Prince Li Jun's hawkish smile spread across his sharp features as his eyes raked over the young woman on the floor in front of him.  He had noticed her leaving the great hall earlier that day and had instructed his man, Chuanli, to follow her, little knowing at the time that his impulsive decision would have an even better result than he could possibly have hoped for.

Being a good servant and knowing his master's thoughts exactly, Chuanli had quickly spotted an opportunity to make a move while Ming Yue was alone and distracted, and when he had arrived at the prince's chambers to tell him that the woman was currently restrained and helpless in a distant location in the palace, Li Jun had wasted no time in making his way over there via a little known, overgrown pathway not far from the palace boundary walls.

"There's no use calling for help, I'm afraid," he said.  "This place was designed by my grandmother as a summer house, but no one ever comes here anymore.  I assure you, we are in quite a remote part of the palace, and there is no one else around."

Ming Yue had already surmised as much in any event, and had decided not to waste her breath crying out.  Instead, she narrowed her eyes at the eldest prince for a moment, before deciding that she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her afraid or vulnerable.

"Your Highness," she said, relaxing her features and keeping her tone light.  "What an unexpected pleasure.  You really didn't have to go to all this trouble.  A simple note requesting me to stop by your mansion would have been more than sufficient."  She continued.  

"Unfortunately, I am a little tied up at the moment so I cannot pay you the proper respects.  Please forgive my informality."

Li Jun let out a bark of laughter.

"Ha! You are an impressive one.  I knew it from the moment I saw you with my brother."  His tone turned sharp.  "But you're all mine now.  There is nothing that Weisheng has that I cannot take from him, and I'll enjoy teaching you a lesson or two in my own time."  He moved forward slowly.

Ming Yue shuddered and used her heels to push herself away from the prince and closer to a large window, the beginnings of a desperate plan forming in her mind.

The prince knelt down in front of her, and she swung her right leg to aim a kick at him.  He caught it easily, and suddenly his body was covering hers, and she let out an involuntary cry before sucking in a deep breath.  At any other time, the scent of lavender from his robes would have been pleasant, but now it was sickly and overpowering.

Unwelcome memories of a similar situation flooded into Ming Yue's mind.  "Please, not again!" she thought, and cursed her persistent bad luck when it came to encounters with the opposite sex.

Unfortunately for her, Li Jun was stronger and in better physical shape than the man she had grappled with at the inn, and she immediately knew that she was dealing with someone a lot more dangerous.  This was confirmed when she felt the fabric of her robe tear, and a sharp pain when the prince bit down on the exposed flesh near her collarbone.

Ming Yue cried out again at the sudden brutality of the assault, and frantically tried to move her legs, but they were firmly trapped by the prince's own.  Feeling his hands start to move downwards from her shoulders, she changed tactics.

Turning her head, she tried to get hold of Li Jun's ear with her teeth, thinking that to rip it from his head would be extremely satisfying.  Unfortunately, the prince was quick as well as strong, and he pulled his head back before she could get a good grip.

"Naughty, naughty," he said, and Ming Yue shuddered at his tone.  "I was hoping to do this while you were still conscious, so I could see the look in your eyes.  But, if you aren't going to play nice..." he tailed off, then, without warning, slapped her fully across the face with his right hand.  She felt a warm trickle of blood running down her forehead, where a ring on one of his fingers had caught on the skin near her hairline, and it was enough to bring her anger to a level where she was about to act purely on instinct.

However, before she could make a move, Li Jun placed his hands around her neck and slowly began to squeeze.

Ming Yue knew she had very little time left before she once again slipped into unconsciousness.  It would have to be now or never.  In the seconds before oblivion took her, she formed a desperate plea for help, and sent the prayer cascading out of her mind in a wave.  She had not seen exactly what was just outside the window behind her, but she could only hope that a living being of some sort was close enough to feel her pain and respond in her moment of need.  Then, nothing.

Li Jun felt Ming Yue go limp beneath him, and released her throat, where angry red marks were quickly beginning to appear.  He took a brief moment to appreciate her face now that, on the surface at least, her expression looked relaxed and peaceful.  He gripped her chin and turned her head left and right, relishing the control he had over her prone form.

Unable to wait any longer, he sat up, reached down, and began untying the sash around her waist, too preoccupied with his sordid thoughts to hear the rising sound of rustling leaves from the forest just outside.

***

Zhao Weisheng was concerned.  The sun was getting lower in the sky, and Ming Yue had still not come to his study to report on her visit to the great hall as arranged.  Further, no one they had spoken to recalled seeing her in the prince's mansion in recent hours, and she was not in her room.  Nor had she been reported as leaving the palace via any of the various gates.  He paced back and forth, growing increasingly restless.

"Don't worry," said Eunuch Wang.  "I am sure nothing has happened to her.  She probably just lost track of time.  I have dispatched servants to the hall and any other place she has visited in the palace before.

A young eunuch approached and whispered in his superior's ear.  Weisheng looked up expectantly, but the man's face was grave, and he knew even before he spoke that it wasn't good news.

"She is not at the hall," Eunuch Wang said.  "However, the guards on duty did recall her leaving not long after the midday hour, walking in the direction of the mansion."

Weisheng ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"That was hours ago," he said.  "If she had an accident on the way back, someone would have come across her on the route.  There are always people coming and going!"  He continued, "and you know Ming Yue.  She is not the irresponsible type.  She would not just go off on some other errand without getting a message to me first."

Eunuch Wang stayed silent.  He could not fault the prince's logic, but realistically it left only one other possibility, which was too troubling to consider.

The silence was broken when Luo Jian strode quickly into the room.  He locked eyes with Weisheng and then shot a glance towards the two eunuchs standing nearby.  Not needing to be told, Eunuch Wang ushered the younger man out of the room with him and closed the door.

Luo Jian moved closer to the prince, to stand directly in front of him.

"Weisheng," he said.  "I need you to listen to me, and not do anything crazy."

Weisheng looked at his friend impatiently.

"For goodness' sake, Luo Jian, just spit it out!"  The distraught prince had registered Luo Jian's use of his actual name informally, and it only increased his panic level.

"I found someone who saw her earlier this afternoon.   She was heading towards the orchard.  They say she often goes there when she has free time."

Weisheng started to move.

"Let's go then, right now.  She could be hurt or injured..."

"No, Weisheng," Luo Jian put a restraining hand on his friend's arm.   "You need to listen to me."  The prince stilled.

"They also saw someone following her.  They didn't recognise him, but they described him to me.  I can't be certain, but I think it was..." he paused before continuing.  "Chuanli."

Weisheng thought for a moment as his brow furrowed.

"Chuanli... Chuanli..."  Then, it hit him.

"You mean, my brother's right-hand man?"  Luo Jian nodded.

"Damn it!"  Weisheng swore as the realisation sank in.  He looked frantically at his friend with his eyes wide.

"Luo Jian, if it is him, Ming Yue is only a servant.  She can't fight back against Li Jun.  He could have her imprisoned or worse!  She is completely vulnerable."

There was even more bad news.

"The servant who saw them enter the orchard has not left the garden at all.  He is certain they did not come out."

"Is there another exit?"

"Yes," replied Luo Jian.  "There is a path that leads to one of the inner palace courtyards.  I have already asked, and no one matching Ming Yue's description was seen in that area."

"However," he continued, "there is a small building where the orchard meets the forest.  Just a couple of rooms.  If she is anywhere," he finished, "it's there."

Weisheng clenched his jaw and put his hand on top of Luo Jian's, which was still resting on his arm.

"Then," he said, "that's where we will go.  Right now." 

 Luo Jian nodded, knowing that there was no arguing with Weisheng when he was in this state.

The prince grabbed his sword and strode quickly towards the door.  Suddenly, he stopped and turned to look at his friend.

"I swear it, Luo Jian.  If it is him, and he has even harmed a hair on her head then, brother or no brother, I will cut him down where he stands."  With that, he flung the doors open and marched into the fading sunlight.

***

The two men reached the remote building just as the sun was setting, although you could barely tell that there was a structure there at all.  The entirety of its surface was covered in tangled, creeping vines, dimly illuminated in the dying light of the day.

To anyone else, it might have simply looked like a long-forgotten building that had eventually succumbed to the ravages of time and nature.  However, to Weisheng and Luo Jian, who had already witnessed remarkable, almost unbelievable things, it was an altogether more sinister sight.

Still, they moved forward, and it was all they could do to make out the shape of a doorway.

Weisheng looked at Luo Jian in disbelief.

"Was it always like this?" he asked.

His companion simply raised an eyebrow in response, and Weisheng took that as a no.

The two men drew their swords and made their way slowly towards what they believed to be the entrance.  The door was covered with criss-crossing vines.  Luo Jian went to slice through them with his sword but Weisheng, suddenly remembering the oak tree that saved their lives those few nights before, stopped him before the blade could complete its arc.

After raising his eyebrows at his friend to make sure that he would follow his lead, the prince focussed once more on the tangled web in front of him.  Acting more on instinct than anything else, he reached out and gently pressed against one of the sturdy green ropes.  It was smooth to the touch, and he ran his fingertips over it lightly.

To his amazement, the vine beneath his hand shuddered slightly, then began to withdraw.  As the rest of the vine barrier began to recede, the entrance became visible before their eyes.  Weisheng threw a grim look at Luo Jian behind him, took a deep breath, and pushed open the doors.