Meilin's POV
"I demand a witness!" I shout at the council.
One hour has passed. I stand in the center of the council chamber, surrounded by old men who've already decided I'm guilty. Lord Wei sits among them, his face the picture of false sympathy.
"Your Majesty," he says smoothly, "we've heard your testimony. But without proof of your whereabouts—"
"I was with you!" I snap. "In the gardens! You know I was!"
"I recall seeing you briefly," Wei says, his voice regretful. "But you left quickly. I assumed you were going to your chambers, but perhaps..." He trails off meaningfully.
Liar. We both know he's lying.
The head councilor, an ancient man named Minister Chen, clears his throat. "Your Majesty, Lord Wei's testimony suggests you had opportunity. The note in Consort Shen's hand provides motive. And your recent... hostility toward Lord Wei himself raises questions about your judgment."
"My hostility?" I can't believe this. "He tried to poison me yesterday!"
"An accusation you cannot prove," Wei interjects. "Your Majesty, I understand you're under great stress. The position of Empress is demanding. Perhaps the pressure has—"
"Don't you dare," the Emperor cuts in, his voice deadly quiet. He sits on his throne, hands gripping the armrests so hard his knuckles are white. "Don't you dare suggest my wife is unstable."
"Your Majesty, I would never—"
"You just did." The Emperor stands. "This trial is a farce. The evidence is circumstantial at best. The timing suspicious. And the witness—" He glares at Wei. "—has his own motives for lying."
"Your Majesty!" Minister Chen looks scandalized. "You cannot interfere in a legal proceeding!"
"I'm the Emperor. I can do whatever I want."
"Not without consequences," another councilor says quietly. "My lord, if you dismiss these charges without proper investigation, it sets a dangerous precedent. The people will say you're protecting your wife above justice."
"Then let them say it!"
"And what happens to imperial law? To order?" Minister Chen's voice is grave. "Your Majesty, we understand your feelings. But you must think of the empire."
I watch the Emperor's face struggle with that. Because Chen is right. If he dismisses the charges purely on his authority, he looks like a tyrant. The people will lose faith in the justice system.
Wei knew this. He knew the Emperor would be trapped between protecting me and protecting his legitimacy as ruler.
"There must be a compromise," I say quietly.
Everyone turns to look at me.
"I propose a trial by investigation," I continue. "Give me three months to gather evidence proving my innocence. If I cannot, I'll submit to judgment."
"Three months?" Wei's smile is sharp. "That's quite generous, Your Majesty."
"It's also traditional," Xiao speaks up from his position behind the Emperor. "Ancient law allows the accused three months to prepare a defense in cases involving the imperial family."
Wei's smile falters slightly. He can't argue against tradition without looking suspicious.
"Very well," Minister Chen agrees. "Three months. But during that time, Your Majesty, you must remain in the palace. No trips outside. And you'll be under observation."
House arrest. They're putting me under house arrest.
But it's better than immediate execution.
"I accept," I say.
The Emperor looks like he wants to argue, but I shake my head slightly. This is the best we're going to get.
"Then this council is adjourned," Chen announces. "We reconvene in three months for final judgment."
The Emperor follows me back to my chambers, along with Feng and Xiao.
"Three months," he says once we're alone. "You bought us three months."
"To prove I'm innocent of a crime I didn't commit." I sink into a chair, suddenly exhausted. "How do we prove something didn't happen?"
"We find who really attacked Shen," Feng suggests.
"Or we prove Wei set it up," Xiao adds.
"Both of which require evidence we don't have." I close my eyes. "Wei planned this too well. He always does."
"Then we find his mistakes," the Emperor says firmly. "Everyone makes mistakes."
"Not Wei. That's the problem." I open my eyes, looking at each of them. "In five lifetimes, I've never beaten him. He's always three steps ahead. Always has backup plans."
"But this time you know his patterns," Feng reminds me. "You said that yourself."
She's right. This time, I have something I didn't have before.
Information.
I stand up and walk to my desk. Pull out paper and ink.
"What are you doing?" the Emperor asks.
"Documenting everything." I start writing. "Every timeline. Every death. Every plot Wei used. If I'm going to beat him, I need to map out all his strategies."
For the next hour, I write furiously. The others watch in silence as I fill page after page.
Timeline One: Shen pushed me down stairs. Blamed me for attacking her. Executed at 19.
Timeline Two: Poisoned tea in garden with Shen. Died in Emperor's arms at 20. He felt nothing.
Timeline Three: Fell from tower during winter storm. Age 18. Pushed or jumped? Don't remember.
Timeline Four: Disease outbreak. Denied medicine. Died alone at 22.
Timeline Five: Framed for treason. Sold military secrets. Shen testified against me. Executed at 21.
"Gods," the Emperor whispers, reading over my shoulder. "You really did die five times."
"And now he's trying for six." I continue writing. "But this time, I know his pattern. He always uses Shen. She's either the victim or the witness. Sometimes both."
"So we investigate Shen," Xiao says.
"Carefully," I warn. "Wei will be watching. He'll know if we get too close."
"Then we need to be smarter than him," Feng says.
Over the next three months, that's exactly what we do.
I document everything I remember from previous timelines. Which servants worked for Wei. Which officials took bribes. Where Wei's ritual chamber was located. The symbols he used in his dark magic.
Feng investigates quietly, talking to servants, gathering gossip. She learns that Shen has been receiving mysterious packages. That she meets with someone late at night. That her "illness" the day she arrived was faked—the physician found no actual poison in her system.
Xiao tracks Wei's movements. He discovers Wei makes monthly trips to the old temple ruins where my grandmother's temple burned. He's performing rituals there.
And the Emperor... the Emperor stays by my side. Protecting me. Believing in me.
It's strange. Wrong, even. In five lifetimes, he never chose me over his duties.
But now he does.
He cancels meetings to have tea with me. Sends guards to watch my chambers. Refuses to be alone with Shen when she finally wakes up and asks for him.
"Why are you doing this?" I ask him one night.
We're in the gardens—the same gardens where Wei threatened me. But this time, guards surround us at a distance.
"Doing what?" he asks.
"Trying so hard. Caring so much. You never did before."
"Because I was cursed to forget." His hand finds mine. "But I remember now. I remember choosing you. I remember being happy."
"That was a different person. In a different timeline."
"Was it though?" He turns to face me. "Or was that the real me, and the cold version was the cursed one?"
I don't have an answer for that.
"Meilin." He says my name like a prayer. "I know you don't trust me. I know you think this is guilt or fear or magic. But whatever this is, it's real. What I feel when I look at you—it's real."
"How do you know?"
"Because it hurts." His voice cracks. "Every memory of your deaths—they hurt. Not because I'm afraid of the god. Because I'm afraid of losing you. Again."
I want to believe him. Gods, I want to believe him so badly.
But I've wanted things before. And wanting things only leads to pain.
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is tomorrow," I say instead of responding. "My grandmother says that's when the curse will fully break. When you'll remember everything."
"And then what?"
"Then we'll see if what you feel is real or remnants of magic."
He looks like he wants to argue. But he doesn't.
Tomorrow. Everything changes tomorrow.
The next day, I prepare for the Moon Prayer ceremony. It's my duty as Empress to perform it during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Feng helps me dress. "Are you nervous?"
"Terrified." I look at myself in the mirror. "My grandmother said something might happen during the ceremony. That my true power might awaken."
"Your power?"
"I'm the Oracle's granddaughter. Her bloodline. Apparently I'm supposed to have abilities too. But they were suppressed."
"By the curse?"
"By Wei, probably."
A knock on the door. Xiao enters, his face grave.
"Your Majesty. There's news. Consort Shen has just given testimony to the council."
My heart sinks. "Already? They said three months—"
"She requested an emergency session. Said she remembers everything about the attack." He pauses. "She identified you as her attacker."
So it begins. Just like I knew it would.
"What did she say?"
"That you came to her chambers. That you argued about the Emperor. That you pushed her in a fit of jealousy." Xiao's hands clench. "It's all lies, but she's very convincing."
"Of course she is. Wei probably wrote the script."
"The council wants to arrest you immediately. The Emperor is fighting them, but—"
"But ancient law says if the victim identifies their attacker, immediate arrest is required." I finish, my voice hollow. "I know. I've lived this before."
"We can hide you," Feng suggests desperately. "Or sneak you out of the palace—"
"No." I stand up straight. "Running makes me look guilty. And besides, I have to perform the Moon Prayer ceremony tonight. If I don't show up, they'll just come for me anyway."
"Your Majesty—"
"Tonight is when everything changes anyway," I interrupt. "My grandmother said so. The curse breaks during the full moon. So let's break it."
I walk toward the door. Toward the ceremony. Toward whatever fate has planned.
Either tonight I awaken my power and prove my innocence.
Or tonight I die for the sixth time.
Either way, this ends.
The ceremony begins at sunset. The entire court gathers in the palace gardens. I stand in the center, dressed in ceremonial robes, ready to perform the Moon Prayer dance.
The Emperor watches from his throne, surrounded by guards. Wei sits among the councilors, his smile sharp. Shen stands nearby, supported by servants, playing the victim perfectly.
As the sun sets and the moon rises, I begin to dance.
And that's when I feel it.
Power. Rising from deep inside me. Hot and cold at once. Silver light begins to glow around my hands.
The crowd gasps.
The light spreads, growing brighter. Threads appear in the air—fate threads, connecting everyone in the garden.
I see them all. Every connection. Every relationship. Every bond.
And then I see my own thread.
Black. Wrapped around my throat six times.
But this time, something's different.
The sixth loop is glowing. Pulsing with silver light.
Breaking.
The curse is breaking.
And then I see the other end of my thread—the one connected to the Emperor.
But it's not connected to him anymore.
It's connected to someone else.
Someone standing right behind him.
Lord Wei.
My blood turns to ice.
Because suddenly, I understand.
The curse isn't about the Emperor forgetting.
The curse is about Wei pretending to be the Emperor.
Wei is the one I was supposed to marry.
Wei is my fated mate.
And he's been stealing the Emperor's place in the timeline all along.