Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Feng Yu’er returned the next day, and the palace maids were all busy currying favor with her.

“Princess Consort, you have no idea. Yesterday, in front of the Southern Tang envoys, Imperial Lady Song was crouching at the Crown Prince’s feet right alongside his dog.”

“The Crown Prince even said she was well-raised by Southern Tang and knew how to serve people. Wasn’t he basically calling the Southern Tang people prostitutes?”

“The Southern Tang envoys even laughed. They really are all lowly creatures.”

They spoke loudly, as if terrified I wouldn’t hear them.

Feng Yu’er stood outside the courtyard watching me. I was on the swing, pushing myself higher and higher, nearly flying over the wall.

She was soon to be the Crown Princess.

In Southern Tang, a younger brother marrying his sister-in-law would be a scandal.

But in Northern Liang, the customs were brutal. Forget a younger brother marrying a sister-in-law-even if a father died, the son could inherit his father’s women.

“I’ll ask you one more time: are you leaving, or are you waiting to die here?” Feng Yu’er asked me.

Her eyes were filled with intense loathing.

Yet she was the one who hadn’t wanted Tuoba Lu back then. If I were her, I would have blamed myself for betting on the wrong horse rather than taking it out on others.

“Is there no third option?” I asked her.

“There is,” she said. “Will you go to the Northern Liang Military Camp? With your talent for seduction, perhaps you could survive for a long time.”

Feng Yu’er didn’t get the chance to send me to the Northern Liang Military Camp.

Because before that could happen, I fled.

The day after the Southern Tang envoys departed, the Northern Liang Emperor fell critically ill. My opportunity had arrived.

I left with the jade pass I had stolen from Tuoba Lu and the savings I had scraped together over the last three years.

However, I didn’t chase after the Southern Tang delegation. Instead, I headed for the neighboring Xianluo Kingdom, planning to return to Southern Tang by sea.

I had been planning my escape for three years.

Tribute was sent every three years, and I had originally intended to hide within the tribute convoy to return home.

But the moment I saw Qi Wen, I changed my mind.

He would likely recognize me, and I couldn’t take that risk.

I decided to take a detour through the Xianluo Kingdom, a place Chenglu had once described to me.

Chenglu said that Xianluo sat upon the sea, and those waters connected the nine provinces. From there, it was only a dozen days’ voyage to Tianhang City in Southern Tang.

This might very well be a path to death, but I had no other choice.

When I left, Tuoba Lu and all the high-ranking officials of Northern Liang were attending to the Emperor.

The palace maids were in a state of panic; no one noticed me.

I changed into a maid’s uniform, altered my makeup, and walked toward the palace gates with the jade pass I’d stolen from Tuoba Lu.

On this path out of the palace-a path I had paced in my mind for three years-I walked forward calmly.

The guards stopped me, carefully inspected my jade pass, and then let me out.

I breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out of the city.

I knew that at this time of year, ginseng harvesters would be heading toward the borders of Xianluo. I could travel with them.

Not long after I left the city, the funeral bells suddenly tolled. The Northern Liang Emperor had passed away.

I looked back. Dark clouds swirled over the palace, mirroring the state of the Northern Liang court.

Heaven was truly on my side.

At this moment, even if they had the mind to hunt down a Southern Tang tribute maiden like me, they likely had no time to spare.

Moreover, I was as insignificant as an ant. They wouldn’t waste their energy on an ant.

I followed the ginseng harvesters on the road to Xianluo. The journey was filled with wind, rain, mud, wild beasts, and bandits. I faced danger several times, but fortunately, I survived.

I believed my parents, my sister, and Chenglu were watching over me, protecting me so I could return and reunite with them.

After a month of traveling and stopping, I finally reached the coastal port of the Xianluo Kingdom and boarded a ship bound for Jinling.

This was my first time on such a merchant vessel. Though I had never been prone to motion sickness, I couldn’t stop vomiting.

I suppose it was because I was finally on the sea.