"Feng Meixin, open the door." Li Zhiqiang knocked on the wooden door.
The full moon was rising, the clouds painting it into a scarlet hue. The stars all disappeared like a night of sorrow. Li Zhiqiang noticed Feng Meixin was nowhere during the wedding banquet or celebrations.
The room was still dim to see anything. Li Zhiqiang's lips trembled. The thick dark brows furrowed together as no reply came from inside.
"What are you doing here?" Just as he was about to break down the wooden doors and burst in, Feng Meixin's voice resounded from behind.
Li Zhiqiang turned around surprised, where had she been this late? Feng Meixin walked up the stairs to stand before him, "I am tired, can you leave now." Her words were stern and cold. The usual cheerfulness had been lost amidst the solace of night.
"Where have you been?" Li Zhiqiang inquired. His eyes were glued to the woman standing in front of her. The demeanour was completely different from her usual.
Under the gaze of the lantern beside them, his eyes scanned her face. The almond eyes cast down as if guilt was there. Her pale face flushed as if she had just done some kind of strenuous work. The black hairs were left open without any accessories.
"I don't have to explain to you what I do. Please leave if you are done, your new wife must be waiting" Feng Meixin noticed his eagle eyes. Her heart trembled at the thought he might know even though she just did what he did.
As Feng Meixin turned her back, opening the door to her room, Li Zhiqiang's question dropped her heart to the ground. "Who is he?"
Feng Meixin turned around to face him. His face was exceptionally calm. She gulped, trying to control her shaky breath, "What do you mean?" Feng Meixin breathed in relief at her even tone.
Li Zhiqiang remains quiet; stepping closer. His ebony eyes stared straight into her soul. His lips slightly trembled as the corners curved upwards.
Feng Meixin gulped, backing away. Her back almost becomes one with the wooden door. It didn't take a lot of brain cells to understand the ferocity in his eyes. This was the worst outcome. With quivered hands behind her back, she tried to open the door and enter.
"Who is that bastard that you fooled around with!?" Li Zhiqiang slammed his hand on the door, shaking the foundation.
Feng Meixin instantly straightened her back. Her whole body shuddered. Breath sucked out of her lungs.
"Answer my question!" Seeing her quietness only added gasoline to his anger.
Feng Meixin calmed thinking about the time his smile bloomed with his new wife. The absurdity of him yelling at her when it was him. There were no more of them. What right does he have to yell at him after everything?
"Ah, sleeping was only for you, not me?" Fen Meixin snorted, checking her nails.
"Feng Meixin!" Li Zhiqiang couldn't believe his ears. Was she still the same woman who wouldn't dare to look into his eyes till the birth of their first child?
"What?" Feng Meixin glared back. Her finger shoved his chest. "Should I repeat my words? The marriage ended when you decided to marry her." Feng Meixin turned to leave, closing the door to her bed chamber.
Li Zhiqiang stood there, speechless to her words. He still couldn't believe Feng Meixin out of all people did such a thing to him. The meek and sweet Feng Meixin, who never even looked into his eyes, was questioning his authority. The same Feng Meixin…
Feng Meixin plopped down on the ground, all alone in the room. The cold room filled with darkness was all she had. She has become what she despised all her life. A woman with a lover all because of him.
She wondered upon the fact why he chose someone else. Was she not good enough as his wife? No. It was him. A man would never stop lusting over a woman no matter how good she becomes.
Feng Meixin's heart tightened. Seven years have gone by. Just the past. If Li Zhiqiang can go after power and honour, why can't she?
"I can't tell how blind of a person Li Zhiqiang is to give up you for my sister. If I could, I would keep locked and hidden from the world." Wang Qiang's words echoed in her mind.
"If you want to get a better life, you need to get Li Zhiqiang out of your way."
Feng Meixin swallowed hard thinking Wang Qiang's suggestion. Taking Li Zhiqiang out of the way. She was well aware of what his words meant. Kill Li Zhiqiang.
Feng Meixin understood the crown prince's motive. He wants to use her to get rid of Li Zhiqiang and later her. Men are the same, in the end use women for their motives. If she wanted to be on top she needed to get rid of both before it was too late.
"Feng Meixin." Feng Meixin was caught off-guard by the sudden outburst. The door to her room burst open. She stood up, stunned by the action. Li Zhiqiang stood by the door, glaring at her. The moonlight seeping in through the door gave an outline of him.
"What do you think you are doing?" Feng Meixin yelled as a sudden urge of fear hit her.
Li Zhiqiang remained quiet, with heavy steps stomping towards her. "You know one rule I absolutely follow." Li Zhiqiang stood up before her. His hand strangled her.
"I don't give chances to a betrayer." He continued emphasizing each word. His grip tightened around her neck.
Feng Meixin's pale face had turned red from the grip. Her eyes almost bulged out of the socket as tears spilt out. The voices soon blurred out.
The sudden epiphany of death knocking at the door was bone-chilling. The hazy figure that waited for her soul. The blurry silhouette of her husband choking her. No, why was she getting death? None of this would have occurred without his betrayal. Then why was she getting punished? Betrayer? She just showed him the ugly truth that everyone has a choice.
Feng Meixin's hazy vision fell on the red shimmer coming from his waist. Suddenly her vision cleared and the handle of his sword became clear. The metal handle with ruby fixated at the sword of the handle. As the last bit of hope, her fingers tried to reach the handle.
Li Zhiqiang noticed quickly as her hand gripped the handle of his sword. Without a hesitance, he tossed her like a feather. Feng Meixin's back hit the frame of her bed before her whole body fell to the ground. The sword that she gripped slipped out from its metal sheath, falling onto the ground with a clanking noise.
From the support of her arms, she pushed her upper body up from the ground. Coughing violently. The stinging pain in her back crushed her.
Li Zhiqiang grabbed the sword that fell from his sheath, throwing it to her side. "By dawnbreak, you know what to do." He spoke turning his back and leaving.
Feng Meixin chuckled, seeing the sword. He was asking her to unalive herself. For someone like Li Zhiqiang, he would rather have rumours of his first wife killing herself over a wife who had an affair and questions his authority.
Feng Meixin grabbed the sword firmly and with a bit of support got up and followed him. Li Zhiqiang was still not far from her sight. Without another, she dashed to him and in a second the sword passed through her stomach and dripped in the scarlet liquid.
The stinging pain spread through Li Zhiqiang as his knees grew weaker. His eyes fell on the sword covered in his blood. In disbelief, he turned back to find Feng Meixin standing with a prideful smirk.
"You were right, back is the weakest point to stab." Feng Meixin's voice continued with a cold chuckle filling the tranquil atmosphere.