Turning to the armored man seated before her, i spoke, her voice laced with forced composure. "Why are we straying from His Majesty’s path?"
The guard did not answer imdiately. His grip on the reins remained firm, his posture unyielding.
A cold prickle ran down her spine.
"I asked you a question," she pressed, her tone sharpening.
At last, the man turned his head slightly, his face expressionless as he delivered the words that shattered her world.
"You are being taken to King Xiang’s territory. From this day forth, you will serve him for the remainder of your days."
i’s breath caught. A hollow ringing filled her ears. King Xiang?
No. No, this couldn’t be.
Her fingers clenched against the silk seat, her body trembling as dread coiled in her stomach. Everyone knew the horrors that lurked within King Xiang’s domain. The uncle of Han Feng—his closest ally in usurping the throne—was a man whispered about in fearful hushes.
Ruthless. Insatiable. A monster in human form.
It was said that no woman taken to his manor ever saw the light of day again. That beneath his grand estate lay a maze of hidden chambers where torches never burned out, where cries of agony echoed through stone walls.
A choked gasp left her lips.
"No . . . no!" she stamred, shaking her head violently as if denying it would change her fate.
She lunged toward the door, hands scrambling to pull it open, but the lock held firm.
"You cannot do this! I was promised a place in the palace!" she shrieked, her nails digging into the wooden fra.
The guard did not so much as flinch.
"And so you shall," he said flatly. "King Xiang’s palace."
i’s eyes widened in horror.
Her breath ca in sharp, ragged gasps as she pounded against the door. "No! No! I refuse! His Majesty sent for ! Han Feng—Han Feng! Help !"
She scread until her throat burned, until her voice turned raw with desperation.
Yet the carriage did not stop.
The guards did not turn back.
No one ca for her.
And as the wheels carried her deeper into the night, further and further from the golden halls she had dread of, a terrible realization sank into her bones.
She had never been ant for the palace.
She had been sold.
=== ===
As the days drew closer to the highly anticipated wedding of Han Feng and Xue Li, the bustling capital seed to hold its breath in eager anticipation. The streets were filled with preparations, the air thick with excitent as the whole kingdom waited for the union of the Emperor and his noble consort.
Yet, far removed from the joy and grandeur of the capital, the Baron Wei Zhen and his wife, the baroness, lived in blissful ignorance, their minds occupied with thoughts of power and prestige, unknowing of the dark fate that had befallen their eldest daughter, i.
In the quiet of their estate, the baron and baroness spent their days dreaming of a life transford by their daughter’s success.
i, in their minds, had already made her mark in the imperial palace. They believed her beauty, her charm, and her wit would surely win Han Feng’s heart. Every passing mont was a step closer to the great power they imagined was within their reach.
The baroness, sitting in the comfort of their richly adorned parlor, would often smile to herself as she daydread of the life i would lead once she was by the Emperor’s side.
"Once i secures His Majesty’s favor," she would say, "our family will ascend to heights we’ve never known. No more worrying over debts or the drudgery of daily life. We will have wealth, influence, and power beyond asure."
Her voice carried the excitent of a woman who had already tasted the fruits of her daughter’s success in her mind. She would often whisper to herself, imagining the lavish robes i would wear, the jewels that would adorn her, and the palace halls that would echo with her na.
Baron Wei Zhen, ever the scher, was no less enthusiastic. He often gazed out over his vast estate, his thoughts far from the mundane affairs of everyday life.
"When i catches Han Feng’s eye," he would mutter, his voice laced with ambition, "we will have everything we’ve ever dread of. The Emperor is not just a ruler—he is a key that opens the door to untold wealth and power. Our lineage will be forever elevated."
The baron’s heart swelled with pride at the thought of his daughter’s bright future, unaware that the very daughter he imagined living a life of luxury and privilege was enduring horrors unimaginable.
In the Kingdom of Xian, far to the south, i had not stepped foot in any palace of grandeur. She had not been courted by Han Feng as the baron and baroness believed. Instead, she was trapped within the dark and forbidding walls of King Xiang’s domain.
Her days were filled with unimaginable suffering—tortured, humiliated, and broken by a man who reveled in the agony of others. i, once full of ambition and dreams of grandeur, now languished in despair, far from the life she had once imagined.
But the baron and baroness remained unaware of the tornt that tore at their daughter’s soul. They believed that i, with her beauty and cunning, was in the Emperor’s favor, preparing herself to win Han Feng’s heart. To them, her life was an endless procession of luxuries, and every step was a stride closer to the power and prestige they longed for.
The days slipped by in a haze of anticipation for the life that would co once i succeeded. They pictured her seated beside Han Feng, surrounded by treasures, her na whispered in reverence throughout the empire. They saw themselves as the proud parents of an empress, their fortunes sealed, their status secured.
But in the darkness of King Xiang’s prison, i’s screams echoed unanswered. Her fate was one of agony, while the baron and baroness basked in the illusion of their daughter’s success, too blinded by their own dreams of wealth and influence to see the truth.
And as the wedding of Han Feng and Xue Li drew ever nearer, the gulf between their fantasies and i’s cruel reality widened, a cruel irony that would only beco clear in ti.
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