There is a prison in every prefectural city, but not on the road.

Bai Rongling was confined in a makeshift square wooden “cell” with no view of the sky, knocked together specifically for the journey, with nothing inside but a chamber pot. Whenever the prison cart jolted over a bump, some of the contents would slosh out. Every day, Bai Rongling lurched and bumped alongside his own waste like a piece of cargo being transported to the distant Jianzhou.

In fewer than four days, he was gaunt and haggard, his hair a tangled mess, visibly thinner all over.

He missed Yangzhou. He missed his family. And he worried about Shen Zhuxi, who was in the same convoy yet completely cut off from him.

Fu Xuanmiao was ruthless and calculating — how could his cousin be any match for him?

But Bai Rongling could not help himself now, even if he tried. He could not even get a message to the Bai Family, and could only sigh all day inside his cell, using the starting and stopping of the cart to guess whether they had reached the next town.

It had always been like this.

But tonight was different.

Bai Rongling was sleeping in a drowsy haze when he suddenly felt a night breeze drift in. The cool, fresh air swept away the stale, suffocating air of the wooden box, and Bai Rongling, breathing in the freshest air he had experienced in a long while, jolted awake.

A tall figure ducked through the entrance of the cell. The faint moonlight spilling in from outside the door fell across him, and through the dim backlight, Bai Rongling made out Yan Hui’s face.

Ordinarily, only low-ranking soldiers entered his cell — to deliver food or change the chamber pot — and Yan Hui, Fu Xuanmiao’s right-hand man, had never come in person.

He had barely opened his mouth when he saw Yan Hui standing by the door, and two more thick-armed, broad-shouldered soldiers filing in after him.

With three people now inside, the cell became packed to bursting.

The moment Bai Rongling saw the strip of torn cloth and the shard of broken porcelain — no larger than half a palm — in the hands of the two soldiers who had come in last, he knew this was bad.

“You… mmph mmph mmph!”

One of the soldiers used the torn cloth to press hard over his mouth. The soldier’s right leg pinned down his struggling legs and bore down with his entire body weight, holding fast the scrawny Bai Rongling, who was already thin to begin with and had grown even thinner in recent days.

Bai Rongling looked at Yan Hui with terror-stricken eyes — the only person in the room he could conceivably reason with — but Yan Hui did not even glance at him. He stood coolly by the door and, with great consideration, pulled the wooden cell door shut.

The other soldier gripped the porcelain shard and stepped over him, crouching down, and pressed the cold fragment against the warm skin of Bai Rongling’s neck.

“Mmph mmph mmph mmph!!”

The will to survive flooded Bai Rongling with a surge of strength. His violent thrashing made it nearly impossible for the two soldiers to keep him controlled.

“Hold still!” The one with the porcelain shard, after several failed attempts to find the artery, slammed a heavy punch into Bai Rongling’s head in frustration. Bai Rongling reeled sideways in a dizzy stupor, and from nearby he heard Yan Hui say:

“…Don’t be rough about it… if you leave any marks… you will answer for it…”

The cold, sharp edge of the porcelain pressed against his neck again.

Bai Rongling tried to move, but the dizziness in his body had not yet passed. The torn cloth pressed tightly over his mouth and nose gave him less and less air with each breath. In his befuddled haze, Bai Rongling thought: Well, there it is… when his body was discovered tomorrow, having “taken his own life out of guilt,” the blame for conspiring to harm the Prince Consort and Military Commissioner would be nailed firmly to his head — and nothing would pry it off.

His poor mother and father, and his grandparents, would have to live to see their child’s death…

And he had not yet left the Bai Family a single heir…

He wondered if his father, at his age now, could still manage to sire another…

I am sorry… Father…

I am sorry… Mother…

I am sorry… cousin… brother-in-law…

I am sorry… in this life… I never managed to make anyone happy…

What a pity… In the next life… could he please not be born human… Being human… was so damnably hard…

Just as Bai Rongling was on the verge of losing consciousness, a bang — the door of the cell was slammed open. The soldiers pinning him down jerked in alarm and involuntarily loosened their grip. Fresh air poured back into Bai Rongling’s mouth and nose. Like a man dragged from drowning who had finally found solid ground, he acted on pure instinct, shoving away the person on top of him and gulping in great heaving breaths of sweet air.

“Your Highness…” he heard Yan Hui’s startled voice.

Bai Rongling forced open his unfocused eyes and strained to make out the slight figure standing in the doorway. Shen Zhuxi stood there, her face ashen, clearly having run the whole way here — her chest was still heaving visibly. Her barely concealed furious gaze swept across the three people in the cell, and she said in a cold, hard voice:

“…What exactly are you doing here?”

Yan Hui stepped forward, blocking the two soldiers behind him. The two of them immediately hid the torn cloth and the blood-stained shard of porcelain up their sleeves.

“This subordinate pays his respects to the Princess.” Yan Hui clasped his hands together and gave Shen Zhuxi a measured bow. After straightening up, he glanced at the two behind him and said, “What are you standing there for? Pay your respects to Her Highness, then get out.”

The two soldiers hurriedly knelt in salute, then scattered and fled. Shen Zhuxi did not stop them.

These past few nights, she had been using insomnia as an excuse to go out, and her heart had been pounding with fear that something might happen to Bai Rongling. Each time, she had deliberately wandered near the prison cart. Tonight she had gone out again on the same pretext, only to find that the soldiers who were always posted outside the cart had completely vanished. In that instant, she knew that what she had dreaded most had happened —

Fu Xuanmiao was going to silence a witness.

Shen Zhuxi had not had time to think. By the time she came back to herself, she had already charged into the prison cart.

Once the cell held only Shen Zhuxi, Yan Hui, and Bai Rongling, Yan Hui did not ask her why she had come. Instead, he spoke to her about things that had no apparent connection to anything, and every time Shen Zhuxi tried to steer the conversation back, he deflected it again with another tangent.

Before long, she understood why he was doing it.

“Why does the Princess venture out at this late hour with such heavy dew?”

Fu Xuanmiao appeared outside the prison cart, draped in moonlight. Yan Hui, seeing him, quietly stepped out of the cell to make way, and Fu Xuanmiao stepped inside at an unhurried pace.

“…I had a nightmare and couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a walk.” Shen Zhuxi looked toward Bai Rongling on the ground. “The thought of this man having killed Li Wu yet still sleeping soundly is enough to make me unable to eat or sleep. What right does he have — when Li Wu’s fate is still unknown — to be kept here, fed and looked after?”

The name Li Wu, spoken from Shen Zhuxi’s lips, silenced Fu Xuanmiao for a long moment.

He said: “What does Your Highness wish to do?”

Fu Xuanmiao’s scrutinizing gaze rested steadily on Shen Zhuxi. She gritted her teeth and said, “…Bring a whip!”

Bai Rongling, who had just barely escaped with his life, stared at her wide-eyed.

“…Your Highness! Your Highness!”

The maidservants she had slipped away from now came rushing over in a breathless hurry.

The moment they saw Fu Xuanmiao inside the prison cart, they dropped to their knees in a panic.

“Your Highness is of noble standing, yet you allowed her to go out alone at night — abandoning your post. What punishment does that merit?” Fu Xuanmiao said.

“I…”

The two maidservants looked at one another, unable to speak.

“It was I who didn’t want to be discovered and quietly slipped away from them —” Shen Zhuxi said.

Fu Xuanmiao glanced at her, then said: “Since Your Highness has spoken up for you, we will let it go this time. Next time, do not expect such leniency… Bring a whip.”

The maidservants, as if reprieved from a death sentence, returned before long with a leather whip as thick as two fingers. Just holding it, Shen Zhuxi felt its weight and heat, and had the urge to fling it away. But under the watching eyes all around, she could only grip it tightly in her hands.

“If Your Highness finds the whip too thick, this subject can have someone find a thinner one,” Fu Xuanmiao said, his calm, cold gaze — like a viper’s — fixed steadily on Shen Zhuxi.

“…That will not be necessary.”

Shen Zhuxi gripped the whip and looked steadily at Bai Rongling.

The expression in Bai Rongling’s eyes shifted from initial astonishment to a resolute calm. He fell silent, and curled himself inward, baring the bony shoulder that had grown so gaunt in these past few days.

Shen Zhuxi gripped the whip and could not bring it down.

“Your Highness need not concern yourself.” Fu Xuanmiao’s voice was gentle. “He is nothing but a prisoner under sentence. Your Highness may do as she pleases. What happens here will not reach any other ears.”

She had to bring this whip down.

For Bai Rongling’s sake.

Shen Zhuxi clenched her teeth and finally swung the whip.

A sharp crack rang out inside the cell. Bai Rongling’s body flinched, and pain crossed his face. Shen Zhuxi’s tears burst forth at once.

The cell was utterly silent. The whip trembled in Shen Zhuxi’s hands.

After a long moment, the second stroke rang out.

The third. The fourth…

Through the white cloth of Bai Rongling’s prison garment, faint bloodstains slowly spread.

Her tears streamed like a dam giving way, washing down her face without ceasing.

“Why does Your Highness weep?” Fu Xuanmiao said.

“He harmed Li Wu — to see him like this fills me with satisfaction!” Shen Zhuxi gritted her teeth and forced herself to say it harshly. “Once is not enough. I intend to do this with my own hand every single day, and only then will I be able to sleep soundly at night!”

Fu Xuanmiao looked at her long and deeply. Shen Zhuxi’s heart pounded frantically with the fear that he would see through her true intentions. Thankfully, Fu Xuanmiao finally spoke. He said quietly:

“…Whatever Your Highness desires, this subject will ensure it.”

…

Some time later, Shen Zhuxi stepped out of the cell. Her weakened legs nearly gave way as she descended the steps, and a hand reached from behind and steadied her at once.

“Mind your step, Your Highness.” Fu Xuanmiao said softly.

“…Mm.”

Shen Zhuxi worked to pull her hand free without drawing notice and walked quickly down from the prison cart.

By now, the edge of the sky had begun to show the faintest light.

Fu Xuanmiao accompanied her to the entrance of her tent. Just as Shen Zhuxi was about to step inside in eager haste, Fu Xuanmiao called out to her.

“It would be better for Your Highness not to mention Li Wu’s name hereafter.”

Shen Zhuxi stopped.

“Li Wu failed to report and concealed Your Highness’s whereabouts; Li Kun took part in a rebellion and became an outlaw; Li Que attempted to assassinate the Chancellor and is now at large. Any one of these three brothers becoming associated with Your Highness would be damaging — both for Your Highness, and for the Bai Family that stands behind you. His Majesty would also surely not wish to see the imperial family’s name touched by such dishonor.” Fu Xuanmiao said, unmoved, the jade crown on his head glimmering in the clear moonlight. “For Your Highness, Li Wu is the person who sheltered you during your time of hardship — your benefactor — and nothing more. Anything beyond that… will only bring Your Highness regret.”

“…I understand.” Shen Zhuxi said with difficulty.

Perhaps it was her imagination, but a brief softness passed across Fu Xuanmiao’s expression.

“…Xi’er, sleep well. Once we are back in Jianzhou, everything will be all right.”

After Shen Zhuxi entered the tent, Fu Xuanmiao stood in the doorway for a moment, then turned and walked away.

Yan Hui emerged from the shadows and fell into step behind him.

“How did it go?” Fu Xuanmiao said evenly.

“…Your Highness does indeed wake in the middle of every night, and then goes outside to clear her head in the camp. Because she always had her maidservants with her, I did not think to report it to you before now,” Yan Hui said.

“In the future, report everything concerning the Princess to me, no matter how trivial.” Fu Xuanmiao said.

Yan Hui bowed in acknowledgment. “Understood.”

After lowering his hands, Yan Hui hesitated a moment and said, “Regarding Bai Rongling…”

“If he can bring the Princess some amusement, letting him live a while longer is no great matter.” Fu Xuanmiao’s expression was calm. “…I am also curious to see whether His Majesty still acknowledges this personally appointed brother-in-law of his — Bai Rongling.”

What His Majesty and the new Chancellor were scheming, Fu Xuanmiao understood better than anyone.

Years ago, the late Emperor and the current Emperor had repeatedly interfered to obstruct the marriage alliance between the Fu and Bai families. Now they wished to draw the Bai Family over to their side and destroy him entirely.

His father was gone. No one remained to hold fond feeling for the old ties of loyalty. The debts of the past —

He would collect them back, one by one.