Midnight came quietly, creeping in on the sisters and Ru Yi who was yet to gain consciousness. On Yexue’s insistence that the floor was too cold, Ru Yi was laid beside her while Qingyue and Lieyin took the other bed.

Not that there was any real difference between the thin bed and the floor. The three of them had spent the entire night awake, after being used to their soft beds and silk sheets.

"I don’t think I can survive this," Yexue groaned, her only compensation being Ru Yi’s warm body beside her.

Even Qingyue felt defeated. "We have to. That’s the only choice on the table."

"Right now, getting executed sounds like a better idea. How do people even sleep on these things? I feel like my back is being ripped apart."

Qingyue shifted on the bed, trying to get comfortable. "I should’ve been more grateful when I had an actual bed."

Yexue turned to the side and propped her head up with her hand. "What are we going to do after we leave Tiancheng tomorrow?"

The question was for Qingyue who sighed and laid on her back, eyes on the ceiling and the brown marks that indicated a water problem.

She’d had the same thing on her mind since the exile was announced.

Where should they go from here? 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Qingyue was the brains of the group, she took pride in that. But right now? She’d never felt so lost.

"We could go to Haiyan city," she finally replied.

"I don’t think that’s a good idea," Lieyin said, speaking for the first time since she performed the binding on Ru Yi. "Knowing Lihua she would’ve sent word to them that we killed Lin Yuexin."

"Right? I wouldn’t put it past her."

Haiyan was the capital city of the Lianhai kingdom, home to the late princess Lin Yuexin. It was on the east of the Empire along the coast, controlling major ocean trade routes.

The marriage between Lin Yuexin and Crown Prince Zhao Chen was meant to strengthen the political alliance between the two kingdoms.

"Still...we need to try. If we’re able to convince them, then they’ll become a great ally for when we finally fight back." Qingyue sighed, "That’s really the only thing I can think of. But not to worry, I’ll get us out of this mess. When have I not?"

Yexue and Lieyin shared a look.

Even with the blank mask on Qingyue’s face, they both knew she was hurting just like them...if not more.

If only she would reach out to them so they could help her as much as she’d helped them in the past.

"That seems like a great idea," Yexue replied.

"Another thing to be worried about is the maid," Qingyue turned slightly to look at Lieyin. "This could be a problem, you need to stop acting so rashly."

"I did nothing wrong." Lieyin looked at Ru Yi. "We really do need a maid because none of us know how to take care of our basic needs. It was the only way to make sure she won’t run away."

"You should’ve asked me first," Yexue spoke up. "I was the one that brought her here. Not you."

"Well...you weren’t acting fast enough." Then in a more serious tone Lieyin asked, "do you like her?"

Yexue choked on air. "What?"

"Don’t give us the crap about needing a maid, I know you have something up your sleeve." It’d been a wild guess but Lieyin narrowed her eyes when she saw the guilty look on Yexue’s face. "You were really planning something."

"How can I possibly like her? She’s way below my taste."

Lieyin clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Your action says otherwise."

"I—"

Ru Yi stirred, her sight taking a couple seconds to come back into focus. The first thing she registered was Yexue’s face.

"What did you do to me?" she asked, her voice hoarse and low.

"Nothing for you to worry about," Lieyin said. "As long as you don’t try to run away from us?"

"What does she mean?" Ru Yi asked Yexue.

"It’s a binding technique," Yexue said, a sigh following shortly after. She’d had no idea Lieyin would do something so dangerous. "She channeled her qi into you, which has imprinted into your meridians."

"What does that even mean?" Ru Yi asked.

Yexue’s voice was grave when she answered. "That your emotions, feelings, energy, will forever be intertwined." That should’ve been her. "You’ll hurt your meridians if you try to break it. And because yours are already damaged it could...no, it will result to death."

Something close to an agonizing cry escaped from Ru Yi’s lips. How much more bad luck could someone like her have? Just when she’d ultimately gotten her freedom, now she’s been binded to women that hate her?

Ru Yi didn’t even realize the sob had broken free and she was a trembling mess with tears rolling down her face.

The triplets froze.

They’d dealt with armies that consisted of the strongest men to grace the face of earth, bandits and their ruthlessness...but never a crying woman.

"What are you crying for?" Lieyin mumbled. "It’s not like I’m going to kill you. If anything this guarantees your safety, because I’ll get hurt if you get hurt. See it as a form of protection."

This made Ru Yi cry harder.

Whenever she seemed to have made some progress, she was always dragged a thousand steps back.

Protection?

What she needed was a huge space between them and everything that was connected to the throne. An ordinary life where she could live on her own terms.

"Ru Yi..." Yexue wasn’t sure what to do. She patted her shoulder in what she assumed was a soothing manner.

"Keep quiet," Qingyue said in a stern voice, but Ru Yi continued. "Yexue, shut her up right now!"

Yexue immediately slammed her palm over Ru Yi’s mouth, smoldering the ear wrenching sound.

Qingyue sat up slowly, her eyes on the door. Now that everywhere was quiet, they could make out the sound of footsteps clearly.

Lieyin’s hand went to the knife under her pillow.

"I think we’re surrounded," Qingyue whispered.