“All except my mother, of course, and they held her…a sword under her chin… I’ve always wanted to be like her, to be an empress. I wanted to die with her then…”
I shuddered. “This time is different. The Emperor will win. He always wins.”
“We shall hope for that. But sometimes, I would rather… He kept me. I do not know why. I never told anyone. But if I could…I would rather do something different. I would rather have a hand in my destiny…”
Her voice, thick with helplessness which I had never heard from her before, shook my heart. I felt like crying, for all the pain and sorrow she had suffered at a young age, for all she had endured these years, living under the command of the man who took her mother’s life, but I did not wish her to continue, wary of the ears around us. “Let’s not talk about this now, shall we? Soon, we will return to our chambers and rest, and in the morning, we will gather together and enjoy the warmth of the sun in the courtyard.”
“Mei, you are too young. You don’t understand, but I know how this will turn out. We will not survive.”
“My Noble Lady—”
“This is life, Mei. All these years, I did not wish to remind myself of who I was, and all these years I fought and spied on the other ladies. Now they are gone. Jewel is dead, and her baby is dead too. No more fear or threat… I put aconite in her wine, Mei. It was me. I could not stand her. I had to…”
I could not believe what I had just heard. The Noble Lady, the lady known for her benevolence and kindness, would poison her rival and abort an innocent life? What other measures would a woman take to destroy her rival?
“Shh … Someone is coming,” a voice said.
A rider. Most likely armed. I heard metal clunking. It sounded as if the rider was searching the front court of the hall. Gasping, people shrank around me. I felt the Noble Lady shake beside me.
“Don’t worry.” I put my arms around her. My mouth was dry, and my heart pounded in fear, but I tried to comfort the Noble Lady. “It could be an imperial guard, or the Emperor himself.”
“It could be anyone.” She shook her head.
“Be quiet!” someone, perhaps Lady Obedience, snapped in a low voice. “They will find us.”
They? The heavy hoofbeats pounded against the stones on the ground. It was true. It sounded like there were at least two riders. The women began to sob, pushing toward the back of the hall. I could not help it. I held on to the Noble Lady and moved to the back as well.
“Mei!” The Noble Lady’s voice cracked. “The door…”
I looked at the entrance. I could not see it clearly. “It’s bolted.” I hoped. It would take at least five men to break in with the bolted door. But if it was not… My throat tightened, and I could not breathe. And the hoofbeats ceased outside. Had the riders left?
A thunderous crash shook the hall, and the doors blasted open. I jumped, my hair standing up on my nape. But no one burst through the door. No movement either. Only silence.
“What was that?” the Noble Lady asked, her voice quavering.
I shook my head. The night’s wind rushed through the doors like a massive hand sweeping the top of my head. An animal howled in the distance. Or was it a man shrieking before his death?
“We need to close the door. Could someone please go shut the door?” It was Plum’s voice.
No one moved. The women beside me trembled violently. The Noble Lady’s eyes were closed, and with the faint light coming from outside, I could see her face was stark white.
I rose, and even though I felt no strength in my legs, I said, “I’ll close it.”
Holding my breath, I crept toward the entrance. I was going to die, I was sure of it. A sword was going to flash in the air and chop off my head before I could cry out.
When I made it to the threshold, my hands were shaking, and I could hardly breathe. But I did not see a sword or any rebels.
Outside, the lights from the lanterns under the eaves were extinguished, and the yellow moon hung low, like a water-stained round fan. No one was in the corridor or the yard. Perhaps the rebels had left. I reached for the door frame.
Something exploded above my head, and thousands of shattered pieces burst in the air. Covering my head, I fell on my back as a hoof thrust through the door frame. A beast bolted into the hall.
“A horse, a horse!” the Noble Lady shouted. The women screamed.
My heart pounded. The horse, a large war mount, twisted its head and puffed thick fumes. With powerful legs hitting the ground, it lowered its head and charged.
The women screamed louder. Some ran to the corners of the walls; some raced to the doors. I was squeezed tightly among them. An elbow knocked against my head. I fell again. Scrambling, I tried to stand, but another hand flung me aside.
“Mei, Mei!”