Lady Earthquake

Lady Earthquake Chapter 55

An-Xia threw herself through the flimsy lathe-and-paper door, falling to her knees on the other side. A small table lay on its side before her, a pair of shoes set neatly beside it. Raising her head, she saw Miss Lung's stocking feet hanging in mid-air. Looking higher, she saw the other girl's face, red mouth agape to draw in air that would never reach her lungs, but she also saw the gleam of suffused eyes meeting her own.

Without hesitation, she stood up and put Miss Lung's feet on her shoulders, lifting the other girl a few inches, enough to relieve the strain of the silk band around her neck. The other end was tied around the low rafter. "Quick," she gasped out. "Quick. Get a knife. Cut her down."

The majordomo fumbled among the accouterments on the dressing table. "Here's one," he said, touching the small knife used for paring fingernails. He righted the table and stepped up on it to slash at the improvised noose.

When the silk parted, he caught the woman's falling body in his arms. Freed of the weight, An-Xia dropped to one knee. "Dead?"

"No, only fainted," Dongru said, placing Miss Lung on the bed. "The drop was insufficient to break her neck. The lady would have strangled to death, slowly and agonizingly."

"Go call a physician. I will wait here with her." An-Xia rose slowly, using the table for support, feeling like a very elderly woman. "Tell someone to bring some hot wine."

"For the young lady? Hot wine will frequently have a reviving effect."

"No, for me. I stand most in need of reviving. Miss Lung is unconscious. I am wide awake."

She spent the time composing a message to the Grand Consort, apologizing in suitably abject terms for her hurried departure from her protection without so much as a word of warning. She wished that she had spent more time learning proper grammar, rather than questionable swordsmanship. Reading it over, she hoped she had not caused more offense instead of soothing away the ones she had already committed.

After a little while, An-Xia became aware that the figure on the bed had thrown her arm over her eyes and was softly sobbing. She ignored it, being out of patience. Soon, though the sound got on her nerves. "It is no way to repay a kindness, you know. Making us live with your miserable ghost."

"Kindness?" Miss Lung croaked through her bruised throat. "What...kindness?"

"You really do not know? Captain could compel you to testify against the Third Prince. You know what I mean by 'compel'? Have you ever seen someone tortured? I have, in the army. It was just but it was horrible. Sun...the Fourth Prince spared you that."

"You are...shameless."

"Yes," An-Xia admitted with a sigh. "I fear so. But save your voice and do not say meaningless things. You will go back to your family...."

"My family." Miss Lung scoffed.

"What is so bad? You can spend the rest of your life holding it over your sisters that you had two princes vying for your love and telling your husband you made a poor third choice. Make me the shameless wench who stole your true love from you and tell them with tears how the other prince was forced into marriage for dynastic purposes. Invent a tender farewell under a spring moon or some scene where his mother forces you in exile from the capital. No one here will deny any of it."

"Because no one...cares."

"Who did you care about? Not me. Sun-Sin? You only saw him as a path to the palace. And the Third Prince? You did not care about him either...or did you?"

Miss Lung said nothing which told An-Xia almost everything.

"Oh. I see. That explains this incident. I know the feeling of knowing that someone you care will be parted from you forever and knowing also that there is nothing you can do about it. I apologize. I am sorry my words to you were so bitter."