Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Then Qin Hanzhu will remain here from today. You may take Yinshuang home.”

Father looked as though he had been struck by lightning. The smile froze on his face before it could fade.

“What?”

The Emperor rested a hand against his forehead and tilted his head, a faint smile on his lips.

There was much he knew perfectly well. He simply preferred not to intervene too deeply and make matters worse.

He had understood the prince's intentions as soon as the report arrived.

The Empress Dowager had explained them to me, too.

Father wanted to keep his biological daughter with him and compensate her with a title. But one of his children would have to remain in the capital. That child would most likely be me.

He would continue to acknowledge me as his daughter, using me to secure Hanzhu's and Ruoheng's freedom.

It was a clever plan.

But it still required the Emperor's and the Empress Dowager's agreement.

His Majesty smiled.

“Your victories are so distinguished that I scarcely know how to reward you. Since your daughter is so bright and charming, we might as well keep the child you love most here with my mother. I shall take particular care of her.”

Father's face drained of color. His lips moved, and his gaze fell on me.

I was on his left. Hanzhu and Ruoheng were on his right.

The little pity and guilt he felt for me were like dust on the ground. One breath of wind, and they were gone.

“Yinshuang has been with the Empress Dowager since childhood. Let her stay and continue to serve Her Majesty.”

Father closed his eyes, no longer daring to look at me.

That sentence severed what remained of our bond.

I laughed. The last of my hopes for him vanished.

Hanzhu lowered her head, her lips curving upward.

The Empress Dowager patted my hand. Her expression was cold.

“If you refuse to leave your biological daughter here, Prince of Pingnan, do you fear that His Majesty and I will mistreat her?

“If you cannot bear to part with the girl, your son looks quite bright as well.”

Father trembled and blurted out, “A-Heng is young and unruly. I'm afraid he couldn't attend Your Majesty properly!”

Ruoheng clutched his sleeve. At last, he was frightened.

“Father! I don't want to!” he cried.

Hanzhu also looked terrified.

I tilted my head and smiled.

Everyone knew that life as a hostage in the capital would not be easy. Yet Father had just claimed that I had spent years enjoying a life of luxury that should have been Hanzhu's.

It was not that they did not know.

They simply felt no pain until the whip fell on their own backs.

In the capital, every step I took had felt like walking on thin ice. The noble girls despised me and treated me as entertainment.

I was far from home. At first, I could not get used to the food or sleep through the night.

Even when I broke down and told my family, sobbing, about everything I had endured, they only brushed it aside.

Don't be so weak.

Bear it a little longer. It will pass.

But how was I to bear it? For how long?

How many stretches of eight years did a person have to squander in this world?

I reached out to help Hanzhu up.

“The Empress Dowager is very kind. Don't be afraid, Hanzhu.”

Her Majesty watched her coldly.

At the sight of my outstretched hand, Hanzhu shrank away in terror. Her legs gave out, and she fell to the floor.

She scrambled backward, striking my hand aside.

“I don't want to! I'm the real daughter of the Prince of Pingnan. I'm about to become a princess. I don't want to stay here!”

The Emperor's expression darkened.

“Insolence!”

Shocked and furious, Father clapped a hand over Hanzhu's mouth. He pulled her down to kneel with him and begged for forgiveness.

“My daughter has spoken out of turn. Your Majesty, please forgive her on account of her youth!”

Their earlier delight had vanished.

The Emperor watched them without speaking. Only after all three had knelt until their knees ached and cold sweat covered them did he answer.

“You have lost all judgment. Every position brings its responsibilities. You would give the honors to Qin Hanzhu and thrust the obligations upon Qin Yinshuang. Where in this world would you find such a bargain?”

Whoever became the princess would remain as a hostage.

Father understood. His hopes crumbled, and no one knew how to break the deadlock.

“Your Majesty!”

Hanzhu hurried to speak.

“My sister has, after all, spent many years attending our father in my place. Even if she deserves no reward, her efforts should be recognized. I am not so ungrateful as to forget them. Please give her the title of princess instead!”

Ruoheng stared at her.

“Sister! You—”

Father turned, unable to believe what he had heard.

To him, Hanzhu had always been a candid, lovable girl. If she had any small schemes, they were only because she had returned to the family a few years earlier and still felt insecure.

Yet now she was willing to surrender even the title of princess, so long as she did not have to stay.

The Empress Dowager's expression turned scornful.

“Sacrificing the lesser piece to save the greater. What a clever move. Prince of Pingnan, take a good look at your precious daughter.

“Today she puts Yinshuang before her to save herself. Who knows whether tomorrow she'll use your entire household as a stepping-stone?”

Hanzhu went deathly pale.