While Shen Wei and Prince Yan were deeply engrossed in their affectionate and sweet moments, Zhang Yue's situation had taken a turn for the worse.
Instead of executing her directly, Prince Yan had ordered her to be beaten with twenty lashes daily. Zhang Yue lay weak and frail in the firewood shed, her strength dwindling by the day. Parched and disoriented, she murmured,
"Water... water..."
Her voice was desperate and faint.
After a long while, the shed door creaked open, and two slender figures entered. Zhang Yue struggled to open her eyes and saw her maids, Fang Er and Cui Er. Fang Er was holding a bowl of water.
Zhang Yue felt a surge of relief. Despite her dire circumstances, her maids had remembered her kindness and secretly come to bring her water.
Her throat dry and hoarse, she croaked, "Water... Fang Er, give me water..."
Fang Er knelt down, holding the bowl of clean water, and asked softly, "Mistress, do you want water?"
