Page 95 of The Blood Orchid

Yufei knelt in front of me, pushing my hands away and cleaning my face with her sleeve. She whispered words that I was sure were meant to comfort me, but all I could see was the setting sun through the lattice window behind her, another day passing, the sky a sharp and brilliant gold.

Chapter Nineteen

In the end, there wasn’t a choice.

As soon as Wenshu awoke and I told him and Yufei what the Empress was planning for Guangzhou, they went pale and quiet. Even Zheng Sili, who I’d half expected to willingly hand over my hometown or at least argue why we should consider it, hadn’t said anything.

“We should head back and think about a plan on the way,” Wenshu said. “It will take us a week, at least. If the Empress sees that we’re not even trying to make it back on time, she might act preemptively.”

“And once we’re in the palace, maybe we can look for the ring?” Yufei said.

“Yes,” I said quietly, even though I doubted we’d find it.

“We’re not going to die,” Wenshu said, as if sensing my thoughts. “Stop looking so morose.”

I glanced at Zheng Sili, who was oddly silent.

“You don’t have to come,” I said to him.

He looked up in surprise. “Where else am I supposed to go?” he said.

So we bought another horse, extra provisions, and by the afternoon, we were headed south toward Chang’an.

Traveling to the capital had once been my greatest dream, but now it felt like approaching my own funeral. The days spun by all too quickly, the setting sun a mocking reminder of how little time I had left and what would happen if I didn’t think of a plan before we got there. What could I do that wouldn’t put all of Guangzhou at risk? We could try to kill Gaozong, but surely the Empress would just take that as permission to kill everyone in Guangzhou. One wrong move, and tens of thousands of people would die.

What would the Moon Alchemist do?I thought, staring up at the fat almond of the moon as we rode closer to the capital. I tried to imagine her riding beside me.

I wouldn’t have gotten into this mess in the first place, she said in my mind.I know better than to bring the dead back.

Unless you’re being threatened by the Empress, in which case you’d do it for centuries, I thought wryly.

She shot me a deeply unimpressed look.There are ways to fake death with alchemy, she said.

The Empress specified that he needs to be hanged, I thought. Public executions were usually more drawn out and torturous, but I supposed the Empress wanted to make sure I didn’t trick her—it was difficult to fake a hanging.

It’simpossibleto fake, notdifficult, the Moon Alchemist corrected me.

I supposed I could always resurrect Wenshu into another body, but the damage would be done—the prince would be dead in the eyes of the people, and everything would still hinge on me somehow surviving. Plus, I wasn’t particularly keen on watching my own brother get hanged.

What about the girls I sent to the convent?the Moon Alchemist said.

Yiyang and Gao’an—the Emperor’s daughters by another concubine—were still safely hidden away. But Gao’an was in a coma, and Yiyang was only a child. She could challenge my claim to the throne if she wanted to, but surely the Empress would have her killed the moment she came out of hiding. If two highly trained alchemists couldn’t even find a way to stop the Empress, how could I expect a child to do it?

I don’t think they’re going to get me out of this one, I thought.

The sound of hoofbeats grew louder, and suddenly Zheng Sili was riding next to me, the image of the Moon Alchemist dissolving.

“It helps to look forward when you’re riding a horse, you know,” he said. “You almost trampled a pit viper.”

“Sorry if I’ve got a lot on my mind,” I said. “You know, having to hang my brother and become the Empress’s eternal puppet in a few days and all.”

“Technically,you’rethe Empress, you know,” he said.

“Don’t remind me,” I said, gripping the reins tighter.

“You’ll have at least one day of being the Empress in the palace before Wu kills us all,” Zheng Sili said. “You’re not looking forward to it?”

“No one will take my orders,” I said stiffly. “Well, I could boss you around, I suppose.”