Empress in Hiding by Zoey Gong & Amanda Roberts

Author:Zoey Gong & Amanda Roberts [Gong, Zoey & Roberts, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Empress Publishing

15

As Honghui leads his horse around the tall, red walls of the Forbidden City, we quickly catch up to the caravan of donkey carts carrying the ladies. We have not gotten far, and seem to still be within Peking. I twist in the saddle to look back, expecting to see the foreigners chasing us. Instead, I only see throngs of local people, carrying bags and children, leading animals, and pushing wheelbarrows, trying to get away from the invaders with as many of their possessions as possible.

“Will the foreigners follow us?” I ask Honghui. “The donkey carts will not be able to out-run them. I can’t believe we weren’t told to leave until the invaders were at our very gates.”

“No, they won’t follow us,” he says. “By taking over the Forbidden City, the throne, they have no need for more. They don’t want to sack the city, only make their point to Guozhi.”

The horse whinnies and side-steps to avoid stepping on someone. I hold tightly to Honghui to keep from falling off. There’s not really enough room in the saddle for two people, but we have to make do. Honghui pulls the horse to the right, forcing it through the crowd to stay right behind the last cart.

“I’m sorry I didn’t send word to you sooner,” he says, his tone small and even, as though he is truly regretful, but the words are hard to say.

“I’m sure you did the best you could,” I say, a lump in my throat. “If you hadn’t told me weeks ago that this was a possibility, we probably would not have made it out. I would have been at a complete loss as to what to do.”

“I’m sure my brother will be pleased with you,” he says, and then he chuckles. “I’m actually surprised you managed to get everyone out. You were able to stay calm in a terrifying situation. I’m impressed.”

In spite of everything, I can’t help but feel flattered and feel my cheeks blush even though he can’t see me. This is the most we have spoken to each other since I became empress. His voice still has the power to make me weak. It’s a good thing I’m not trying to walk right now.

Riding the horse, though, is terribly uncomfortable. My thighs are already sore, as is my lower back. We are ambling along slowly, slower than a walking pace since the overloaded carts are being led by servants. I hold tightly to Honghui, afraid I might slip off one side or the other of the horse. It’s hard to keep my balance.

“How bad is it?” I ask. Honghui is quiet for a long time before answering.

“Bad. The fighting along the coast was devastating. Some of the fishing villages are completely gone. We didn’t have many ships, but the few we did have were destroyed, at least those positioned at Dagu. There are some far to the south, but it would take days for them to receive any messages to come to Peking, and even longer for them to get here.

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