Chapter 14 – Fractures Beneath Silk

The sun fell like golden embroidery across the stone corridors of the Inner Palace. The hush of autumn wind through silken drapes softened the footfalls of servants, but tension ran like taut thread beneath the calm surface. Within the eastern courtyard of the Palace of Endless Harmony, Meiqi sat beneath a willow, a scroll open but unread upon her lap.

She had not been summoned that morning.

She had not been dismissed either.

The stillness of her status held its own weight now, heavier than she had expected.

The court had changed since her quiet elevation. Her title was modest, but the Emperor's actions had not gone unnoticed. Meiqi was now attended by two palace maids and a eunuch—not excessive, but enough to mark her presence. Other consorts had begun to notice. Their smiles were cooler. Their greetings, shorter. Even their silks rustled differently when she passed, as if in warning.

She closed the scroll and looked across the garden, eyes catching a blur of motion—bright red fabric, a sash tied too high for grace. It was Sera, stumbling out of a side gate, cheeks flushed with the kind of emotion Meiqi hadn't worn since her first week at court.

Sera didn't see her until she was close, and when she did, she faltered.

"I shouldn't have said anything," Sera blurted. "But I couldn't—he was insulting everything I am."

Meiqi raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"That prince. The one who always wears black. The one who scowls as though the sun owes him an apology."

Meiqi blinked, then laughed. "Ah. That would be Prince Rui."

Sera scowled. "He said I don't belong here. That I'm only here because my land traded me for silver and treaties."

"You are," Meiqi said softly, "and yet, you belong now more than you think. He only lashes out because you unsettle him."

Sera's gaze narrowed. "You say that as if it's a good thing."

"Sometimes," Meiqi replied, "it is."

A silence passed between them, then Sera sighed, sitting beside her, skirts crinkling.

"You've changed," she said. "When you arrived, you were always nervous. Now you speak as though you've always belonged."

Meiqi looked at the willow branches dancing above. "I learned not to chase the Emperor's gaze, but to let it fall naturally. And when it did… I had to decide how to carry it."

From a nearby path, faint voices echoed—Anhai's voice, calm and even, engaged in conversation with the Crown Prince. Meiqi stiffened only slightly. She knew they walked here often now, hand in hand, in a union built more on loyalty than love, but still… it seemed to hold peace.

"They seem well-matched," Sera said softly.

"They are," Meiqi murmured. "And yet, I think neither of them knows what it is to be chosen simply for who they are."

They sat in silence until a eunuch approached with a deep bow.

"Lady of the Jade Terrace," he intoned. "His Majesty summons you."

Meiqi rose slowly, her heart fluttering in spite of herself. She met Sera's gaze one last time.

"Do not let the court swallow you," she said gently. "Let it find it cannot digest you."

And then she left.