"Let me out! I didn't do anything! You can't just lock me in here like this!"

Lady Min banged against the wooden bars of her cell, screaming and shouting as she had been for hours. Her usually well-pressed silks hung disheveled upon her shoulders, laced with the filth and grime that covered the cold stone floors of the city's jail.

She was living a nightmare.

"Let me go! My husband is a minister in the king's royal court. My brothers hold official positions! There must be some misunderstanding."

Any minute now, the guards would come and set her free, because this was all one giant misunderstanding. Then, she would have to give them a piece of her mind. How dare they treat her, the principal wife of a court minister, in such a terrible manner?

"Shut up, you noisy hag!" a gruff voice bellowed from a neighbouring cell. "There are some of us who want to get some sleep! You've already been here for half a day and no one has come for you, which means no one will."

She froze. The man's words slowly sunk into her mind.

Had she really been here for half a day already?

Lady Min turned towards the tiny window of her cell, where moonlight was filtering in through. The sun had already set. When she had been dragged here, it was barely midday. By now, her husband should have rescued her from this hellhole—unless he wasn't going to.

Unless no one was coming.

She collapsed onto the ground, despair seeping in. How did things end up like this? Hadn't Fanye said that everything was foolproof? Han Zi-ning wasn't supposed to have return home this morning, and she wasn't supposed to be locked away like this.

Just then, footsteps echoed down the corridor, accompanied by some voices. There were people approaching.

Hope lit up inside her once more.

She clutched onto the bars of the cell door, trying to peer through to see who it was. Finally, someone was coming to get her out.

"Miss, I'm afraid you can only stay for a short while. Technically you shouldn't be allowed in here..."

"I understand. Thank you so much for accommodating my request. I shall not be long."

"Meiyan?" Lady Min's eyes lit up. Her daughter was here! She knew that Meiyan wouldn't give up on her. Perhaps it was unsuitable for Meiyan's father to be seen at such a place, so he had sent Meiyan in his stead. As long as the minister was willing to intervene, then everything could be salvaged.

Moments later, Han Meiyan's slight figure appeared in front of the cell. The guard that had led her there swiftly unlocked the door to let her in. Lady Min immediately grabbed hold of her daughter tearfully.

"Meiyan, it's really you!" she cried. "Can we leave now? Has your father settled things with the magistrate? I can't stand being in this horrid place a moment longer. Quick, we must leave at once!"

"Mother..."

Meiyan took her by the shoulders, preventing her from stepping out of the cell.

"What? Why aren't we leaving? Aren't you here to take me back home?"

"Uncle has been sentenced to exile... I can't bring you home, Mother. I'm sorry..."

"What do you mean?" Lady Min's blood ran cold. How was this possible? Hadn't her brother been extremely confident that they would be able to get away with this? That none of it would be traced back to them? "There must be some mistake. Your uncle couldn't possibly be sentenced to exile. We're innocent! I'm innocent. I didn't do anything! We must get them to reopen the case. Someone must have set us up!"

Meiyan's elegant brows furrowed in irritation. "It's too late for any of that. The verdict has already been submitted to the king and the royal court," she said. "Uncle wrote a full confession, that's how he managed to get his sentence lessened to only exile. Otherwise, attempted assassination of a princess and of the Shadow Lord is a straight death sentence!"

"How could that be... Why would he do such a thing..." Lady Min mumbled, unable to believe her ears. Something must have happened, else there was no way her brother would have confessed everything. And how did the Shadow Lord get caught up in this? Eyes wide with frenzy, she clutched tightly on to Meiyan's arms and asked, "Even if your uncle confessed, that's his problem. I can insist on my innocence. If I maintain that I had nothing to do with all this, then they can't do anything to me, right? Meiyan, what did your father say? He must have a way to get me out of here."

Meiyan sighed. "There's no use," she replied. "According to the official that I bribed at the magistrate's office, Uncle provided a letter that you wrote to him, seeking his help with the assassination. They've already verified it against your handwriting. Once morning comes, the magistrate is going to pass the verdict regarding your involvement in this case. With that evidence, there's nothing that anyone can do."

Lady Min slumped back down, her shoulders sagging hopelessly. "That's impossible..." she muttered over and over. How could her own brother have betrayed her like this? With the letter to prove that she was the instigator, there was no way she could escape a death sentence. Meiyan was right—no one would be able to save her from this.

She closed her eyes, letting the inevitability wash over her.

Meiyan took hold of her hands. "Mother, I'm so sorry. If I had a way to rescue you, you know that I would. I came here because... because..."

"Don't worry," she interrupted. "When they call me up for questioning, I'll take all the blame. This was entirely my plan, and you had no knowledge of this whatsoever."

Something had gone terribly wrong with their plan, and there was no turning back. The only thing she could do now was to protect her daughter and ensure that Meiyan was not implicated by this in any way, so that at least the girl's future could still be secure.

"I'll write a letter to renounce myself as your father's principal wife, that way your birth can be logged under Yang Yihua instead." It pained her to see her own daughter, her own flesh and blood, be registered under the one woman that she had hated her entire life—Han Zi-ning's deceased mother—but there was no alternative way. If Meiyan continued to be registered as her daughter, then her sentencing would sully Meiyan's reputation.

"Mother..." Meiyan broke into tears, wrapping her arms around her mother's shoulders. "I promise you that I won't let them get away with this. I'll exact revenge upon Han Zi-ning for what she's done, and take back everything that is rightfully mine. Even though we didn't get her this time, she won't be able to escape a second time."

Lady Min nodded, wiping the tears off her daughter's beautiful face. She was certain that Meiyan would marry into the palace as a prince's consort, or maybe even become empress one day—it was only a pity that she would no longer be able to bear witness to that.

#

The official verdict for Lady Min's sentencing arrived at the Han household early the next morning—death by hanging. With the letter that Min Fanye had supplied, there was no way she could escape a death sentence. The king was outraged when he realised that the mere wife of one of his ministers had dared plot an assassination of not only a princess he had newly appointed, but also of his favourite subordinate, the Shadow Lord. Although Minister Han had not been directly implicated in this, he had suffered collateral damage nonetheless and been fined six months' salary because of his wife's crime.

"Absurd! How could she have even thought of doing such a thing!" Old Madam Song scolded, still furious about what Lady Min had done. The entire family was gathered in the front hall, and the messenger who had delivered the verdict had only just left.

Beside her, Minister Han's face was also black as the stormy skies. He slammed his palm against the table. "Who would have thought that she could be so brazen? Zi-ning's appointment as a princess of the third rank is something that we should all be proud of! Yet that woman dared let her jealousy get the better of her. At least she had the good sense to sever ties with the household before receiving her sentence."

Zi-ning sat by the side, listening quietly. She wondered what Lady Min would think if she knew the callous things that her husband was saying about her. Not that she had any sympathy for the woman. Min Jueying deserved the ending that she got—and one day her horrid daughter would join her down below. According to a message she received from Zhenghuan before daybreak, Han Meiyan had visited her mother in the magistrate's prison last night, and had personally brought back the letter written by the woman, severing ties with the family.

She would not be surprised if Meiyan had been the one who asked her mother to write such a letter, to ensure that the sentencing would not implicate her.

Across from her, Meiyan suddenly fell to her knees and pressed her forehead to the ground. "Father, Grandmother, I'm so sorry for what my mother has done. If I had known, I would have told her not to do such a terrible thing. This is all my fault!" she cried. When she lifted her face, tears stained her pretty little cheeks, making it difficult for anyone not to feel sorry for her.

Of course, Zi-ning would not be fooled by that little act. The corners of her lips quirked in a slight grimace.

"Nonsense, what have you got to do with any of this? Although she is your birth mother, this has nothing to do with you, so don't go taking any of the blame upon yourself," the old madam chided. "It is a shame that she couldn't be satisfied with what she already had."

Minister Han nodded in agreement, gesturing for Meiyan to get back up on her feet. "I hear that Consort Song has taken some interest in you lately," he remarked. "Make sure to stay in her good graces, and there may still be hope that you can become a prince's consort, despite your mother's failings." Turning to his mother, he said, "We should have Meiyan placed under Yihua's name in the family register, so that her marriage prospects will not be affected."

"No," Zi-ning interrupted.

"No?" The minister frowned. "Why not? Surely you would not begrudge your sister something as small as this?"

"This is not a small matter. In case you've forgotten, Father, the king is extremely displeased with what happened and personally stamped the imperial seal on Lady Min's sentencing. What would happen if he finds out that you've transferred her daughter over to my mother's name? Would he not think that you were doing it on purpose? Because you were unhappy with his decision regarding the sentencing?"

"Han Zi-ning, that's ridiculous!" Meiyan burst out. "Why would the king think that? You're just out to ruin my future prospects! Father, you can't possibly believe that? The king must have more important things to contend with than to pay attention to our family affairs."

"That's enough!" the minister bellowed. His thick brows dipped further. "Zi-ning has a point. It would not do to have the king believe that I am questioning his decisions, especially when he's already unhappy with me because of what happened." He waved his hand dismissively. "Let's just set this matter aside for now. If Consort Song gives any further indication that she wishes to let Meiyan be engaged to one of her princes, then we can bring this up for discussion once more."

Meiyan bit down hard on her lower lip, her fists clenched with disappointment. Zi-ning smiled, ignoring the look of poison that her half-sister was giving her.

This time around, she was not going to let Meiyan get away with anything, no matter how seemingly "small" of a matter it was.