Chapter 27: 27

Madam Xiao stood in the shadows of the long corridor, her back pressed against the cold stone wall. She watched the heavy wooden door of Lu Qing’s room close as her husband, Chang Lu, stepped out. He didn't look back. He walked with his head high, his footsteps sounding loud against the floorboards. Madam Xiao waited until he turned the corner before she moved. She didn't walk; she ran. Her long silk skirts bunched in her hands as she hurried toward the eastern wing of the mansion.

She reached her son’s room and pushed the door open without knocking. Inside, Lu Ren was sitting at a low table. He was a young man with a calm face and sharp eyes that usually saw more than he let on. He was holding a book, his finger marking a page, but he looked up the moment his mother burst in.

Madam Xiao was gasping for air. Her hair was slightly loose from her frantic movement, and her face was pale. She paced back and forth in the small space between the door and the table.

“Mother, why are you pacing and breathing like that?” Lu Ren asked. He closed his book and set it down carefully.

Madam Xiao rushed over to him and grabbed his hands. Her fingers were cold. “Lu Ren, you need to do something. You have to help.”

Lu Ren stood up, pulling his hands back slightly to steady her. “What’s wrong? Slow down and tell me what happened.”

“Your father is trying to marry Lu Qing out,” she said. The words came out in a rush.

Lu Ren frowned. He looked at his mother for a few seconds, trying to see if she was joking. “Are you sure you are not mistaken? Maybe it’s Lu Chen that he wants to marry out. Father has been focused on his recovery and his future lately.”

“No,” Madam Xiao insisted. She shook her head violently. “I know what I heard. It’s her. He told her she is going to marry Lord Wei.”

Lu Ren’s expression hardened. Lord Wei was a name everyone knew, and not for good reasons. He was an old man with a reputation for being cold and demanding. “Mother, don’t tell me you were sneaking around again. If Father caught you spying on his conversations, there would be trouble.”

“No, I wasn’t spying,” she lied poorly, then corrected herself. “I was going to my chambers when I saw your father walking through the hallway. I thought he was heading to my room, so I waited. When he suddenly diverted to her room, I got curious. I followed. I heard him tell her. He called her an asset, Lu Ren. He said she was just for an alliance.”

She held his arms tightly now, her eyes wide. “You need to step in. You need to help your sister. Go and speak to your father before the contract is signed.”

Lu Ren looked away. He walked to the window and looked out at the dark courtyard. “You know he doesn’t regard me, Mother. All he cares about is his younger son, Lu Chen. In his eyes, Lu Chen is the heir and I am just... here. Even if I say anything, he won’t listen to me. He might even move the date up just to show me I have no power.”

“At least try,” Madam Xiao started to say, but Lu Ren held up a hand to stop her.

“Lu Chen doesn’t even talk to me or regard me as his brother,” Lu Ren said, his voice flat. “They all think I am the son of a monster who had their mother killed. Stepping in now would only make things worse for Lu Qing. If I defend her, Father will think we are conspiring against him.”

Madam Xiao stepped toward him. Her eyes were wet. “This Lu Chen is different now. Since he woke up from his sickness, he hasn't been the same. This is a chance for us to prove to them that we didn’t have hands in their mother’s death. Aside from all that, Lu Qing is still young and innocent. She doesn't deserve to be sold to an old man like Wei. Please, Lu Ren. Do something.”

Lu Ren looked at his mother’s face. He saw the genuine fear there. He sighed and looked back at the book on his table. “Mother,” he said quietly.

She didn't move. She waited for his answer.

“Alright,” he finally responded. “I will go to her now. I’ll see what I can do.”

Madam Xiao let out a long breath. “Thank you so much, Lu Ren. Please, be careful with what you say.”

The night grew deeper. Inside her room, Lu Qing had barely moved since her father left. She was sitting on the floor where she had collapsed. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. The skincare cream that An An had used earlier had dried on her skin, feeling tight and uncomfortable. Her thoughts were a mess of fear and anger.

The door opened again.

Lu Qing didn't look up at first. She assumed it was an a coming back to clean up the mess. But the footsteps were heavier.

Lu Ren stepped inside. He closed the door quietly and looked at the broken vase and the water on the floor. He saw his sister sitting in the middle of it. He walked over and stood a few feet away from her.

“So it’s you now,” Lu Ren said. “Father doesn’t stop. He just wants to make sure he ruins all our lives.”

Lu Qing didn't answer. She stared at a piece of broken porcelain near her foot.

Lu Ren sat down on the floor a short distance from her. He didn't try to touch her or offer empty words. “I have seen this happen before and it didn’t end well, I knew this was going to happen.”

Lu Qing looked up then. Her voice was scratchy. “And you’re fine with it? You’re just going to let him do it?”

“No,” Lu Ren replied simply. “I’m not fine with it.”

“Then why are you here? To watch me cry?”

“I’m here because you can’t win against him directly,” Lu Ren said. He leaned forward slightly. “If you fight him, he will lock you in this room until the wedding day. He will take away your servants and your freedom. You know how he is when he’s challenged.” Lu ren lifted her up taking her to her bed

Lu Qing clenched her fists in her lap. “Then what do I do? Just accept it? Just go to Lord Wei’s house and wait for my turn to die like the others?”

Lu Ren looked at her for a long time as he dropped her . He seemed to be listening for any sounds in the hallway. When he was sure it was quiet, he spoke.

“Run.”

The word was small, but it felt loud in the dark room. Lu Qing froze. She stopped breathing for a second. “...What?”

Lu Ren reached into the inner pocket of his dark robe. He pulled out a folded piece of thick paper and held it out to her.

Lu Qing took it with shaking hands. She unfolded it. It was a hand-drawn map of the estate and the surrounding woods. There were markings in red ink showing guard rotations and path timings.

“I prepared this a while ago,” Lu Ren said in a low voice. “I didn't know who would need it first, me or you. I just knew one of us would eventually have to leave.”

“You’re serious,” she whispered. She looked at the map, then back at him. “You’re telling me to leave the family.”

“I’m telling you to save yourself,” he said. “There’s a route behind the west wall. There are fewer guards there because the wall is high, but there is a cherry tree close enough to the edge to climb. If you drop down on the other side, there is a path that leads to the main road. I’ve hidden a small bag of silver near the roots of the tree.”

Lu Qing’s breathing became uneven again. The idea was terrifying. She had never been outside the estate without an escort. “And you? What happens to you when he finds out you helped me?”

Lu Ren smiled faintly. It wasn't a happy smile. “I can’t leave. I have things I need to finish here. And Father won’t kill me. He needs someone to blame, and I’m used to being the target.”

Silence fell between them. The only sound was the distant chirping of crickets outside.

“But you can leave,” he said. “You’re young. You can disappear in a different city. Change your name. Live a life that isn't a trade.”

He stood up and brushed the dust off his robes. He looked toward the window.

“Midnight,” he said. “That’s when the guards change at the west wall. There’s a ten-minute gap where no one is watching that corner. Don’t hesitate. If you wait, you’ll lose your nerve.”

He walked to the door and put his hand on the handle. He paused and looked back at her one last time.

“If you stay, Lu Qing, you’ll disappear anyway. You’ll just be doing it in an old man’s house.”

He opened the door and slipped out as quietly as he had arrived.

Lu Qing sat alone again. She stared at the map in her hands. Her tears stopped falling. She looked at her reflection in the bronze mirror. She looked at the luxury of her room.

She folded the map tightly and tucked it into her sleeve. She wasn't going to wait for the contract to be signed. She stood up and began to walk toward her wardrobe.