Sneaking back into the palace hadn’t been particularly hard for Shen Yexue, she knew every corner of it more than the back of her hands. All the blindspots she usually used to sneak out for a drink in the villages became even more useful.

The only problem was carrying an unconscious Ru Yi out while making sure she didn’t get caught.

By the time Yexue got to the inn where her sisters were, she was a sweating and heaving mess. The only source of light in the small room was a flickering lantern.

"What the—" Lieyin shot up from the bed. "Who the hell is that?"

Yexue dropped Ru Yi on the floor like she was a sack of potatoes.

Shen Lieyin’s gaze went to the bundle on the floor before sliding back to Yexue. "Don’t tell me you kidnapped the maid."

Yexue looked away. She’d thought of every possible excuse she could give her sisters for bringing Ru Yi along with them.

She couldn’t tell them Ru Yi was the one that had planted the Empress’s seal in her chamber. Lieyin would immediately strike her down before any explanation could be made.

Qingyue wouldn’t let it slide either. It might not look like it, but she was taking their exile harder than the rest of them. Not that she’d ever admit it.

"We can’t survive on our own," Yexue said, unable to maintain eye contact with their sisters. "I’m pretty sure none of you can do any chores and stuff..." she was trying so hard not to stutter.

Lieyin narrowed her eyes. "You brought her along so she could be our maid?"

Yexue bit down on her bottom lip. "I mean...that’s a good thing, right?"

"You kidnapped her." Qingyue spoke for the first time since they got to the village and took refuge in the small room.

Yexue moved her weight from one foot to the other. "Consider it payback. I can’t let Zhao Chen have the last laugh. He’s madly in love with Ru Yi. Taking her away from him is the one way to make him feel the pain he caused us."

For a second Yexue thought they wouldn’t buy the lie, even though it wasn’t completely far from the truth. She didn’t want her stepbrother anywhere close to Ru Yi.

She didn’t want to entertain the possibility that Zhao Chen might marry Ru Yi now that Lin Yuexin was forever out of the picture.

"So this was why you disappeared in the middle of the night?" Qingyue’s expression was calm but on the inside she’d been panicking when she couldn’t find Yexue. She’d almost bolted up from the bed in relief when Yexue walked in.

Yexue scratched the back of her neck. "Can she stay? I mean we’re used to people serving us our whole lives. The only thing we’re good at is fighting—"

"And charming the skirts off innocent girls," Lieyin added to lighten the mood. Which worked because a tiny smile was on Qingyue’s face.

"That’s not the point!" Yexue yelled with a pout, which earned them a knock from the other side of the thin wall.

"Keep it down will you?" the angry voice yelled.

Lieyin immediately turned to yell back when Qingyue grabbed her hand to stop her. "A lot has happened today. Let’s not cause any problems."

A soft groan had them all turning to the bundle that was on the floor.

The first sound that filtered into Ru Yi’s ears was the clinking of cups somewhere in the distance and the creak of wood.

Her head throbbed.

For a moment, she didn’t remember where she was. Then everything came rushing back. The Empress...the pass...Yexue...

Her eyes snapped open and she pushed herself upright too quickly. It made the world around her tilt.

Yexue caught her shoulder before she could fall. "Careful."

Ru Yi froze.

The triplets... Lieyin was watching her with that annoyed expression that was constant on her face, like she was dirt on her shoe.

Qingyue’s expression was unreadable, but there was tension in her gaze.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, already looking around for a means to escape. Did they find out that she’d planted the seal? Was it why they kidnapped her?

Yexue walked around her so she could sit on the bed beside Qingyue. "Why don’t you guess?"

Ru Yi tried to get a feel of what was going on. If they really did find out she was the traitor, she wouldn’t still be breathing.

"I’ve done nothing wrong," Ru Yi stuttered.

"That’s subjective," Yexue said. "But it doesn’t matter, you belong to us now."

"Yexue..." Lieyin, sighed. "What does that even mean?"

She corrected herself. "You’re to serve as our personal maid until we have no use for you."

"No...no...no. First of all, I’m no longer a maid. I’ve been officially relieved of my duties. Second, you can’t just kidnap me and force me to work for you. That’s not how it works."

"Well, how it works is—you obey our every word."

"Why?" Ru Yi asked, eyes of steel clashing with Yexue’s. "It’s not like you’re still princesses. If anything we’re all equals and you have no right to order me around!"

Ru Yi regretted those words the moment they were out of her mouth. But she also wasn’t wrong. They were now of the same low status as her.

Shen Lieyin was the first to react. She stood up from the bed which made Ru Yi start to move back until she was flat against the door.

Before anyone could stop Lieyin, she raised her hand and smacked Ru Yi in the face. "Title or not, never compare us to a low-life like you. You think you can say whatever you want because we’ve been exiled?"

Ru Yi’s head reeled back from the force of it, the image of Lieyin in front of her blurring in and out of focus.

Qingyue sighed, exhaustion already pulling at her shoulders. "She’s not entirely wrong. We have the right to keep her here against her will."

Yexue was quiet, everyone knew Lieyin’s temper all too well. But it didn’t mean something in her chest didn’t hurt when she saw the tears gathering in Ru Yi’s eyes.

Lieyin wasn’t listening. "You know what? I think I like the idea of claiming her for ourselves? It’s not like she has anywhere to go."

"The Empress granted me a pass to live as I wish. I’m under no obligation to do anything for you." Ru Yi’s voice was low, a sob threatening to break free. "I no longer belong to the palace or anyone. You can’t force me to serve you."

Lieyin bent down until she was at eye level with Ru Yi. Something about the girl simply unnerved her, especially when she talked back like this.

"And now I’m telling you that you’re going to do exactly as we say." Lieyin raised her hands and placed them on either side of Ru Yi’s head.

"What are you doing?" her sisters and Ru Yi yelled at the same time. But Lieyin didn’t answer, instead she closed her eyes.

All of them felt the air shift.

A faint glow flickered to life around Lieyin’s fingers, pale and silver, like moonlight caught in motion.

"Lieyin, don’t do it!" Qingyue yelled, immediately she realized what her sister was about to do. But Lieyin was far gone into her head.

The glow pulsed softly around Ru Yi’s head, the energy dense but controlled. Deliberate. Alive.

Ru Yi’s eyes widened, her heart beginning to pound.

At first it was cold, sharp, like frost sinking into her skin. Then as quickly as it had come, it turned into heat.

Blinding, searing heat that spread from Lieyin’s fingertips and straight into her veins. It made her entire body seize as if her breath had been taken from her.

"What—" Ru Yi could barely breathe. "What is this?"

Her voice broke as the energy surged. It slipped beneath her skin, threading through her like it was trying to claim her.

Ru Yi’s back arched as the sensation intensified, her fingers clutching at the sleeves of Lieyin’s robe without meaning to.

The glow brightened, pulsing in rythmn—once, twice— before sinking completely into her.

Ru Yi immediately felt the presence inside of her. Something coiled deep within her chest, faint but undeniable, like a second heartbeat that did not belong to her.

Her body went slack.

Shen Yexue caught her before she could hit the floor. "What did you do to her?" she yelled at Lieyin. "Wasn’t it enough that you hit her?"

Lieyin stood up like she didn’t have a care in the world. She went back to sit on the bed, facing Qingyue who felt like her head was about to explode. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"It’s a binding," Qingyue answered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Lieyin imprinted her qi into her meridians."

Yexue’s stomach dropped. "What?"

Qingyue sighed, why couldn’t her sisters just act normal for once. She’d been hoping to get a proper rest before deciding where they’d go immediately when they left the village.

"It will connect the both of them. Lieyin will be able to know where she is." She glared at Lieyin which was the only true emotion she’d shown all day. "If she tries to run, Lieyin will feel it."

Yexue immediately shot up and grabbed Lieyin by the corner. "You have no right. She’s mine!" She turned to Qingyue with hopeful eyes. "Can it be undone?"

Qingyue looked at the frail girl on the floor. "Not without damaging her meridians. She’s bound to us for life."