Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Xiao Xing ignored me again.

He let the rats drag away the steamed bun in front of him long ago. I realized he hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for a very long time.

Why?

Dawn was approaching. Tomorrow, the Emperor would hold court, and I didn’t have much time left.

The jailer tossed in nine steamed buns and two bowls of water. I stood up and called out to him, “Officer?”

“What is it?”

“General Xiao’s breakfast-aren’t you going to deliver it?”

The jailer frowned and scolded me, “You’re about to die, why are you worrying about someone else?”

With that, he turned to leave.

“He’s committing suicide,” I said, lowering my voice. “If he dies here, the common people will be furious.”

The jailer laughed, his eyes full of mockery. “What does the people’s anger have to do with me?”

I spoke each word deliberately. “The Imperial Court will be forced to pacify that anger. And to do that, the best method is to kill someone to appease the masses. Think about it carefully.”

The jailer, who had been about to walk away, suddenly whipped his head back to look at me.

I met his gaze calmly, my eyes steady and certain.

The jailer hurried away, returning a moment later with hot soup and rice. He knelt before Xiao Xing and urged him to eat.

Xiao Xing remained as still as a monk in deep meditation, immovable as a mountain.

Through the wooden bars, I spoke up. “Shall I try to persuade General Xiao?”

Xiao Xing’s eyes snapped open and fixed on me. It was the first time he had opened them all day. I didn’t look back at him, instead pleading earnestly with the head jailer, “I only ask that you give my mother a jug of clean water.”

The head jailer agreed but remained outside the bars, maintaining a defensive posture.

I knelt before Xiao Xing and brought a spoonful of rice to his lips.

Xiao Xing stared at me, studying me.

His gaze was cold and piercing, like a dark, bottomless pool.

I felt a flash of cowardice, but it lasted only a second. Compared to life and death, nothing else mattered.

“Does the General find me beautiful?” I asked him.

He arched an eyebrow, his gaze locking onto mine. “Ugly!” he mocked.

I smoothed my messy hair at the temples. “Look again, General.”

“Even uglier!” he said.

I kept my face taut. “At fifteen, I was the most renowned beauty in the Capital. If the General thinks I am ugly, then it is your eyesight that is lacking.”

Xiao Xing laughed.

“So, are you trying to use a honey trap on me?”

“I have nothing left but my face,” I said, looking at him calmly. “I am simply making the best use of what I have.”

Xiao Xing pushed the spoon away. “Why didn’t you use it on Song Yan that day?”

I gestured for him to eat first.

After a moment of stalemate, he ate the spoonful of rice. I heard the head jailer outside the bars let out a long sigh of relief.

Xiao Xing didn’t move for the second spoonful. I crawled forward half a step on my knees, closing the distance between us.

Up close, the new scars on his face looked even more gruesome.

The once handsome and heroic general had fallen to this state; I didn’t know whose misfortune it truly was.

“Song Yan isn’t worth it,” I said.

Xiao Xing ate the second spoonful.

The head jailer was immensely grateful, but Xiao Xing was not. As I moved away, he whispered in my ear, “Still ugly.”

I curtsied and replied, “Yes!”

This man was completely unyielding. If I wanted him to leave and he was unwilling, everything I did would be in vain.

I couldn’t keep wasting time on him.

My youngest sister whispered to me, “Sister, you aren’t ugly. The General just has bad taste.”

My second sister added, “The General has been at war for years; he surely can’t tell beauty from ugliness.”

I nodded with a smile.

In the next cell, there was a faint clink of chains. I looked over; Xiao Xing had returned to his meditative state.

What should I do?

If I couldn’t escape from the prison, my only choice was to go to the Jiaofangsi first and then make a plan.

But what if the nine of us were separated?

I stared at the cell door. From the bars to the exit, I had counted twenty-six steps when I was brought in. There were four guards at night and six during the day.

Tonight, the one on watch was that elderly, frail jailer.

The other three would go to sleep during the second half of the night.

The best time to act would be between the Hour of the Ox and the Hour of the Tiger. After leaving the prison through the left courtyard gate and walking down one alley, we would reach Song Yan’s small courtyard. He had two carriages at home, an elderly, ailing mother, and one servant woman.

At dawn, we could take him hostage to get out of the city.

Nine against three-it was worth a desperate gamble.

I brushed aside the straw and began drawing a map on the ground. Suddenly, I heard someone approaching the bars. I looked up.

“The imperial edict has been drafted. You four sisters will enter the Jiaofangsi.”

Song Yan stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at me. “The others will be sold by the government brokers.”

I clenched my fists and stood up. “Thank you for informing us in advance, Lord Song.”

“I’ve already put in a word at the Jiaofangsi. They won’t make you take other guests.”

“I see.” I flashed him a smile. “Pingqing will be waiting for you.”

Song Yan looked satisfied and turned to leave. As he passed Xiao Xing’s cell, he paused, then moved to walk away. Suddenly, his knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.

Song Yan clutched the back of his knees, glaring indignantly at Xiao Xing. “General Xiao, what is the meaning of this?”

Xiao Xing gave a light scoff. “Useless trash.”