The palace at night was a restless beast, sighing with the wind through corridors and whispering with the voices of servants who never truly slept.
Li Shen, Wei Rong, and Fen Yu slipped into its veins unseen.
---
Li Shen glided into the clerks' wing, where eunuchs bent over scrolls, voices lowered to keep from echoing in the quiet. He listened, his form hovering like smoke above their heads.
"…came from a maid at the Duke's manor."
"She swore she saw the Queen Consort speaking with a merchant in the garden."
"And the proof?"
"A handkerchief. She said it was embroidered with Consort Lian's initials. Handed to him as a token."
The eunuchs muttered nervously, their brushes scratching harder against paper as though the ink itself could carry scandal.
Li Shen's brows furrowed. A handkerchief. A trinket twisted into a blade. He vanished.
---
Wei Rong prowled the barracks. Soldiers lounged on mats, laughing, cups of rice wine clinking.
"Did you hear? Consort Lian's finished."
"Gave a merchant a handkerchief, bold as anything. Even stitched her own name on it!"
"The rite will expose her for sure. Serves her right, trying to play noble."
Wei Rong's jaw tightened. He swept his hand across their dice. The pieces scattered, startling the men. They cursed, thinking the wind had cheated them, while Wei Rong melted back into shadow, his fury smoldering.
---
Fen Yu slipped between the curtains of the maids' wing. Two girls huddled close, whispering fast.
"…they said Sister Min was the one. She served Consort Lian at the Duke's house."
"But she wouldn't lie, would she?"
"She swore she saw it. A handkerchief, initials and all. That's what she told the palace steward."
"Then it must be true."
Fen Yu's stomach twisted. She fled, wings of her robe flickering in and out like candlelight.
---
The three ghosts gathered in a quiet corner of the palace grounds.
Wei Rong spat first. "So that's it. They're hanging her on a scrap of cloth."
Fen Yu's voice trembled. "But why? She never— She doesn't even know what they're saying about her."
Li Shen's gaze was steady. "That is the cruelest part. They don't need her guilt. They only need a story that sounds real."
Wei Rong's hands balled into fists. "We should tell her. Let her know what they're planning."
But Li Shen shook his head. "No. Not yet. Fear will weaken her. Let her walk into the rite with pride, not panic. We will watch. If they present this 'handkerchief,' then we act."
Fen Yu bit her lip, torn, but finally nodded. "Then we protect her. Whatever it takes."
Together they turned back toward Phoenix Hall, their faces grim.
---
Inside, Ananya sat alone, her embroidery fallen into her lap. The needle glinted in the lamplight, untouched.
She whispered to herself, "They don't even tell me what I'm accused of. How am I to fight shadows?"
From the darkness, three unseen allies watched her with heavy hearts, carrying a truth too dangerous to lay before her just yet.
?