this how you should greet your mother?" the queen rebuked.
"What did Zi-ning do wrong?" the prince demanded in return.
"She offended me. Am I not allowed to punish her for it?"
"Zi-ning saved my life. Surely that is enough to negate any sort of punishment!" Ignoring his mother's anger, Ru-quan helped Zi-ning over to an empty chair and sat her down. He quickly poured her a cup of water to help calm her nerves, placing it gently in her hands.
"Quan-er! You dare go against your own mother because of this girl?"
The crown prince turned to face the queen with steely determination etched upon his face. "I came here to discuss a matter with you, Mother. It's just as well that Zi-ning is here," he said. "I've decided that I shall make Han Zi-ning my crown princess. After this I shall head to the imperial study to inform Father of my decision."
"What did you say?" The queen's slender fingers gripped onto the rosewood handles of her chair, the veins at her temple pulsating fiercely.
"I said, I am going to name Han Zi-ning as crown princess," the prince repeated.
The porcelain cup almost slipped out of Zi-ning's hands. Although she had known that rescuing the crown prince's life would have won her some degree of favour, she had not expected this. The crown princess would be the future queen, and it was not a title that could easily be conferred without substantial deliberation.
Isn't this the best outcome?
As crown princess, she would be able to easily influence Ru-quan and use him to exact her revenge against Ru-an, and the power invested in her was more than enough to punish the likes of Lady Min and Han Meiyan.
So why was she feeling so conflicted about this? Why was there a part of her that didn't want to be the crown princess?
"That's not possible," the queen immediately declared. "Han Zi-ning cannot be the crown princess. I've already decided that Ouyang Sangya will be the crown princess."
"Ouyang Sangya was not the one who risked everything to save my life. I will only marry Han Zi-ning and no one else."
"Quan-er!"
A knock came at the door, and one of the queen's servants rushed in, bowing hurriedly to the queen and then the crown prince.
"What is it?" Queen Ci demanded irately.
The servant leaned over and whispered something into the queen's ear. The original tension in the queen's face subsided. "Quan-er, the matter of your marriage can be discussed later. There are more important things to attend to now." Her cold gaze flickered towards Zi-ning. "Han Zi-ning, I believe your presence will be required at the imperial study. Go now."
"What? Why would Father want to see Zi-ning?" Ru-quan asked.
"If you're so curious, then by all means go along," the queen replied, waving her hand dismissively.
Zi-ning's heart sank. Whatever was waiting for her at the king's study could not bode well, else the queen would not look so pleased with this turn of events. Standing back up, she bade farewell to the queen and headed for the doors with the crown prince by her side.
#
Zhenghuan was seated in the imperial study, his brows furrowed as he studied the missive in his hands once more. He had received it this morning from his foster father, General Du, and had immediately entered the palace to deliver the report to the king.
Disaster had struck the border town of Zhuiya, not far from the fortress of Anyang where his foster father's army was stationed. A week back, a strange illness had started spreading across the town, and it had already claimed over a hundred lives with no signs of slowing down. The townsfolk were convinced that it was the plague, and already many had packed their things and fled the city overnight. What made the entire situation even more suspicious was that one of the main symptoms exhibited by those infected by the supposed plague was excretions that contained live worms—identical to what the crown prince had experienced.
"What do you think? Is this a plot by the southern tribes and that secretive leader of theirs?" King Shunde asked, weariness etched in the lines on his face. He was seated behind his desk, supporting his forehead with one hand.
"That would be the most logical deduction," Zhenghuan replied. "Of course, there's no ruling out the possibility that it could also be a natural occurrence. There have been flash floods in the region recently, and it is not unheard of for plagues and illnesses to spread after such calamities."
The king shook his head. "That would be far too much of a coincidence. What are the odds that the crown prince and the people of Zhuiya are subject to the same illness at the same time, when the distance between the capital and Zhuiya is over a week's travel apart?" He waved a hand towards the missive. "What else did General Du say?" he asked.
"Because they are unsure of the root of the illness, they have closed all the city gates to prevent any more townsfolk from leaving the city, in case the illness is contagious. They are also requesting for the palace to send imperial physicians to Zhuiya to tackle the illness, because the local physicians are unable to find a solution."
Little did they know that even the imperial physicians were at their wit's end, and that the crown prince had almost lost his life because of it. An uneasy feeling gnawed at Zhenghuan's mind.
If the imperial physicians are of little help, then that leaves...
"Your Majesty, the crown prince and Miss Han Zi-ning have arrived," one of the king's stewards announced.
"Quan-er? And Han Zi-ning? Why have they come? I did not call for them."
"Your Majesty, given the dire situation at Zhuiya, it would be best to summon an audience with the ministers to discuss the necessary steps to take. I'll tell Han Zi-ning to leave," Zhenghuan said quickly, getting up to his feet.
The king held out his hand. "No, wait," he said, his gaze flickering, as if he had just recalled something important. He looked towards his steward. "Send them in."
Zhenghuan clenched his fists, anxiously watching as Zi-ning entered the imperial study accompanied by Crown Prince Ru-quan.
"Your Majesty," she greeted with a perfect curtsy, voice calm and composed. He always found it strange how a girl like Han Zi-ning always seemed so at ease even when she was in the palace, when any other young lady would easily be intimidated in the same situation. As she stood beside the crown prince in those wine-coloured robes that highlighted the fairness of her skin, he had to admit that Zi-ning looked every bit like she was meant to be a crown princess—or even a queen.
And that thought left a sour taste in his mouth.
"Father, Mother said that you needed to see Zi-ning," Ru-quan spoke. "What is it about?"
"Did she?" The king frowned briefly, then relaxed. "It appears that the queen has read my mind." He turned his attentions towards Zi-ning. "The border city of Zhuiya has been struck by the same illness that afflicted the crown prince," he began.
"What?" Ru-quan exclaimed, shocked by what he was hearing.
"General Du has requested for the palace to send physicians to provide aid to the infected townsfolk, but as you know, our own physicians are not equipped to deal with this illness."
"Your Majesty, perhaps one way is to have Lady Li and Miss Han teach the needle technique to the imperial physicians, before despatching the physicians to Zhuiya," Zhenghuan interjected.
"That is of course a possibility, but as far as I'm aware, the needle technique is not easy, and while we are training the imperial physicians, more innocent lives will be lost. My proposal is to send Han Zi-ning to Zhuiya along with some of our physicians, so that the teaching process may be conducted along the journey. That would minimise the time lost."
Zhenghuan's jaw tensed. This was what he had anticipated, and what he had tried to guard against. Unfortunately, he had failed to redirect the king's intentions. He exchanged a glance with Zi-ning, who merely blinked in reply, as if to tell him that there was nothing to be worried about.
Nothing to be worried about? Trust her to remain so indifferent in the face of the impending decree. Zhuiya was miles away from the capital, and if their suspicions were right, it was right in the middle of a siege by the southern tribes. If she was sent to Zhuiya, who knew whether or not she would be able to return to Huangcheng safely?
"Father, you can't do that!" the crown prince protested, coughing and spluttering from the exertion. "Zhuiya is so far from the capital, and if the city has been infected, then it's all the more dangerous for Zi-ning to go there. I won't allow it."
"You won't allow it?" King Shunde's expression darkened. "Are you saying that you would go against my order? That you would sacrifice the lives of our people for the sake of one girl?"
"That's not what I'm saying, but you can't—"
Zi-ning cleared her throat, interrupting the crown prince in mid-spiel. "Your Majesty, I would gladly make the journey to Zhuiya to help the people," she said.
"Zi-ning, you can't!" Ru-quan stared at her in disbelief.
"There is nothing more important than saving the lives of innocents. As a physician, that is the mandate that we must obey."
"Excellent!" King Shunde said, looking pleased with her response. "Not to worry, I shall ensure that there are enough guards accompanying the entourage to ensure your safety."
Zhenghuan sighed. What are you playing at Han Zi-ning? What exactly are you trying to achieve?