“You really mean to come with me to Wuzhou?”
“…What else would I do?”
“Leave.”
She froze, thinking she must have misheard him.
“Go… where?”
“Two li south of the post station is a town—the place where you bought the medicine. Go another thirty li east, and you’ll find a dock. Once you’re there, find any boat heading south. The farther away you go, the better. Don’t let anyone know who you are.”
“Your Highness…”
“I’m not finished.” He raised a hand to stop her.
Xiao Yi felt beside his pillow and took out the blue-cloth purse, then pulled a copper seal from inside his robe. It was about the size of his thumb, engraved with twisting, winding characters.
He held both out to her.
“Take the silver for the journey. This seal is an old possession of the Eastern Palace. With it, you can prove at any government office that you aren’t a runaway slave.”
Achou looked at the seal but didn’t take it.
“You were a bondservant of Marquis Yongchang’s Residence, bound by a lifetime contract,” Xiao Yi continued. “Without official papers, running away on your own would make you a fugitive slave. But with this in your hands, no one will dare touch you. Though I’ve been deposed, this seal was bestowed by the Emperor and is still valid.”
“When you reach the south, go to Jiangling Prefecture. In Willow Lane, south of the city, look for a pharmacy called Jiren Pharmacy. The proprietor’s surname is Chen, and he’s lame. Give him the seal when you arrive. He’ll take you in. Learn a trade there, and you’ll be able to support yourself. From then on, you won’t be a slave anymore. You’ll be a free commoner.”
He set the purse and seal on the edge of the bed and pushed them toward Achou.
Achou lowered her eyes to the two things and fell silent for a long time.
“Your Highness, if you give all this to me, what will you do?”
“You don’t need to worry about me.”
She picked up the purse and seal and clutched them in her hands.
“You’ve shown me the way and thought of everything for me,” she said, her voice trembling a little. “But what about you? Who will treat your leg? Who will look after you when you’re sick? Who will help you if someone tries to kill you?”
“I told you, you don’t need to worry about me.”
“But I’m already worrying about you.” Achou moved closer, crouched beside the bed, and looked up at his profile. “Your Highness, Marquis Yongchang’s Residence made me take Eldest Miss’s place in the bridal sedan. I may only be a maid, but I have a heart too. I can’t stand by and let someone die.”
“You’re telling me to leave because you’re afraid I’ll be dragged down with you. But if I go, how will you manage the journey to Wuzhou alone? You can’t even reach the water, and you can’t take off your trousers—”
“Enough.”
Achou fell silent.
“What do you want?”
“Your Highness, I’m not leaving. I’ll go with you to Wuzhou.”
“Aren’t you afraid of dying?”
“I am. But please hear me out.”
“I’m terrified of dying. When I heard what Head Zhao said just now, my legs nearly gave out.”
“But, Your Highness, if I ran off by myself and went south to live well, I’d close my eyes at night and remember you, helpless and alone on this road, with no one to look after you or ask after you. If you died, no one would even know… I’d never have a moment’s peace for the rest of my life.”
She paused. “So I’ve thought of a plan. Let’s discuss it together, all right?”
Xiao Yi looked at her without speaking.
“I’ll accompany you to Wuzhou. On the way, I’ll tend to your leg, change your dressings, and get you food and water. If you’re in danger, I’ll help however much I can. Once we reach Wuzhou, when your leg is better and you can walk and take care of yourself, then I’ll leave.”
“When the time comes, you can give me the seal and silver, and I’ll take them to Jiangling to find Uncle Chen. You can count it as the reward you owe me. How does that sound?”
Xiao Yi’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
Achou lowered her head. “My father died early. I never knew him. Other than my mother, you’re the only person who’s ever made plans for my sake…”
Xiao Yi lowered his eyes and was silent for a long time.
“All right,” he said. “But you have to promise me one thing, too.”
“What?”
“When we reach Wuzhou, you must leave.”
“All right,” Achou said. “I promise.”
Xiao Yi tucked the purse and seal back inside his robe.
“I’ll give them to you when we reach Wuzhou,” he said.
“Fine.” Achou smiled. “You can keep them safe for me, Your Highness. That way I won’t lose them.”
She stood up, then suddenly remembered something and crouched down again.
“Your Highness, you told me to leave and showed me the way. But what about you? You can’t just sit here and wait to die, can you?”
Xiao Yi glanced at her. “Those men aren’t all on the same side.”
“You mean… drive a wedge between them?”
“You understand more than I expected,” he said.
During New Year celebrations at Marquis Yongchang’s Residence, the troupe had performed a grand opera, and she’d watched The Gathering of Heroes from a corner.
Achou scratched her head sheepishly. “I saw a play once. In it, a strategist snuck into the enemy camp and stole a letter. The enemy king then killed his own admiral.”
Her eyes lit up. “Your Highness, are you thinking of using the same trick against them?”
Xiao Yi smiled faintly. “A promising pupil.”
“When I went to buy medicine for you, that young soldier was the one who let me go. I could tell he still had a conscience. He’s not like Head Zhao.”
“Good observation. Zhao is in charge of the escort. He’s taken money and is set on killing me. But the soldiers under him may not all be on his side. If there’s even the smallest crack in someone’s loyalty, it can be pried open.”
“How?” Achou leaned closer.
“No need to rush. They won’t dare make a move before we reach Qingzhou. Keep your eyes open over the next few days. Who’s close to whom, who’s at odds with whom, who has a family waiting at home, who’s being pushed around in the group. The more you know, the more cards you’ll have to play.”
Achou listened wide-eyed. “Your Highness, have you been thinking about all this for a long time?”
The Crown Prince didn’t answer. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, a silent acknowledgment.
As birds chirped, the sky gradually began to pale.
Early the next morning, the prison cart creaked back onto the road.
At last, the Crown Prince’s fever had gone down. His face was still pale, but his eyes were much clearer. Leaning against the bars, he occasionally glanced at the mountains beside the road.
Around noon, the party stopped to rest at the foot of a mountain.
The young soldier came over and tossed two pieces of hardtack into the prison cart.
“Catch.”
Achou picked them up. They were two damp bran cakes.
She broke off a piece and put it in her mouth. It was bitter and gritty.
She rummaged in her bundle and found the last corn cake she’d brought from Marquis Yongchang’s Residence. It was incomparably better than the bran cakes.
She held it out to him.
“Your Highness, have this.”
The Crown Prince looked at the corn cake, then at the bran cake in her hand.
“You eat it.”
“I’m not hungry.” She pressed the corn cake into his hand. “You eat. You’re still not fully recovered. I can make do with the bran cake.”
But her stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
The Crown Prince looked down at the corn cake in his hand, broke it in half, and held one half back out to her.
“Half each.”
After they finished eating, the party continued on its way.
Achou leaned against the bars, wondering how to strike up a conversation with the young soldier, when her stomach suddenly began to feel strange.
It wasn’t pain, but an indescribable discomfort, as if something inside her had twisted.
She didn’t pay it any mind, thinking the bran cake had upset her stomach.
But before long, the feeling returned, stronger this time. It wasn’t her stomach or bowels. It was lower down, in her lower abdomen, a heavy sensation.
She frowned and shifted her position.
A little while later, she suddenly felt something trickle out.