-Imperial Capital-
"I beg for mercy, Your Highness!" a woman pleaded in her hoarse voice, her hair cascading down loosely, looking rough and dry. The dirt on her forehead and cheeks tainted her fair skin.
"His Highness had warned you before; there is no way back now!" Officer Pei slapped her, and she fell down, covering her cheeks with her bruised palms. The fingers of the burly officer were imprinted on her face like tattoos.
"You are ruthless!" the woman commented with a bitter smile that made her appear like a maniac—and so she was.
"You realised it too late." The deep and grave voice resonated like sharp knives swirling in the wind.
In the shadows of the light, sitting with a dignified aura, was Prince Ming, the only legal heir of the emperor and empress. However, he was much more humble in every task he would do.
After returning from the northern borders, he had set his eyes on punishing the ones who got away because of their status and power. Because he realised that the entire court was corrupted and was eating the empire.
He clenched his teeth and frowned, but as he noticed her getting back up, a sarcastic smirk played on his lips, which nobody could see. "Indeed, I am."
His deep and husky voice delivered chills down the spine of the woman, she knew that the man in that shadow was up to no good.
"It's your sins." He said, after a short pause, "You deserve this."
"What sins? You tell me! I must know what I did to deserve this, second cousin!" She tried to sound intimate but to her surprise, it only made her appear a fool.
"Officer Pei, you do have a list, right?" Prince Ming inquired confidently.
"Yes, Your Highness," Officer Pei said, pulling out a document from his wide sleeves and handing it to the prince.
"Insert a needle for every sin she ever committed and let her blood dry out of her body before she can die." Prince Ming stood up and turned to leave as he declared his decree in a sharp voice that could kill even the bravest heart of the capital.
"Second cousin!!!!!!" the woman yelled again. Her eyes nearly popped out as she heard the punishment for her heinous crimes, which she thought were hidden well and buried deep.
Because he was always in a daze and liked to spend his time slowly, the officials greatly feared and detested this quiet and reserved prince of the Zhao Empire.
…
-Hall of Mental Cultivation-
The emperor was going through the memoranda that were sent by the officers and ministers, most of them were about the appointment of the crown prince and concubine selection for the princes.
"Your Majesty, what troubles you today?" The imperial noble consort questioned as she wrapped her hands around the emperor, gently leaning against his forehead.
"They want me to hold a concubine selection ceremony for the princes; they are utterly shameless; the princes have not been married yet." The emperor spoke, showing his trust in his secondary consort.
"It's a tradition, whether or not a prince marries a main wife, they must get a consort at the age of eighteen, you know it too." She smiled gracefully and came forward to meet his eyes.
"Whatever I should ignore this ridiculous request, we are short on funds already, and the northern cities need extra help in renovation." He spoke freely, as if he were talking to the empress.
This kind of thing was forbidden for a secondary consort to hear and think of a solution; at most, the emperor could share some of his burdens with the empress of his heir.
"How about I send some concubines to the princes and put an end to the whole ceremony issue." She suggested it cunningly, smiling inwardly as if she were a step closer to her plan of invading the privacy of princes by placing her people in their mansions and palaces.
"That sounds good to me, then I will have to trouble you for this, dear." The emperor said this, chuckling.
Prince Ming, who accidentally heard the whole conversation outside the Imperial Study, turned his back and left immediately. He was not in a position to confront his father and blame him for playing with the state affairs.
"She is never going to take a break from all these petty schemes of hers." He muttered to himself on his way out. The servants heard him loud and clear due to the silence in the surroundings, but none of them dared to say anything.
"Brother Ming!" Princess Lin appeared out of nowhere and jumped on him to scare his big brother. Wearing a pair of soiled clothes, that seemingly had not been changed for days.
"Zhao Lin! Why are you here? Alone?" He looked around and found no maid or eunuch with her. Her dishevelled hair and poor state made him furious at the careless slaves.
"Brother, you were not scared?!" She asked in a low and soft voice. "Wahh…" Prince Ming pretended that he got scared and then turned to his normal composure. Trying not to scare away his sister with his wrathful aura.
"I am scared of you." He smiled faintly at his youngest sister. "That's great; now pay me with taels." She put her hand forward.
His eyes shifted from her eyes to her tiny palms, she appeared serious, "What do you mean, give you tael?" he asked.
"You ask too many questions!" She stomped her feet and crossed her arms, "Fine, it's okay if you don't want to give me anything, I am leaving and will never talk to you." She acted nonchalantly, as if it were normal for her to wear a ragged pair of clothes.
"Calm down, dear princess, my little sister, if you tell me why you need a tael, I will give you 500 gold tael." He smiled faintly and picked up his sister by the arm. It was against the rule to act like commoners, but nobody was there to even criticise the brother and sister of the imperial household.
"Really? You promise!" Princess Lin's eyes widened as she heard the amount of money she would get for speaking the truth.
"Yes, I promise!" Prince Ming smiled. Who could say that the scary and dangerous prince of the Zhao Empire could be soft and cheerful?
"Come, give me your ears." The princess leaned closer to her brother and whispered, "The Imperial Noble Consort punished me and took everything."
Prince Ming was struck and asked, "How dare she punish you and for what?"
"Do not tell this to anybody, not even your mother." Princess Lin was afraid that she might have to face unimaginable consequences if she shared her concern with her brother.
"Speak freely, don't hesitate. I am not going to eat you." Prince Ming said as he patted her back. She was just eight and trembled as if she had been traumatised badly.
"I…. I ruined her flowers..." A big, round drop of tears fell from her eyes. "So, what punishment did she give you?" Zhao Ming was fuming but he suppressed his anger in case he scared his sister.
"She took all my maids and prohibited me from meeting my mother, or eating anything from the Imperial kitchen." She stuttered and started crying.
"How long has it been going?" Zhao Ming caressed her and asked, wiping her tears with his sleeves, "Four days."
"Then, where have you been eating?" he asked, gritting his teeth, his eyes turning red from fury.
"The maids from the cleaning department offered me some bread and soup when I hid in their courtyard." The little princess spoke; she was grateful that she survived.
"Her eyes are on my sister now?" Prince Ming said to himself, "Meimei, would you like to eat cake at my palace?" He asked, throwing a smile as he headed out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
"But everyone warned me that I should not bother you, and you are scary." She said it innocently. Prince Ming wasn't familiar with or close to his siblings, excluding his elder brother. It pained him to realise how distant he had become over the years and how his newborn sister was big enough to talk.
"Tell me, am I scary?" He asked, and she replied with a tiny nod. "Wait, so you were scaring me to check how I would react?" He inquired with a soft chuckle.
"No, I wanted you to be scared of me." She answered with a small pout.
"Is that so? I am already scared of you." He joked.
"Then will you give me a tael, I want to eat braised lamb…" She demanded sweetly, and Prince Ming's heart felt a sharp pain to see how his sister was traumatised at such a young age as he was.
"I will give you whatever you want," Prince Ming patted her head and pinched her cheeks lightly.
He didn't realise when he passed by the garden where maids and eunuchs were having a gathering, however, he did overhear them talking.
"His Highness is smiling." They were all shocked, "He is carrying Princess Lin, it's true he isn't afraid of the Imperial Noble Consort."
"Yes, he changed a lot after the last battle he fought." A eunuch said it in a nasal tone.
"Don't speak nonsense, get back to work." The head warned them and glanced at the prince with an envious gaze.