CRASH!
The cup of tea fell to the floor, shattering into tiny shards.
"How brave you are, a lowly maid poisoning my tea!" Consort Lu shrieked. Her voice sliced through the air like broken glass. Fury burned on her cheeks.
Zhou Yunmao dropped to her knees. Panic stabbed at her chest, squeezing her lungs. Her hands shook so badly against her robes that she could barely stay upright. Her heart hammered in her ears, drowning out all other sound.
"My Lady..." Her voice broke. Her lip quivered uncontrollably as she pressed her brow to the cold floorboards, desperation knotting every word. "I didn't know, I swear! Please, spare me!"
The Virtuous Consort sneered, red lips pulling back to reveal perfect white teeth as she scoffed.
"Hah! You didn't know?" Consort Lu mused, leaning forward on her cushion. "You didn't know, yet you brought such a vile thing to me!"
She stood gracefully, a strong contrast to her not-so-gentle tone of voice.
"It is a shame this is how you repay my kindness. I've tolerated your scheming for so long, little maid. Your friend Feng'er has helped me sniff out your plans."
Zhou Yunmao's head jerked up, horror blazing in her eyes. Her body turned to ice, every limb leaden with shock as betrayal cut through her. She had never harbored such malice!
An Feng was her dearest friend. Zhou Yunmao trusted her more than family. She never dreamed An Feng would twist a knife in her back.
An Feng was pretty for a maid. Cruel kindness painted her face as she stood by Consort Lu, who patted her shoulder like a lapdog that performed a trick.
An Feng's eyes welled up with tears. She extended her hand toward Zhou Yunmao and helped her to her feet. Zhou Yunmao's knees screamed in pain as she struggled to rise, numb in shock.
"Sister," An Feng whimpered, grasping her wrists tightly, "how could you do such a thing to our Lady?"
She sniffed, bringing up her sleeve to dab at her left cheek, which had a small beauty mark.
"Consort Lu has been so kind to us since we were fourteen. She punished us only when fair, never on impulse. And you betray me like this?"
An Feng let out a delicate, broken cry, pressing her sleeve to trembling lips, her whole body shivering with feigned grief.
The Virtuous Consort clicked her tongue. The look on her face changed into pity and motherly affection.
"Come here, Feng'er. Come, come." She beckoned, cradling An Feng's head upon her chest as if she were her own child.
Consort Lu snapped her wrist at Zhou Yunmao with a look of disdain.
"Guards!"
Zhou Yunmao couldn't look away. She had frozen from fear and shock.
An Feng, her most trusted childhood friend, had turned executioner, delivering Zhou Yunmao to her doom without a second's hesitation!
But why?
All her life, she had only been gentle to An Feng. Trust ran so deep it was part of her bones. Now betrayal fractured Zhou Yunmao's spirit. What sign had she missed?
Her life was now cut short by a lie An Feng devised to cause her death.
The rattle of armor filled the room as five guards from outside the hall rushed in for their orders.
"Take this maid and give her eighty lashes! If she isn't dead after that, kill her with the poison she made to kill me!"
One of the guards took the small pouch An Feng held out in a delicate hand, lips trembling.
Hands grabbed Zhou Yunmao's arms, pulling her back. She lost her footing. Fear rose as she scrambled up to regain her balance and plead her case.
Why is this happening to me? Yun wondered desperately. Had she been careless with her words or actions? Did someone envy her loyalty or position? What have I done to deserve this?
"My Lady, please! I'm innocent!"
"Please spare my life!"
"I've been utterly loyal, my Lady! I would sooner die than dream of poisoning you!" Zhou Yunmao's voice cracked with frantic urgency.
"My Lady!"
Her pleas were drowned out as the men dragged her further from Yonghe Palace.
Yonghe meant harmony.
The name itself mocked her. In this moment, 'harmony' rang bitter and hollow in Zhou Yunmao's heart.
Nothing in the Inner Palace was harmonious. Cold corridors echoed with wary footsteps, and the air grew dense with secret schemes, even in silence.
There was always a punishment. An order done wrong. A plot to reveal.
Zhou Yunmao wanted to scream and curse the Gods.
She had obeyed every rule, spoken carefully, and served with loyalty, and yet none of it mattered now.
How had devotion led only to suspicion and this unjust end?
The guards brought her to an open courtyard. Lingering maids watched as they held her down on a bench, forcing her stomach onto the cold wood.
"By command of the Virtuous Consort!" The guard who took the poison from An Feng called out. "Eighty lashes!"
"Yes, Sir!" Another guard behind her shouted in reply.
Zhou Yunmao barely inhaled before agony exploded across her back. The whip bit in before she could scream, leaving nothing but pain.
Lash!
Lash!
Lash!
Heat licked over her spine with every blow of the whip. One lash caught the side of her cheek, cutting a burning red line as if struck by a poker.
Lash!
Lash!
Lash!
Shadow enveloped at the edges of her vision as Zhou Yunmao blinked, each breath labored. Blood roared in her ears, and everything blurred until only flares of brightness and darkness remained.
Lash!
She saw blood drip and pool on the stone below. It soaked her robes, and she was sure they'd turn red by the final lash.
Lash!
In her final moments, Zhou Yunmao thought of family. Her loving parents were demoted from nobility before she and her sister were born. Forced to live in squalor, Zhou Yunmao suggested she work in the palace.
Lash!
If she could work and send home money, her family would not suffer. Her little sister might marry well and live a happy life.
Lash!
If An Feng truly set her up, Zhou Yunmao vowed she would return in her next life for revenge!
Her eyelids grew too heavy for her to bear, and she took her final breaths as the remaining feeling in her fingers slowly drained away.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three—
Zhou Yunmao's eyes snapped open with renewed strength, air rushing into her lungs all at once.