Chapter 21: 十八、REPUTATION 清譽

TW // HEAVILY IMPLIED SEXUAL ASSAULT/R*PE

TO CHIQIAN, I murmured, "It has been some time since the Third Prince has disappeared."

A bit earlier in the feast, the Third Prince had accidentally spilled some wine on his clothes, and Yunhua had arranged for him to change in one of the back rooms. But what was almost twenty minutes later, the Prince had still not yet returned. The Crown Prince and Yunhua had most definitely noticed, because both were frowning.

Qin Yue, the Third Princess Consort, though, sat calmly at her seat beside the empty chair, looking absolutely unconcerned with her husband's absence.

"Almost suspicious indeed," Chiqian whispered back. "After all, the Third Prince is considerably the Crown Prince's greatest rival to the throne."

"What, you think a plot is at play?"

"It is not entirely impossible," came his response before he straightened again, smiling as he conversed with someone who had just spoken to him.

At the head of the table, Yunhua stood up, quietly strolling towards my seat. Yunjun and Yunxuan sat even further down the table, and Shaoheng had been placed beside her fiance, reluctantly making conversation. As she neared, I turned my head. "Cousin?"

"The Third Prince..."

"Ought we search for him?"

Before Yunhua could answer, a young servant girl scurried over, no older than fourteen, her head lowered. "Your Highness, my lady, Miss Heng says that she still feels awful and asks if you could perhaps go check on her."

The two of us exchanged a glance—a perfect excuse. Yunhua said, "Of course. We'll come directly."

As I stood, a few pairs of eyes turned to our direction, but we both smiled and assured them nothing was wrong. Chiqian had heard Yunhua and my conversation, of course, and he gave me a nod of encouragement, turning back to the guests.

As we stepped out of the dining room, though, the sound of rustling fabric came after us, and we turned to see Luo Xueying following us out. She raised one brow. "I'm coming with you."

"What?"

"You're going to search for the Third Prince, right?"

"No!" Yunhua cried, "we're going to check on Miss Heng."

"No, but you were originally going to go search for the Third Prince. The servant who came over to talk to you told you about Miss Heng. Am I correct?"

"Perhaps you should not be Side Consort, but rather the Highest Judiciary in court."

"Do not mock me. This dinner is boring me anyways—no offence, I know you organised it, but it's the people here, not you."

"Side Consort Luo—"

"Crown Princess Consort," Luo Xueying flashed a smile, "you cannot stop me."

Yunhua glanced at me, and I shrugged. With a roll of her eyes, she declared, "Fine. Come with. But do not make trouble for us."

"I do not make trouble, it follows me."

But we were already walking to the rooms where we had put Miss Heng, the servant scurrying before us. It was a short walk, and we paused outside the room, noting the dim candles. Yunhua turned to the servant and scowled. "If Miss Heng is awake, you really ought to keep the room more well-lit."

Instead of replying normally, however, the servant girl suddenly dropped to her knees. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I'm so, so sorry, but he didn't give me a choice and—"

"What?"

I reacted faster, pushing the door open and quickly stepping through to the bedchamber, a sense of dread creeping into me.

Only a few candles kept the house awake, and there was a strange smell. Incense. But it didn't smell like the ones Yunhua used with the rest of the house. It smelled almost... medical. I quickly held up a handkerchief to my nose, pushing the windows open as I hurried my steps.

"Oh no."

On the bed were two bodies, when there was only supposed to be one. Miss Heng couldn't have called for the servants, because she wasn't awake at all.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yunhua commanded, turning to the servant, fury written on her expression.

Luo Xueying was quiet as she stepped closer to the bed. "Oh for the love of..."

On the bed, the man slowly sat up, glancing towards us. Even in the dark room, we could all clearly make out who it was, as all of the last pieces of this scheme dropped into place. The Third Prince raised one brow, kicking his legs down onto the floor as he stretched his half-clothed body. I averted my eyes, as did Luo Xueying, but Yunhua glared with an unrivalled ferocity.

"What is the meaning of this, Your Highness?"

"Earl Heng decided to be a stubborn bastard." A lazy smile stretched on the Third Prince's face. "I was forced to take drastic measures... you wouldn't blame me, would you, huang sau?"

Yunhua's response was a slap. A clear slap that sounded around the room, the Third Prince's head turning to face the window from the impact. A gasp of disbelief escaped his throat. "What did you do to her?"

"Just a bit of drugs in the incense to make her lose consciousness, oh, I didn't do much to her, just what was necessary—"

This time, Luo Xueying was the one who slapped him, her entire body practically shivering. "You monster. Just because Earl Heng wouldn't—"

"He should have known better." Slowly, the Third Prince stood. "I'm just making it easier for him. Really, sisters-in-law, you ought to keep a better eye on all of your guests. You made this awfully easy—"

"You fucking bastard," Yunhua snapped. "I will make sure your father and brother hear of this and—"

"And? And? What will they do? Make Miss Heng my newest concubine, perhaps. She might be able to make a Side Consort, perhaps not, considering her ruined state." The smugness in his voice... even I wanted to slap him, but I remained standing there, frozen, shocked. "They won't punish me. And you won't tell them either, because that means the young Miss Heng will be ruined. She won't have face to live anymore."

I said, quietly, "You planned this all out, didn't you?"

"Of course I did."

"The youngest Miss Heng hasn't always been this sickly. Only recently has her body become weaker. And she shows the exact syndromes as your wife, Qin Yue."

And now, the Third Prince's face changed. "I have no idea what you mean."

Yunhua let out a bitter laugh. "Of course. Why would you be happy with Qin Yue as your wife? Of course you wouldn't be happy. Her family does not assist you, she was shoved into your arms by the Empress. Are you trying to kill her, Your Highness? Is that your goal?"

"Do you have evidence?"

No. We had none. Absolutely none. And even if Yunhua did tell someone, they'd only think she was trying to discredit the Third Prince to remove a rival for her husband. The same with Luo Xueying.

At our silence, he smirked. "I shall go get dressed... that was my original goal, of course. I shall see you all back at the feast, my dearest sister-in-laws. And you too, of course, shizi Consort."

None of us moved to stop him as he left. The moment he stepped out of the bedchamber, Yunhua's leg went straight for the servant girl. "Explain this," she hissed.

Neither Luo Xueying nor I moved to comfort her.

The servant girl was a mess. "Your Highness... Your Highness... I do not know anything else... I was the only one left accompanying Miss Heng, but then everything went to black... and when I woke up I was on the floor and the Third Prince was on the bed with Miss Heng and he threatened me and he told me to fetch you and say Miss Heng had called and I.... Your Highness, please have mercy on me, please... I did not know what else to do..."

Yunhua ignored her pleas, turning to the two of us. "Not a word of this gets out to anyone."

Luo Xueying nodded, hurrying to Miss Heng's side. "Oh poor, poor girl... her life is ruined now. Come, don't just stand there. Help me! Help me... Oh my god..."

I turned to the servant still on the ground, sighing. "Get up. Stop crying. Go back to the feast and get Miss Heng's sisters, tell them to come as soon as possible. Make sure no one hears a single word of what happened here, do you understand? Miss Heng's sickness has gotten worse and it is of best judgement for her to return home as quickly as possible rather than stay here. Do you hear me?"

The servant girl nodded, scrambling back up, "Of course, my lady, of course."

Yunhua was hiding it, but I could tell she was just as rattled as I was. We rushed to Miss Heng, trying to see if there was a way to wake her up, but she seemed wholly unconscious. I checked her pulse—it was steady, albeit slightly weak. Much likely to her illness.

Though that, for now, did not seem to have been from natural causes.

But we had no evidence, and pointing it out would do nothing. The imperial family would far prefer covering up the ugliness than revealing it to the world, which might put their jurisdiction and power under question and scrutiny.

Which was dangerous.

Her clothes were half-torn, and Luo Xueying quickly covered her up with a blanket nearby. But we were all staring at Miss Heng with equal parts pity and worry in our eyes. We all knew what this entailed.

We just had to hope word didn't get out. And that the Third Prince had a fit of conscience and decided not to go through with this... diabolical, horrific plan of his. He was going to ruin Miss Heng. He already had, technically speaking.

If this got out, Miss Heng's reputation was ruined. As were her sisters'. As was the entirety of Earl Heng's household. The Third Prince had been right: one of the only choices for Miss Heng would be to become his concubine.

But was that really a good fate? To become the concubine of her rapist?

She was just another chess piece in this game. It was either going to be her or her sisters. Another sacrifice in this game of power we were all living for.

Her other choices...

She could be sent off to a nunnery. But that would also destroy all prospects of her sisters' marriages. The Heng sisters would all be ruined.

The Third Prince was a selfish, selfish bastard. If he was still here, perhaps I'd slap him too. Hard. But I didn't have Yunhua's power. I didn't think Chiqian could stand quite firmly against the Third Prince.

The servant girl finally returned, the two elder Heng sisters. When they came in, their brows were creased, but they froze as they spotted their sister on the bed.

"Side Consort Luo, Cousin, watch over the youngest Miss Heng for me. Miss Hengs, please, I must speak to you in private."

The two of us now alone, Luo Xueying shook her head. "And all of this, but not a single thing we could do about it. Do you understand what I meant that night of the Bride Selection?"

"She still has a chance of... continuing on."

"No she doesn't," Luo Xueying laughed. "Do you really think the Third Prince would just let all this die down?"

No. No. He'd spread it. And there wasn't a single thing we could do about it. We could deny it all we wanted, but we had no evidence that Miss Heng had not been compromised. And the moment the first wave of rumours began, even if the Third Prince had absolutely no evidence, the damage would have been done.

That was what society dictated for the girl.

It was madness.

"She could go to a nunnery."

Luo Xueying just shook her head. "You don't know her like I do."

I paused for a moment. "What's her name?" All of this, and I didn't even know what she was really called.

"Heng Pingzhen."

Ping. The character for peace. And Zhen, the character for preciousness.

Her name had failed to protect her from the world. What had her parents intended for her, when they'd given her that name? Not this, I could guess. Never this. This was what they'd wanted to avoid.

The Heng sisters had returned, their faces as pale as snow. One of them—the middle one, if I remembered correctly, was shivering. Yunhua strolled in behind them. "Do any of you have a change of clothing your sister could put on?"

"Of course," the eldest replied, forcing herself to stay calm. "We must bring her home immediately."

"I'm afraid I cannot leave all the guests," Yunhua murmured. "I will visit the earliest thing tomorrow morning to personally apologise to your parents for failing to keep your sister safe. The best we can do is stay quiet about this and see what might happen next."

"I understand," the eldest said, forcing a smile. "I will have my maids immediately fetch a change of clothing and for the carriage to be ready to set back home."

There wasn't much else we could do to help in that situation. When the maid returned with the change of clothes, we left as the sisters helped Heng Pingzhen change, and soon after we had gotten them safely on the carriage.

To the eldest, in a moment when I caught her alone and staring off into the distance, I said, "I am so sorry for what happened. If I am able to help with anything, send the Prince Duan Manor a message and I will be more than willing to aid you."

The eldest Miss Heng turned to me, startled, but then fell into a curtsy. "My lady, it is no one's fault what happened here tonight but the Third Prince's. None of us could have ever seen this coming."

"Your parents—"

"Neither shall blame us," she said with a sad smile. "There is nothing we can do now but try to suppress the information, but I fear it will be futile."

"All three of you..."

"We shall have to find a way," she said, her hand quickly darting to her eyes and wiping away a silent tear. "Our father always told us to be brave even in the face of an adversary. It is now time to see if we have learnt anything from our lessons."

"You poor, poor girl." There was nothing else for me to say. There was no time to waste. We quickly sent them off, with a couple of Yunhua's own guards for protection just in case, before returning to the banquet.

"I'm afraid," Yunhua announced, "that the youngest Miss Heng does not feel quite herself and all three Heng sisters have returned home. But please. Let us continue to feast."

Nobody could know.

I spotted the Third Prince across the table, and he glanced at me, one brow raised, taunting. Challenging. I sent him a cool look.

Qin Yue met my eye too, curious where her husband was glancing. I raised one brow at her.

She glanced away, guilt flickering in her eyes.

She knew, then. Where her husband had gone. What he'd done. That was why she hadn't even wondered why her husband had left for so long.

My fist clenched under the table. Chiqian glanced at me, concerned. "Are you alright?"

I turned to him, forcing a smile. "I'll tell you on the way back, my dear." Not here, with so many ears to hear. Servants running around too, who could hear everything. For the sake of Miss Heng, for the small chance she could continue on living as before even after this fiasco...

It might not just be her reputation on the line. It could be her life.

—

CHIQIAN WAS QUIET after I relayed the events to him.

He stared out of the window, into the dark streets, clearly stunned. We were both quiet for a long time.

"I knew he was cruel," he whispered finally, "but I never expected this."

"I did not either," I told him honestly. The first few times I'd met the Third Prince, I had already disliked him greatly. He was callous, cold with his words and maliciously mean. He was the opposite of the Crown Prince, who was always kind with what he said. I'd always done my best to avoid conversation with him, and he'd never particularly find me worthy of speaking to anyways.

"He's my cousin, Minxi."

"I know."

"This is absolutely sickening, my god—we ought to visit Earl Heng soon, he may require our assistance."

"Yunhua is going to visit them tomorrow. To apologise."

Chiqian nodded. "It's not her fault, but that would be what's right. And she's the Crown Princess Consort. She'd be of more assistance than us. And... and... your other cousins ought to be more careful from now on too."

My blood rushed cold. "You think he'd..."

"It might be a possibility," Chiqian whispered, "if he's trying to ruin the Crown Prince. He might not do it himself. Ruin your younger cousins, and the Crown Princess Consort would be dragged down for it too. And the Crown Prince would in turn have his reputation be harmed. As with your uncle. Keep them safe."

I let that settle in. "My god."

"But this also means," Chiqian continued, shaking his head, "that the Third Prince is going to start challenging the Crown Prince now. Doing this in the Eastern Palace? That's just a taunt. Brace yourself, Minxi, there are battles to come."

"For the crown?"

"For the position of heir, most definitely."

"I think he's poisoning his wife," I revealed. "Qin Yue. She has the exact same symptoms as Miss Heng, and he poisoned Miss Heng too. Slowly. It's slow-acting poison, dragging it out, disguising it as sickness."

"He kills her, and then lifts his side consort to the position of main wife." Chiqian sounded disgusted. "He has it all planned out, doesn't he?"

"We need to be more careful now."

"Indeed," he agreed. "It's the start of something ugly, Minxi."