The Night Before Leaving the Palace, Reduced to the Tyrant's Plaything - Chapter 24

Wanyu smiled bitterly to herself, put down the steamed bun, and gestured, asking why she hadn’t seen Zisu.

Meishuang hesitated for a moment, her eyes reddening before she said, “I’m afraid Zisu won’t make it.”

Wanyu was shocked and hurriedly asked Meishuang what had happened.

Meishuang walked to the door to take a look outside, then closed the door and came back. She lowered her voice, “Zisu is prettier than me. As soon as she arrived, Eunuch La took a fancy to her and wanted her to be his Dui Shi.

Zisu has always been proud and had once served His Majesty. How could she submit to such a vile person? She tried to avoid him several times, but when she couldn’t, she slashed her own face right in front of Eunuch La.”

Wanyu listened, her heart pounding with fear.

Zisu had lively, delicate features; her face was fair as jade, soft as if it would break at a touch, not even a single tiny mole.

She couldn’t imagine how desperate the girl must have been to be so cruel as to destroy her own face.

“What happened afterwards?” she asked anxiously.

Meishuang replied, “After that, Eunuch La no longer coveted her, but he bore a grudge and made things difficult for her in every way. He always assigned her the filthiest and most tiring chores, and if she couldn’t finish, he would beat and scold her.

A few days ago, it snowed. Eunuch La made her wash dirty clothes outside in the snow all day. That night, she developed a high fever and fell unconscious. Eunuch La claimed she would pass her sickness to others, so he had her thrown into the storage room and left her there to fend for herself.”

As Meishuang spoke, tears began to fall. “Gugu, Zisu and I did fight a lot before, but that was only human nature-everyone wants to rise higher. If you ask if there was any personal grudge between us, there really wasn’t. No matter how much we competed, we never thought of hurting each other.

Now seeing her like this, I can’t describe how awful I feel. I regret it every night, my guts twisted with remorse. If only I had let her win back then and not competed with her, we would still be living well in the Qianqing Palace, never having fallen to this wretched place.”

She grabbed Wanyu’s hand and wept in a muffled voice, “Gugu, please find a way to leave here. This really isn’t a place for people to live!”

Moved by her grief, Wanyu couldn’t help but shed tears herself. She hugged Meishuang, patting her back to comfort her.

The young girl didn’t even dare to cry loudly. She quickly forced herself to stop, wiped away her tears, and stood up. “Gugu, I can’t stay long. I have to go back. You live alone-please, be very careful.”

She took out a sharpened copper hairpin from her sleeve and handed it to Wanyu. “Gugu, keep this to protect yourself. Lock your doors and windows tightly at night, and don’t open the door for anyone.”

Wanyu felt a chill at her words. She took the hairpin, gestured to Meishuang, “Go quickly, I’ll be careful. You must be careful too.”

After Meishuang left, she hurriedly finished her food, bolted the doors and windows, and placed two empty bowls-one under the window, the other behind the door.

If someone really did come in, even if they didn’t fall, they would at least make a noise stepping on the bowl, and she would wake up in time.

There was straw spread on the bed. Though it smelled a bit musty, at least it kept her warm. She changed into the clothes Sun Liangyan had sent her, and found a few pairs of woolen socks in the bundle.

All her belongings had been given to Xue Ying. Sun Liangyan had said someone would bring her things over, but in fact, everything had been newly prepared for her.

She put on the woolen socks, crawled into the icy bedding, and thought long and hard, still unable to understand why Sun Liangyan was so good to her.

The day had been chaotic and difficult. Despite the cold, she was so exhausted she soon fell asleep.

She had no strength left to scheme. Everything would have to wait until morning.

She didn’t know how long she had slept when she seemed to hear faint knocking at the door in her drowsiness.

The wind and snow outside were fierce. She wasn’t sure if someone was really knocking.

Remembering what Meishuang had told her, she felt a shiver run through her. She reached for the copper hairpin and gripped it tightly in her hand.

At that moment, the knocking sounded again, and a voice quietly called, “Wanyu, open the door, it’s me.”

Xu Qingzhan!

Wanyu’s heart relaxed, and without even bothering to find her shoes, she groped her way in the dark to the door and opened it.
Outside the door, the cold wind howled. Xu Qingzhan squeezed inside, quickly shut the door, and pulled a candle from his chest, lighting it with a tinderbox.

The dim yellow light illuminated the cramped room. Xu Qingzhan frowned slightly in the shadows, but only said, “It’s too cold. Hurry and sit back on the bed.”

Wanyu obediently sat back on the bed, impatiently gesturing: “How is he?”

“He’s fine,” Xu Qingzhan replied lightly. “He couldn’t wait for you and wanted to come to the palace to find you, but I persuaded him otherwise. I took him to see the Emperor. The Emperor was troubled because of your situation, so he only said a few words before sending him home. He must be reunited with his family by now. He told you not to worry, that he would find a way.”

Wanyu’s nose tingled, tears welling up in her eyes, but she forced herself not to cry.

Xu Qingzhan made it sound simple, but that person’s temperament was not so easily persuaded.

Unable to wait for her, he must have been anxious and upset, right?

Was his heart suffering just as hers was?

Wanyu’s heart ached. She wanted to ask Xu Qingzhan for more details, but what she managed to gesture was: “How is he now? Has he changed?”

“Changed?” Xu Qingzhan thought for a moment. “He’s five years older than he was five years ago-does that count?”

Wanyu couldn’t help but smile through her tears, gesturing again: “Don’t joke, tell me properly.”

Xu Qingzhan laughed too. “He seems to have grown taller, sturdier than before. His face looks rougher, but that’s nothing-a little care will fix it.”

Wanyu tried to imagine him from Xu Qingzhan’s description, but found she couldn’t picture him at all.

“How about you?” Xu Qingzhan asked her.

Wanyu withdrew from her thoughts, shook her head, and hugged herself. “I’m fine, just a little cold.”

Xu Qingzhan felt her bedding. “Tomorrow night I’ll have someone bring you two thick quilts.”

“No, if Chief Gugu sees I have new quilts, I won’t be able to explain.” Wanyu patted the dry straw on her bed. “Just add more straw for me, nothing else.”

“Alright.” Xu Qingzhan asked again, “Were you hurt in Shenxing Si?”

“No.” Wanyu shook her head, gesturing as she spoke. “They were very skilled-only tore my clothes, but didn’t hurt me.”

“That’s good,” Xu Qingzhan said. “Bear with it for a few more days. We’ll find a way to get the Emperor to release you.”

Wanyu grabbed his hand excitedly, her eyes asking: “Can I really get out?”

“You can. You definitely can.” Xu Qingzhan gripped her hand tightly, as if giving her confidence, and himself as well.

Wanyu’s emotions settled, and hope rekindled in her heart.

She gestured to Xu Qingzhan: “Do you have anyone in the Lateral Courts?”

Xu Qingzhan replied, “Not before, since I never expected you’d end up here. But don’t worry, I’ll arrange it soon.”

Wanyu tried to negotiate with him: “Can you help me save someone?”

“Who?” Xu Qingzhan said indifferently. “Besides you, I don’t care about anyone else’s life or death.”

“I know, but this is different.”

Wanyu took some effort to explain Zisu’s situation to Xu Qingzhan.

She said Zisu was proud but not bad at heart. Back in Qianqing Palace, Zisu and Meishuang took care of her daily life. She was grateful and couldn’t bear to see Zisu perish like this, so she asked Xu Qingzhan to have someone check on her. If she could be saved, save her; if not, don’t force it.

“Alright, I’ve noted it,” Xu Qingzhan said. “If what Meishuang said is true, the person you should worry about most is yourself. Lai Sanchun has connections-he can’t be gotten rid of easily. You must be careful.”

Wanyu looked surprised.

A eunuch from the Lateral Courts-what kind of connections could he possibly have?