The girl had red eyes, they was red because she had been crying for so many days.

Below her were a huge crowd of commoners, some were gossiping loudly whilst others whispered amongst themselves.

In this era of the Qing dynasty, people usually gathered for important events.

The people standing below the young lady, mocked her with their eyes and mouth. They said so many hurtful words but this time, no tears came out of her eyes like before. She just stared at them as if she was a living dead body without any emotions.

Her body was filled with so many old and fresh scars and blood flowed from almost every part of her body.

After a few minutes, she finally wanted to say something but when she opened her mouth no words came out of them. She wanted to repeat the same words she had said before but of which no one had believed her. She wanted to tell them that she was innocent but she didn't have the strength to say it anymore or perhaps she just didn't want to say them because it was going to be useless.

Her eyes then roamed through the huge crowd and she saw him and her.

Yes, the two people who had made her life turn out so miserable until this day. They had deceived her right from the start and were now together happily whiles she was just waiting for death to take her away.

The two held each other's hands and stared back at her, they did not say anything but she could see that their eyes were filled with mockery.

After a few seconds passed by, she still did not take her eyes off them and continued to stare at them as many thoughts flowed through her mind.

The tiny girl in the middle of the crowd had an innocent face, she smiled and mouthed some words to her.. Although she didn't hear her, she had read her lips.

"I won and you lost", that was what she had just said.

She badly wished she could rush towards them and tear their body into pieces, pieces that even the dirtiest dogs wouldn't want to pick up.

Han Jin's eyes then fell on a woman who was standing at the far back with her face buried in her palms. Although she couldn't see the woman's face, she could still tell that the woman was crying.

Han Jin knew deep down in her heart that the woman still loved her despite what happened.

It was only at this moment that she realized that, that woman was actually the only person in the world who really cared about her.

The woman didn't dare to lift her head to take a single glance at Han Jin because she knew she wouldn't be able to bear the pain of seeing Han Jin in that state.

The executer tightened the rope around Han Jin's neck drawing her attention away from the woman who was crying.

Han Jin knew that the moment she had never once dreamt of had finally arrived but she took in a deep breath.

At this moment, a royal palanquin which was on its way to the palace suddenly stopped. The palanquin was extremely attractive and endorsed with some gold ornaments, it immediately caught the attention of the crowd.

Everyone turned their attention away from Han Jin and wanted to see which royal person had stopped by.

A young and tall handsome lad dressed in rich royal clothing emerged from the palanquin and everyone immediately recognized him.

"Oh my goodness, isn't that the crown prince? I've never seen him so close by. He's really handsome as they say"

"What is the crown prince doing here? Can anyone answer that?"

"Han Jin is really lucky, she gets to see the crown prince before she dies"

No one dared or was able to go closer to him since he was surrounded by so many palace bodyguards.

The crown prince squinted his eyes and signalled at one of his men to come closer.

"Exactly what is going on?", He asked in a hoarse deep and commanding voice.

"Your highness, a murderer is about to be hanged. The case seems very serious judging from how so many people are gathered here" said the palace guard in a respectful tone.

The crown prince nodded and waved at him to leave, he then lifted his head and got a not very good view of the person whose neck was already in the rope. His cold yet handsome face was emotionless.

He couldn't see her face clearly since it was covered in so much dirt and blood but he sensed some familiarity with her.

Han Jin's eyes fell on him and their eyes met but she immediately looked away.

Even at this moment, she knew it was considered an offence for a commoner to stare at a royal in such a manner.

The cold wind blew causing Han Jin to wince softly in pain, her tiny and frail body shivered a bit and a tear flowed down her cheeks.

The crown prince didn't say anything else and walked back into his palanquin.

The palace guards lifted the palanquin and started to move and at this moment the table was kicked from below Han Jin's legs.

She was now left hanging in the air but she didn't try to struggle despite the pain she felt.

Before taking her last breath, she took one more look at the crying woman and then at the palanquin which was leaving.

The prince couldn't help but turn around, he then pushed aside the curtains to catch a last view of the girl of whom he had never met but was suddenly curious about, their eyes met before she finally closed her eyes forever.

He didn't know why but a tear dropped down from the corner of his eyes and flowed down his cheeks.

The crown prince chuckled and wiped away the tear. Why was he crying over someone he didn't know?

'Who are you?' he couldn't help but ask himself quietly.

...

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter, if you did then kindly leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Check out my other novels:

Queen of Ashes

Love in the midst of chaos

Flames of Love