"Where is the Princess Consort? ... Does the Prince want Yemei to follow her?" Yemei asked, her heart filled with panic. She stole a glance at the man lounging lazily on the bed. Seeing no hint of displeasure on his face, she continued, her voice trembling.
She was genuinely terrified of the Prince's wrath and his punishments, yet she knew that punishment was unavoidable. She had managed to lose the Princess Consort—who was not exactly nimble on her feet—right inside the Prince's Estate. This was a true disgrace to the Shadow Guard camp. Even she felt that death a thousand times over wouldn't be enough to atone for her failure. She assumed the Prince would have her hacked into pieces and thrown out to feed the dogs.
She could have hidden in her room and played dead; in fact, Sanwuliu and the others had advised her to lie low, telling her to at least wait until the Princess Consort woke up before coming to ask for mercy. But after hearing them describe the tragic state Lan Qinghuan was in when the Prince carried her back, she couldn't rest for a single moment. Ignoring her splitting headache, she came to the hall to accept her punishment, though her primary motive was to see with her own eyes whether Lan Qinghuan was all right.
Chapter 186