Shen Ying was still fast asleep in the side hall when she was woken by loud knocking at the door.
She had assumed it was Imperial Consort Wan summoning her to look after the young imperial prince, but the moment she pulled the door open, her maid Qian Xi pressed an infant wrapped in a swaddling cloth straight into her arms.
The little prince inside the wrap was sound asleep, sucking unconsciously on his tiny hand.
Qian Xi’s face was etched with panic, and she pressed a bag filled with gold, silver, and fine valuables into her hands as well. “Shen Ying, take the Second Imperial Prince and leave at once. There is a secret passage beneath the dry well in Menghua Court that leads out of the palace. Go now—there is no time to lose!”
Shen Ying was utterly bewildered. She was nothing more than a serving maid within the palace grounds. Originally assigned to the quarters of Imperial Concubine Song, she had once accidentally torn the fine robes of her mistress and was beaten to death as punishment.
The Shen Ying of the present had traveled through time and taken over the original owner’s body. Rising from a lowly, insignificant figure, she had worked her way up to become a personal maid serving Imperial Consort Wan, just like Qian Xi, attending to all her daily needs and arrangements.
Imperial Consort Wan enjoyed the emperor’s utmost favor, and under her protection, Shen Ying had lived a stable and peaceful life. It was only two days until her twenty-fifth birthday, and according to palace regulations, she would then be permitted to return to her hometown, marry, and finally gain her freedom.
Yet just at this critical moment, everything had fallen apart.
“Shen Ying, Her Highness has entrusted the Second Imperial Prince to your care. Even if you risk your own life, you must ensure his safety and survival.”
“His Majesty suspects that the family of Imperial Consort Wan has conspired with foreign enemies. The entire Mingyue Palace is facing complete ruin!”
“Her Highness has shown us such immense kindness and grace. I come from a family of officials, so I cannot leave. But you have no family or ties here, and you are thoughtful and steady in all you do. You must not fail the trust Her Highness has placed in you.”
“Your travel funds are all in the bundle. The world is in chaos now, so be careful not to reveal your wealth. I have arranged for a coachman to wait for you at the foot of Qiongxia Mountain. Travel westward all the way, and never return to the capital!”
Speaking at a rapid pace, Qian Xi explained everything in great haste, then dragged Shen Ying over to the dry well. By the light of the moon, her eyes were red and swollen with tears. “Shen Ying, there is also a letter addressed to my family inside the bundle. If one day in the future we are able to clear Her Highness’s name of all false accusations, would you be willing to deliver this letter into the hands of my loved ones?”
Struck by the biting cold wind of winter, Shen Ying suddenly felt completely alert, yet her heart had turned cold and heavy with despair.
She was well aware of the intrigue, deception, and endless power struggles within the imperial harem, knowing full well that royal favor was as fleeting and insubstantial as clouds drifting across the sky.
But she had never imagined that Imperial Consort Wan, who had once been held in such high regard and stood above all others in the inner palace, would one day meet such a fate.
When she had first arrived in this era, the body she inhabited had been on the very brink of death—weak, frail, and barely breathing, discarded in a corner of the palace grounds in the height of summer, its skin covered in festering sores and swarming with flies.
It was Imperial Consort Wan who had taken her in and nursed her back to health. As soon as she was able to move, Shen Ying had crawled from her bed, knelt before her savior, and said, “Your Highness, I ask for nothing more than the chance to stay alive. I beg you to take me under your protection. I am willing to go through fire and water for you, no matter the danger or cost!”
Imperial Consort Wan had formally requested Shen Ying’s service from the Imperial Household Department and brought her back to Mingyue Palace. As for Imperial Concubine Song, who had once treated Shen Ying with utter contempt and cruelty, she was later sent to the Bureau of Judicial Control to face punishment. Yet Shen Ying had never expected that those words she had spoken long ago—about being willing to brave any peril—would prove to be a grim prophecy, leading her exactly to this desperate moment.
“What has happened to Her Highness?” Shen Ying asked anxiously, gripping the hem of Qian Xi’s sleeve tightly, the tears at the corners of her eyes freezing into tiny crystals of ice in the frigid air.
Qian Xi parted her lips as if to speak, but just then, the thunderous shouts of the imperial guards echoed from outside the palace gates: “Leave none alive—capture every last person!”
“Ask no more questions, Shen Ying. Take every possible precaution!” Qian Xi spoke through choking sobs, giving her a firm push toward the well. “If fate permits, we shall be sisters again in our next life!”
Flames blazed wildly across Mingyue Palace in the dead of night. In Shen Ying’s arms, the Second Imperial Prince puckered his little mouth, about to burst into tears.
Not daring to waste even a single moment, Shen Ying held the six-month-old infant tightly against her chest and climbed down into the dry well.
The space within was pitch black. Shen Ying slung the bundle over her shoulder, holding the baby securely with one arm while feeling her way forward along the secret passage with the other hand.
The imperial guards would search every corner, digging deep into the earth if necessary, to locate the young prince. She had to escape the palace grounds as quickly as possible, or all of Her Highness’s efforts and trust would have been in vain.
She soon found the continuation of the passage, though it was so narrow and cramped that it was scarcely larger than a dog’s burrow. She had no choice but to crawl forward on her hands and knees.
Above her head, the sound of footsteps echoed constantly and chaotically, occasionally mixed with the sounds of weeping and wailing from those who had been captured or harmed.
Cold sweat soaked Shen Ying’s clothing, and she gasped for breath, exhausted. The young prince cried several times along the way, but fortunately he was still very young and spent most of the journey fast asleep.
After what felt like an eternity, Shen Ying finally reached the end of the passage. Her limbs ached terribly, and her back felt as though it were on the verge of breaking.
Realizing she had likely reached the exit, she ran her hands along the packed earth walls until her fingers brushed against the distinct outline of solid bricks.
Summoning every last bit of strength she possessed, she pushed upward with all her might. One brick shifted and gave way, and bright sunlight poured through the opening.
Overwhelmed with relief and joy at the sight of the warm winter sunlight, Shen Ying—despite being completely drained of energy—continued to push, shake, and kick at the bricks until the opening grew large enough to pass through.
Glancing quickly at her surroundings, she immediately recognized the area. This was the Southern Palace Gate, situated against the foothills of Qiongxia Mountain, a place that was always quiet and rarely visited by people.
It was unfortunate that it was still broad daylight, as darkness would have made their escape far safer and easier.
Shen Ying’s undergarments were now soiled and stained beyond recognition, with dirt caked deep into every seam and fold of the fabric.
Paying no mind to her disheveled and filthy state, she crawled out through the opening, picked up the young prince, and hurried toward the slopes of Qiongxia Mountain.
Hunger, exhaustion, and cold weighed heavily upon her. Yet when she looked down at the infant in her arms, her resolve remained unshaken.
He was still as soft and fair as ever, with a pair of bright, clear eyes that held the same gentle, luminous quality as those of Imperial Consort Wan.
Recognizing Shen Ying, the baby smiled up at her, opening his small pink mouth wide to reveal his tiny, toothless gums. But his smile faded quickly, and he began to whimper softly, his little face crumpling with discomfort.
“Your Highness, we had to leave in such a rush that I could not bring anything else with us. Please do not cry. We can rest and let you cry all you want once we are somewhere safe. Can you be brave and hold on just a little longer?” Shen Ying whispered softly, patting the baby gently until he gradually settled back into a drowsy sleep.
Glancing back at the towering, imposing gates of the imperial palace, Shen Ying knew she could not afford even the slightest delay. If they were spotted by patrolling guards, both she and the young prince would face certain death.
Gritting her teeth and summoning what little strength she had left, she plunged deep into the dense forest.
Qiongxia Mountain was not particularly high or steep, yet in her weakened and exhausted state, Shen Ying took hours to traverse it, traveling from the early morning when mist still hung in the air all the way until the sun stood high and bright in the center of the sky.
By some stroke of luck, she made the journey without encountering any danger. When she finally reached the foot of the mountain, completely worn out, she spotted a man dressed in simple coarse clothing and a tattered gray cotton jacket, looking every bit like a coachman. He stood beside a carriage, swinging his whip and glancing around anxiously, as if waiting for someone.
In this remote, desolate place, there was no doubt that this was the man she had been told about.
Shen Ying stumbled forward with unsteady steps. As soon as the coachman caught sight of her disheveled appearance, he hurried over to meet her. “Miss Shen, are you the serving maid Shen Ying from the imperial palace?”
“Yes,” she replied briefly.
She climbed quickly into the carriage, where she found only a small supply of pastries and a water pouch made of sheepskin.
She crumbled the pastries into fine pieces, mixed them thoroughly with water until they formed a soft paste, and immediately began to feed the mixture to the young prince.
The little prince wrinkled his small face into a tight frown, flailing his tiny hands and whimpering in clear protest against the unfamiliar taste and texture.
“Please eat a little more. There will be many days ahead when we have nothing to eat at all,” Shen Ying said softly, her heart aching with love and concern. This child belonged to Imperial Consort Wan, and she and Qian Xi had cared for him and raised him from the day he was born, loving him as deeply as if he were their own flesh and blood.
Once the baby had eaten his fill, Shen Ying set about changing his diaper. His delicate infant skin had become red and irritated, looking as raw as a monkey’s bottom, after being wrapped tightly and left unchanged throughout the long night.
Shen Ying tore off a section of the carriage’s fabric curtain to use as a clean cloth, then discarded the foul-smelling bright yellow silk blanket onto the roadside.
“Miss Shen… that is such fine silk material. To throw it away like this…” the coachman muttered, picking up the discarded blanket and looking at it with obvious regret.
“Give me your jacket,” Shen Ying commanded. She took the man’s outer garment and wrapped it carefully around the young prince to keep him warm, then turned back to the coachman and said, “Lead your horse away to a secluded spot, slaughter it, and cut the meat into strips to dry and preserve. We will carry it with us for sustenance.”
“What?” The coachman stared at her in shock. The horse was thin and bony, but it was still a valuable animal worth a good sum of money.
“Go and do it now,” Shen Ying urged firmly.
She climbed down from the carriage, sat down against the side of a steep rock face, and said, “I will rest here for a while. Complete this task as quickly as you can, and then we will continue our journey by traveling along the mountain paths.”
Although the current emperor was foolish and incompetent, the rigid social order and laws of the land remained unchanged and strictly enforced.
They were still within the territory controlled by the capital, and to leave this region, they would have to pass through numerous checkpoints and guarded outposts. A carriage would draw far too much attention, making them easy targets for detection. Furthermore, Shen Ying held no official travel permits or documents, and traveling alone with a young child would only make them appear even more suspicious. If they encountered government soldiers or patrols, it would be nothing less than walking straight into a trap.
Shen Ying remained on high alert, ready to act at the first sign of trouble. Yet as the sun began to sink low in the western sky, the coachman still had not returned.
Without hesitation, she made a quick decision. Taking the young prince in her arms, she set off deeper into the forest, following the winding course of the mountain valley.