“Second to none,” the Concubine Jin repeated in a faint murmur and then her eyes abruptly started glinting with a feverish longing, one heavy with all kinds of desires.
The maidservant watched silently in the knowledge that she had successfully convinced the Concubine Jin. “Yes. True supremacy in this country will be yours, and everybody will be your servant, including that goddamn Yuwen Tong guy. He’ll be at the mercy of you and you’ll get to decide what kind of death he shall suffer.”
The Concubine Jin broke into laughter, a somewhat demented look on her face. “You’re right. Who does he think he is? He’s nothing but a thief who stole the throne. I’m the one who’s meant to rule this country!”
The maidservant lightly placed a hand on the Concubine Jin’s shoulder and said, “Keep your voice down, Your Highness. Right now we can’t afford to alarm the guards out there, but soon you’ll be free. All you have to do is wait here for one more day.”
The Concubine Jin was a little disgruntled at these words, feeling that the maidservant was a wet blanket, but eventually she managed to calm herself down. “Wait here for one more day? You’re not getting me out of here right away?”
“There’s going to be a changing of the guards the day after tomorrow, which will be a golden opportunity for us to make our escape, so I’m afraid you’ll have to endure another day in here,” breathed the maidservant.
The Concubine Jin’s face hardened and she stared at the doors of her chamber as though looking through it and out of the palace, her eyes laden with malice. “Fine. I’ll wait for one more day.”
The maidservant said, “Apart from that, before we take action, Your Highness will have to behave as usual and be very careful not to let slip anything lest anybody become suspicious and ruin your escape plan. Also, please drop a hint to the Eighth Prince so that he wouldn’t misunderstand you or attract any needless attention.”
The Concubine Jin sniffed impatiently, “I know. I don’t need you to teach me.”
“I’m sorry for my transgression, Your Highness.” The maidservant didn’t seem to mind the change of the Concubine Jin’s attitude, and her voice was still soft and humble.
The Concubine Jin tossed a cold glance at her and asked, “When did you infiltrate into this palace? And how did you do it without rousing anybody’s suspicions?”
The maidservant answered, “Just two days ago. Currently, apart from the couple of well defended palaces, there’s also a lot of bothersome unfinished business in the imperial harem. I gave it some thought and eventually figured something out. Gaining entry into this palace wasn’t easy, but it was for the purpose of rescuing Your Highness and the Eighth Prince, so all I’ve done is worthwhile.”
It was only then that the Concubine Jin withdrew her cold eyes and said, “How’s my father? He’s in the Court Prison and I haven’t been able to pay him a visit.”
The maidservant replied, “Don’t worry, Your Highness. His Lordship is fine. He’s waiting to rendezvous with you.”
The Concubine Jin slowly settled herself onto a soft couch, her countenance and bearing now totally different from how they had been a while ago. She said, “You said that you’re confident of escaping from this place. What’s the specific plan? How many of you are there? And how are you going to get me out of this palace?”
“When the time comes, what Your Highness need to do is…” The maidservant leaned over and started whispering the plan in her ear.
A flicker of excitement crossed the Concubine Jin’s eyes. “And you know how to do all that?”
The maidservant responded, “I’m fairly proficient in that regard, and hoodwinking those guards out there won’t be a problem. Once we succeed in buying us enough time and making it out of the imperial palace, we’ll basically be safe.”
The Concubine Jin inclined his head, but the next moment something occurred to her and she knitted her brows. “Just the imperial palace? What if we cannot make it out of the city?”
The maidservant replied, “That won’t happen. Even if Yuwen Tong finds out about our attempt to escape, he will let you and the Eighth Prince leave the city – as long as we successfully get out of the imperial palace.”
The Concubine Jin was puzzled. “What do you mean?”
The maidservant answered, “You’ll see. Once you’re out of the palace and meet our commander, he’ll tell you everything.”
The Concubine Jin fixed her with a gaze. The maidservant just slightly lowered her head, her countenance unchanged.
A flinty look of self-deprecation and resentment flitted across the Concubine Jin’s eyes, but in the knowledge that she still relied on this maidservant to make her escape, this time she didn’t say anything.
“Your Highness, may I ask if you know where the Ninth Prince lives?” the maidservant suddenly asked.
The Concubine Jin was astonished for an instant and then warily inquired, “Why are you asking about this?”
“Your father want us to kill the Ninth Prince,” answered the maidservant, a beam on her face.
It was after hearing the explanation that the watchfulness on the Concubine Jin’s face ebbed away. “He’s only two years old. That bitch the Concubine Liu is very lucky – I took the brunt of all the fallout, so the two of them are still living in their original palace.”
While she had been forced to leave her original abode and move to this place, where she had been living under heavy stress and in deep fear ever since!
“To what end did my father suggest you kill them?” asked the Concubine Jin.
The maidservant replied, “To make sure nobody threatens your future status.”
The Concubine Jin smiled a happy smile. “My father is indeed the one who cares about me the most. That bitch the Concubine Liu has been hiding behind me and leading a peaceful life for such a long time. She thinks her life would stay that way forever, unaware that her demise is imminent. This is so funny.”
The maidservant slightly lowered her eyes in an effort to conceal her true feelings.
…
The next day, in order not to raise doubts in anybody’s mind, the Concubine Jin exercised all her self-restraint to keep from behaving any differently from how she’d always been, despite the fact that the restlessness inside her was on the verge of getting out of control. This day felt longer than a year. When night finally fell, she was running out of patience.
“Cui, you’re to stay here and take the night shift.”
After dinner, the Concubine Jin, as usual, had the servants light all the candles in the palace and close all the doors and windows tightly, but she instructed a personal lady-in-waiting to stay.
This lady-in-waiting named Cui had been serving the Concubine Jin all these years and was fairly loyal to her, but the Concubine Jin had been ill-treating her and the other lady-in-waiting ever since she’d moved into this palace, so the very sight of the Concubine Jin stroke fear into Cui’s heart. On hearing that she was to take the night shift, Cui paled visibly, but she didn’t dare show any sign of her fright on her face. “Y-Yes, Your Highness,” she stuttered.
The Concubine Jin threw a frosty glance at her. “Come here. There’s something I want to say to you.”
Cui could distinctly feel that the Concubine Jin was now different from how she’d been during the day, and so was her tone of voice. She couldn’t help but raise her head to look at the Concubine Jin and was nearly terrified out of her wits as her eyes met the Concubine Jin’s icy ones. “Your–Your Highness.”
“Get over here!”
Cui’s limbs instantly went limp and she slumped to her knees and moved up to her, ashen-faced, head down, not daring to look up at the Concubine Jin.
“Cui, you’ve been serving me for many years. I always think highly of you. Also, I’ve been good to your family members living outside the palace. Now there’s one particular thing I need you to do for me, and you are not to disappoint me,” said the Concubine Jin.
However, on hearing this remark, Cui felt cold sweat breaking out more profusely over her back. “M–May I ask what it is Your Highness want me to do?”
“To impersonate me and quietly stay here tonight,” said the Concubine Jin.
Cui was somewhat bemused. “Impersonate Your Highness? No, no… I don’t dare. Your Highness is blue-blooded, and I’m just a filthy servant girl. How can I impersonate Your Highness?”
The Concubine Jin said icily, “You’re indeed undeserving of the honor of impersonating me. Just take it as a reward for your so many years’ service to me, one I’m offering you out of pity to let you know how it feels to be an imperial concubine.”
Cui was so horrified that she appeared on the verge of tears. “Please have mercy on me, Your Highness!”
The Concubine Jin said, “It’s an honor for you to impersonate me, yet you’re turning me down? How dare you? Never mind. I won’t force you. Instead, I’ll give you a choice. Either you impersonate me or your whole family die. Now choose.”
Cui’s face went ghastly white. “Your–Your Highness…”
“Think carefully before you give me an answer. Trapped in this place as I am, I can have all your family killed as easily as turn my hand,” said the Concubine Jin.
Biting her lip tight, Cui clenched her hands. After quite a while, she croaked, “I’ll do it, Your Highness. Please spare the lives of my parents and my siblings.”
The Concubine Jin sneered, “As long as you do as I tell you, nothing will happen to any of them. Now stand up, get in there and change into my clothes.”
Cui tremulously struggled to her feet, went behind the screen and caught sight of a strange maidservant silently standing there. With a start, she exclaimed, “Who are you?!”
“Quiet, or you’ll alarm those guards out there,” said the maidservant.
This maidservant struck Cui as faintly familiar, but she couldn’t remember her name. “Who are you exactly?”
Eyes on her, the maidservant replied, “The one who’s going to disguise you.”
What?
The last bit of color drained from Cui’s face.
…
Two hours later, when Cui was standing before the Concubine Jin, the latter felt as though she were looking at herself in a mirror. “This is amazing. We’re so much alike.”
Cui didn’t dare utter a word, her shoulders shaking with fear. She was not a fool and naturally had come to realize what this meant. Having been disguised as the Concubine Jin, she was now as good as dead.
At first the Concubine Jin was amazed, but when she noticed that Cui was shaking violently, her expression became disgusted. “Why are you shuddering? You probably have all the good karma you accumulated in your last eight incarnations to thank for this opportunity to impersonate me. If you don’t stop trembling right now, I’ll have you killed where you stand.”
Cui forced herself into stopping quivering, biting her lower lip heavily, not daring move an inch.
“Go. Lie down on the couch and don’t get down without my consent,” said the Concubine Jin drily.
Cui limply shuffled to the soft couch and dithered for quite a while before summoning up the courage to sit down.
After casting a revolted glance at Cui, the Concubine Jin shifted her gaze to the maidservant and said, “We’ve got someone to impersonate me. What’s next?”
“Please change into these clothes, Your Highness.” The maidservant handed a package to the Concubine Jin.
The Concubine Jin opened it and with that her face registered distaste, but eventually she still went to change. It was a night suit of the most common kind.
“I’m sorry, but Your Highness will have to wait for another hour. The guards will make a shift change in an hour, and there’s a security flaw at the rear palace walls, which will be our way out,” said the maidservant.
“Whatever. All I want is to get out of this place. It doesn’t matter from where. Go and bring the Eighth Prince here,” said the Concubine Jin.
The maidservant bobbed her head, brought the Eighth Prince from the side hall to the chamber, helped him take off his prince’s robes and luxurious headwear and change into ordinary black clothes to make sure that he wouldn’t look conspicuous in the dark.
“How do you plan to take care of the Concubine Liu?” asked the Concubine Jin.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. The killers are already on the move,” responded the maidservant.
It was after hearing this that the Concubine Jin stopped asking questions. At the sight of Cui who was sitting on the couch and had started shaking again, she got angry, began to tell Cui off and didn’t stop until Cui stopped trembling.
The Eighth Prince had been standing in fear on the side all along after changing. “Mother, are we really going to make it out of here?”
“Rest assured, Your Highness. I promise we’ll break Your Highnesses out of the imperial palace. Please trust me,” said the maidservant in a hushed voice.
However, the Eighth Prince was still in fear.
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