" Is this yours? Here, wear it. You need to look beautiful in front of His Majesty. You should be honored that you're getting a chance to serve his majesty. In front of his majesty, don't act stubborn like you're being now. Understand?" The head maid who was helping Tan Xiu to dress up said while putting the hairpin which was on the table near her bed.
She caressed the exquisite jade hairpin and an envious smile appeared on her lips seeing how valuable it looks. " From where did you get this hairpin? I have never seen such a beautiful and delicate hairpin before. Even Her Majesty doesn't have an ornament like this." the maid asked in surprise.
Tan Xiu who was sitting in front of the mirror soullessly, raised her head and looked at the hairpin through the mirror, and saw the maid looking at it enviously.
She smiled bitterly and said, " That was my father's gift to me when I came into this world. This hairpin is the symbol of love and care of my father." she said bitterly. The hairpin which used to be her pride of her being the Princess of Tan Dynasty and dear daughter of Tan Jiahao, now the same position led her life to become like this.
Because of her, not only her family but hundreds of families had suffered the same agony as hers.
-
After she got ready, the maids held onto her as they walked her out of the chamber to escort her to Yang Hanying's chamber. Tan Xiu looked at the sky and noticed there wasn't any moon nor any stars visible at this moment.
" It's a truly dark night," she smiled bitterly.
" Ahh.." Tan Xiu cried in shock when a woman, dressed in white suddenly appeared in front of her and started throwing eggs at her. Tan Xiu looked at her in shock but before she could say anything, the woman looked at her in loathing and yelled, " You….You're the princess of the Tan Dynasty, right?"
Tan Xiu was confused but before she could say anything, the woman continued, "Because of you... my husband and children died. And you're going to serve that bastard after killing everyone? If you are going to serve him in the end, then why didn't you agree to do so before?" the woman cried while clutching at her chest in pain.
" Just to save you and your fake pride, the whole country burned to death. My husband, daughter, even my unborn child, everyone died...all because of you. You should have died instead, you bitch." She cried while trying to throw eggs at her again but was stopped by the maids who were standing by Tan Xiu.
Tan Xiu looked at the woman with wide eyes and turned pale upon hearing her words. " Me...I didn't…." she sobbed while trying to explain to the woman but couldn't. A part of her was blaming herself too.
" You didn't? After killing everyone, you're going to serve that bastard? You're truly shameless. A bitch like you shouldn't be a princess. You should die. You not only killed your whole family but also the whole country just to save your mere honor. I curse you Tan Xiu, I curse you."
" You will never be able to live a happy life. You will cry bloody tears and will die a painful death. Just like, my..my husband died a painful death. It's a curse of a woman who lost her husband and children and honor, that you will never get to be with your loved ones. No one will love a bitch like you. You deserve to be alone and die in agony, in this life, and in your next hundred lives, you will never be happy. Never. Ever." the woman said while tears made their way from her eyes.
Tan Xiu stood rooted to the place as she saw the guards coming over and dragging the woman away with them. She was lost for words as everything happened so suddenly.
She hears the whispers of the maids and finds out that she is a widow of a soldier who was brought here as a hostage. She not only lost her family and child but was also forced to serve the soldiers for their pleasure. Hearing about her condition, something in her heart twisted making her feel miserable.
" You should not worry about what she said. She would be locked in storage for throwing eggs at His Majesty's woman. You should just think about serving his majesty." The head maid turned to Tan Xiu to console her, whose face has become pale as a sheet.
Tan Xiu frowned and held her abdomen as she felt uncomfortable and it started to ache which made it hard for her to walk. Her complexion was also turning grey, making her feel nauseous by every passing minute.
-
Tan Xiu stood in front of the Main Palace as the maid asked her to wait as she went to check if Yang Hanying was in his chamber or not. They knew that she can't go anywhere from the palace so they were not worried about her escaping.
The palace was protected by hundreds of soldiers and not even a fly could enter the palace without their permission, how will she manage to escape and to where?
Tan Xiu looked at her hands which were shivering and looked around. She doesn't want to serve him, not after what he did to her family and other people. She won't let him touch her with his hands which were covered in other people's blood.
She silently walked to the well which was in the side yard near her, letting the maids think that she was taking a walk to calm her nerves. They didn't even follow her since she can't go anywhere and they have orders to not force her to do anything. She was a woman loved by Yang Hanying, so they couldn't do anything to her and let her roam freely unless she causes trouble.
Tan Xiu walked to the well and looked at the glistening water and clenched her fist seeing its deepness.
She smiled bitterly and climbed up the well and looked at the water which looked cold as ice. She smiled and mumbled, " It looks quite cold."
Her hands shivered but before she could jump, she heard someone shouting, " Tan Xiu, what the hell are you doing?"
She turned around and saw Yang Hanying looking at her in horror. He glared at her and made his way to her in long strides.
However, he stopped when he readied to jump, "Tan Xiu, don't be stupid. Come down. Are you trying to die just to save your chastity? Do you think it can fix everything? Stop your stupid actions and come down. I promise to treat you well." he said while trying to coax her.
Tan Xiu scoffed and said in a low voice, " Treat me well? Who are you to treat me well? You killed my whole family, those innocent people died just to satiate your bloodthirst and you're saying you did all this for me?"
" Well, if it is true, then it's more important for me to do this. I want to see how you fail to get your prize of victory even after going through all the efforts. Yang Hanying, you claimed that you liked me but you destroyed my whole family and...even me. That's not how you love someone. Yuan Song loved me and sacrificed his life to save me and the country. You're just a monster who doesn't love anyone but himself."
She smiled and said, " I prefer to die hundred times than being destroyed by you. You will never get me, not in this life, nor the others. Goodbye." she jumped into the well, leaving everyone in shock.
Yang Hanying ran behind her to save her and by the time the guard brought her up from the well, she was soaked in water, her face had turned ashen and her body was as cold as ice.
Mao Li also came out to see the drama which had caused quite a commotion. She watched from afar as Yang Hanying held Tan Xiu in his arms and was patting her face, worriedly.
" Tsk. Stupid girl. She didn't need to go this far. She was about to die in a few hours already." she sighed. The bowl of porridge she has fed her had the poisonous herbs mixed in it. She doesn't want Yang Hanying to touch this girl and forget about her importance just because of this new girl. She wanted to keep her greatness in the palace and if Tan Xiu became his favorite consort later, she might lose her position as the Empress forever.
How can she let her do this? But before she could die by that poison, she took her life herself. She could have saved from the poison but after drowning in water, it increases its effect.
'The biggest enemy of her life was that girl herself.' she shook her head tiredly.
She sighed and saw Yang Hanying looking worried for the first time. What was so special about this girl anyway?
-
" Tan Xiu...Tan Xiu…." Yang Hanying patted her face as he tried to wake her up, but she didn't respond to his words.
" You can't die. You're my possession. You can't die without my permission. Wake up, stop your play and wake up." he patted her face with his trembling hands.
He felt scared for the first time. Her bubbly smiley face came to her mind when he saw her for the first time. He wanted her to smile like that to him but she never did. All she did was frown at him. Was it so hard to love him? If she had loved him from the start, nothing would have happened.
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