Intertwined Fates With The Crown Prince

Chapter 1: The Prince's Tragic Demise

Prince Trevor died suddenly, found lifeless on the bed of a beautiful concubine, Lillian.

The Empress Dowager was furious, slamming the table, "All concubines shall be buried with him!"

Fortunately, I was merely a maidservant.

Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, someone pushed me forward, "Your Majesty, Makenzie has long been favored by His Highness. Surely, he would miss her in the afterlife."

The Empress Dowager didn't even spare me a glance, her voice cold, "Kill her."

Before I could utter a word in my defense, the blade of the guard beside the Empress Dowager slashed across my throat.

I died.

But when I opened my eyes, I was alive again.

...

I opened my eyes once more.

"A scandal of epic proportions, Prince Trevor died from excessive indulgence."

"Shut up, mind your tongue, or you'll lose it."

People crowded around, pushing and shoving. I didn't know how many times I was stepped on before everyone suddenly knelt down.

-The Empress Dowager had arrived!

The first thing she did was execute the renowned courtesan. Prince Trevor had died while entangled with her.

The second thing she did was summon all the women in Prince Trevor's residence, including the maids and servants.

The ten or so concubines who were usually favored by the Prince were the first to be called. They were dressed in thin, gauzy clothes, their figures graceful, but their faces were pale, trembling like leaves in the wind.

The Empress Dowager's face was cold, her eyes sharp, her voice as chilling as the early spring frost, "Since you were the women favored by the Prince... naturally, in life, you belonged to him, and in death, you shall be his ghosts. It is your honor to be buried with my son. In the afterlife, you will continue to serve him."

"Is everyone here? Begin."

The once vibrant concubines instantly lost their color, like flowers battered by a storm.

"Your Majesty, spare us!"

Their pleas for mercy echoed as they kowtowed, their foreheads bleeding, but they didn't care.

However, the Empress Dowager remained unmoved, making a gesture for "kill," and the guards drew their swords and stepped forward...

"Your Majesty, Makenzie has long been favored by His Highness. Surely, he would miss her in the afterlife."

This time, I saw clearly. It was Nicole, who usually had the best relationship with me, who pushed me forward, causing me to fall to the ground in a disgraceful manner.

I shuddered all over, and before the Empress Dowager could speak, I hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I am still a virgin."

"His Highness's status is noble, I dare not dream of him. I beg Your Majesty to see clearly!"

I knelt properly, performing a deep kowtow to the Empress Dowager with a loud thud.

The Empress Dowager finally looked at me, but it was with the gaze one would give an ant, "You do have some beauty."

Suddenly, she sneered coldly and turned to the side, "Rhonda, you go check personally."

"Yes, Your Majesty, this humble servant obeys."

I was roughly dragged into the inner chamber, and Rhonda yanked down my pants, her two fingers probing sharply...

"Hiss-"

The sharp pain hit, blood flowed out, followed by tears of humiliation.

I bore it!

Losing my virginity was better than having my throat slit.

Rhonda wiped the blood off her fingers with a handkerchief, gave me a disgusted look, and took the blood-stained handkerchief to report back.

I trembled as I came out of the inner chamber, the Empress Dowager glanced at me sideways, "You were trusted enough to serve in the Prince's private study, so you must have gained the Prince's trust."

"He will need someone to serve him with pen and ink in the afterlife. You shall continue to serve him in the afterlife."

?

My confusion and shock were drowned in the excruciating pain of my throat being slit once again, and I died once more.

Chapter 5: A Desperate Gamble

When I opened my eyes again, Nicole had pushed me out once more. This time, I grabbed her and we both tumbled to the ground in a heap.

Before she could speak, I pushed her away and quickly said, "Your Imperial Majesty, Nicole claims she has deep feelings for Prince Trevor and is willing to follow him in life and death. She wishes to be buried with him!"

Sister, you've caused my miserable death twice. Don't blame me for striking first.

"Oh?" The Empress looked at Nicole with great interest. "Very well, I shall grant your wish. Guards, take her away."

"The sooner you leave, the sooner you can catch up with the Prince on the road to the afterlife. Think of it as honoring your deep love."

"Your Imperial Majesty, spare me! Spare me! I never said that! It was Makenzie who framed me! She must be jealous that Prince Trevor favored me more, so she wants me dead!" Nicole's struggles and cries were in vain.

The Empress's side guard, a merciless man, drew his sword and, with a swift motion, ended her life swiftly.

Nicole's blood splattered across my face.

I lowered my head even further, hoping the Empress wouldn't notice me.

"Makenzie?"

What you fear most always comes true.

The Empress had called my name.

Nicole, I curse your ancestors for eighteen generations!

"Your servant is here." I pressed my forehead against the blood-stained blue bricks, prostrating.

"You both served in Prince Trevor's study. She was willing to be buried with him. Are you willing?"

A death sentence.

If I said yes, the Empress would smile and say, "Good, I shall grant your wish."

If I said no, the Empress would surely rage and say, "How dare you, wretched maid! Being buried with the Prince is an honor. Go and serve him well."

Either way, it meant death.

"Your Imperial Majesty, Prince Trevor is my master, my world. With his passing, my world has collapsed. I only wish to follow him to the afterlife. However..." I bit my lip and stood up, touching my lower abdomen. "I was intimately favored by the Prince in his study and did not take the contraceptive medicine. There might be a trace of his bloodline in my womb."

"I implore Your Imperial Majesty to grant me a month. If after a month there is no sign of life, I will request a cup of poison to join the Prince."

This was my only stalling tactic.

Though I lied, it wasn't entirely implausible.

Prince Trevor was known for his love of women, often flirting with any maid with a bit of beauty.

Moreover, the Prince was not yet married and had no official consort, though he had other concubines. None of these concubines were allowed to bear his firstborn. After spending the night with him, they were all given contraceptive medicine.

By claiming to carry an unborn child, I might buy myself a chance at survival.

If the Empress believed me, I would have a month to plan my escape.

"Very well, I shall grant you thirty days."

However, I didn't get thirty days.

I was strictly monitored, with a physician checking my pulse daily. Half a month later, my menstrual cycle arrived...

I couldn't hide it anymore. I was indeed given a cup of poison and died once again.

Chapter 3: If we're going to die, let's die together.

"Your Grace, the Prince's bloodline cannot be severed. Among the maids and concubines, any one of us might be carrying his child..."

I first sent Nicole to accompany Prince Trevor, then used the possibility of carrying his bloodline to buy myself a month. I was already very familiar with the process.

This time, I planned to make a big move, involving all of Prince Trevor's concubines.

A dozen delicate beauties cast grateful glances at me.

At this moment, who cared about jealousy? Surviving another day was all that mattered.

I had originally thought that having more people would divert attention and increase my chances of escape, but who knew...

The Empress didn't treat us as humans at all.

We were all confined to the large dormitory where the low-ranking maids lived, held together under heavy guard, with doctors visiting daily.

Anyone who got their period was immediately dragged away.

The outcome was always the same: death.

Some tried to escape under the cover of darkness, but once caught, they were beaten to death in front of us as a warning.

No one dared to escape anymore.

"We're doomed, we're doomed. I'm next!" Lillian cried, her face streaked with tears, huddling beside me.

Judging by the days, her period was near.

The others weren't much better off. The luckiest among us might live another month at most.

We all knew that after being favored by the Prince, we were always forced to drink a bowl of contraceptive medicine. Our wombs were empty; there would be no children.

"Do you dare to kill? To rebel?" I gathered the beauties together and whispered to them.

They were so scared they could only whimper. Normally, they were good at flattering, singing songs, playing instruments, dancing, and reciting poems...

But when it came to killing, setting fires, and escaping, they all stared wide-eyed, showing a clear and foolish innocence, unable even to whimper.

My head throbbed suddenly.

Incompetent companions!

"In short, if you don't want to die, set a fire tonight. When the guards come to put it out, we'll escape in the chaos..."

"When the time comes, don't all run in the same direction. Scatter and run in different directions to divide their forces."

"Anyone who can escape is better than all of us waiting to die together. Understand?"

Whether anyone could escape would depend on their own abilities.

That night, everyone picked up a candlestick and set the bedding on fire... Thick smoke rose, and the guards outside were indeed drawn to put out the fire.

A group of worthless beauties ran around chaotically, without any plan.

"Catch them!"

"If they resist, kill them without mercy!"

Soon, one after another, they were caught.

A group of worthless beauties.

Except for me, they were all captured.

However, I wasn't much better off. Even though I was familiar with the terrain, I couldn't evade the layers of guards and pursuers. I couldn't even get out of Prince Trevor's residence.

"Makenzie is the main culprit behind the arson and escape. Catch her and beat her to death!" The guards turned Prince Trevor's residence upside down.

I managed to avoid being found temporarily because I hid in an unexpected place.

The mourning hall for Prince Trevor.

It was the dead of night, and this place was haunted. No one was here.

After all, no one wanted to keep vigil for a prince who had been notorious in life.

I hid under the offering table, nibbling on some sacrificial fruits to stave off hunger.

This wasn't a long-term solution. I could avoid detection for a while, but not forever.

Once discovered, I would have no place to be buried.

"Look at you, in life, you were uneducated and indulged in women."

"In death, you still drag others to be buried with you."

I peeked out from under the white cloth of the offering table. In front of me was a large black and gold lacquered coffin, inside which lay the corpse of the notorious Prince Trevor.

I didn't feel scared; instead, I couldn't help but curse in my heart. Good riddance, may the Lord of the Underworld show some mercy.

I spent the night under the offering table, hidden by the white cloth. Even during the day, no one discovered me. Thanks to the lazy servants at Prince Trevor's residence, who only did superficial cleaning, I remained hidden. If they had lifted the tablecloth to clean, I would have been exposed.

Living in constant fear and boredom, my only amusement was eavesdropping on others' fake mourning for the Prince...

Some exchanged a few perfunctory words.

Some wailed and put on a show of grief.

Some took the chance to hurl curses, kick the coffin, and spit...

No one genuinely mourned for him.

It was said that Prince Trevor would be buried tomorrow. So today, more people came to pay their respects.

The Empress also came.

She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, dismissed everyone, and said sorrowfully that she wanted to spend some final moments with her beloved son.

Once alone, she laughed softly, her voice dripping with sarcasm and venom, "You little bastard, you got what you deserved."

The Empress's attitude towards her own son seemed off?

I wasn't sure, so I listened more carefully.

Holding my breath, I strained to hear...