chapter 71 The Storm Settles

The palace grounds were quieter than usual. Not in absence of noise, but in absence of pretense. Gossip had done its work. There was no longer a need for whispers. People stared now—openly.

Kai Jin walked the white-stone path between the Plum Gardens and the central reflecting pool, his robe loose at the collar, sword sheathed at his side. He didn't look hurried. He never did. But beneath the calm surface, something deeper stirred.

He had spent the night with Yue. The memory was still warm in his skin.

Yet Bai Ru greeted him that morning with fresh herbal incense and a smile softer than snowfall. And Lin Su had knocked twice at his door without a word, leaving behind a fresh peach and a note that read: You look better when you smile. Try it.

The city was talking. Let it.

⸻

By the reflecting pool, Yue stood alone in her navy-blue robes, sleeves fluttering like banners in the breeze. She watched koi ripple the water, unbothered by the stares of sect envoys who passed by.

"You're not hiding," Kai said as he approached.

She turned. "Were we meant to?"

He stopped beside her. "Not anymore."

For a long moment, they watched the water together. Then Yue said, "You've changed."

Kai considered it. "I think I've started being honest. With myself. With you. With them."

Her smile was proud and sad all at once. "Then the real battle begins."

⸻

Later that afternoon, Kai found Bai Ru beneath the stone arch of the southern courtyard. She was kneeling beside a blind soldier's cot, placing warming stones beneath his knees.

"You don't have to do this alone," Kai said.

She looked up. "I'm not alone. You came."

He crouched beside her, folding his arms. "They're asking who I'll name. As consort. As first."

She didn't look at him. "And what will you say?"

Kai whispered, "That I don't need a first. I need all of you. Different. Whole."

Bai Ru smiled faintly. "Then hold us like that. Equally. Completely. Or not at all."

He touched her shoulder gently before standing. "I intend to."

⸻

By dusk, Lin Su found him atop the roof tiles of the envoy estate. She joined him without speaking, plopping down and handing him another peach.

"What's this one for?"

"For enduring politics without stabbing anyone."

"Tempting, but I'm trying diplomacy."

She grinned. "Boring."

They sat together in silence. The city stretched before them like a map waiting to be redrawn.

Then Lin Su murmured, "Everyone expects a collapse."

Kai turned to her. "From me?"

"No. From us. From this… shape we've made. This unity. They think we'll turn on each other."

"And will we?"

She looked him dead in the eyes. "Not unless you forget what you promised."

"I remember."

"Good. Then stop flinching every time someone asks who you love most."

He sighed. "Because I don't want to answer?"

"Because the answer is us."

⸻

That night, the four of them sat together for the first time under one roof.

The table was small. The meal simple—no servants, no wine, just rice, steamed greens, and silence between each bite.

Kai reached across to refill each of their cups.

"To what we are," he said.

Yue raised her cup. "To holding ground."

Bai Ru added, "To healing what they think is broken."

Lin Su winked. "To confusing the hell out of everyone."

They drank.

Outside, the moon rose high, casting silver across the floor tiles.

Inside, no one said it aloud—but they all knew:

They were no longer just walking a path.

They were building one.

⸻

In the garden, a junior sect disciple watched through a lattice wall, eyes wide with scandal.

"She's with all of them?"

"No, he's with all of them."

"Oh."

And somewhere deep in the palace, Elder Song poured tea into an empty cup and said to no one, "Let them settle. Storms always do before they tear down the roof."

⸻

[To Be Continued in Chapter 72