Chapter 4: The Crown and the Silence
The silk they dressed me in was heavier than I remembered.
It clung to my skin like water. Every step felt rehearsed, but different. I had walked this path before, but not like this. Not with open eyes.
Jiu'er braided my hair without speaking. Her hands were quick and precise. She hummed under her breath, something she used to do when she thought I wasn't listening.
I closed my eyes.
In my last life, she had followed me into the palace. She had died there too.
This time, I would not let her.
"You will stay here," I said quietly.
She froze, brush still in her hand. "But, Your Highness… I'm to accompany you. Madam already gave permission."
"Tell her I changed my mind."
She hesitated, then bowed. "Yes, Your Highness."
The carriage that arrived was gold-trimmed, with red curtains tied back by tassels. Inside, everything smelled of sandalwood and roses. A perfect picture of privilege. A pretty cage.
I didn't look out the window.
I knew the streets already. I had memorized the route when I was younger, counting each archway and garden wall as if they meant something. As if they were taking me somewhere special.
This time, I only counted my breaths.
The palace gates opened with a hollow sound.
Courtiers bowed. Attendants lined the pathway like flowers grown for a funeral. I stepped down without a word. My shoes touched stone that had seen generations of women walk in and never walk out the same.
They led me to the Inner Court. A woman in embroidered robes greeted me with a shallow smile.
"Welcome to the palace, Crown Princess."
Her voice was sweet. Her eyes were cold.
I remembered her too.
That night, I stood before the mirror in my new chambers. My reflection wore the crown. My lips were painted red. My smile looked perfect.
But it wasn't mine.
Not yet.
Chapter 5: The Woman in Red
The palace walls felt colder than I remembered.
Every corridor whispered with silence. I walked in silence too, letting the attendants lead me to my assigned chambers. My new cage.
The door slid open.
The rooms were beautiful—curtains of silk, floors polished to glass, a carved incense burner that never stopped glowing. It was the same room they gave me before.
But this time, I saw the edges.
I saw the cracks behind the beauty. The corners where shadows waited.
The woman standing beside the table was not one I expected to see so soon.
She wore crimson silk, her hair pinned up with golden plum blossoms. Her hands were folded. Her eyes watched me with polite curiosity, but her mouth already curved in a smile that wasn't polite at all.
"Crown Princess," she said, bowing low. "It's an honor to meet you."
She rose slowly, gracefully, like she owned the room.
Meiyan.
In my last life, it took her months to enter the palace. Now, she was already here.
Faster. Smarter. Or someone brought her in early this time.
She looked younger than I remembered. Her beauty was the same, but her expression was different. Calculating.
"Have we met?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
She laughed softly. "Not yet. But I have admired you from afar."
From afar. That was a lie. She had studied me up close. She had mimicked my voice, my handwriting, even my favorite flowers. And then she replaced me.
She didn't know I remembered.
"I see," I said, smiling. "You're very bold, wearing red."
"It is my favorite color," she said.
I stepped closer, slowly enough to keep the attendants confused. "It was mine too."
After she left, the silence returned. Heavier now.
I sat down and opened the drawer near the bed. It held writing tools. Fresh ink. Paper that hadn't yet seen my name.
I dipped the brush slowly and began to write her name again.
This time, I didn't stop at one.
Chapter 6: Not This Time
The palace servants moved like water around me, each one trained to serve without sound. But I heard everything. The whisper of silk. The hesitation in footsteps. The breath someone held too long when I passed by.
I was the Crown Princess. The one they expected to smile and obey.
And I did. On the outside.
But inside, I counted everything. Every glance, every shift, every lie wrapped in courtesy.
"Your Highness, would you like the lotus broth or the chicken congee this morning?" a maid asked softly.
I looked up from the scroll in my hand and met her eyes. She was young. Nervous.
"The lotus," I said. "It smells better."
She bowed and disappeared, and another girl stepped forward to adjust the incense burner.
They came in pairs now. Always two or more. I remembered why.
In my last life, one of these girls had been a spy.
I didn't know which one. Not yet.
But I would.
Later that morning, the Chief Attendant arrived.
Her name was Madam Lin. She had a face carved from ice and a reputation for obeying only the Empress herself. Her robes trailed behind her like a warning.
"Crown Princess," she said, bowing briefly. "I've come to escort you to the Garden Pavilion. His Majesty has requested your presence."
"Of course," I said, rising smoothly.
She blinked once. I wasn't supposed to know the routine yet. I wasn't supposed to be calm.
I smiled at her. The same smile she would one day mock behind closed doors.
But not this time.
The Garden Pavilion was too bright. Too staged. Every petal had been placed, every lantern arranged to perfection. A lie of beauty.
The Emperor sat beneath a flowering tree, dressed in robes of white and gold.
He was younger than I remembered. Handsome. Relaxed. Dangerous.
"Lianhua," he said, rising. "You look even more beautiful than they told me."
I bowed deeply. "Your Majesty honors me."
He stepped closer. "Come. Sit. I wish to know my bride before the wedding day makes us strangers."
I sat. Carefully. Quietly. I let him talk.
He asked about poetry. I spoke of rivers.
He asked about my favorite color.
I said red.
He laughed. "Then you and Consort Meiyan will get along well."
My fingers curled beneath the table.
"So I've heard," I said.
His smile widened, unaware of the storm building behind mine.
That night, I returned to my chambers and crossed another name off my list.
Not because I had judged them.
But because I had watched them carefully.
And I had decided they were not the enemy.
For now.