Wu Wei felt as if she were submerged in icy water, on the verge of suffocating. She jerked her eyes open and gasped for air. A vast blue sky filled her vision.
Propping herself up, Wu Wei sat and stared at her surroundings in shock. She was right in the middle of a lake, its surface calm and mirror-like.
She glanced down at her clothes—a gray jacket, a fleece, and familiar hiking boots on her feet. Her breath caught. These were the very outfit she’d worn before transmigrating.
In a panic, Wu Wei scanned around and spotted her mountaineering backpack on the kayak, along with her camera and the wrapper from an energy bar.
“Is this… Did I come back?” Wu Wei could hardly believe her eyes. She leaned over the edge of the kayak. First came the sight of her drenched reflection, and then… the ancient archway arch sunk at the bottom of the lake, silent for who knew how many years.
The face in the water looked so panicked that Wu Wei barely recognized it. She reached out and touched the surface. Ripples spread, scattering the image, and the arch grew hazy.
“Embroider Maiden…” Wu Wei opened her mouth, but her throat burned with pain, parched enough to feel like it was on fire.
“Why is this happening? I came back… but what about Embroider Maiden?” Wu Wei clutched her chest, gripping the fabric there tightly. The once-smooth fleece felt rough and prickly against her skin.
A stabbing pain pierced her chest like needles. This was the place she’d dreamed of returning to, and now she really had… so why wasn’t she happy at all?
“No! Embroider Maiden…” Heat welled in Wu Wei’s eyes, tears gathering fast. The thought of never seeing her again in this lifetime left Wu Wei struggling to breathe.
Kneeling in agony on the kayak, Wu Wei hugged herself. The rough, damp fabric of her fleece pressed into her hands, the pain spreading through her body until even breathing hurt.
“Why? I couldn’t come back when I wanted to, and now that I don’t want to leave, it forces me back?”
…
Plip. Plop. Wu Wei blinked in confusion. Was it… raining? Why?
…
“Weiwei, wake up, Weiwei!” In the County Yamen Jail, Embroider Maiden knelt on the ground and gently shook the unconscious Wu Wei. A few tears fell onto Wu Wei’s cheek.
Embroider Maiden stood and pleaded through the arm-thick wooden bars to the jail guard outside. “Big Brother, please, could you give us a bowl of water? I beg you.”
Perhaps it was the sheer sorrow on Embroider Maiden’s face, or maybe the two taels of silver she’d given him earlier, but the jail guard actually fetched some water. When he passed the bowl through the bars, a bit splashed out.
Embroider Maiden thanked him profusely, then knelt back beside Wu Wei. She carefully held the bowl to Wu Wei’s lips, her voice trembling. “Weiwei, drink some water…”
The clear liquid moistened Wu Wei’s parched lips and the dark scab at the corner of her mouth, but most of it trickled down her sealed lips and soaked into the damp, moldy straw pile.
“…Weiwei.”
Blood had soaked through Wu Wei’s clothes at the small of her back. The moldy stench of the straw mixed with a faint metallic tang filled the air. The cell was bitterly cold, no matter how many layers one wore. Wu Wei lay insensate on the straw, her ten fingers buried deep in it, clutching.
Seeing she couldn’t get Wu Wei to swallow, Embroider Maiden set the bowl aside. She glanced at Wu Wei’s injury, steeled herself, and slipped an arm under Wu Wei’s chest to lift her upper body. With her other hand, she picked up the bowl, took a mouthful of water, pried open Wu Wei’s lips, and slowly fed it in.
One mouthful, two, three—until the bowl was empty.
The sound of a scabbard clanging against the bars rang out. The jail guard called, “Time’s just about up.”
Embroider Maiden wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, rose silently, and walked out of the cell.
The iron chains wrapped around the bars again with a clank, and the lock clicked shut. The jail guard escorted Embroider Maiden out. In a shadowy spot, she pulled another one-tael ingot from her bosom and pressed it into his hand.
“Big Brother Guard, I’d like to come back tomorrow. What time are you on duty?”
The jail guard grinned and pocketed the “gratuity” happily. Earning three taels in a single day? What was there not to like?
“Come after noon tomorrow. I hand over at noon and work the next four hours till late afternoon. But…” He dragged out the word and hefted the silver.
Embroider Maiden replied, “I understand, Big Brother Guard. Don’t worry. Tomorrow, I’d like to bring Weiwei two blankets. Would that be all right?”
The jail guard thought it over. No special instructions had come from above when they brought the prisoner in, so treat her like any common inmate… Family could bring essentials for anyone short of heavy criminals or those on death row.
“Sure, bring them.”
Embroider Maiden paused and curtsied to him. “Thank you so much.”
Out of the Heavenly Prison, the sunlight stabbed at Embroider Maiden’s eyes. She raised a hand to shield them and hurried away without looking back, straight toward home without pause.
By the time she arrived, night was falling, and her shoes were in tatters.
The County Yamen was far away, and Embroider Maiden had never made herself thick-soled, sturdy shoes. Her thin embroidered slippers were filthy with embroidery thread snagged and soles worn through. Her feet burned with pain, but she hadn’t stopped once. She hadn’t even thought to eat the white steamed buns and stir-fried cured meat she’d packed on her back for Wu Wei. She’d left before dawn with her bundle and hurried all the way to the yamen. Upon learning Wu Wei was in the big jail, she’d rushed there regardless, then walked nonstop from the county seat back home.
Luckily, she’d brought silver—five taels in all, prepared for Wu Wei in case she couldn’t eat or sleep well in the city. Two taels for information, three to grease the jail guard’s palm.
Hearing the door, Eldest Sister Li and her four family members came to the yard. In the fading light, Eldest Sister Li made out Embroider Maiden’s face and cried out, rushing forward to hug her. “Little Sister, what happened to you? Come inside!” She turned to her three daughters. “Add some wood to the stove, heat up the food in the pot, and bring it to the east room.”
Embroider Maiden said nothing, nearly collapsing into Eldest Sister Li’s arms. She let her friend carry her inside, to the kang, where she slumped against the nearby cabinet.
Eldest Sister Li lit the oil lamp on the kang table and got a full look at Embroider Maiden. She gasped in shock.
Embroider Maiden looked like a ghost—hair disheveled, dirt caking her hair, cheeks, lashes, and nose. Two clear tear tracks cut through the grime on her cheeks, curving down to mix with dust at her mouth into dried mud.
In Eldest Sister Li’s mind, Embroider Maiden and Wu Wei were like figures from a New Year painting—one serene and elegant, the other lively and spirited. Their clothes always spotless, cheeks rosy, eyes bright and dewy. Eldest Sister Li had envied them endlessly.
She’d never seen Embroider Maiden like this.
Eldest Sister Li eyed her closely. Though she looked soulless, her clothes were still neat and proper, which eased her worry. She chalked it up to the windy road.
“Oh dear!” Eldest Sister Li exclaimed. She spotted Embroider Maiden’s ruined shoes and hurriedly helped her out of them. Cradling her feet, she inspected them with a mix of reproach and heartache. “My dear sister, your feet are all blistered!”
Embroider Maiden shook her head weakly. “I’m fine, Sister Li. Don’t worry.”
“Do we have any medicine at home? Wait here!” Eldest Sister Li went to the door and bellowed, “Er Ya! Er Ya!”
Er Ya ran up. Eldest Sister Li instructed, “Run home and fetch that salve we made. Hurry!”
“Mom, it’s dark out. Can I take Doggy and the others?”
“Sure, but make it quick!”
Er Ya called Doggy and Big Slab to follow her and dashed out of the yard.
Back inside, Eldest Sister Li saw Embroider Maiden hadn’t moved an inch. She sighed and sat beside her. “Little Sister, it’s too late to grab medicine now. We have a home remedy—pound the tender leaves of Hundred Blessings Grass into a paste, slap it on the wound. Stops the pain and swelling. I’ll put some on you shortly.”
“Thank you, Sister Li.”
Eldest Sister Li took out a handkerchief and wiped Embroider Maiden’s face. “What on earth happened? Where’s Weiwei? Why didn’t she come back with you?”
Embroider Maiden’s eyes reddened again. She held back tears and explained everything to Eldest Sister Li.
Eldest Sister Li was silent for a long moment. “Contempt of court? That’s not like Weiwei at all. She’s clever as they come. How could she?”
Embroider Maiden sniffed. “…Sister, you don’t know. Weiwei has a grudge with the county magistrate. He’s tried to harm her several times and failed. This time, he’s out for revenge.”
Eldest Sister Li fell quiet. She wanted to offer comfort but didn’t know how—the man was Lord Qingtian, after all. She didn’t dare.
“Can your feet… still make the trip tomorrow?” Eldest Sister Li asked.
“I have to go. Tomorrow, I’ll head to Returning Spring Hall first to buy some Stick Wound Ointment, then ask the doctor to prescribe a few pills to send to Weiwei. The prison cell is filthy and freezing—I need to bring her a quilt, too.” Embroider Maiden’s voice was faint and feeble, yet resolute.
“But your feet… Walking that far will blister them terribly! Why don’t… why don’t I go for you?”
“Thank you for the kind offer, Eldest Sister, but the Heavenly Prison isn’t a place for you. What if Weiwei wakes up? I need to be by her side.”
Eldest Sister Li grew anxious. “Oh dear, if only we had an ox cart at home! I know how to drive one, and you could suffer a bit less!”
Embroider Maiden fell silent for a moment before murmuring softly, “Weiwei’s always wanted to buy an ox to bring home, but we never found a good one.” Her tears could no longer be held back. They spilled out one by one, soundlessly tracing paths down her cheeks before dripping onto her clothes and vanishing.
“Embroider Maiden, my dear, please stop crying. Look at your eyes—they’re so swollen! If you ruin them with all this weeping, what a shame that would be for your exquisite embroidery skills!”
Embroider Maiden wiped away her tears with a hand. “I won’t cry anymore.” After all, if she ruined her eyes from crying, who would take care of Weiwei?
