The night Jin Long hurt Shui Lian—or that incident, as the girls whispered—was soon everything people talked about in the courts. The advisors laughed it off, saying 'As expected of the the Cruel Prince!' and sounded mighty proud.

Peony Palace was sympathetic to Shui Lian instead, with even Yu Deng joining Miao and Ai's protests to punish Jin Long.

Lady Ran's face was pale as she ushered the still injured Shui Lian up the flight of stairs the second floor girls had never crossed. The third floor held the popular girls, and the fourth floor only had princes or the Emperor himself enter.

Shui Lian's only thoughts were how much his joints and groin hurt, and the other thought was how bitter his tongue was from the herbal medicine he had to take before he was sentenced to serve time in the brothel's "haunted" room.

It was a punishment room for prostitutes and courtesans, but rumors were that two girls died there and to this day, haunted the room.

Shui Lian flinched as he crawled up the third floor and into the small room that was dark without ventilation and scurrying sounds of rats. He cursed but didn't have to physical strength to fight back, so he reluctantly laid on the cot in the dark room and Lady Ran looked at him.

"If you're going to do it just scold me already," Shui Lian muttered.

"I don't want to do this. You weren't at fault." Lady Ran's trembling hands lingered on the door before she looked back at the young boy.

If only she could do something. Then she did. She closed the door behind both of them.

"Lady Ran?"

"I want to keep you company," she said. In her eyes he still looked like the young, scared boy thrown into their brothel.

"Thank you but don't worry about me, you need to govern Peony Palace," Shui Lian said, but he also hoped she would stay. He didn't want to be alone.

"Before this I had locked many girls inside. I had even let the Cruel Prince kill a girl. Two girls died in this room. I'm not a good person, and I've accepted that I cannot atone, so let me sit in this room with you." Lady Ran said.

She reached out and opened the smallest window possible. It was round and yet much higher than Shui Lian was used to. All the scariness of the room disappeared and Shui Lian's eyes was both hurt by the sudden brightness and also gust of cool wind.

"A window?" he asked.

"I was a lowly courtesan too, and I was punished by false words from a rival and locked here too." Her face darkened as thought she was reliving her past. "The Emperor took her as a concubine before she was poisoned. Everything here at least is safe and I ended up being given a job governing lessons for the girls, then I became the Madame. I remember my youth more clearly than this sad mess I've become."

Shui Lian looked over at the silhouette of Lady Ran against the bright winter sky. It was unusually bright with white clouds looking as though it contained a ray of golden light peeking through.

"Who was Ming Yu?"

"Lady Ming Yu." Lady Ran looked down in shame. "She was beautiful, and caught the eye of the Cruel Prince when he was only sixteen. The Crown Prince wasn't cruel back then, he was nicknamed The Sickly Prince and no one believed he would even live to this age. Ming Yu loved him when he was weak and even during his unsuccessful conquests."

"But he didn't."

"His highness was engaged to Princess Shaka Lan, but came here nightly despite the wedding day approaching. Yet after the wedding his highness ceased to return. I was much younger then, a courtesan growing old as the others had, but I stayed even as a maidservant when my time came. I watched as Ming Yu threw tantrums and cried. No letters came, no gifts, and not a shadow of her beloved came."

Lady Ran had began to wept and she wiped her eyes as Shui Lian watched.

"And she escaped twice, only to have the previous Madame of Peony Palace lock her inside here. I served Lady Ming Yu occasionally and she would talk to me, beg me to deliver a message if the Crown Prince came, begged until I promised her."

"Even so she loved him," Shui Lian whispered.

Lady Ran looked out, eyes distant. Unfocused. "Then she escaped again once more and for the last time. She died in a certain pond."

Shui Lian thought of how lonesome the murky pond, covered with leaves and dead insects seemed. The pavilion was clean but even so now it was covered in the thick snow the capital of Jia was prone to.

"The Madame before me was executed, as multiple suicides happened under her reign. I stepped up as a Madame at thirty-five. It's been a decade and half, but the Prince shows no sign of remorse." Madame Ran swallowed and then spoke again. "Don't anger him, Shui Lian. I care for you."

"What was Ming Yu's words to him?" Shui Lian asked, finding himself wondering if he'd meet the same fate as Ming Yu.

"They are too terrible to speak, I shall never utter those words—but they go through my mind each time the Cruel Prince comes," Lady Ran said hoarsely, blinking away remnants of her tears.

"What if Kai Yin leaves me too?"

Shui Lian finally dared to utter it. The stories were so similar. Passionate love, then a fiancée, and lastly, betrayal. He closed his eyes but could only see Kai Yin in his mind, his gentle smiles and tender hold.

Lady Ran left and Shui Lian felt the cold on his skin, the wind prickling his eyes. He thought of Kai Yin, trudging through the storm on a horse and probably sleeping in tents. Here the sickly, cruel crown Prince belittled their relationship.

And the story of Ming Yu paralleled Shui Lian's relationship.

He though of the incense Kai Yin got him and the scent had thoroughly absorbed his robes. Shui Lian sniffed his robe sleeves, curling into a ball. His eyes, too, watered.

What if Kai Yin disappeared—forever?

His heart began to ache at the very thought. That would be true hell, and he didn't want to go through that again.

***

The camps with Kai Yin and Wei Jiang had moved swiftly with only a few days. Kai Yin ordered the arrest of the tribe leaders, making his army grumble.

"The Cruel Prince would have simply executed them."

"Yeah, that makes way for a better example and scares the villagers more..."

"...but now they are fueled into resistance."

"Isn't his lord kind of a coward?"

Kai Yin heard them even with the wind blowing. He didn't want to create more Shui Lian, more people suffering at the hands of Jia kingdom.

He took a deep breath and walked into the men wrapping up the leather hides used as a camp and packing it up.

"We will need them to sign a treaty," Kai Yin finally spoke, head still forward. He had no personal guards but Wei Jiang, he was a fifth Prince after all, so no one saw his presence. The Cruel Prince was always surrounded by guards on the contrary.

Wait, had his brother replied?

"Did First Prince reply to my message?" Kai Yin asked.

"Yes." The messenger stood up.

"Well, where is it?"

"He said he will arrive later than expected. The snow caused a delay."

"Really?" Kai Yin raised an eyebrow.

"First Prince?" Some looked confused and began whispering.

"He's a fool to believe that—"

"What is it?"

Kai Yin stepped over a general intimidatingly, eyes on fire. What were they keeping from him?

"No, please ignore my foolish rambling," the general plead.

"Ignore you? Speak when I order you to," Kai Yin threatened, but everyone knew he was too kind to hurt anyone.

"Please don't make me tell!"

"You're a general, you work for his Majesty, not First Prince! I can arrest you or behead you if you don't tell!"

"Prince Kai Yin!" Wei Jiang cried, "don't be so angry at the poor man. Now General Han, please tell us what is going on."

The general buried his face in shame as he spilled it. "I don't know anything, I heard from the higher ups the Cruel Prince doesn't go on excursions in winter so he will be directing us."

"What did you say?" Kai Yin realized how strange it was that the Cruel Prince wanted to leave separately with barely any soldiers, at least not the first rank generals.

"I don't know anything about it! I only heard it!"

It fell into pieces. Kai Yin never had a say in planning the whole conquest, it had been planned by Jin Long and Kai Yin was his pawn.

He turned around and Wei Jiang made him steady.

"I had no idea, let's go sit down," Wei Jiang offered.

"I don't want to sit. I cannot be weak in front of my men."

"But—"

Wei Jiang stopped when he saw Kai Yin. His eyes were like fire, and his jaw was so tightened you could see a sharp outline. The fifth Prince had worked so hard—but for what?

Wei Jiang knew how hard his whole life he tried. It made no sense to constantly follow Prince Jin Long without his own set of ideals.

And they changed. Kai Yin was the Kind Prince, one could say, born from a kind consort and the Emperor at a good, peaceful era. He always believed in justice and the first night he went to Peony Palace he must've been surprised.

But as good as he was, he was naive.

Wei Jiang closed his lips and spoke no more, pitying Kai Yin as he turned a corner to breathe alone.

He was so naive.