8
Selena stared at me, dumbfounded.
“Wh–what? Why?”
We’re both pregnant! Isn’t that wonderful? If one of us has a boy and the other a girl, we can arrange their marriage, and then…”
13.16
Chapter 2
I gently wiped the tears from her eyes. I knew how much having her own child meant to her.
But it was this child that confirmed my suspicions.
“After I’died‘,” I asked, “did the Emperor, in an effort to console you, spend the next three nights in your chambers?”
She nodded.
“And did your diet change during those three days?”
She thought for a moment. “The Emperor had the royal physician bring me some calming soup. I drank it for three days straight.”
I sighed. Looking at her still–innocent face, I said, “That wasn’t calming soup. It was an antidote that would allow you to conceive.” “We didn’t escape.”
“The news of the Empress’s death has never been announced. And even though we had guards, our journey here was far too smoo- th. Those guards… they weren’t mercenaries. They were too well–trained, like soldiers. And the guards we hired here… they fight like the Emperor’s personal guard…”
The color drained from Selena’s face as the realization dawned on her.
She grabbed my hands, her voice trembling. “An antidote to let me get pregnant? What does that mean?”
It was hard to say, but I forced the words out. “A month before I faked study. He mentioned that Consort Zhang was pregnant…”
Imy death, I overheard Marcus talking to one of his men in his
“I was going to tell you, but the Emperor intercepted me as soon as I entered the palace. He forbade me from telling you.”
“He… he said you were jealous of every woman he favored, that you had used vicious means to kill several women in the palace. He said if it weren’t for your family’s power, he would have disposed of you long ago. He was determined to protect this one heir, and he threatened me. He said if I let the news slip and something happened to Consort Zhang, he would…”
Selena looked utterly devastated. Tears streamed down her face again. “He would what? Tell me!”
I couldn’t wipe her tears away fast enough.
The Emperor was a new ruler, his position unstable. He relied on Selena’s father to maintain his footing at court. That was one of the reasons he had favored her exclusively for three years.
But because her father was so powerful, Selena could not have a child until the Emperor’s position was secure.
I had watched her suffer for three years, childless and sighing day after day. I wanted to do something for her. That year, when the new concubines arrived and the Emperor’s attention began to wander, Selena’s position became precarious. She urged me to mar- ry quickly, while she still had some influence to help me.
So I chose Marcus, the decorated general, the Emperor’s trusted man. I thought that if Selena’s family was ever weakened, or if she completely fell out of favor, I, as the General’s wife, might be able to help her. Or perhaps Marcus and I would fall in love, and he would become her new protector.
But I was not worthy.
Marcus had told the Emperor that I had been eavesdropping. That was why the Emperor had threatened me. And Marcus, under the Emperor’s secret orders, had poisoned me, which was why I had fallen so ill.
I hated the Emperor.
I hated Marcus.
And most of all, I hated myself for my foolish hopes.
13:16
Chapter 2
I knew that after I left the palace, Selena was no longer the Emperor’s sole focus. Every time I visited her, I could see the sorrow in her eyes. I knew that if I suggested leaving, my heartbroken and indecisive friend would follow me without a second thought. My plan to fake our deaths had always included her.
