Slightly turning her head, her face, hidden by disheveled hair, became visible—pale and gaunt. Slowly, rats began to smell the food, cautiously approaching, sniffing, and then happily eating.
She sat nearby, with rats crawling over her body, yet human and rodent coexisted peacefully, seemingly accustomed to this interaction. If the light were brighter, one could see her lifeless eyes watching the rats feast, with a hint of tenderness and joy.
For years, without these creatures in such endless darkness, she would have gone mad—though in reality, her current state was not far from madness.
In the darkness, time had lost all meaning. She would sleep when exhausted, wake and open her eyes, with no distinction between waking and sleeping. Her life had ended decades ago when the heavy curtains fell before her eyes—or perhaps even earlier.
After an indeterminate time, despite her current tolerance for hunger, she was beginning to struggle.
Yet the food deliverer had not appeared. Was she to die like this? Abandoned and ultimately becoming rat food—after feeding them for years, would she now be their meal? Her thoughts drifted, hazy.
Time passed. Nearly unable to open her eyes, a loud noise startled her, making her look at the door. Successive loud bangs followed, as if someone was striking it with a heavy object. With each strike, her heart jumped; for someone long accustomed to silence, such sudden noise was overwhelming.
Just as the repeated strikes hammered her heart, a final massive sound erupted, and the wooden door burst open. Light, seemingly from another lifetime, appeared before her.
“Who are you?” she asked, shielding her eyes from the light.
Someone carefully looked around and gently picked her up. “We are here to rescue you.” After speaking, they nodded to the people behind them and quickly disappeared.
Somewhere –
“Who are you?” the white-haired woman asked calmly.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
The person waved for them to leave, and it was Xu Qiu’er. “I am Xu Qiu’er, the principal wife of Long Hanxie.”
“
The woman was surprised and looked at Xu Qiu’er, “Why are you saving me? Aren’t you afraid of provoking the Empress?”
Xu Qiu’er regarded the woman, remembering a man from her past who resembled her.
”I will help you.”
