The palace did not sleep after the Red Pavilion incident. Lanterns burned through the night, guards doubled, whispers multiplied like cracks in ice. By dawn, every corridor carried a different version of the same truth: a ghost had walked the Emperor's garden and left alive.
Jiao Shui sat in her chamber, hands wrapped around a cup of cooling tea she had not touched. The events replayed in her mind with brutal clarity — Lingfang's blade flashing, Shenzha Jao's voice curling around her name, the Emperor's command that she would not leave his sight.
Footsteps approached.
Song Lingfang entered quietly, his shoulder newly bandaged. He tried to mask the injury with calm, but she saw it immediately.
"You're hurt," she said, rising.
"It's nothing," he replied, but didn't pull away when she reached for him.
Her fingers hovered, then pressed gently against the cloth. "You fought him."
"I would do it again," Lingfang said, eyes steady. "Every time."
Her chest tightened. "He's not like the others. He doesn't fight to win. He fights to remind."
Lingfang nodded once. "He wanted you shaken. He succeeded."
Before either could say more, the door opened again.
Prince Yang stepped inside without invitation.
He looked almost amused by the tension, his eyes flicking to Lingfang's bandage, then back to Jiao Shui.
"Well," he said lightly, "this is already becoming inconvenient."
Lingfang stiffened. "You had guards. Why wasn't he stopped sooner?"
Prince Yang shrugged. "Ghosts are difficult to catch. Especially when someone wants to be seen."
Jiao's gaze sharpened. "You knew."
Prince Yang smiled thinly. "I suspected. There is a difference."
She took a breath. "Why come here?"
His expression shifted, shedding mockery for something colder. "Because the Emperor has ordered changes. Effective immediately."
Lingfang's hand moved to his sword hilt.
Prince Yang continued. "Jiao Shui will be relocated to the Inner Palace wing. Full surveillance. No unscheduled visitors."
Jiao's stomach dropped. "You're imprisoning me."
Prince Yang tilted his head. "Protecting you."
"From him," Lingfang said.
"And from yourselves," Prince Yang replied smoothly.
Jiao met his gaze. "And you benefit how?"
A flicker of honesty slipped through his mask. "Because chaos like this breaks empires. And I would rather control the fracture than be buried by it."
Silence thickened.
Prince Yang turned to leave, then paused at the threshold. "One more thing. Shenzha Jao doesn't return for revenge. He returns for retrieval."
The word echoed.
Retrieval.
"He believes something of his was stolen," Prince Yang added. "Something living."
The door closed behind him.
Jiao's breath felt shallow.
Lingfang stepped closer. "Whatever he believes, it's wrong."
She nodded slowly. "Maybe. But he believes it with his whole life."
Outside, bells rang the morning hour.
And somewhere beyond the palace walls, a man who refused to let go prepared his next move.