Winding Path to Freedom

Lei Mingxing dragged her body along the muddy ground, sticks and stones scratching her limbs and face, pulling her hair and ripping her bun apart, if anyone had encountered her at that moment, they would have taken her for a beggar or ghost rather than an esteemed princess. But that couldn't happen, she tried her utmost to prevent it. Crawling on the ground next to the stone path, instead of attempting to hide behind trees or bushes. No one would expect a princess to degrade herself like this, Lei Mingxing was sure.

So, with her initially yellow dress resembling a rag more and more, she continued on her way to the western part of the palace grounds where most royal ceremonies took place and the Ancestral Temple stood, as well as the pride of the Lei Royal Family that proved their longlasting sovereignty, their Ancestral Tree, a Weeping Light Willow that was as ancient as the Lei Dynasty itself.

And that would be cut down all the same just a few years in the future.

A mocking smirk unconsciously pulled up the corner of Lei Mingxing's mouth. She still remembered the period in her past life when several of the b*stards tormenting her tried agitating her with the news of the Lei Family's downfall after figuring out that she was a Qingshui native, only for her to start laughing in their faces.

She had no sympathy for her family, not now not then, although she had let go of her resentment towards them after hearing that every single one of them had died. Even her two sisters, who were married off before Qingshui Kingdom fell, passed away at some point, leaving no heir for the illustrious Lei Dynasty.

In the end, it was only Lei Mingxing who outlived them all, the one they had cursed as the singular stain on their pure bloodline all her life...

It was a meager comfort, only distracting her for half a second before the reality of her situation mercilessly assured her that death would have actually been the better option.

'...'

Lei Mingxing silently shook her head.

No matter, that time had passed and if she didn't want to end up the same again, she should put her entire focus on escaping now.

She slowly separated her upper body and cheek from the bare ground again and continued to drag herself forward after the group of servants had passed, just like several others before.

At this time, the sun already stood high in the sky from what Lei Mingxing occasionally caught. Sending out its heat so that her appearance turned even messier and dirtier due to the sweat trickling down her skin. Her arm and shoulder muscles were aching after the hours of continuous exercise but it would still take a while until she reached her destination, especially with the occasional breaks she was forced to take because of the passing palace staff.

Right now, she was at a corner of the path that separated the living quarters of the royal harem from the main palace where the king and queen resided. She still needed to follow the edge of the path the entire way until she reached the gate of the temple area, then the only obstacle left would be to wait for nightfall so she could scale the surrounding wall and sneak to the Ancestral Tree that would allow her to escape by jumping over the 5-meter tall palace walls.

So far, her plan was going smoothly and her disappearance hadn't been noticed. The servants only generally complained about her as usual and gossiped about whatever maid and guard couple were currently struggling to hide their relationship which would soon end in them getting let go in the best case or executed in the worst. Finally, there was also some occasional high-pitched fawning among the maids about the handsome guests that had arrived yesterday, especially Xia Beilian with his truly exceptional looks was popular among them. In their words, he even compared to Lei Minxing's siblings in terms of beauty and they were famed throughout all of Ren Continent!

These words only caused Lei Mingxin's expression to darken, lips pressed into a thin line and the corners of her mouth pointing straight to the ground, while impatiently waiting for them to leave and take their foolish ramblings with them.

Unfortunately, now that she was crawling along the main path of the palace, the number of servants and guards running around had risen sharply, leaving her no choice but to halt her actions more and more often until her progress had slowed down to a snail's pace, assuring her that she wouldn't need to wait out for nightfall at the temple grounds. Actually, it would have been fortuitous for her to arrive before midnight at this rate!

Nonetheless, she kept moving, after all, she had come so far already, there wouldn't be any point in her turning back now.

As another hour passed with hardly any progress on her part, Lei Mingxing suppressed a deep sigh resting her head on the cool earth just as she had done countless times already, but this time the steps she heard coming her way were different from the many servants, eunuchs and guards'. They were extremely light, almost indiscernible if you didn't listen carefully, while also maintaining a sense of leisure and poise, that was incomparable to the steps that shuffled after them, trying to imitate their pace.

No doubt, these were two of her family members with their maids passing by. Lei Mingxing shifted her eyes but kept her face pressed against the ground, spying through the leaves and branches to maybe guess who it was.

"...ways keep in mind what I told you. Initiate eye contact but never be the last to break it, else he will take it as an invitation and men never pursue easy prey. After averting your gaze, do not smile but also do not hide your face, give him the impression that he intrigues you and he will be intrigued by you."

"I understand, Concubine Mother," the princess agreed gently to her mother's words, her tone soft and demure, just like a proper princess was expected to respond, although she couldn't quite hide the determination and ambition in her voice.

"Very good," the concubine's satisfaction was audible,"straighten your back a bit more an..."

Lei Mingxing could no longer hear what the two were saying but even that snippet was enough to assure her of their identities and purpose.

Her younger sister Lei Xinyi and her mother, Concubine Zhang on their way to 'charm' Xia Beilian. An inevitability.

Small Theater:

Concubine Zhang: As a princess always keep your posture upright, your hair neat and never sully your dress! Only then will you attract a good husband.

Lei Mingxing: ...good to know.