She recalled the night at the palace when she had overheard those two people talking about the Shadow Lord, wanting to bring harm upon him. Although she had not been able to get a proper look at who those people were, the brief glimpse of red from one of their garments suggested that he was from the Hua contingent.

As her thoughts drifted towards this, her gaze also flickered towards Zhenghuan, just in time to catch the turning of his head. When their eyes met, Zi-ning quickly averted her gaze, scrambling to her feet.

"Miss, are you alright?" Hana asked, having almost been bowled over by her young mistress's sudden movement.

"Zi-ning?" Zhenzhu, too, was looking at her quizzically.

"I, I just need to use the latrine. I'll be back soon." When she saw Hana turning to follow behind her, she held her hand out and said, "No, you stay. I'll have one of the palace servants escort me. You don't know the way around this place anyway."

When she had been led out of the great hall, Zi-ning felt the tension in her shoulders ease a little. What's wrong with me? Why am I so rattled by that man? she chided herself. Even if he gets assassinated by the envoys from Hua, that's none of my concern. She kept trying to convince herself of this as she wound her way down the palace corridors, when suddenly a flaming burst of red appeared in front of her, cutting off her path.

She looked up in alarm to find herself staring at the crown prince of Hua, who had a mischievous grin across his face.

"Your Highness." She dropped to a curtsey, as did the palace lady who had been guiding her.

"Leave us," Prince Zhiren ordered the servant sternly, and the latter obediently moved away, disappearing round a corner.

Zi-ning silently cursed the girl for having been so ready to leave her alone with this man, and her immediate instincts were to look around for a way to escape from him. The prince suddenly took two steps forward, and Zi-ning quickly stepped back, finding herself backed against a large pillar.

"What can I help you with, Your Highness?" Zi-ning said, looking everywhere but at him.

"Are you afraid of me?"

"Of course. You are the crown prince and future king of Hua, with thousands of men under your command and with the ability to end someone's life at the snap of your fingers. Why would I not be afraid?"

"But you were not afraid enough to walk away from me back at the jewellery shop. Is it because you think the Shadow Lord can protect you? Do you think he is more powerful than I am?"

Zi-ning could feel the prince's warm breath against her cheeks, and she turned her head sideways so that she wouldn't have to stare at the man in such close proximity. Her heart was pounding in her chest, fearful of what he would do to her if she didn't get out of this situation soon.

"Answer my question," the prince said, taking hold of her chin between his fingers and forcefully turning her head so she was facing him once more. "Do you think the Shadow Lord is more powerful than I am?"

"You are the crown prince of an entire kingdom and the Shadow Lord is but a general, Your Highness," Zi-ning replied indirectly. "Please, let me go."

"I will let you go when I want to. You know what I especially dislike, Zi-ning? I dislike it when people lie to me, just like the way you are lying to me now."

"I am not lying, Your Highness."

Prince Zhiren tilted her face upwards to face him, his lips tilting upwards in a cruel smile. "I can tell when someone doesn't mean what they say, from the look in their eyes. Your words suggest that my power and influence is beyond the Shadow Lord's, but your eyes say otherwise. Do you think your Shadow Lord can save you if I were to walk into the great hall right now and tell the king that I've chosen you, Han Zi-ning, as the woman I wish to make my consort?"

Zi-ning's eyes flashed with anger, his fists clenched tightly by her sides. "Do not make such jokes, Your Highness," she said tersely.

"Many women would willingly throw themselves at my feet and beg me to take them. Does the title of crown princess of Hua not tempt you?"

"I know that I am not worthy of such a title, so there is no temptation to speak of."

Prince Zhiren chuckled, seeming amused by her words. "From the moment I set my eyes on you I knew that you were different from all the other girls. Any other girl would not have walked away from a necklace as valuable as that, nor would they be telling me that they do not desire to be head and shoulders above all others. You, Han Zi-ning, are quite intriguing indeed."

He leaned in even further, lowering his lips closer to hers, and in that moment Zi-ning felt like her heart was about to stop beating. The etiquette protocols regarding physical contact were shoved to the back of her mind as she pressed her palms against the man's chest, struggling to push him away from her.

The prince suddenly grabbed hold of her hands, pinning them back against the pillar. "No one says no to me," he hissed.

Zi-ning could feel the hot tears starting to well up in her eyes as she feared the worst. The prince did not care for her. He merely treated her like an animal that needed to be tamed, to be broken until she succumbed to his will. She could not let him do this to her, yet she was not strong enough to free herself from his vice-like grip. Closing her eyes, she felt the first teardrops trickle down her cheeks.

Just as despair began to set in, she felt the prince let go of her wrists and all of a sudden the suffocating presence towering before her vanished. Her eyes flew open, only to find a black figure standing in front of her and the Hua prince lying on the ground, his back having been flung against another pillar.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Shadow Lord!" Prince Zhiren barked, his narrow eyes flashing dangerously. "Do you know what sort of crime it is to assault a member of royalty?"

"And do you know what sort of a crime it is to harass one of the king's guests, in the Duan palace no less?" Zhenghuan replied coldly, staring down at the man with no remorse whatsoever. "This is not Hua, Prince Zhiren, and it would do well for you to remember that. We will treat you with respect while you are on our land, but we would expect likewise from you."

The prince picked himself up from the floor, dusting the dirt from his robes. "One day you will not be so arrogant, Shadow Lord," he said between gritted teeth. Taking another glance at Zi-ning over Zhenghuan's shoulders, the irate prince stormed off down the corridor, disappearing through one of the archways.

When he was gone, Zhenghuan turned around, looking down at Zi-ning with concern. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice a notch gentler than it usually was.

Zi-ning was still reeling in shock over what had just happened, and how close she had been to being physically assaulted by a man. Even after all she had suffered through in her previous life, she was still shaken by it.

Seeing that she was too shocked to speak, Zhenghuan took his black cloak off his shoulders and set it upon hers, pinning it together with his silver dragon pin. "Come," he said. "A breath of fresh air will do you good."

Zi-ning followed along behind him as he led her down some corridors, emerging back at the familiar imperial gardens. He walked over to the edge of the lake, standing there looking out at the reflection of the moon in the waters. The night wind was chilly, but the cloak around her shoulders kept out the cold, giving her the reassurance she needed after what she had just experienced. She took a deep breath, calming herself down.

"Thank you," she said after a long while, breaking the silence between them.

Zhenghuan shrugged his shoulders. "I would have done the same if it had been anyone else," he said.

Looking at the man beside her with the moonlight reflecting off his silver mask, Zi-ning felt an inexplicable pang of disappointment strike her.

"I told you that Prince Zhiren is a dangerous man. You'll need to take some precautions from now on, since it looks like he's taken an unhealthy interest in you. He is not someone who likes to lose, and he is not someone who tolerates disobedience well," Zhenghuan continued. "I had no choice but to intervene, but my intervention will likely spur on more hatred from him."

"I am not afraid."

"Being overly brave is not a virtue," Zhenghuan said seriously, turning to look at her. He suddenly reached out his hand and wiped off the remnants of the tears that had earlier been running down her cheek. "And acting brave, is certainly not one either." He let his hand fall back to his side, turning to face the lake once more. "However, you need not be overly concerned that he will choose you as his consort. Zhiren is not an irrational man. He has likely already decided on his choice before even stepping foot into the capital and someone like you will not suffice to help him achieve what he hopes to do."

"Should I take that as a compliment?" Zi-ning asked, arching an eyebrow. She did not know whether or not to believe Zhenghuan's words, but somehow she trusted that he knew what he was talking about. It was a relief to know that Prince Zhiren's threat was unlikely to come into being and that he had just been using it to taunt her, but what did Zhenghuan mean when he said "someone like her"? A sense of indignation started to rise up the more she thought about it.

Zhenghuan chuckled, a slight smile appearing across his typically solemn face. "I hardly give compliments," he replied wryly.

"You sound like you already know who the Hua prince's choice will be."

"I have my suspicions."

"Princess Xuan?"

Zhenghuan turned to look at Zi-ning once more, this time not disguising the surprise in his eyes. "Why do you say so?" he probed.

"The crown prince of Hua is extremely ambitious. I do not think a man like him will be satisfied with being king of one kingdom. However, if he hopes to command the three kingdoms under the flag of Hua, he will need more than brute force. Kingdoms don't usually accept foreign women as their queen because they don't trust such a woman to be loyal to their kingdom over her own. If Prince Zhiren dares seek a bride from another kingdom, this can only mean one thing—he hopes to use his consort as leverage in future, a tool that he can use to appease the people of Duan when he eventually takes control. By then, Duan will be no more and all its lands will belong to Hua. Why would he need to fear his queen's loyalty then?" Zi-ning explained her thinking, her brows furrowed as she thought through everything carefully. "If this is indeed his plan, then the woman he marries will have to be one of high standing in our kingdom. Of all the king's daughters, only Princess Xuan is of marriageable age."

Zhenghuan looked impressed with her analysis, nodding his head in approval. "I do think that Princess Xuan is the most likely candidate. How is it that a lady like yourself is so aware of the situation between the three kingdoms?" he asked, observing her curiously.

In her previous life, Zi-ning had spent many hours poring over the books in the palace's historical archives, learning as much as she could about the political situation between the three kingdoms in hope that she would be able to lend Ru-an a hand one day. None of that knowledge had ever been put to use, because Ru-an would never trust a woman like herself to interfere in matters of the kingdom. All that time spent had just been wasted, wasted on her own foolishness and naïvety.

Perhaps that knowledge would come into use in this life.

"It is not so much the situation between the three kingdoms that I am aware of. It is human nature," she said quietly. Men like Prince Zhiren were no different from Ru-an—ambitious, greedy and self-centred to a fault—yet still there were many willing to lay down their lives for them.

She sighed, tilting her head upwards to look at the full moon hanging in the dark skies.