The fire was beautiful.
That was the cruelest part.
It glowed like liquid gold, licking the silk walls and devouring her bridal chamber. The painted phoenixes on the panels blackened and cracked.
Mei Lian clung to the man she had once loved with her entire soul — Crown Prince Li Zhen — but his hand pushed her away, cold and unyielding.
"Your Highness… please," she sobbed, her voice breaking. The heat blistered her skin. "You said you loved me—"
He stared at her, his face calm in the light of the burning world.
"Love?" His tone was quiet, almost pitying. "You were useful, Mei Lian. That's all."
Her fingers trembled around the infant in her arms — her daughter, her only reason left to live.
"What about her?" she cried. "She's your blood, Li Zhen! Your child!"
At that, his smile turned sharp.
"She is not mine."
The words cut deeper than fire.
Behind him, the soft rustle of silk — Yun Xi, the daughter of his old nanny, the maid who had grown up by his side. Her face was pale, eyes glistening with false tears.
"Your Highness, she lies even now," Yun Xi whispered sweetly. "You never touched her. You told me yourself — she was just a name on paper. A political marriage, nothing more."
Mei Lian's knees gave out.
Her body shook so hard the child nearly slipped from her grasp.
"Lies," she whispered. "You… you were with me that night before the coronation, you—"
Li Zhen's eyes flickered with irritation. "I never touched you. The child you carry is a bastard, and you are filth."
The words echoed louder than the flames.
Her heart cracked open.
It wasn't just death now — it was humiliation, despair, betrayal so deep it turned the soul to ash.
"Li Zhen…" she whispered, voice hoarse. "I gave up everything… for you."
"You gave me nothing I couldn't take," he replied coldly. "Burn with your lies, Mei Lian. The world will remember you as a faithless woman who deceived the Crown."
His arm slipped around Yun Xi's waist as the guards stepped forward, torches raised higher.
Mei Lian screamed — not from pain, but from the sight of him shielding another woman, the woman who had once served her tea and bowed before her.
"Your Highness!" she cried, the flames rising to her sleeves. "If there is a next life—"
She never finished.
The fire surged, swallowing her words, her tears, her world.
Her daughter's small wail was the last sound she heard before everything turned to red and silence.
---
When she opened her eyes again, it was to the soft chirping of sparrows and the scent of lotus porridge.
The ceiling above her was painted with clouds, not smoke. Her gown was pale and fresh, not burned.
For a long moment, she simply lay there — unable to move, unable to breathe.
Then she sat up suddenly, heart hammering.
Her hands — small, delicate, unscarred.
Her arms — empty. No child.
Her gaze swept the familiar room — the carved screens, the polished floor, the embroidered cushions.
This was her chamber in the Minister's Manor.
"No," she whispered. "This can't be real."
A trembling hand reached for the mirror.
The reflection that looked back was of a girl barely thirteen — soft skin, bright eyes, hair tied with a red ribbon.
Her lips parted. "Thirteen… I'm thirteen again."
Tears welled in her eyes. She pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob — part disbelief, part relief, part agony.
"After death…" she whispered, voice shaking. "I came back."
---
A soft knock came at the door.
"Lian'er, are you awake?"
The gentle voice made her chest tighten — her mother's. Still alive, still smiling. In her past life, her mother had died of grief after Mei Lian's scandal and death.
"Come in, Mother," she managed, trying to sound steady.
The door slid open.
Lady Mei entered, graceful as a painting, her eyes warm. "You slept late today. The servants said you were restless last night. Are you unwell?"
Mei Lian stared at her, unable to speak for a heartbeat. Then she shook her head quickly.
"I'm fine. Just… had a strange dream."
Her mother smiled softly. "Dreams fade with sunlight. Wash up and come to breakfast. Your brother returned last night — he has something for you."
Her brother.
Mei Ren, the royal designer whose creations dressed nobles across the realm.
In her past life, she had barely spoken to him after she married into the palace. He had died trying to clear her name when the Crown accused her of infidelity.
"Brother is home?" she whispered.
Lady Mei laughed lightly. "You sound surprised. He brought you new dresses — said you're growing into a young lady who needs a proper wardrobe."
Mei Lian smiled faintly through the tears that blurred her eyes. "I'll be there soon."
---
Downstairs, the air smelled of rice, ginger, and roasted duck — a scent that felt like a forgotten memory.
At the table, her father — Minister Mei — was reading a scroll, her mother pouring tea, and her brother laughing as he arranged bolts of silk beside him.
When he saw her, Mei Ren's face lit up. "There you are, my little lotus! I was about to come drag you out of bed."
She blinked hard to stop the tears rising. "Brother…"
"Don't tell me you forgot your birthday gift." He gestured at the folded silks. "A new set of dresses — hand-embroidered with the first designs from my capital store. Every lady will envy you."
He unfolded one — a pale peach gown embroidered with cranes in flight. The threads shimmered like dawn.
Her throat tightened. "It's beautiful."
Her brother grinned. "Then smile more. You look like you're mourning a ghost."
If only he knew.
She sat beside her mother, lifting her chopsticks with hands that trembled slightly. The first mouthful of warm rice nearly broke her.
It had been years — lifetimes — since she'd eaten at this table. Since she'd heard her father's calm voice, or her brother's laughter, or her mother's humming.
In the past life, I lost all this for a man who never even touched me, she thought bitterly. For a love that was nothing but poison.
But now she had a chance — a second life.
To protect her family.
To change everything.
She looked around the table — at her father's dignified face, her mother's smile, her brother's teasing grin — and for the first time, she smiled back.
"I'll treasure everything this time," she whispered.
Her brother chuckled. "What was that?"
"Nothing," she said softly, and reached for another dumpling. "The food is delicious, that's all."
---
Outside, the sun rose high over the Mei estate.
Servants hurried about, children laughed in the courtyards, and the faint hum of the silk looms echoed from her brother's atelier.
Mei Lian stood at her window, looking toward the distant palace — its golden spires gleaming like a promise and a threat.
Once, she had longed to live there.
Now, she only wanted to burn its lies before they burned her again.
A faint wind lifted her hair.
She closed her eyes.
"In this life," she murmured,
"I will not love the Crown Prince."
Her reflection in the glass smiled — a quiet, dangerous smile.
"This time, he will kneel."