The Palace was unusually quiet that afternoon.
Li Hua sat alone at her writing table, brush unmoving above the paper. Ink pooled at the tip, trembling, before finally dripping onto the page.
She set the brush down.
This is foolish, she told herself.
An Empress did not hesitate.
An Empress did not waver.
Yet when her thoughts drifted—as they had more often lately—they always returned to the same person.
Xin Ying.
The way she noticed small things.
The way she stood without being asked.
The way the world seemed steadier when she was near.
Li Hua rose slowly and walked toward the window.
This feeling… she thought. It has no place on the throne.
And yet, it refused to leave.
The summons came before she could gather the courage to speak.
Li Yuetong arrived in haste, her composure fractured.
"My wife has fallen ill," she said quietly. "The physicians are uncertain. I… I thought of Xin Ying."
Li Hua did not hesitate this time. "Bring her."
Xin Ying listened carefully as Li Yuetong explained—fever, weakness, breath uneven. Her brow furrowed slightly.
"I'll come at once," Xin Ying said.
Li Hua watched the exchange in silence.
You always go when someone needs you, she thought.
Li Yuetong's residence was calm but tense.
Her wife lay pale beneath layered blankets, breath shallow. Xin Ying knelt beside the bed, checking pulse, observing, asking gentle questions.
"This isn't poison," Xin Ying said at last. "It's exhaustion and heat trapped in the body. Too much stress. Too little rest."
She instructed the servants carefully—cool compresses, specific herbs, lighter meals.
Li Yuetong exhaled deeply. "Thank you."
Xin Ying nodded. "She'll recover."
As they left, Li Yuetong glanced at Li Hua, who had
accompanied them.
"You trust her more than the court," Li Yuetong said quietly.
Li Hua answered without thinking. "Yes."
---
Later that day, Li Hua made a decision.
"I want to leave the Palace," she said calmly.
Xin Ying froze. "Your Majesty—"
"Not as Empress," Li Hua continued. "As a woman."
Xin Ying understood immediately.
She bowed. "Then allow me to accompany you."
Li Hua nodded. "I will go undercover. Have guards follow—out of sight."
The royal guards were given silent orders.
Invisible.
Ready.
The market was alive with color and noise.
Vendors called out prices, children laughed, steam rose from food stalls heavy with spice and oil. Li Hua wore plain robes, hair tied simply, face uncovered.
For the first time in a long while—
She breathed freely.
Xin Ying walked beside her, alert but relaxed, eyes scanning naturally.
Li Hua glanced at her. "You seem… comfortable."
"I used to walk through places like this," Xin Ying replied.
"Long ago." Xin Ying remembered the night market when she was in her world, she would buy lots of yummy foods.
They stopped at a food stall. Xin Ying's eyes lit up briefly.
"Try this," she said, handing Li Hua a warm skewer.
Li Hua hesitated—then bit into it.
Her eyes widened.
"…It's good."
Xin Ying smiled without thinking.
Li Hua's chest tightened.
They walked on.
Crowds pressed close. At one point, Li Hua's sleeve brushed Xin Ying's hand.
Neither pulled away.
"Xin Ying," Li Hua said softly, stopping near a quiet corner of the market.
"Yes?"
Li Hua turned to face her.
"There is something I've been wanting to say," she began. Her voice was steady—but only just. "Lately, when you are not near, I feel… unsettled."
Xin Ying's heart skipped.
"I do not know what this feeling is," Li Hua continued. "Only that it is not duty. And not fear."
Silence stretched between them.
Xin Ying swallowed. "Your Majesty—"
"Li Hua," she corrected quietly. "Just this once."
Xin Ying met her gaze.
"I don't know where this path leads," Li Hua said. "But I wanted you to know… you matter to me. More than you should."
Xin Ying felt the world tilt.
This wasn't in the novel, she thought.
Slowly, carefully, she replied, "Then let us walk carefully. Together."
Li Hua smiled.
Not as an Empress.
But as a woman.
Unseen above the rooftops, guards watched.
Unseen within the Palace, danger waited.
And fate, once again, took note.
---
Thank you for reading my novel