19 · A Midnight Search, A Gaze from the Shadows

The night was deep and still. Moonlight, pale as frost, spilled softly across the stone paths of the Xiao Manor courtyard.

Inside the quiet chamber, Mo Yan stood motionless, her brows slightly furrowed. Her fingers moved restlessly along the empty sash at her waist, unease gradually welling within her chest.

"How could it be gone...?"

She murmured beneath her breath, her mind racing to retrace every step from earlier that day.

That afternoon, she had reported her findings to Liu Quanzhen, slipping away afterward with her usual stealth, her path winding through corridors and courtyards before returning to her room. She couldn't recall whether the jade pendant had still been at her side. She remembered its familiar weight, how its cool surface would brush gently against her robes with each movement. But now—her hand slid beneath her collar, searching.

Nothing.

Her heart sank.

That pendant had accompanied her for years—her sole keepsake from her mother. Losing it was like losing the last fragile thread connecting her to the past. It was more than a trinket; it was memory, longing, and grief entwined in jade.

"Did it fall somewhere along the way?"

Suppressing the rising panic, she tried to retrace her path. But no moment came to mind when the pendant might have slipped away. Her eyes darkened with determination. She would find it—tonight.

Stepping into the shadowed courtyard, she moved soundlessly along her earlier route. The night was still, the garden hushed. Petals swayed gently, stirred by a breeze laced with floral scent and damp earth.

She crouched low, eyes scanning every crack between stones, every patch of fallen leaves. Her fingers brushed the ground as she searched, patient but increasingly tense.

Nothing.

The pendant was nowhere to be found.

A cold tightness wrapped around her chest. Had she lost it during a rooftop escape? Or perhaps while speaking with Liu Quanzhen? She couldn't be sure. Her thoughts spun, searching for some overlooked clue.

Her pulse quickened. Lips pressed into a line, she doubled back, unwilling to give up. Somewhere, it was waiting for her.

Within the palace, Xiao Zhengyu sat in his study, the jade pendant still resting in his palm. His fingers gently traced its smooth edges as candlelight flickered across his solemn features.

The carvings were unmistakable: the tiger sigil of command, two mandarin ducks entwined on the reverse side. At the bottom, a single tiny character was etched into the jade—Yao.

"Yao..." he murmured, fingers tightening slightly.

The girl who had once borne that name was long gone. And yet, here was the pendant—undeniably hers.

He considered the possibilities—robbery, grave theft, deceit...

But something didn't add up.

He rose abruptly and moved toward the window, staring into the moonlit courtyard.

"What does this pendant mean to that masked figure…?"

His voice was low, lost in the night wind.

Then, as if arriving at a decision, he lifted his hand—and let the pendant slip from his fingers.

It arced through the air, catching the moonlight briefly before vanishing into the thick blossoms of the garden below.

The hour grew late.

A slim shadow flitted across the courtyard, her steps soundless, swift. Mo Yan followed her previous trail back toward the garden near the military hall.

Her breath came fast but steady, eyes sharp and unblinking. Then—at last—amidst the dense undergrowth, a soft glimmer caught her gaze.

She froze.

Pushing aside the leaves, she reached in.

There, nestled among fallen petals, lay her pendant—its familiar glow catching the moonlight in quiet defiance of the dark.

A breath escaped her lips. She reached out, fingertips brushing the smooth surface, her heart easing for the first time that night.

"Found you," she whispered, a rare softness in her voice.

Lifting it gently, she traced the delicate carvings with care. The cool jade calmed her. For a moment, all was still.

She didn't notice the slight rustle in the nearby bamboo grove.

The trees stirred faintly. A breeze whispered through the leaves, and moonlight filtered down in thin threads, casting a pale halo on her face.

She slipped the pendant close to her chest, drew a slow breath, and turned, vanishing into the night along the path she came.

In the darkness, a figure remained unmoving.

Silent.

Watching.

Xiao Zhengyu stood hidden in shadow, his gaze fixed upon her.

As expected…

The pendant mattered to her—deeply.

And that truth confirmed something more important than any battle or secret.

Whoever she was, she treasured this pendant beyond all else.

Which only left him with more questions.

Who was she?

And what, exactly, was her connection… to that name carved in jade?