Ashes of the CrownThe smoke lingered for days.It rose from the ruins of Liwen’s heart like an accusation to the heavens, a gray shroud that dulled the sun and swallowed the stars. The capital was unrecognizable streets once lined with silk banners now choked with ash, statues melted into nameless forms, the air thick with the scent of loss.And through that wasteland walked Su Yu, the Unyielding General. His armor was blackened, his left arm bound in rough cloth, but his stride remained unbroken. Soldiers saluted as he passed, their faces streaked with soot and disbelief. For though they had survived, the question hung heavy in every gaze: At what cost?Behind him, the palace lay in ruin. The jade pillars had collapsed; the throne room was a crater of stone and memory. Somewhere beneath it all rested the body of Queen Linxue, the last monarch of Liwen.At dawn, Su Yu climbed the half-broken steps of the old watchtower. The wind carried the low hum of mourning songs from the lower ci