The night forms plans that hatch during the day. If I don’t move tonight, I might wake up to an entirely new tomorrow where I’m nothing but the son of a courtesan. I remained standing on the edge of the balcony, my back turned to the room. The night wind drifted through the palace grounds below, rustling banners and lanterns alike. The capital looked peaceful from up here, but my skin pricked with an immediate, defensive heat. Minutes crawled by in absolute, heavy stillness, yet I felt nothing. I frowned, detaching myself from the cold wind of the night when the air behind me suddenly felt crowded. A presence had settled into the chamber, heavy and perfectly still.I pulled myself away from the open sky, stepping back over the threshold and into the dim, candle-lit room.A shadow pooled quietly in the corner of my chamber. The figure slowly separated itself from the darkness as though it had always been standing there.Taishi Wei Wenzhi stood perfectly straight, his hands tucked nea

By the time Wenzhi and I returned through the ancient tunnels, the Hour of the Ox had already arrived; the deepest, most unforgiving part of the night. The damp, suffocating chill of the underground tunnels clung to my skin long after the ancient stone floorboards slid back into place, sealing the abyss beneath my bedchamber. Neither of us spoke. And sincerely, there was nothing left to say. Wenzhi removed his dark cloak and bowed. With a single, dismissive wave of my hand, Wenzhi dissolved back into the shadows of the room, executing his exit as soundlessly as he had arrived. He left no footprints, no lingering aura, nothing but the fading scent of incense. Left entirely alone, I tore off the coarse, midnight-black robes of a nameless rogue and let them pool on the floor like a shed skin. I dragged the heavy, gold-embroidered imperial silks over my shoulders, fastening the jade clasps with numb fingers. I was back in my armor. I was the Emperor again.I lowered myself on the edge

The doors opened.For a brief moment, all I could see was a silhouette standing beneath the morning sun.But the moment her foot crossed the threshold, the entire room changed. It was as if she had dragged a howling winter wind straight out of the abyss. The temperature plummeted instantly. The charcoal burners sputtered, the sweet incense smoke bent sideways as if terrified, and the lamps flickered wildly. A woman stepped through the light. She wore a long, flowing robe of an impossible color; a deep, fiery blue that seemed to swallow the light around it.It was Lin Xue’er.She looked elegant. Flawless. Beautiful. The same silver-blue hair. The same graceful movements. There was no dark, billowing smoke trailing behind her like I imagined minutes ago, no obvious corruption rotting her skin for someone who had spent over a year in the pagoda. That was exactly what made my stomach twist into a tight knot. She looked exactly like herself, which meant whatever nightmare had happened to

The wooden door clicked shut behind me, finally cutting off the cool night air.For the past several hours, I had been on horseback, fulfilling the mandatory protocol of escorting Han Ming and the rest of the Han Clan delegates to the capital’s border. The tension during the journey was thick enough to cut with a blade. Han Ming didn’t say a single word to me or the other imperial guards, his face still pale, his eyes fixed straight ahead as he led his remaining warriors back to their territory. Seeing them cross the boundary line without shedding blood felt like quenching a fire just before it triggers an explosion. Back inside my small resident, I finally felt the breath of whatever home resembles. The moment I stepped deeper into the room, the lingering smell of firewood and old paper washed over me. It felt strangely normal. Shockingly peaceful, even. The past four days had been a relentless nightmare. Between hiding an unconscious Head Taishi, avoiding imperial patrols, and pr

I didn’t know how long I stood there.. a minute, ten, twenty, I don’t know. The only thing I remember was the fading whispers of court maidens and officials passing by, as the whole world shrank until there was only Lin Xue’er.The woman I once intended to marry. The woman who had shattered my world with a beautiful smile. The woman I had branded to the very depths of her soul. Standing there in her bright blue robes, she looked like nothing less than evil clothed in fine linen.Her aura and pressure … it shouldn’t have been possible to regain anything after being branded but there she was standing elegantly. A sharp tap against my arm broke my paralysis.My vision snapped back into focus. Reality rushed back in a violent wave. Shuyin was still right beside me, her white knuckles clamped tightly around my uniform sleeve. Her posture was coiled, her eyes locked onto Lin Xue’er like a territorial beast guarding its prize. Lin Xue’er didn't hesitate. She began to walk toward us, her s