"Are you sure about this?" Murong Yan frowned. He felt a strange unease in his daughter's words.
"It's just a thought, Father," Murong Jin said, smiling calmly. "You know me. I miss Wuchuan. Perhaps one day I'll want to visit."
He patted her head. "I promise you. If you ever want to leave, I will come for you. No matter what."
"It's a promise." She beamed. She turned to Zuo Xunxiao. "Please, take care of my father."
She looked at his jaw, avoiding his eyes. Even though he was on their side, the man she had fought beside was gone. He was part of the past.
Zuo Xunxiao nodded, giving her a long, final look. He knew it might be years before he saw her again. He would marry in Wuchuan, raise a family, far from the treacherous currents of Jindu.
Farewell. Take care. He said it silently in his heart, then spurred his horse, galloping away with her father.
Murong Jin walked slowly through the palace corridors. It was late winter. The trees were bare, their branches groaning under the weight of the snow.
She shivered, pulling her cloak tighter. The cold seemed to seep through the fur, chilling her heart.
Laughter drifted on the wind. She stopped.
In the clearing below the rockery, a garden bloomed in a riot of color, defying the season.
Curious, she walked closer, intending to peer around a large boulder.
"Oh, Your Majesty, you're too bad!" A woman's giggles.
"Hahaha! Caught you! Let's see where you run now!"
Xue Liulan's voice. Her heart seized. The air was sucked from her lungs. She stumbled, grabbing the rock for support.
"Who goes there?" A guard lunged from the shadows, reaching for her.
She sneered, sidestepping his grapple and striking his chest with her palm. He groaned and collapsed into the snow.
Now she saw the garden clearly. The flowers were red silk; the leaves were jade; the stamens were pearls and agates. A false spring, created in the dead of winter.
Xue Liulan stood amidst the artificial blooms, blindfolded, holding a breathless Guo Lingyu in his arms.
"What is it?" he asked her, laughing.
Guo Lingyu glared at Murong Jin triumphantly, her voice dripping with charm. "Why don't you see for yourself, Your Majesty?"
"I said I wouldn't take off the blindfold unless you did it. An emperor keeps his word." He tapped her forehead blindly. "Don't you agree, my love?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Her eyes never left Murong Jin. "I haven't thanked you properly for this garden."
"Eunuch Guo was right. You do like it." He laughed loudly. "As long as you are happy, I am happy."
Guo Lingyu smirked at Murong Jin, her victory complete.
The guard on the ground, realizing he had attacked the Empress, trembled in terror, waiting for punishment.
Murong Jin looked at them coldly. Her gaze slid over the guard, then rested on Xue Liulan. He was smiling, lazy and doting. A month apart, and he hadn't changed.
Her hand tightened inside her sleeve, the hard edge of the jade box digging into her palm. She took a deep breath and turned away.
"My love, what's wrong?" his voice called out behind her.
"Nothing, Your Majesty. Just a clumsy servant who slipped," Guo Lingyu chirped, her voice bright with malice.
Laughter followed her. Murong Jin walked faster and faster until she reached the end of the corridor. She collapsed against a pillar, tears spilling onto the fur of her cloak.
"Your Majesty?" Ning Bi gasped at her red eyes.
Murong Jin waved a weak hand. "Leave me. I need to be alone."
"Yes." Ning Bi withdrew silently.
Murong Jin sat in the empty room, her head in her hands. Her head throbbed. The laughter echoed in her ears.
The human heart is the hardest thing to calculate. She had planned for everything. She had expected this scene. But she hadn't expected it to hurt this much.
Night fell. The lamps were lit. Ning Bi stood outside the door with dinner. The room was dark.
"Your Majesty, please eat something."
"What time is it?" Murong Jin's voice came from the darkness.
"Past the hour of the Rooster."
She stood, stretching her stiff limbs. "Where is the Emperor?"
Ning Bi hesitated. With Consort Guo again.
The silence was answer enough. "Ah. I'm getting confused. I'm not hungry. Go."
"Your Majesty, please. For the little prince… The Emperor… he still has you in his heart."
Her voice faded to a whisper. Murong Jin laughed bitterly. "My body is my own concern. Go. It's cold."
The footsteps faded. She wiped her face. Her hands came away wet.
"Why aren't you eating?" A shadow fell across the window paper. A man's silhouette, jade crown, side profile. His voice was low and sad.
"Hm?" She turned sharply.
The shadow vanished. Footsteps hurried away. A leap, and then silence.
She threw the door open and ran out. Snow was falling. A few light footprints marked the ground.
Xue Liulan? But he should be with Guo Lingyu. She frowned and ran faster. She knew his martial arts were better than hers, knew he might be an enemy, but she chased him anyway.
She was angry, though she wouldn't admit it.
The footprints ended in a courtyard. She stopped, shivering in her thin clothes. She looked up. The plaque read: Imperial Kitchens.
Warmth enveloped her. She started. A black cloak had been draped over her shoulders.
She looked up. A familiar face, a lazy smile.
"Xue Liulan?" She reached out, afraid to touch him, afraid he was a dream.
He took her hand, pressing it to his chest, and kissed her forehead. "You've lost weight. Your steps were lighter today."
"Today?" She stared at him. "You knew I was there?"
"I knew you were crying." He traced the skin under her eyes. "I saw it."
"But you were blindfolded."
"When you miss someone to the bone, sound is enough." He smiled gently. "Besides, not many people can take down an Imperial Guard in one move."
She smiled, letting him hold her.
"You just chased me out here?" He shook his head. "If I were an assassin, you'd be dead."
"What is there to fear? I used to go behind enemy lines alone."
His face darkened. He tightened his arms around her. "But now you are my wife. Just stay behind me."
"And if you are not there?" she retorted.
They both froze.
After a moment, she laughed. "Since we're at the Imperial Kitchens, we might as well make up for dinner."
She pulled his hand.
He didn't move. He pulled her back, and she bumped into his shoulder. "What is it?"
"After this is over," he said, his voice low and solemn, "I will watch over you properly. For the rest of my life."