Did You Do What I Asked?

Fen Hua stared at the young girl who walked into her room. She carried a cup on a silver platter. Her hands trembled making the contents of the cup slosh around, some spilling onto the platter.

"What is this?" Fen Hua asked, instantly uneasy by the distressed look on the maids face. What exactly had happened today to make this family so troubled? Why was this girl looking like she was about to die?

"Your family has prepared this tea to sooth your nerves . Please drink it Miss," the maid said quietly. There was a tear trickling down the side of her face. She set the cup on the table near Fen Hua and quickly wiped at the tear with the side of her hand.

Fen Hua was so troubled about what was happening outside of this house that she wasn't paying enough attention to what was happening inside the house. She grabbed the cup and slowly sipped at the tea. There was a strong taste of honey, and something bitter and harsh. She wasn't sure what the latter taste was, but had been told once that the worst tasting medicine always worked the best. She applied this logic to the tea and forced it down.

Concubine Jiao walked into Fen Hua's room. She was tired and sickened by this family. The young girl lying on the bed sent chills down her spine. She wanted to lash out to tell someone, but how could she? She might as well be just as much a captive to this home as Fen Hua had always been.

She turned to the young girl next to her, her eyes narrowed and serious.

"Did you do what I asked?"

"I did,"Shaoqing said nodding her head. She was unsure what had happened or why, but she knew that Concubine Jiao was a kind woman and hoped that she had put her trust in the right person.

"Then that's good," Concubine Jiao said. "Though when she wakes up, she might wish she were dead." She let out a sigh and called in the guards she had spoken too earlier that day. She had hoped beyond hope that this family wouldn't have made such a poor decision, but shortly into the nightmare of a gathering this morning she had begun to fear the worst and began to secretly prepare things. She wasn't sure why she was putting so much effort in for this girl, perhaps she felt they were the same. Or maybe she only did it out of spite towards the Baek household. Either way she had done all that she could do now.

She walked into the main house. She kept her arms inside of her cloak, hoping that no one would notice the way they were clawing into one another out of frustration.

"Is it done?" Elder Ruolan asked. She had the decency to at least look sad. Concubine Jiao couldn't tell if she truly was, or only if she was sad that her son had lost a child today.

"It's done," Concubine Jiao answered. Hey eyes tight. "They are taking her away now. They are loyal to Beak Zhiqiang, they will not talk about what happened today."

"Good," Lady Meirong said with a sigh. Even she was a little troubled by the actuality, the finality of what had happened. "I'm glad it's over now." She leaned back in her chair, looking very little like the Lady that she was.

"Then we can rest," Elder Ruolan said firmly. It was a strange mixture of relief and disappointment inside of her. Relief that her son would be safe, disappointed that she had lost such a pretty granddaughter. There was also, deep down inside of her, a quiet girl that had long ago been silenced by the hardship of life. That girl, her innocence, cried for the loss of a child that had never truly been given a chance to live.

Elder Ruolan with the help of Quan stood up and left the room. Hauling and the Second Wife followed shortly after, Hauling stretching and yawning as she walked away. Lady Meirong took a moment longer, her thoughts jumbled together as they tried to find solace with everything. Finally she let out a sigh, all of the uncertainty of this day slowly dripping away, and the rightness of what occurred solidified in her mind. After today she wouldn't think of it any longer. The ghost of a child that had caused so much turmoil to this family had finally been dealt with. For now on the battle they faced would be a little easier because she no longer existed.

Two guards sat against a wall near the gates of the city. In a small cart being pulled by a horse was a sleeping Fen Hua. She was covered by a stack of burlap sacks, hidden to anyone who didn't take the time to look. These guards were waiting for someone to speak to them. Their stomachs growled with hunger and their eyes were heavy with sleep. The sun was beginning to rise, they had been there for the entire night.

"There he is," one of the guards said pointing. The other guard looked in the direction he pointed and seeing it was in fact the man they were waiting on stood up and began to dust himself off. The other guard waited till he was a little closer before he stood. He glanced at the cart and hoped that she would find some sort of happiness in the future. He turned back to the man that was coming for her and looked him over. As always he looked slovenly. His face was covered in a spattered greying beard, his eyes half glazed from drinking. His clothes were dirty and smelt of vomit.

"It this it?" He asked shifting his dirty chin towards the cart that held Fen Hua. The guards nodded without speaking. "Then I'll be back soon." He said as he dragged himself towards the cart He grabbed the reigns of the horse and began to walk towards the gates. Anyone who saw this man with a horse and burlap sacks would assume he bought feed or seed for his farm. This type of business happened every day, all day. There was little suspicious about it, and was likely to not be questioned as he walked through the gates.