The moon hung like a silver coin in the sky, casting long shadows along the palace corridors. Jin Xuan Yue moved without sound, his robes a whisper against the marble. Servants shrank away at the sight of him, mistaking the tension in his jaw for anger.
But it wasn't anger. It was something far more dangerous. Doubt.
He had seen her that morning, kneeling by the koi pond, feeding the fish with delicate grace. The exact same gesture… from a thousand years ago.
Qing Yue used to do the same — tilting her head just so, speaking softly to the creatures as if they understood her.
He hadn't been able to look away.
Now, his footsteps took him toward the lower wing. He shouldn't be here — this was the servants' quarter. But something compelled him.
From the shadows, he saw her — Li Hua — slipping into a small side room.
He waited.
When she came out minutes later, he moved forward, barely a breath of wind announcing his presence.
She gasped, nearly dropping the tray in her hands. "My Lord—!"
"What were you doing inside?" he asked, voice low.
"I… I was lighting incense for the kitchen spirits. Lady Jin Mei requested it."
A lie. He could see it in her eyes.
"Let me see your hands," he said.
She blinked, confused. "Why?"
"Your fingertips. If you lit incense, they would bear soot."
For a second, she hesitated.
Then lifted her hands — clean, perfect, not a trace of black.
He stepped closer, voice a murmur now. "Do not lie to me, Li Hua."
A flicker of defiance crossed her face. But it was gone just as fast. She bowed low. "Forgive me, my Lord."
He left without another word — but not before glancing at the door she had exited from.
Later that night, he returned alone. The room was empty, dusty, untouched… except for a single item half-hidden beneath a loose floorboard:
A comb — not just any comb. Carved from moonstone, in the shape of a fox.
His breath caught.
"I gave you this," he whispered.
---
Elsewhere...
In the northern gardens, Rui Shen was being pelted with petals.
"Stop! Jin Mei! I yield!"
Jin Mei stood on a stone bench, pelting him with falling plum blossoms. "Then say it!"
"No!"
"Say it!"
"Fine!" Rui Shen threw his hands up. "You don't look like a demon when you wake up in the morning!"
"Too late," she huffed. "You already said I do. This is justice."
"It was a joke!"
"Your face is a joke."
"Low blow, Princess."
She smirked, flinging another branch's worth of petals over his head. "Now, fetch me a peach. Or I tell the servants you cried."
"I was crying. From pollen allergies!"
She laughed and walked off, leaving him muttering behind her.
---
Back in her chamber, Li Hua sat in silence, staring at her reflection.
"He's starting to see through me…"
Her fingers clenched.
But… when she looked in his eyes earlier, she hadn't seen hatred. She had seen something far worse.
Hope.