The Inner Palace woke slowly.
Sunlight slipped through lattice windows, brushing the silk screens in pale gold strokes. Jiao Shui sat before the vanity, her reflection fractured by the carved mirror frame. For the first time since entering this wing, attendants braided her hair in the formal style reserved for imperial consorts.
She did not ask why.She already knew.
The door opened.
The Emperor entered without ceremony.
The attendants froze, then bowed deeply before retreating, leaving the room cloaked in stillness.
He studied her reflection rather than her directly. "You wear restraint well."
She met his gaze through the mirror. "I've had practice."
A ghost of a smile touched his lips.
He moved closer, careful, as if approaching something easily startled. "I didn't bring you here to cage you."
"But I am caged," she replied evenly.
He exhaled. "Because the alternative is blood."
He placed a lacquered box on the table beside her. She opened it slowly.
Inside lay the jade crescent pendant.
Her breath caught.
"You kept it," she whispered.
"I carried it through two campaigns," he said. "It reminded me that survival is not luck. It is choice."
She closed her fingers around the jade. "This doesn't give you the right to decide my life."
"No," he agreed. "But it gives me reason to protect it."
She turned to face him fully. "Protection shouldn't feel like ownership."
For the first time, something cracked.
"You think I don't know that?" he asked quietly. "You think I don't hear the rumors? That I don't see how you look at Song Lingfang?"
Her pulse jumped.
He continued, voice steady but raw beneath. "I am an Emperor. I take territory. I end wars. And yet… I do not know how to keep you safe without becoming something you will hate."
Silence pressed between them.
She softened despite herself. "Then don't."
He looked at her as though she'd asked him to disarm.
Before he could answer, a knock struck the door.
A guard's voice followed. "Your Majesty. Prince Yang requests an audience. He claims urgency."
The Emperor's eyes hardened instantly. "He always does."
As he turned to leave, he paused. "One more thing."
She looked up.
"If you choose Song Lingfang," he said, "do so knowing I will still protect you. But if you choose to stand alone…" His gaze sharpened. "Then stand where I can see you."
He left.
Jiao Shui sat frozen, jade pendant cold in her palm.
Moments later, the silk screen rustled.
Song Lingfang emerged from the hidden passage, his expression dark with restraint.
"He doesn't own you," he said.
She nodded. "I know."
Lingfang stepped closer. "But he's preparing to act like he does."
Outside, bells rang again.
Choices were being made without her consent.
And soon, she would have to choose anyway.