Page 63 of Dynasty of the Wicked

“Zhi? A beautiful name. We’ve prepared a tent for you, Zhi. If you don’t mind, I’ll be taking Feng Mian away to have a little chat. To catch up.” It was like he was courteously telling her she was dismissed. She didn’t like it at all. Under normal circumstances, she outranked him. And yet … he was planning on becoming the next emperor.

Maybe he would succeed.

She nodded. “I … All right.”

“Sleep. It’ll do you some good, and then we can talk about how you met Feng Mian, and how you bothmarriedeach other.” Another twinkle in his eyes. Like it was so damned funny that Feng Mian had chosen her as his bride, as his wife.

And maybe it really was just a big joke. A cruel, cruel joke.

The tentthe army had provided her was spacious, with a thick, padded mattress in one corner, fur blankets all around the floor, and a small pile of red coals close to the bed, warming the room. Lanying, the woman she had met earlier, had supplied her witha pot full of warm water, in which she’d taken a slow sponge bath, and then she had stripped out of her clothes and into a set of warm wool dresses. Lanying had offered her leathers like the soldiers wore, but she couldn’t bring herself to wear them. Not when they belonged to her family’s enemies.

She scarfed down the bowl of hot, savory broth Lanying had brought her. The other woman sat across from her, watching as she slurped the greasy noodles and crisp vegetables.

“You look like you haven’t eaten properly in days. All skin and bones.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, stretching her long legs in front of her. “What made you want to marry Feng Mian, of all people? Is he a good lay, or something?”

Zhi Ruo nearly choked on the broth. “What?” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, blinking over at the brazen woman.

“You know. A good fuck.” She raised an eyebrow as if she wasn’t sure why Zhi Ruo was so flustered. “Wait. Did you guys not do it?”

A blush stained her face, and a slow smile spread over Lanying’s face.

“Ah, so youdid.” She all but cackled, bringing her thighs to her chest and tucking her chin over her kneecaps. “I just can’t believe you’d marry such a bastard like him. You look like a respectable woman. So I thought, well, hell, maybe the only reason you’re with him is because he can please you.”

She didn’t want to think of their night together, not after discovering the truth. Her mouth tasted like ash. “It’s not like that.”

“Then? I mean, Feng Mian might be pretty, I’ll give him that, but that’s about it. Once he opens his mouth, it’s like a monster is born.”

Even though Zhi Ruo wanted to hurt Feng Mian for the way he had hurt her, she didn’t like the way Lanying was talkingabout him. She stared down at the noodles bobbing above the oily surface of her broth. “We didn’t have a choice.”

Her throat tightened and she didn’t know how much she should say to the woman. She didn’t know what Feng Mian was planning on telling Chanming, and she suspected their stories needed to be the same … But then again, why did it matter? Feng Mian was aligned with them all. He could have her killed if he revealed the truth. A pathetic, pathetic part of her clung to that as hope.

“Did he … force you?” Lanying tilted her head, concern washing over her face. “I mean, hell, that man is twisted, but I didn’t think?—”

“No, that’s not it.” Her hands tightened around the bowl and she took a long, tentative slurp. When she finished the food, she placed the empty bowl on the floor and laced her fingers together. “We, um, did some sort of magic marriage where we share magic.”

“Ah.” She bobbed her head. “That sounds about right.”

A pause.

“Wait. Why did you need to do that?”

Zhi Ruo hesitated again. “What do you mean?”

“Okay, I think the better question is … How did you meet? What situation were you both in that you needed to resort to that?”

Her head was starting to hurt. She just wanted to crawl under the fur covers and fall asleep for hours. Days, maybe. Her gaze drifted to the bed, and then back to the expectant woman.

“We were imprisoned together by the Kadians. We both needed to escape.” She silently hoped that Lanying didn’t probe any further, but the glimmer in the other woman’s eyes told her she wanted more details. “Anyway, how is the war effort going? I haven’t heard anything since, well, you know.”

“Since you were imprisoned?”

“Yes.” She shifted against the embroidered cushions.

“Why were you imprisoned in the first place? I don’t mean to be rude, but you don’t seem …” Lanying waved her hand, glancing at Zhi Ruo’s simple clothes, and then at her face.

“I don’t seem important?” Her voice came out small. Barely a squeak.

Lanying smiled apologetically. “I didn’t saythat.”

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