With that resolve, the four women left the inn together. The moment they stepped into the bustling street, Mei Liang's eyes lit up with joy. She could not remember the last time she had walked among commoners so freely.
In her previous life, she had spent three—no, almost four—years trapped within the palace. After the second year of Emperor Xiang Long Wei's reign, she had never once stepped beyond the crimson walls. The only time she had dared to sneak out was on that dreadful day when her father and brother were executed.
She could still see it clearly—their heads rolling into the ground before her eyes. That day, grief and hatred had consumed her so completely that she hadn't even noticed the bustling life of the streets around her. Now, however, the sight was dazzling. Wen Fei and Mei Lang, too, appeared unusually animated.
