The warmth of her father's visit had barely faded when the air in Phoenix Hall shifted.
Lian An sat in silence, her fingers resting on the table where the bowls of soup had been. The laughter of her sister still echoed faintly in her ears. But the quiet pressed too heavily.
Fen Yu hovered nearby, her eyes solemn. "You can't keep pretending. We know, Ananya."
Lian An looked up sharply. "Know what?"
Li Shen's calm voice cut in, steady and soft. "That you are not the same soul as the one who once lived here. When you opened your eyes, we felt it. Different breath. Different heart."
Her throat tightened. She lowered her gaze. "Then… what should I do?"
Fen Yu leaned closer, her whisper gentle. "Live. This is your life now. Accept it. Be happy."
Wei Rong smirked, though his voice carried weight. "Or leave. Divorce the Emperor, take your dowry, open a restaurant. You cook well enough to survive."
Lian An laughed bitterly. "The palace would never allow it."
Before Li Shen could reply, the doors slammed open.
"By decree of the Empress Dowager!" the eunuch's sharp voice rang. "General Wei has come!"
Boots struck stone as General Wei strode in, flanked by guards. His armor gleamed, his face stern.
"The Queen Consort is ordered to submit to the Purity Rite," he announced. "All personal silver, trinkets, and records are to be confiscated until the rite is complete. By command of the Empress Dowager."
Gasps broke among the maids. Su Mei fell to her knees, pale as paper.
Lian An rose slowly, her sleeves rustling like banners in wind. Her eyes met the general's, sharp and unyielding.
"Confiscated?" she repeated. "For what crime?"
"The harem whispers," General Wei said coldly. "That you carry corruption. That your body may not be clean. The rite will prove truth. Until then, no wealth or freedom will remain in your hands."
Her pulse thundered, but her voice was steady. "So because of rumors, I must kneel before braziers and mirrors like a criminal? Because tongues wag, I must be stripped of dignity?"
Wei Rong growled, invisible at her side. "Strike him down, Ananya! He insults you!"
Fen Yu clung to her sleeve. "Don't—don't anger him too much!"
Li Shen's voice was calm but edged with steel. "Careful. Words can wound as much as swords, but they can also protect."
Lian An stepped forward, her voice carrying through the hall.
"If the Queen Consort of this empire can be dragged through the mud by whispers, then none of us are safe. If lies can chain me, tomorrow they will chain the Empress Dowager herself."
The guards shifted uneasily, but General Wei's face did not flinch. "This is not for you to decide. You will attend the rite. Resist, and you defy Heaven's order."
For a heartbeat, silence rang heavy.
Her fists clenched in her sleeves. "Then let Heaven judge me. But I will not kneel as though already guilty."
The general's eyes flickered—just slightly—at her defiance. Then he turned sharply. "Prepare her. Tomorrow, she faces the Purity Rite."
The soldiers swept forward, seizing the small chest of silver from the corner. The maids wept quietly, bowing low.
When the hall was empty again, Lian An stood in the silence, her chest heaving.
Fen Yu's eyes filled with tears. "Why do they hate you so?"
Wei Rong snarled. "Because they fear what they cannot control."
Li Shen's voice was steady, grave. "Then we must prepare. Tomorrow will decide whether you are chained forever—or rise untouchable."
Lian An drew a long, steady breath. Her voice was quiet, but resolute.
"Then let them see. I will not break."