Quite busy with current events, so I'm sorry if I am not too responsive to you guys (┳Д┳)
**
Yuan Zi Yan hears humming, a faint tune. The voice sings:
"Enjoy every little thing that life throws your way."
"..The sunsets, the laughter, the moon, the gatherings, the takeaways. For you will wake up one day and realize that you are living someone's dream. Enjoy everything, as such a beautiful dream will end sooner or later."
She wakes up feeling eroded.
Adrift. Lost.
As if slowly remembering words to a forgotten prayer.
Or recapturing her lost youth.
In that breath,
She stood up on the bed, clutching the sheets and feeling completely lost.
Yuan Zi Yan glances at her hands, from which several days ago have disappeared and reversed back. She doesn't have long. It won't be long until her feet begins to disappear too.
She glances at the box containing the herb Scholar Li had given her a few days ago. Maybe it is time to enjoy what I can here, she thought.
When the door suddenly opens up, she slides the box under her pillow.
"Miss Yuan," A familiar servant knocks on the door before she enters the room. "You have a letter from Co-Commander Xu and General Li. I have been sent by them to ask for your company. There is an emergency right now." She passes Zi Yan a letter, with Sir Xu's name in the front.
Zi Yan replies, "Will you be the one to guide me there?" The maid has been working for Scholar Li for quite a while. She should be reliable.
The servant nods with her head down. "Also, Miss Yuan. Before Scholar Li left for an urgent matter, he has asked for you to please drink this medicine, as it will help you with your deficiencies." She lays a bowl of medicine on a table counter. The servant soon exits the room.
The letter seems to be from Sir Xu. Opening the letter, Zi Yan reads that the Co-Commander is in need of her help, that he and General Li have encountered a riddle that is yet to be solved.
Zi Yan takes a small sip of the bowl of medicine. She then writes a brief note for Scholar Li about her sudden departure, making sure to include her whereabouts. Exiting her room, Zi Yan sees the maid bow, "Miss Yuan, please follow me."
They depart from the Li Manor hereafter. The maid leads the Miss through the city streets, into a strange region, and past an abandoned alley way.
In the path of a narrow and long alleyway, the servant continues walking. When Zi Yan observes the sky, she notices that it's becoming grey. She feels a water droplet fall on her hand, "Pardon me, but it seems it may rain soon. Will we be there yet?" They are a few feet apart, but Zi Yan notices that the maid grows quiet.
Suddenly, the servant turns and wraps her hands around Zi Yan. She forces her to the ground and tightly strangles her. Zi Yan tries to break the hold and fight back, but she feels her muscles giving up on her.
The medicine she drank earlier— It isn't from Scholar Li. It is made to deliberately weaken her body.
Zi Yan gasps for air as she attempts to explosively remove the choke, but her arms slowly grow numb.
"I'm sorry, Miss..." cries the maid as she firmly lock her hands around Zi Yan's neck, "I was threatened to kill you or else my family will be in danger. Please, forgive me." Her grip tightens as air slowly escapes Zi Yan's system.
I can't die here, thought Zi Yan. That Eighth Prince wants to remove her before he is executed.
The Elder Miss uses up her final energy to grab a sharp silver hair stick from her hair and stab the maid's right shoulder. Her defense causes the maid to loosen her grip, allowing the Elder Miss room for escape.
Zi Yan gasps for air as she runs and runs. The maid speeds up behind her, screaming, "Let me kill you, Elder Miss!" The rain begins to pour down, blurring the sight of both of them.
The Elder Miss runs in circles and through conflicting pathways to confuse the maid. With no where left to run, she has no options but to hide in one of the many abandoned and voided settlements. They are all dominated by dust, spider webs, and broken down objects.
She settles herself in one of the worn down cabins, hiding behind a large wooden barrel.
A distance away, Zi Yan can hear the maid begin yelling and kicking stuff. "Elder Miss.. You are a kind person. If you sacrifice yourself, I can save my family of ten. Help me out, will you?"
Please go way, please go away. Yuan Zi Yan hopes that the sound of rain makes it difficult for the maid to hear her heart beat, that the rain washes away her foot steps, that the smell of rain dilutes the fragrance of her clothings.
Thirty seconds pass.
Zi Yan can still hear her screams and plead.
Ten minutes pass.
The maid's foot steps are more distant and remote.
Thirty minutes pass.
The Elder Miss can only faintly hear her now.
An hour passes.
Yuan Zi Yan can longer hear the maid, but she stays behind the barrel, afraid to move even an inch.
**
Scholar Li rushes to Xu Kai, gasping for air: "W-What emergency did you guys have? I am here now!" He notices the city gate has been broken, with a wide gap. Black fumes rise in the air, accompanied by the smell of rain.
Xu Kai, who is behind the gates and under a tent, sights Scholar Li, "There was an explosion earlier. General Li is heavily injured and is unconscious at the moment. You are here just on time, Scholar Li. But who sent a letter to inform you?"
"W-Was it not you who sent me a letter?"
They exchange glances, before Xu Kai's eyes suddenly widen. "It's a plot."
"..Zi Yan is in danger?!"
"Scholar Li, help me take control of the situation and treat the soldiers' wounds." Xu Kai immediately drops his map and beckons for his white horse.
YOU ARE READING
The Tale of A Villainess ✔️
Historical Fiction[Completed] Yan Zi, a botanist and author, accidentally transmigrated into her own historical novel as the notorious villainess. She meets Xu Kai, the handsome Co-Commander of the Imperial Military Guards, who is attracted to her during their danger...
