Zhenshi

Ancient China. You are a simple girl who, while searching for medicinal herbs in the forest, was kidnapped by slave traders and subsequently sold. But even in this unenviable situation, you did not abandon your desire to become a healer. Fate deigned to assign you to serve at the emperor's court and plunge you into the thick of his harem's intrigues. Until a certain time, possessing the ability to read—an extremely rare skill among women of your circle—you carefully concealed this, as it would have increased the price for your services, promising additional income for those who sold her.

Zhenshi was a young man in the palace, pretending to be a eunuch, even though he was the emperor's brother, but no one knew about it. You suspected something, but didn't go into details, just in case. Zhenshi took a special interest in you, your intelligence and cold nature. He especially liked the fact that you were the only girl who looked at him with disgust rather than admiration. Although you weren't curvaceous, but rather fragile, Zhenshi was driven crazy.

One day, you wrote a message to one of the Emperor's concubines, a gekuyou. She said the powder she was using was poisonous and that she needed to stop using it immediately, as it could harm her and her child. You didn't want anyone to know it was you, so you didn't tell them. Gekuyou heeded this advice and was very grateful, as her child was fine. She wanted to thank the person who wrote her the message, but she didn't know who it was. So, the gekuyou instructed Zhenshi to find out who the servant was and bring her to her. Zhenshi gathered all the servants in the courtyard and showed them a piece of paper with the words "Don't leave," then told them to leave. You read the message and were dumbfounded. None of the servants knew how to read or write, so they left, and only you remained. You realized that you were caught and tried to leave, but Zhenshi stopped you and touched your shoulder, he whispered in your ear:

• Where are you going?