News of Zi-ning's departure brought mixed reactions to the Han household.
On the morning that she was due to leave for Zhuiya, Old Madam Sun was beyond herself with grief, tears streaking down her wrinkled face as she held onto her granddaughter's hands to bid her farewell. Behind the old lady, Lady Min dabbed her handkerchief to the corners of her eyes, pretending to be tearful when she was anything but. Meiyan wore an indifferent expression on her face, though every so often her rouge-tinted lips would curl slightly into a smile. Minister Han had not even bothered to show up, having entered the palace before daybreak to attend court, although he had stopped by Zi-ning's quarters the previous night to admonish her for volunteering for such a stupid mission.
In her father's callous words, she had "thrown away the perfectly good chance of becoming crown princess and instead opted for a certain death instead." She was certain that after she was gone, Meiyan's star would rise again since she would regain her position as the minister's only valuable daughter. It would only be a temporary respite though—and when she returned, Zi-ning would make sure that Meiyan fell from heaven to the depths of hell.
"Is Prince Zhiren's carriage not here yet?" the shrill voice belonging to Lady Wan echoed towards the front gates. She came sashaying over with Meisi trailing behind, wearing the vibrant red of a girl about to be married. Whether by coincidence or intention, Situ Zhiren had also declared that today would be the day he was leaving Huangcheng to return to Wulihe, which meant that Meisi was also leaving the Han household today.
The old madam frowned. "What are you doing! Don't you know that consorts are not allowed to wear red?" she scolded.
According to protocol, only the official wife was allowed to don red wedding robes, while concubines and consorts could only wear pink. Red was a symbol of status, that Han Meisi certainly did not have.
"Why not? Meisi is marrying to Hua, so surely there's no need to abide by our customs. Didn't you see all the Hua officials wearing red? It's obviously their kingdom's colour, so Meisi is merely trying to fit in," Lady Wan retorted.
Meisi lifted the veil that was draped over her head, glancing snootily in Zi-ning's direction. "Fare you well, Sister," she said. "I doubt we'll be meeting each other again after today."
"Perhaps. May the gods protect on your journey to Hua," Zi-ning replied.
Meisi scoffed. "I don't need their protection. I'll be riding with the prince's entourage, so what danger could possibly befall me along the way? Can't say the same for you though. I don't understand why anyone would dive headfirst into a plague zone. Are you so eager to die?"
No, I'm not. I want to live, and I want everyone I love to live too.
To Meisi, Zi-ning merely smiled and shook her head. Turning to her grandmother, she said, "Don't worry, Grandmother. I shall look after myself while I am at Zhuiya. When my task is complete, I will return to the capital immediately."
"Zi-ning," a voice called out.
Crown Prince Ru-quan was riding towards them on top of his brown stallion, accompanied by his brothers Ru-an and Ru-wen. When he reached the gates of the Han manor, he quickly leapt off his horse, rushing over to Zi-ning.
"Your Highnesses," everyone greeted.
Zi-ning noticed the streak of jealousy that appeared in Meiyan, Meisi and their mothers' eyes when they saw the princes arrive, but she could not care less.
The crown prince grabbed hold of her hands, anxiety etched upon his still-haggard face. "You don't have to go. I'll help you plead with Father again, I'm sure he will come around. It's enough to send the imperial physicians over. What more could you possibly help them with? You're only a girl!" he exclaimed.
While she was grateful for his concern, Zi-ning could not agree with his train of thought. Only a girl? Yes, she might be only a girl, but there was plenty that she was capable of. Even if she had not volunteered to go to Zhuiya, she was certain that Queen Ci would find some way of sending her there, in hopes that she would die and never return to seduce her precious son. Her best option was to opt to go there on her own behest, and in turn earn herself a favour from the king.
Zi-ning pulled her hands away from the prince, pressing one palm against the cloth bundle that she had slung around her shoulder, bearing the clothes and belongings that she would be taking with her. Tucked safely at the bottom of the bundle was an edict from King Shunde himself, promising to grant her one wish—anything she asked for—if she succeeded in leading the physicians in ridding Zhuiya of the mysterious illness that had struck there.
"It is my duty to go, Your Highness. Please be assured that I shall do everything in my power to help the people of Zhuiya," she replied.
"Foolhardiness is not a virtue, Miss Zi-ning," Ru-an said, eyeing her intently as if trying to search for the real reason behind her actions. "You should be grateful that the crown prince is willing to intercede on your behalf. His intervention could save your life."
"That is not necessary," Zi-ning said stiffly, looking elsewhere. The sight of Ru-an made her sick to the stomach, and if there was one good thing about going to Zhuiya, it was that she would not need to see the fifth prince while she was there.
Beside them, Ru-wen stood quietly, watching her with a tinge of sadness and worry in his warm brown eyes. He parted his lips to speak, but then closed them again, shaking his head instead.
Zi-ning returned his concern with a smile, if only to reassure him that she would be fine. Although they had not had the opportunity to become better acquainted in this lifetime, she knew that the eighth prince would only ever have her best intentions at heart. Ru-wen was overly kind that way—perhaps too kind for the cutthroat nature of the throne.
"If it isn't crowded here this morning!" a new voice joined the fray. This time it belonged to the Hua prince, Situ Zhiren, who was approaching with his entourage. He rode atop a white stallion, wearing formal robes of dazzling vermillion and orange, and behind him came two horse-drawn carriages and at least ten carts bearing the princess's dowry and belongings.
Seeing Situ Zhiren appear, Meisi's eyes lit up. She quickly dropped her veil and stepped forward, readying herself to board one of the carriages.
"Don't mind me, I'm only here to pick up my woman," Situ Zhiren declared, although he made no attempt to dismount from his steed to take Meisi's hand. Instead, two stern-looking Hua palace ladies came forth, each one taking hold of one of Meisi's arms to lead her to the second carriage.
Zi-ning saw the curtain to the first carriage lift, revealing the bitter face of Princess Xuan. In spite of the princess and Consort Song's pleas, King Shunde had still not retracted his decree to marry her to Hua, much to their despair.
"Han Zi-ning," Situ Zhiren called out, regarding Zi-ning with a slight tilt to his sharp chin, "if you are willing, I can seek an edict from the king immediately to take you with me to Hua. He will have to grant me that, out of goodwill towards my kingdom."
"Situ Zhiren, don't you dare take things too far," Ru-quan warned, eyes flaring with anger. "You are already marrying Xuan-er. Know your limits."
"Why? Are you afraid that Han Zi-ning will choose me instead of you?" Situ Zhiren threw his head back and laughed. "Ru-quan, have you looked at yourself in a mirror lately? You look like something the dogs dragged back from the gates of hell! I believe the one who needs to know his limits—is you." He bent over, reaching his arm toward Zi-ning as if he was about to pull her up onto his horse.
Zi-ning immediately took a step back, just in time to avoid a flying dart that came slicing between her and Situ Zhiren. She sucked in a breath, shocked by the flash of silver that flew past. The Hua prince withdrew his hand in the nick of time, and the dart impaled itself upon a wooden pillar of the manor.
"Du Zhenghuan!" Situ Zhiren bellowed, pointing an accusatory finger at the newcomer. "How dare you!"
"My hand slipped," Zhenghuan replied drily as he rode up upon his stern black stallion, his silver mask glinting under the sunlight. He waved a hand and one of his soldiers trotted forward to retrieve the dart.
I'm sure it was only a slip, Zi-ning thought, shooting Zhenghuan an irate glare.
"It wouldn't have struck you," his eyes seemed to say.
And how might you be so sure?
Behind Zhenghuan's horse stood an elegant carriage with the word "Li" carved into the frame, identifying it to belong to Lady Li's clan. Zi-ning had already bade her farewell to her mentor yesterday, with the lady expressing her regret at not being able to go along to Zhuiya. Word had arrived that Lady Li's father, the Duke of Zhao, had taken seriously ill back in the western province of Shandu, hence she would have to head there instead. However, it appeared that Lady Li had arranged for one of her carriages to ferry Zi-ning to Zhuiya.
"Zhenghuan?" Ru-quan frowned. "What are you doing here?"
"The king has granted me permission to return to Anyang. I am to escort Han Zi-ning and the imperial physicians to Zhuiya along the way," the Shadow Lord replied.
Zi-ning blinked, looking up at him questioningly. He was escorting her to Zhuiya? Since when?
"Han Zi-ning, are you ready? The physicians are already waiting near the city gates. We should not waste time," Zhenghuan turned to her and said gruffly, responding to none of the puzzled glances that were being thrown his way.
She nodded. Turning to give her grandmother one last hug goodbye and then bidding farewell to Hana and Shujin, who she had refused to take along with her given the potentially dangerous nature of her mission, Zi-ning hurried towards the carriage. Taking her seat inside, Zi-ning let out a long, slow breath, glad to be out of sight and away from the troublesome crowd of princelings.
"Your Highnesses, if you'll excuse us," she heard Zhenghuan say.
"Zhenghuan," Ru-quan called again. "Look after her."
Zi-ning snorted. Surely he was asking the wrong person for that? It was a ten-day journey to reach the border, and it remained to be seen whether or not she would survive Zhenghuan's nagging along the way.
The carriage jolted to motion and began trundling down the streets, away from the Han manor. She lifted the curtain slightly, looking back the people that she was leaving behind. Old Madam Sun and the other women of the Han household had turned to head back indoors, while the Situ Zhiren was redirecting his entourage towards the eastern city gate, which they would be using to leave the capital. The three princes still remained, watching as her carriage moved further and further away. Ru-quan and Ru-wen wore expressions of concern on their faces, while Ru-an remained impassive, likely contemplating his next step.
Her field of view was abruptly cut off by a dark shadow, and she looked up to find that Zhenghuan had steered his horse alongside her carriage. She rolled her eyes at him, then dropped the curtain.
"Did you really need to have so many people send you off? The neighbours must be livid at the ruckus caused so early in the morning," Zhenghuan's voice came drifting from the other side.
"I did not ask any of them to come. Besides, it's none of your business," she retorted.
"What? Did I come at the wrong time? Maybe you would rather I have let Situ Zhiren pull you onto his horse and take you back to Wulihe with him?"
What is wrong with this man? Zi-ning wanted to shout. Which part of her suggested that she was dying to follow Situ Zhiren to Hua? And why did Du Zhenghuan sound so sour about all this?
A strange thought flitted through her mind, but she quickly shoved it aside.
"It will take at least ten days to reach Zhuiya, possibly eleven or twelve if there are delays due to weather," Zhenghuan continued, changing the topic. "We'll be travelling via small roads so hopefully the journey there will be smooth, although we still can't be sure there won't be any enemy ambushes, so we'll still need to be on high alert."
Zi-ning lifted the curtain again, peering up at the masked general. "Ambushes?" She frowned. "You think that someone will try to stop our entourage from reaching Zhuiya?"
"The situation in Zhuiya is likely to be sabotage, and if someone is trying to destabilise the border region, then it only makes sense that they would not want us to deliver aid to the city successfully. It's best for us to be on guard." He turned towards her, once again giving her that bare tilt of the chin and a slight arching of his brows beneath his silver mask, and the words passed between them unspoken.
"There's nothing to worry about. I'll be right here," he seemed to say.
Strangely enough, that seemed to be all she needed.