They came for Lin Qianxue at dawn.
The woodshed door opened to reveal Xiao Lan, the young servant who'd helped her before. Her eyes were red from crying.
"Miss," she whispered, helping Lin Qianxue to her feet. Every movement sent fresh waves of pain through her battered body. "Lady Wang says you're to be bathed and dressed properly. The imperial decree…"
"I heard." Lin Qianxue gripped her chest in pain as she stood. "The Prince wants me at his banquet."
"The whole household is in chaos. Lady Wang insists it's a mistake, but the decree was very specific. Your name, your title. Even the messenger seemed surprised when he read it."
They made their way slowly back to the main house. Servants scattered at the sight of Lin Qianxue, some with pity, others with barely concealed fear.
Lady Wang waited in Lin Qianxue's room, pacing like a caged animal with Huiyin standing beside the windows.
"There must be some mistake," Lady Wang said the moment Lin Qianxue entered. "The Prince couldn't possibly mean you. He must have meant Huiyin. She's the accomplished one, the beautiful one. You're…" She gestured vaguely at Lin Qianxue's bruised, limping form. "You're in no condition to appear before royalty."
"The decree said Lin Qianxue," Lin Qianxue replied quietly. "Eldest daughter. That's me, isn't it, Mother?"
"But you've never met Prince Shen!" Lady Wang's voice rose in frustration. "You've barely left this estate in years! How could he possibly know your name? Why would he request you specifically?"
It was an excellent question. One Lin Qianxue had been asking herself all night while lying on that cold dirt floor.
Prince Shen Jingye. The historical records the original Lin Qianxue had learned as a child said he was brilliant, ruthless, and unnervingly perceptive. He'd unified the fractured northern territories through a combination of military genius and political manipulation. He saw patterns others missed. Understood motives that remained hidden to everyone else.
"Perhaps," Huiyin spoke for the first time, her voice carefully measured, "the Prince heard of our family's recent troubles and wishes to offer support? His late mother was distantly related to the Lin clan."
Lady Wang seized on this explanation like a drowning woman grabbing a rope. "Yes! That must be it! He's being generous to a declining family connection. In which case, we should send our most accomplished representative." She turned to Lin Qianxue. "You'll write a letter of apology. Say you're too ill to attend. Recommend that your cousin go in your place."
"That would be defying an imperial decree," Lin Qianxue said.
"It would be explaining the situation reasonably…"
"It would be treason." Lin Qianxue met her mother's eyes. "The decree specifically named me. The messenger said the Prince was 'quite specific.' If I don't attend, our family will be charged with defying imperial will. Is that what you want, Mother?"
The silence stretched thin and dangerous.
Huiyin's voice cut through it like a blade. "She's right, Aunt Wang. We have no choice. Lin Qianxue must attend." Her smile was poison wrapped in silk. "Though perhaps I should accompany her? As chaperone? To ensure she doesn't embarrass the family with her... recent instability?"
"No," Lin Qianxue said flatly. "The decree mentioned only me and Father. You weren't invited, cousin."
Huiyin's mask slipped for just a second, revealing pure fury beneath. Then it was back, sweet and concerned. "I'm only thinking of your wellbeing, Qianxue. After everything you've been through…"
"I'll manage."
Lady Wang wrung her hands. "This is disaster. Complete disaster. How can we present you to the Prince looking like this? You can barely walk! And we have only three days!"
"Then we'd better get started." Lin Qianxue lowered herself carefully onto a chair, every muscle screaming. "I'll need new clothes. Something suitable for imperial court. And someone who can apply cosmetics well enough to hide the bruises you ordered inflicted."
The accusation hung in the air. Lady Wang flinched but said nothing.
The next three days passed in a blur of pain and preparation. She was bathed, dressed, her hair arranged in elaborate styles. Physicians examined her injuries and provided medicines.
The bruises faded slightly with careful treatment and she could walk without limping too obviously if she concentrated.
At night, she lay in her bed and planned.
Why had the Prince summoned me? What did he know? And how could I use this impossible opportunity to escape her family's trap?
On the third night, exhausted from another day of preparation, Lin Qianxue finally fell into deep sleep.
A soft sound woke her.
Lin Qianxue's eyes snapped open. Moonlight filtered through the window, illuminating a figure standing beside her bed. Black clothes. Masked face. Knife raised high.
She rolled.
The blade slammed down where her head had been a second before, shredding her pillow. Feathers exploded into the air.
"You should have died when you were supposed to," the assassin hissed.
The voice was male. Young. And underneath the attempt at disguising it, eerily familiar.
Zhang Wei.
No, Chen Ziyang. Zhang Wei's soul in a historical body, come to finish what poison and family conspiracy had failed to accomplish.
The assassin yanked the knife free and raised it again.
Lin Qianxue rolled off the bed, hitting the floor hard. Pain exploded through her still-healing injuries. She scrambled backward as the assassin came around the bed, moving with trained precision that Chen Ziyang's merchant background shouldn't possess.
But Zhang Wei had taken self-defense classes. Had bragged about his martial arts training.
"Why?" Lin Qianxue gasped, buying time as her hand searched frantically for anything she could use as a weapon. "The Prince has summoned me. If I die now, he'll investigate!"
"Then we'll make sure it looks like suicide." The assassin's voice was cold. "Poor disturbed girl. Already tried once. The shame of facing imperial court was too much. So tragic."
He lunged.
Lin Qianxue grabbed the bronze incense burner from the floor and swung it with all her strength.
The assassin blocked with his arm. The impact made him stumble but didn't stop him.
He raised the knife again, moonlight glinting off its blade.
And Lin Qianxue realized she was going to die again.
The knife began its downward arc toward her heart…
The window exploded inward.
A figure in dark robes flew through the opening with impossible grace, landing between Lin Qianxue and her assassin.
"Interesting timing," a cold voice said. Male. Aristocratic. With an aura that made the air feel heavier.
The assassin froze.
So did Lin Qianxue.
Because she recognized that voice from the historical records. From the descriptions burned into the original Lin Qianxue's childhood education.
Prince Shen Jingye had just crashed through her window in the middle of the night to save her life.