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."
"Yes, your Majesty."
The stewards picked up their thick wooden rods and moved closer. Zi-ning sucked in a breath, bracing herself for the pain that was to follow.
The first stroke is the hardest.
The first rod fell against her back, sending a searing sensation up her spine.
Then another.
And another.
But none of it could compare to the pain she had suffered, both physically and mentally, in her previous life.
The strength slowly seeped out of her as each stroke fell, her vision blurring. She didn't even know when the beating stopped, because by then, her entire body felt like it was in flames. Pain rippled through every fibre of her being, and for a moment, she wondered if perhaps she would really die here.
I can't.
I must live.
Gritting her teeth, she repeated those words over and over in her mind, willing herself to hang on to that last vestige of strength. The queen said something, and in her stupor she felt herself being hauled off the bench and out of the courtyard. They were taking her somewhere. To the dungeons? To a mass grave?
A spot of colour appeared in her field of view. She struggled to lift her head. Consort Song was standing some distance away, accompanied by Han Meiyan and the fifth prince Ru-an. Meiyan hand one arm affectionately hooked around the consort's, playing the role of the obedient daughter-in-law. Although she could not make out the expressions on their faces, she reckoned they were mocking her—and the queen—for their current misery.
Zi-ning laughed inwardly. A bitter, cynical laugh.
In the end, those two had still ended together. Han Meiyan and Ru-an. A match made in heaven.
#
Zi-ning didn't know when she passed out, but when she regained consciousness, she found herself back in a familiar place. Back in a nightmare.
She was in the palace dungeons—the damp, rotting hell that Ru-an had condemned her to in her previous life. The place where she had spent her final remaining hours, before she was hauled to the execution ground.
Yet things were not the same this time.
"Miss, you're awake!"
A worried face appeared in front of her. Then two.
"How are you feeling?" Lianyue asked. "We tried our best to help clean your wounds, but the conditions here are too poor. The only thing they were willing to give us was some clean drinking water."
"We need to get you a physician, else the wounds will fester," Lianxin added.
Zi-ning mustered a smile. She patted the two girls on the back of their hands. "It's alright. I'm fine," she said. Her back still burned, and the slightest movement sent a shockwave through her entire body, but she would survive. She had to.
"Have some water." Lianxin brought a bowl of water to her lips. The cold liquid felt heavenly as it rushed down her parched throat.
"How long was I out?" she asked.
"Probably five or six hours? The sun has set," Lianyue replied, pointing out of the little window of their cell. Outside, the crescent moon hung against the darkened sky.
"Don't worry, Miss. We'll get out of here soon," Lianxin said.
"What do you mean?"
"We have a secret signal—"
"Commander Zhang, you can't come in here. It's against protocol," a man's voice suddenly echoed down the dungeon hallway.
"Is it? Take a good look at this."
"T-t-the king's—"
"Yes, it's the king's personal token. If you don't want to face punishment for disrespecting the king's orders, then get out of my way."
Zhang Mingshen appeared on the outside of the cell, looking far more surly than Zi-ning had ever seen him. It was almost as if he had borrowed some of Zhenghuan's aura, standing there like a harbinger of hell in his full suit of black armour. No wonder the prison guard was cowering by the side.
"Open the gate!" Mingshen ordered.
"Yes, sir, immediately." The guard held out his ring of keys, fumbling through each one until he found the correct one. With a shaky hand, he stuck the key in the lock. The gate creaked open.
"Now leave us."
"But I'm not supposed to—"
"Leave. Us. What are you so worried about? Do you think I'm going to break a prisoner out of the dungeons?"
"Of course not. I shall be by the entrance, if you need anything." The meek guard bowed, hurrying off as if his life depended on it.
Mingshen stepped into the cell, rushing over to their side. He squatted down, a frown appearing upon his forehead.
"Sorry I'm late. How're you doing?" he asked.
Zi-ning shook her head. "Is there any news of Zhenghuan? Is he alright?"
He Jun had told her that Mingshen had left immediately after receiving news of Zhenghuan's disappearance, which meant that he had likely gone in search of Zhenghuan. He would not have returned if he hadn't found out something about Zhenghuan's whereabouts.
Lowering his voice, Mingshen said, "He's fine, but he took quite some damage from the attack so he can't really travel far for now."
Relief flooded over Zi-ning.
He's fine. He's alive.
"What happened?" she asked.
Mingshen grimaced. "It's a long story. Maybe it's best if he told you everything himself." He looked around to make sure they were still alone, then he continued, "I'll arrange to have you taken away from here tomorrow night. We've gotten wind that someone's bought over one of the prison guards to poison your food. Although we've gotten rid of that guard, there's no guarantee there won't be other threats. It's safer if you leave. Although..." He took a quick glance at the bloodied robes she wore. "We had originally planned to take you to Zhenghuan, but I'm not sure you're in the right condition for such a journey. Perhaps we can arrange for you to receive treatment first, at one of Zhenghuan's private residences."
Zi-ning shook her head firmly. "No. I want to see him," she said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Besides, if someone wants me dead, then it's probably safer if I leave the capital for the time being."
She didn't think that Queen Ci would resort to such a thing. The queen had plenty of other ways to get rid of her. If she had to venture a guess, she would bet her money on her dearest sister, Meiyan. The vicious girl would certainly not let go of such an opportunity to pluck this thorn from her side.
Mingshen hesitated, looking thoughtful. Then, he nodded. "Fine. In that case, I'll arrange for a physician to tend to you at our first rest stop, but you'll have to suffer a little before then. Since someone arranged to have you poisoned, we're going to make of use that to break you out of here. Tomorrow night, we'll create the illusion that you've succumbed to the poison and swap you out with a death row prisoner. Then, my men will escort you out of here."
"Won't they be able to tell that it isn't me?"
"Not with the type of poison we're going to use," Mingshen said with a sly grin. He straightened himself out. "I'll make a move first." Turning to Lianyue and Lianxin, he said, "Look after your mistress. If anything crops up, send me another signal."
"Yes, sir," the two girls replied.
Zi-ning listened to Mingshen's footsteps retreat down the corridor, then she turned her gaze up toward the small window, where the stars shimmered from beyond.
Wait for me, Zhenghuan. I'll be there soon.