Seven Seven

After only three days apart, Yue Zhi could hardly recognize the woman standing before her.

She was dressed in tattered cotton clothes, her long, jet-black hair hastily tied at the nape of her neck with a withered twig, barely holding together. Her figure was gaunt and yellowed, bereft of any trace of former prosperity.

The long sun Hua Qing, cradled in her arms, was as thin as a little monkey, her face darkened and clearly suffering from cold-induced illness.

“I heard you have connections among the guards. Could you help me get some medicine? Qing’er’s been burning with fever for a whole day. If this continues, she will die,” Cui Wenzhu said, her eyes red from crying. Before Yue Zhi and Pei Heng could react, she knelt under their carriage.

“I was blinded by my own selfishness before, hitting you—I have no face to ask for help. But Qing’er is my life. She’s still so young, and the sins I committed should not fall upon her… If you’re willing to save her, even if you strike me ten more times, I won’t utter a word.”

To avoid drawing attention, their carriage always traveled at the end of the convoy. When they stopped to rest at night, the coachman would lead the carriage a short distance away to a hidden spot. For Cui Wenzhu to find them, she must have been watching their carriage all day, now begging humbly for her daughter’s chance at survival.

During her time in the palace, Yue Zhi was known to hold grudges—if someone mistreated her, she would avoid them completely. But now, as fellow prisoners, their situations were equally harsh; there was no need to create enemies.

“If I get the medicine for you, what can you offer me in return?” Yue Zhi asked.

Cui Wenzhu was momentarily stunned. She had nothing left; the valuable clothes had long been sold for food and winter bread. What could she possibly offer?

“Tell me what you want, and I’ll try to get it for you.”

Yue Zhi had something in mind. She pointed to Cui Wenzhu’s loose hair bun. “I want half of your long hair.”

Hair and body are gifts from one’s parents; most people would never allow someone to cut their hair. After a brief hesitation, Cui Wenzhu looked down at her increasingly weak daughter and bit her lip, resolute.

“If you want it, take it.” She removed the withered twig and let her hair fall loose.

Yue Zhi carefully cut half of the hair, wrapped it in oiled paper, and kept it safely. She handed Cui Wenzhu three doses of medicine for colds and also gave her a large bowl of unfinished sweet potato porridge from their own rations.

After drinking the porridge, Cui Wenzhu sobbed, “We and my daughter will repay your kindness someday.”

Yue Zhi said nothing. She had only exchanged medicine for hair; Cui Wenzhu did not owe her anything. As for the slap she had received, their downfall and lack of aid were just the consequences of their own past.

After they left, Pei Heng tugged her sleeve and quietly asked, “Did you save them because of me?”

For him?

Yue Zhi suddenly recalled.

“Yes, they are your aunt and cousin...” She looked a bit embarrassed. “I was just thinking of getting some hair to practice embroidery. If I do well, I can sell the pieces for a good price.”

Pei Heng gave a helpless smile. Not only had Yue Zhi forgotten, but Cui Wenzhu hadn’t even acknowledged his existence—once flattering him, now that he was worthless, they didn’t even bother to greet him.

Yue Zhi didn’t ponder much, nor did she understand the complexities of a boy’s heart. She turned away to tidy their things.

* * *

The farther north they traveled, the slower the carriage moved. The days grew colder, and dry yellow leaves fell in the biting wind. The grass withered, revealing frost-covered earth.

After over ten days, the escort party reached Yanjing. Upon disembarking, each person was taken to the local government prison for registration.

Because of differing charges, Yue Zhi and Pei Heng were separated. She was sent among the female prisoners condemned to servitude.

In this unfamiliar place, fear gripped her. Clutching her bundle tightly, she was locked inside, awaiting her fate.

“Look at you, always inseparable from that useless prince, thought you were different from us. Turns out, you’re just another criminal slave,” Xiu Yu said, sitting cross-legged in a corner with other servants from the Changsun household.

Yue Zhi looked over and saw that Xiu Yu was severely emaciated, her face gaunt to the bone. Meanwhile, Cai Ying, usually by her side, sat with a few other maids who wore cotton clothes and looked far healthier.

She thought: they must have hidden money, just like I did, to avoid starvation and freezing on the road.

Yue Zhi hugged her bundle and quietly sat apart from Cai Ying and the others.

Xiu Yu’s eyes widened. She stood and shouted at them, “Look at you shameless lot, living off seducing men without a shred of decency!”

Yue Zhi was confused. What was she saying? Who was seducing men?

Cai Ying, usually quick-witted, ignored Xiu Yu, only glancing at Yue Zhi. Seeing her bewildered look, she showed a pitiful yet slightly envious expression before turning away.

After a while, the prison guards came to unlock the cells, calling out a few names and taking the prisoners away.

Yue Zhi knew what this meant. Her sworn brother had told her: slaves could be redeemed, but if no one bought them within three days, they would be sold openly on the streets. If still unsold, they would be sent to the authorities for the lowest labor, a lifetime of servitude.

She was afraid when he told her this. She had been sold multiple times as a child; the feeling of being chosen and examined was unbearably humiliating.

She withdrew her gaze from the cell door and hugged her soft bundle tightly, imagining the nights on the carriage, holding the warm and gentle Pei Heng. Having someone by her side eased her panic.

The well-clothed maids were taken away, including Cai Ying. As she left, Xiu Yu cursed at her back, but Cai Ying didn’t look back.

The guards moved away, and the cell fell silent and lifeless.

Suddenly, a pair of hands reached for Yue Zhi’s bundle.

She tightened her grip and looked up to see the snarling face of Xiu Yu.

“Let go!” Yue Zhi snapped.

Xiu Yu ignored her. Frustrated that no man had come to redeem her, and dreading more suffering in prison, she saw foolish Yue Zhi as her only target. She cared little what she took, just something to eat.

When warnings failed, Yue Zhi drew a small knife from her waist and without hesitation slashed at Xiu Yu’s arm, tearing a long wound through the thin servant’s garment.

Xiu Yu cried out in pain, hastily releasing her grip. Seeing blood flow, she burst into tears and stumbled backward.

The other maids recoiled in fear, casting frightened glances at Yue Zhi.

Yue Zhi hadn’t expected to actually hurt someone with the small blade her sworn brother had given her for cutting silver. The sting of the cut sent shivers down her spine. Realizing the knife still dripped blood, like an evidence of guilt, she hurriedly wiped it on some moldy straw on the floor.

Summoning courage, she said, “Don’t come closer. You tried to take my things first; you deserve this.”

She put the knife away and stood up, moving away to keep her distance. They avoided each other.

Xiu Yu curled up in the corner, crying loudly and irritably.

Yue Zhi felt like crying too. Xiu Yu had bullied her in the palace, and now, even in shared misfortune as slaves, she still dared to torment her. What an insufferable person.

She snorted coldly, not giving her a second glance.

The sun gradually shifted westward, and the wait grew more anxious.

Finally, the guards returned. Amid hopeful eyes, Yue Zhi was taken out.

The cell door was locked again, and those left behind looked on with despair. The chance of redemption was slim, and the future uncertain.

Outside the prison, Yue Zhi met Zhang Ping’an, who had come to redeem her.

“Sworn brother, do you know where Pei Heng is?” she asked anxiously.

“He and the Changsun family’s eldest and second sons, due to different statuses, were moved to the Bodhisattva Temple. No one knows yet how Yanjing authorities will handle them,” Zhang said.

“The Bodhisattva Temple…” Yue Zhi murmured, slinging her bundle on her back and running toward the government office’s exit.

“Hey!” Zhang Ping’an caught up with her in a few strides and grabbed her sleeve. He whispered, “Good girl, you’re now a commoner. You should think about how to live from now on. Don’t get involved with the young master anymore.”

Hearing this, Yue Zhi was stunned.

Was her sworn brother telling her to give up on Pei Heng?

Earlier, in front of others, Zhang Ping’an hadn’t dared speak plainly. Now, speaking privately, he told her the truth.

“The young master’s crimes are serious. Whether he’s punished with farm labor, hard labor, or slavery, there’s no chance of redemption. You can find work at an embroidery shop in the city and support yourself, but taking him along… he needs constant care and will only be a burden.”

“He enjoyed nine years of luxury before hardship began. You’ve endured ten years of toil; it’s time to think of yourself. If you stay in Yanjing for a few years, I’ll find a way to bring you back to the capital. We can live well with our mother. Isn’t that better than serving others?”

Though both were treasured by their foster mother, Zhang clearly distinguished between the burden of a pampered master and the responsibility for a foster sister.

Zhang Ping’an’s soothing words echoed in Yue Zhi’s ears, but her heart was in turmoil.

Pei Heng was a hot potato. Even the guards had avoided provoking him during the journey. Now, in exile, without the emperor’s pardon, he would never leave the northern lands.

As her sworn brother said, he would only be a liability.

But… but…

Biting her lip, Yue Zhi could not agree with her sworn brother’s plan.

It would be fine to look after herself, and earning a living through embroidery was not difficult. But the hardest part was having a trusted companion in a strange land.

“Sworn brother, Pei Heng isn’t just a useless person who needs to be served. He’s smart and knows more than I do…”

She tried to speak of Pei Heng’s good qualities but dared not voice her deepest longing.

Having experienced the joy of being with him, having slept in the warmth of his embrace, she never wanted to be alone again.

“I’m going to find him.”

* * *

At the Bodhisattva Temple, Cui Wenzhu and her daughter, along with the Changsun family’s eldest and second sons, had been released one after another, leaving only Changsun Yi and Pei Heng, the ones with the gravest charges.

The winter nights in Yanjing arrived early. The drafty window let in the fading light of sunset, its cold warmth glaring on the two fallen souls.

Changsun Yi looked gaunt and disheveled, his once finely embroidered robe dirtied. He sat cross-legged on a straw cushion.

Across from him, separated by the Bodhisattva statue, Pei Heng stood wearing a clean blue cotton jacket and thick warm boots. He gazed out the window, trying to calm himself, but his eyes kept darting to the locked temple doors.

When will she come…

From noon until dusk, his heart was aflame with worry.

“Still waiting for that little girl?” Changsun Yi sneered, his scruffy beard hanging down, his whole demeanor decadent and sinister.

“Stop waiting. She won’t come.”

Hearing this, Pei Heng turned and glared fiercely at him.

“She’s not like you. Don’t use your wicked thoughts to judge her. At least you’re my uncle; don’t make me disgusted by you.”

His youthful voice carried a chilling authority. Changsun Yi was momentarily stunned and then laughed aloud.

“Everyone knows the crimes we bear are lifelong. Taking you with me means we’ll never rise again. Wouldn’t she rather marry a man from Yanjing than take you, a useless yellow-haired brat who only drags her down?”

She could find someone to marry…

Pei Heng’s anger instantly chilled.

He had almost forgotten that Yue Zhi was simple-minded but six years older than him, about the same age as the maids. Naturally, she could marry and live a stable life like them.

Compared to her, he was nothing but dead weight, unable to help and only a burden because of his crimes.

The locked temple doors seemed like his future—heavy, broken, never to be touched, left to gather dust and die in this forgotten prison.

His eyelids drooped slowly as the light on the floor dimmed and vanished, leaving only darkness.

“Bang!”

In the darkness, the temple doors were suddenly flung open.

A girl clutching a lantern ran in, her hair disheveled. The warm light illuminated her soft, delicate face.

Pei Heng looked up at the familiar eyes at the door. The moment their gazes met, the tension and worry in her eyes melted like frost and snow, blooming into a smile more beautiful than spring blossoms.

“Pei Heng, I’ve come to get you!”