She thought about Bai Li. Not as a helpless attachment she could not bear to lose, but as the person who had never demanded that she choose between love and ambition. Bai Li had supported her training even when Yan Cijin's plans had seemed unreasonable. She had challenged her when she was being careless and encouraged her when she doubted herself. She had never asked Yan Cijin to become less powerful so that she could feel secure, nor had she tried to turn their marriage into a reason for Yan Cijin to abandon the future she wanted.
Why, then, should the heavens require such a sacrifice?
Yan Cijin lifted her chin. "If this place has something to teach me, it can teach me without asking me to pretend that my life has no meaning."
