Morning light spills gently over the Shen Mansion, washing its white stone paths and red-lacquered pillars in gold.
Lady Shen steps out from her courtyard room.
She is dressed in full layers of soft silk flowing around her like quiet water. The colors are refined and youthful, befitting the fourth lady of the Shen family and the youngest among the siblings. Her waist sash is neatly tied, sleeves long and graceful. Her hair is drawn up carefully, pinned with a simple yet elegant jade hairpin that gleams faintly in the sun.
She pauses.
Air fills her lungs.
For a moment, she forgets how to breathe.
It has been ten years.
Ten years since she last felt fresh air without bitterness. Ten years since she walked freely beneath the sky without fear pressing on her spine. The breeze brushes against her cheek, carrying the faint scent of earth, leaves, and morning dew and her eyes sting unexpectedly.
Behind her, Maid Su follows quietly, puzzled by the way her mistress suddenly slows, fingers curling slightly as if holding onto something invisible.
Lady Shen begins to walk.
As she moves through the mansion grounds, servants hurry about their work sweeping paths, carrying baskets, trimming plants. It is an ordinary morning. Yet every servant who notices her immediately stops and bows deeply.
"Fourth Lady."
"Greetings, Lady Shen."
Their voices are respectful. Familiar.
Her chest tightens.
She remembers another mansion, another life, where bows were sharp with mockery and respect was nothing more than a mask. Here, the respect is real. Earnest. Unquestioned.
She lowers her gaze slightly in response, her steps slowing as emotion threatens to rise again.
Without realizing it, her feet carry her eastward.
Toward her mother's room.
The eastern courtyard is quiet and warm, bathed in sunlight. Inside, Madam Shen sits calmly beside her husband, Master Shen, a cup of tea resting between her hands. They are speaking softly about household matters, about trivial things that make up a peaceful life.
Then the door opens.
"Mother."
The voice is unsteady.
Madam Shen looks up and before she can speak, her daughter rushes forward and throws herself into her arms.
"Mother..."
Lady Shen clings to her tightly, her fingers gripping the fabric of her mother's robe as though afraid she might disappear. Her shoulders shake, and tears spill freely, soaking into familiar silk.
Madam Shen freezes.
Her eyes widen in shock.
"Ah Niu'Er...?" She instinctively wraps an arm around her daughter, patting her back in confusion. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Master Shen stands abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor.
"What is this?" he demands, concern flashing across his face. "Who bullied you? Su...." He turns sharply to the maid. "What happened to my daughter?"
Maid Su panics instantly and drops to her knees.
"This servant… this servant truly doesn't know!" she says hurriedly. "Fourth Lady was perfectly fine this morning!"
Lady Shen shakes her head weakly against her mother's shoulder, her sobs turning uneven half crying, half-hiccupping.
"No… no one bullied me…"
She pulls back just enough to look at her parents.
They are right there.
Alive. Warm. Real.
Her father's brows are furrowed with worry. Her mother's eyes are filled with concern, fingers still gently rubbing her back.
Her vision blurs completely.
"Father....."
She steps forward and wraps her arms around him too, pressing her face against his chest like a child who has lost her way.
Master Shen stiffens in shock.
"Niu'Er?"
Madam Shen reaches out, patting her daughter's back more firmly now, trying to soothe her. "Slow down, slow down. Breathe first. Tell us properly."
Lady Shen cries harder.
"I missed you…" she sobs, words tumbling out between hiccups. "I missed you so much…"
Her parents exchange a bewildered glance over her head.
Madam Shen hesitates, then speaks gently, almost humorously. "Silly child… didn't we eat barbecue together just last night?"
"Yes," Master Shen adds, though his voice remains cautious. "You were laughing just fine then. What are you saying you missed?"
Lady Shen hears them.
She does.
But how could she explain?
How could she tell them that in another life, she had lost this warmth, this safety, this simple morning sunlight? How could she say that she had cried for them at a deathbed that no one here remembers?
She only tightens her grip.
"I just did," she whispers hoarsely. "I really did."
Madam Shen sighs softly, her confusion easing into tenderness. She strokes her daughter's hair, fingers brushing past the jade hairpin.
"Alright, alright," she murmurs. "If you missed us, then just say so. You're still our little girl, no matter how old you grow."
Lady Shen closes her eyes.
Held between her parents, surrounded by warmth she once lost forever, she lets herself crynot from pain this time,but from gratitude.
This life has given her back everything she mourned.
And this time
she will protect it.