She must have read it.
Did she open it right away? Did she set it aside? Did she laugh?
Su Yuxiao pressed her forehead against the window. The glass was cool. Her skin was warm. She had been sitting here too long.
So what had she thought when she saw it?
Did she know it was me? The maid who delivered it did she recognize her? Did someone tell her where it came from?
Maybe she threw it away. Maybe she never even read it. Maybe some servant opened it, saw nothing important, and tossed it in the trash.
She watched a servant cross the courtyard. Then another. A bird landed on the wall. Looked around. Flew off.
I should have written more. I should have explained. I should have said
Said what? "I know you. I've read your story. I came here to save you"?
She almost laughed. The sound got stuck in her throat.
She'd think I was insane. She'd never let me near her again.
She already doesn't want me near her. She didn't write back. She didn't send anything.
She picked up a book. Put it down. Picked it up again. The words blurred together.
What was I expecting? A thank you? A visit? Her to show up at my door and say, "Thank you for the four words, I've been waiting my whole life for someone to say that"?
Her fingers traced circles on the windowsill. Round and round.
She doesn't know me. She doesn't trust me. She has no reason to.
But she read it. She must have read it.
And then she did nothing.
She stared at the empty courtyard until the light changed and the shadows grew long.
---
Chun Tao stood quietly in the corner, watching her.
For two days now, her miss had been sitting by the window, staring outside as if waiting for something. She hadn't eaten. She hadn't spoken. She barely moved.
Chun Tao had tried everything she could think of.
She made tea. It had gone cold. She brought food. It remained untouched. She stayed nearby, waiting for her mistress to speak, to react, to do anything at all.
But nothing changed.
Chun Tao cleared her throat softly. "Miss, the tea is cold. This servant will prepare a fresh pot."
No response.
She hesitated, then tried again. "Perhaps a different kind? Jasmine or oolong? There's a new batch from the south. It's said to be very fragrant."
Still nothing.
Su Yuxiao heard her.
The words reached her, but only faintly, like something drifting past her without meaning. Jasmine. Oolong. Fragrant. Chun Tao was trying she knew that much but the words didn't settle. They passed through her mind without leaving anything behind.
Chun Tao lowered her gaze slightly, fingers tightening around the cup before she set it back down.
For a brief moment, she considered saying more.
Miss, she's not going to reply.
But the words stopped before they could leave her lips.
Some things were better left unsaid.
She sat down quietly on the stool, hoping the small movement might draw her mistress's attention.
It didn't.
Su Yuxiao remained by the window, unmoving.
She knew Chun Tao was still there. She knew the maid was trying to fill the silence, trying to pull her back from whatever place she had drifted into.
She should say something.
She should turn and respond, even if only a little.
But the thought stayed in her mind, distant and unreachable. The words never formed. Her body refused to move.
So she remained where she was, staring outside.
The courtyard had grown quiet. The bird that had been there earlier was gone. The shadows had lengthened, stretching slowly across the ground.
Behind her, Chun Tao's voice had faded.
The room was silent again.
Su Yuxiao leaned forward slightly, resting her forehead against the cool surface of the window.
It felt distant. Everything did.
Maybe this was easier.
No expectations. No waiting. No disappointment.
Just quiet.
The door opens without warning.
Wei Ling stands in the doorway, bright and loud and completely out of place in the silence of the room. Her green robes are rumpled, like she ran all the way here. Her face is flushed. She looks at me really looks and something in her expression shifts.
She doesn't say anything at first. Just walks in, pulls the stool close to mine, and sits down. Her knee almost bumps mine.
I blink.
Of course it's her. Who else would walk in like this? Who else would sit this close, uninvited, and just look?
"You look like you haven't moved in days," she says. Her voice is lighter than her eyes. "Have you eaten? Of course you haven't. Your maid probably brought food and you stared at it until it went cold."
That's not wrong.
She reaches out and flicks a strand of hair away from my face. The touch is quick, almost casual. "When did you last sleep?"
I don't answer. I don't know how to answer. The words are somewhere inside me, but they won't come out.
Wei Ling sits back. Studies me. Her eyes are sharp, but her voice stays light. "I heard you went to the princess's palace. Twice. I heard the Empress is curious about you." She pauses. "That's not good."
Curious. That's one word for it. Terrified is another.
"It's not," I say. My voice scrapes out, rough from not using it.
She nods slowly. Doesn't push. Instead, she stands up, brushes off her robes, and holds out her hand.
"Come. You need to get out of this room."
"My father said to stay in my rooms."
"My father says a lot of things." She wiggles her fingers. "We're going to the market."
The market? Now? I stare at her hand like it might explain something.
"The market," I repeat.
"You need fresh air." She grabs my wrist and pulls me up before I can protest. "And I need to buy thread."
Thread. She's dragging me to the market for thread.
I let her pull me toward the door. She doesn't let go of my wrist, even when we're in the corridor. Her grip is warm. Solid. Like she's anchoring me to something.
"You're staring again," she says, not looking back.
"I'm trying to figure out if you actually need thread."
She laughs, bright and easy, the sound drawing a few glances before they quickly look away. "I always need thread," she says. "If I don't finish my embroidery, my mother will say I've learned nothing at all."
I don't know if I believe her. But I let her pull me through the compound, past the guards who pretend not to see us, out into the street where the morning light is too bright and the noise is too loud and everything feels like too much.
---
We walk for an hour. Maybe longer. I lose track.
She leads me through the market like she owns it, pointing out stalls, haggling over prices, complaining about the quality of fabric and then she buys a fan she doesn't need, and then she buys two pieces of candy and shoves one into my hand.
"Eat."
I look at the candy. It's wrapped in paper. Someone made this. Someone grew the sugar, boiled it, shaped it, wrapped it. All of that work. All of that history.
"Eat," she says again, and this time I do.
It's sweet. Too sweet. My mouth is dry. But I chew and swallow, and she nods like I've passed some kind of test.
"You're thinking too much," she says. "You're always thinking too much. That's your problem."
I don't know how to explain that thinking is all I have. That if I stop thinking, I might stop entirely. That I've been sitting in my room for two days trying to figure out what four words mean, and I still don't know.
"Wei Ling."
"Hm?"
"Thank you. For coming today. For dragging me out. For being my friend"
when I don't even know what I'm doing. For being here when I have no one else.
She stares at me. Then she laughs again, but it's softer this time. "What are you thanking me for?"
For everything.
"For being here. For not running away when I started all this."
She's quiet for a moment. Then she loops her arm through mine, pulling me closer. "Su Yuxiao, if I'm not your friend, then what am I? A stranger who barges into your room uninvited and drags you to the market against your will?"
That's
"That's what friends do." She squeezes my arm. "So no more thanking me. If I have to say 'you're welcome' every time I do something nice for you, we'll be here all day."
I open my mouth. Close it.
She grins. "Besides, who else is going to tell you when you look terrible? Your maid is too polite."
Behind us, Chun Tao makes a small sound. "This servant is not"
"You are," Wei Ling says cheerfully. "It's fine. Someone has to be honest with her."
I laugh. It comes out surprised, a little unsteady. But real.
I came to this world knowing no one. And somehow, I found her. Someone who drags me out of my room when I'm sinking. Who tells me I look terrible. Who says no thanks needed.
I don't know how to say any of that. I don't know how to tell her what this means.
I let her pull me toward the next stall and try to remember this feeling. The warmth of having someone. The lightness of not being alone.
---
We walk until my feet hurt and my mind is quieter than it's been in days.
At the gate, she stops.
"Better?"
"Better."
"Good." She squeezes my hand. "Whatever happens, you're not alone. Remember that."
I nod. "I know."
She grins. "Good. Because if you forget, I'll have to drag you to the market again. And I'm running out of thread to buy."
She leaves before I can answer.
---
That evening, I'm eating when Chun Tao bursts into the room.
Her face is white. Her hands are shaking.
"Miss. A messenger came. From the palace."
The palace. The Empress. She knows. She knows I sat in the garden. She wants to see me.
I put down my chopsticks. "What?"
"A eunuch. He said the Empress wishes to see you. Tomorrow. The Prime Minister is already there. He sent word for you to prepare."
Tomorrow. I have to face her tomorrow. The woman who's been trying to destroy Murong Qian for years.
"The Empress," I say. My voice comes out thin.
"Yes, miss."
What does she want? What does she think I am? A pawn? A threat? Something to use?
I stare at the table. The rice. The vegetables. Things that had seemed normal a moment ago.
She's going to ask me about Murong Qian. She's going to try to use me.
"Miss." Chun Tao kneels beside me. Her hands are cold on my arm. "Miss, are you alright?"
No. I'm not alright. I'm scared. I'm scared and I don't know what to do.
I think about Wei Ling. Her laugh. Her arm looped through mine. Whatever happens, you're not alone.
I take a breath.
"I'm fine," I say. "I'm not fine. But I will be."
I have to be. There's no one else. No one else is going to do this for me.
Chun Tao looks at me. Doesn't say anything. Just stays there, kneeling beside me.
"We need to prepare," I say.
She nods slowly. "This servant understands."
---
I don't sleep that night.
I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling.
The Empress. What do I know about her?
I know from the novel. Empress Chen. Cold. Patient. She's been trying to destroy Murong Qian for years. Marriage. Exile. Accidents. Nothing worked.
And now she's noticed me. The girl who sat in the princess's garden. The girl who sent a letter.
She doesn't know about the letter. Does she?
My heart stops.
If she knows about the letter if someone saw Chun Tao deliver it
I press my palms against my eyes.
Stop. Stop thinking. You'll go mad.
I think about Murong Qian. Does she know? Does she know the Empress summoned me? Does she care?
She didn't respond. She probably doesn't even remember my name.
The thought hurts. But then I think about Wei Ling. About her laugh. About her voice saying no more thanking me.
I smile. Just a little.
I'm not alone. I have Wei Ling. I have Chun Tao. And maybe that's enough for now.
---
Before dawn, Chun Tao wakes me.
The room is dark. Candles flicker.
"This servant chose this robe," she says softly. "The color is plain, and the cut is simple. You won't draw attention in it."
Good. That's what I need. Invisible. Quiet. Safe.
I sit up. My head is heavy. My eyes burn.
"That's what I need."
She helps me dress. Her hands are cold. Her face is pale.
"Miss. Whatever happens today"
"Nothing is going to happen."
"You don't know that."
I know. I know something is going to happen. I just don't know what.
I turn to look at her. Her eyes are bright. Scared.
"I'll be careful. I won't say anything unnecessary. I'll give her nothing to use against me and I'll come back."
She nods. But she doesn't look convinced.
---
The carriage is waiting at the side gate.
Same carriers. Same plain cloth.
I climb into the carriage and settle into the dimness.
And then, without meaning to, I think of her.
You are not alone.
I meant it when I wrote it. I still mean it. Even if she didn't care. Even if she burned it without reading it.
She's not alone. And neither am I.
The carriage stops.
I step out.
---
A eunuch is waiting. His face is smooth
"Follow me."
I can do this.
The corridors are long. Cold. Red walls. Stone floors. Every step echoes. Every servant looks away.
I can do this.
He stops at a large door. Two guards. They don't look at me.
"Wait here."
He goes inside. Closes the door.
I stand alone in the corridor. My heart is pounding.
The door opens.
"Enter."
I step inside.