---
The sun had risen, tilting toward the heart of the sky, painting with its golden threads dancing patterns over the rooftops of the capital, Yi Jing — that city that never sleeps. The air was a blended fragrance, carrying in its breaths the steam of tea, the scent of aged wood, and whiffs of incense wafting from upscale shops. No one paused in movement, as if the earth itself spun faster here.
Yi Jing, the pulsing heart of the kingdom, was not merely a city, but a living creature, breathing through its markets and whispering its secrets in narrow alleys. From above, the city looked like a living painting of light and shadow, where colors merged like a mosaic of human souls.
At the center of this painting—specifically in the Grand Market—the clamor was overpowering; one could hardly hear one's own thoughts. Iron-wheeled carts clattered over stones, horses neighed, and vendors competed in shouting as if their voices were swords in an endless battle.
"Apples from Mt. Lang! Red as maidens' hearts!"
"Silk from Sichuan! Softer than princesses' fingertips!"
Red lanterns hanging from wooden beams swung with the spring breeze as if laughing, smiling at the passersby. Children ran aimlessly, followed by their giggles, ephemeral as a fading perfume; women examined fabrics with expert eyes, and hands touched, weighed, calculated.
And in the midst of all this tumult, there she was.
Shen Tao Hua walked with measured steps, as if she did not belong to this world but had come from an ancient, forgotten poem written on silk. Her figure was slender but poised. Her face was calm, bearing a hidden innocence behind alert eyes that thought more than they spoke.
Her dress was not lavish but simple, in two contrasting colors: shy peach-blush like blooming peach flowers, and sky-blue like a clear page of the heavens. Her hair was braided expertly, each strand in place, secured with green jade pins from which dangled light beads that shimmered when she moved her head, like tears of an unremembered time.
Beside her walked a younger girl in a simple gray dress, her hair braided and tied at the back. Mo Chen, her personal maid, was not just a servant, but her shadow, her guardian, and companion in the silence of days. Her gaze was quick, scanning faces, examining corners, as though trained to detect intentions.
Mo Chen whispered softly, bothered by the crowd:
"The market is more crowded than usual, Lady… perhaps we should return before sunset."
Tao Hua smiled faintly—barely noticeable, yet full of meaning:
"I will not flee the crowd, Mo Chen… amid the clamor there are opportunities, and my dream will not knock on my door by itself."
Her voice was confident, not loud but penetrating, like soft raindrops on thirsty earth.
As she scanned the silk stalls and food steams, a strange sight caught her attention. A human shadow slid through the crowd with a speed unbefitting an ordinary person. His stature was short, his back slightly hunched, his hands moving with such delicate stealth as though born to steal.
He was heading towards an aristocratic lady in her forties, dressed in gold‑embroidered robes, wearing a shining ring on her finger, clutching a silk purse tied at her waist. She laughed obliviously, listening to her maid chatter endlessly.
Tao Hua gasped inwardly. Time slowed for her. Everything around fell silent. She had to act.
With a speed unbecoming of a noble girl, she brushed a lock of hair from her cheek, reached for her jade hairpin—sharp enough—once part of her adornment, now a weapon.
With all her might, she hurled it like an arrow; it struck the thief's hand precisely as he tried to snatch the purse.
"Ahh! Who is this madwoman?!"
He cried out, dropping the purse.
People gathered, turning toward the commotion, while the wealthy lady stared in shock. Her maid screamed, and a guard ran toward them.
"Thief! Catch him!"
"Here's her purse!"
Guards pounced like wolves, gripping him despite his protests and writhing, their hands like steel.
Tao Hua exhaled deeply, then bowed to the lady in a soft but firm voice:
"Are you unharmed, madam? I apologize if I startled you… but I could not ignore what I saw."
The lady did not answer at once, still staring at her with a mixture of astonishment and admiration. Finally she spoke:
"Courage… I have never seen someone do such a thing before. What is your name? It's obvious you are unmarried."
Tao Hua's face flushed, but she replied with quiet confidence:
"My name is Shen Tao Hua."
The lady's eyes widened in surprise, then she smiled gently:
"A lovely name… Peach Blossom, isn't it? It suits you perfectly."
She extended her hand and said:
"Please, do not refuse. I shall hold a special tea ceremony in your honor, as thanks for your bravery. I am Ru Lan Liang of the Liang family."
In that moment, Tao Hua's heart trembled.
Liang… one of the Seven Families. Not just wealthy, but a powerhouse controlling the threads of trade: silk, tea, salt.
She bowed respectfully, speaking in a calm tone:
"It is an honor, Lady Liang."
Ru Lan Liang laughed softly:
"There is no need for excessive formality. You saved me—that is enough."
Then she studied her and asked:
"Do you know my family?"
Tao Hua replied quietly, eyes gleaming with something deeper:
"Yes… I have always heard of your enterprise. I have always dreamed of becoming a merchant like you. I never imagined I would meet you like this, in the market."
Ru Lan Liang nodded with approval and said:
"Whoever dreams sincerely, achieves. Then… five o'clock this afternoon, the hour of the Dragon. I shall await you at the tea ceremony. It will be only for you."
Tao Hua smiled, feeling a mysterious blend of excitement and fear, as if life had opened a door she never dared knock upon.
---
Time passed to nearly one o'clock at noon, the sun pouring its golden warmth over rooftops as if knocking with a heavy spring pulse. Shen Tao Hua returned from the market, Mo Chen walking beside her with silent steps like a trained shadow.
As they approached the front gate of the family mansion, the guards exchanged anxious glances and quickly averted their eyes. None had forgotten the previous incident when Tao Hua, angering one guard, had thrown a pot of boiling pepper‑flavored water on him, turning his clothes red and causing him to prance like a drenched hare. Though her stepmother tried to stir trouble, her father punished her only with a week's confinement in the courtyard.
Now, upon seeing her, the guards bowed in disciplined fear and opened the gate quietly, as if wary she might repeat her creative punishment.
Tao Hua entered silently, her steps calm, but within her, she held an invisible wariness, as though the ground beneath her might erupt at any moment.
In the main courtyard, sat Zhang Lihwya, her father's legal wife, on high cushions, surrounded by her maids and little Shen Yuyan, who was quietly embroidering something.
Zhang Lihwya lifted her gaze, speaking in a cold voice dripping with poison:
"I believe your insolence knows no bounds, unwanted daughter."
Tao Hua paused, then turned her face devoid of reaction. She offered a slight, polite smile, bowed swiftly, and exited gracefully, as though refusing to sully herself with hatred.
Inside, though… she felt a sting—not from words, but from determination to remain different in her own home. Nevertheless, she had never hated anyone in her family; she saw them as pieces of fate… and fate, one does not hate, one tries to understand.
She proceeded toward her mother's quarters, where calmness dwelled in the corners and a light fragrance rose from jasmine vines on old walls.
She gently opened the door and found Mei Qian, her mother, lying on a soft golden bed, her face pale, her chest rising and falling slowly, as though life moved on tiptoe.
Tao Hua spoke warmly:
"Mother, I'm back."
Mei Qian opened her tired eyes and smiled gently:
"Welcome, my flower."
Tao Hua sat beside the bed, her eyes bright with a strange joy her mother had not seen in a long time. Her mother noted those looks at once—the ones reminiscent of a tiny musical melody humming in her soul.
Mei Qian coughed softly, then sat up propped by pillows:
"I see you are happy today… what is the secret of this radiance in you?"
Tao Hua laughed gently, her heart almost leaping from her chest:
"Imagine, Mother! Today I met her… the lady I have long dreamed of meeting… the wife of the great merchant, Ru Lan Liang!"
Mei Qian raised an eyebrow in surprise:
"You mean… from the Liang family?"
Tao Hua nodded excitedly, laughter refusing to leave her:
"Yes, exactly her! She was in the market, and I saved her from a thief… then she invited me to a tea ceremony at her home this afternoon at the hour of the Dragon!"
Mei Qian placed her hand on her daughter's and patted it gently, speaking with a tone mingled with caution and affection:
"My flower… I will not stop you from going out and seeing the world, for I too loved life… if not for my illness that betrayed me too soon. But be cautious, my daughter. The Liang family, like other great houses, does not play lightly when power and reputation are at stake. They are capable of anything…"
She coughed again, then continued:
"But I know your mind is no ordinary one. You are clever, and I trust you. Just… do not be swayed too much by the shine."
Tao Hua embraced her gently and whispered:
"I promise you, Mother… I will make your name spoken in councils not as 'concubine's mother', but as the mother of a woman to be reckoned with."
Mei Qian laughed sincerely and hugged her longingly, a warmth unseen for a long time. After a few moments, she drifted into light sleep while Tao Hua's heart felt like a leaf waiting for the wind of change.
She left her mother's chamber and whispered:
"Mo Chen… it's time to prepare."
Mo Chen nodded and asked:
"Shall we fetch the box with the proper attire?"
Tao Hua smiled:
"Yes… let's see if it contains something suitable for a ceremony in the presence of Lady Liang."
Moments later, Tao Hua sat before a brass mirror, donning a simple yet striking dress: black with dense red embroidery undulating like flame.
She toyed with hairpins:
"Which one do you think suits?"
Mo Chen gazed at her features and replied:
"Black suggests power, and the red musk offers dangerous softness… simple, yet they suit you remarkably."
Tao Hua nodded:
"Use them… and let my hair fall as the wind does upon silk."
She was ready— not just for the tea ceremony… but for whatever lay beyond.
---
They emerged from her chamber, Tao Hua like a dream's shadow not ready to wake. Her steps across the courtyard tiles made no sound, but they electrified the air—willow leaves nearby trembled, whispering her: "Where are you heading, daughter of silence?"
Her answer lay in her eyes, not her feet.
Behind her walked Mo Chen, the servant who not only accompanied her but guarded her silence and held her secrets, shading her with a dark purple embroidered silk parasol as though an extension of night that refused to end. Tao Hua's black dress swayed softly with its red ribbons, like vows woven by seers on a lunar eclipse night.
They passed near the courtyard of her older sister, Shen Meiling, two years elder and ancient in her simulated superiority. From the balcony, Meiling shrieked with a voice like rusty hinges:
"Eeeeh! Where do you think you're going dressed like that? Do you think you can beguile men? I'll tell Father!"
A hint of sarcasm flickered across Mo Chen's face; she spoke in soft tones that concealed a dagger:
"Mind your tongue, miss. You've been invited to a tea ceremony by Lady Ru Lan Liang, the great merchant's wife."
Meiling froze for seconds, then stared at her sister with a half-look and a smile born of madness and rage:
"Even if she invited you, clearly you've seduced her son! He is mine! A betrothal gift will be sent soon, and you will remain in the shadow of this house."
Tao Hua smiled—not with mockery, but pity—and spoke in a melodious tone like the strings of a guzheng:
"Your thinking is remarkable, congratulations. But no… I have no intention of marrying at the moment."
Meiling choked on her words and screamed:
"Don't even dream!"
She left, resembling someone smashing a mirror and seeing only her distorted reflection.
Tao Hua resumed walking, and Mo Chen said softly:
"Why didn't you tell her? About the invitation? About everything?"
Tao Hua replied, gazing at the horizon with eyes like seagulls that know the sea is unlike anyone:
"There is no point planting a rose in soil that hates spring. My sister sees life only as a golden cage… while I seek a breath of freedom, wisdom, trade, something that resembles me."
Mo Chen nodded, as one seeing a star light up a starless sky.
---
At the gate of the Liang residence, Tao Hua arrived to find a golden wooden plaque over the gate inscribed:
"House of Liang – Virtue is higher than Glory"
The guards stepped forward, statues carved in stone coming to life only when needed.
Mo Chen spoke:
"Miss Shen Tao Hua has been invited to a tea ceremony by Lady Ru Lan Liang."
The guards moved silently and opened the doors as stories open secrets of old.
Inside, Tao Hua first saw many peach trees in bloom, spreading as though a pink army guarding the courtyard from sorrow. In the center stood a gilded plaque:
"Virtue and Wisdom"
Tao Hua closed her eyes for a moment—this phrase, how often had her father repeated it, like a prayer, a promise… or a curse.
She snapped out of her reverie at the soft voice, like spring breeze playing a flute in an ancient temple:
"Oh! Miss Tao Hua! You have finally arrived."
She turned to see Ru Lan Liang, a woman befitting to be the shadow of an orchid and the heart of a tea field.
Tao Hua bowed silently; Ru Lan Liang waved:
"No need for formalities. Come, there is something I wish to tell you."
Behind them walked Mo Chen and two other maids dressed in pine‑green.
Ru Lan Liang said:
"Actually, some of today's guests… are not ordinary."
Tao Hua raised an elegant eyebrow; the lady continued:
"Empress Zhao Xian Yi, and two ladies from the Han and Zhao families."
Tao Hua halted as if the sky had stopped breathing. She said nothing, just looked. Then whispered:
"It is my honor, if I may be honored."
They walked on.
The corridors hummed with jasmine fragrance, and servants planted flowers in every corner, as if the house were meant to be a bouquet, not a dwelling. They reached a pond with a central circular platform like a lotus; they crossed via a carved bridge.
There, amid delicate laughter and embroidered fans, Tao Hua's gaze met the Empress.
---
The Reunion
The Empress covered her face with a gold‑and‑silver‑embroidered fan. She laughed. But when Tao Hua said:
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
The fan was lifted.
Silence.
Time froze.
They stared—eye into eye, memory into memory.
Tears filled their eyes silently. The Empress said:
"That was a long time ago."
"Yes… very long," replied Tao Hua.
"Have you become brave?" asked Zhao Xian Yi.
Tao Hua smiled: "More than I thought."
Ru Lan Liang's mother asked surprisedly:
"Do you two know one another?"
Zhao Xian Yi answered:
"We were childhood friends. I was forced to marry early and didn't get to farewell her properly. Today, I felt the universe brought her to me again."
Ru Lan Liang bowed:
"I am fortunate then, Your Highness."
The Empress gestured to the other ladies:
"This one is from the Han family, this one from the Zhao."
Tao Hua bowed with grace, and they smiled back at her.
Then the tea ceremony began—soft conversation, measured laughter like an ancient song.
And in Tao Hua's eyes, the peach trees reflected, the reunion, and destiny.
---
The next morning dawned with strange calm, its rays touching the palace windows not to warm them, but to awaken memory slumbering in its walls. The light fell upon Shen Tao Hua's chamber; it drifted through pale cracks onto the pillows as if delivering an unspoken message from the outside world.
Tao Hua sat in the corner, wearing a simple gray robe, her hair hastily styled, but her face sculpted by a distant dream. She had not slept well; the Empress's voice and laughter still rippled through her mind.
A gentle knock on the door sounded.
Mo Chen entered, eyes wide as though bearing a heavy secret.
"Miss… a royal messenger has arrived from the Imperial Palace."
Tao Hua lifted her head slowly, as if time had stopped, her eyes questioning before her lips.
Mo Chen approached lightly and presented a blue silk scroll, sealed with a golden royal emblem. Tao Hua took it by its silk edge as if holding a piece of her own heart, and very slowly began to open it.
The handwriting was elegant, swaying like peach branches in a breeze, clear and majestic to the eye. The message read:
> To Miss Shen Tao Hua,
You are formally invited by Her Majesty, Empress Zhao Xian Yi,
to attend a women's assembly in the Outer Palace,
at sunset today.
> Written by Her own hand.
Time chose you.
Place recognizes you.
We await you.
Tao Hua's hand fell to stone as the scroll remained between her fingers. She felt as if her chest had suddenly split open and something warm escaped as a silent tear.
But the moment did not hold.
The door burst open violently, and a harsh voice tore through serenity.
Zhang Lihwya, her stepmother, entered in ablaze fury, her eyes glowing with an anger Tao Hua could not yet fully grasp.
"What did you read now?! Tell me, what is that that came from the Palace?!"
Tao Hua rose calmly, placing the scroll down and replied firmly:
"An invitation from Her Majesty the Empress."
That sentence was the spark.
Zhang Lihwya lunged close, clapping her hands hard:
"Invitation?! Do you think you are the emperor's child? Or have you bewitched everyone with your cold looks and gentle words?! What have you done to earn an Empress's invitation?! Is this your reward for my silence over your presence in this house?!"
Tao Hua's younger sister Shen Yuyan tried to take her mother's hand, saying fearfully:
"Mother, don't shout… the Empress invites no one without reason."
But the mother glared and spat:
"Shut up! You too will become like her, speaking with politeness and innocence while hiding your intentions! You are all the same!"
Meiling entered leaning on the doorframe, smiling spitefully:
"I'm also amazed; I haven't heard that an Empress admires concubines' daughters. Perhaps there is a secret we don't know?"
She raised an eyebrow: "Or a hidden relationship?"
Tao Hua said nothing. She stood silent like a pillar, but not inactive. Her eyes observed… analyzed… endured.
At that moment, firm footsteps echoed from outside.
The door opened and Shen Rui, her brother, entered in full elegance, his face stern. He strode to the center, stood before their mother.
In a calm yet powerful tone he said:
"Enough, Mother."
She hesitated for seconds, then screamed:
"You defend her? A concubine's daughter? A child without origin?"
He lifted his head and stated confidently:
"I defend the daughter of this house, and my sister who has received an invitation from the Empress—a honor that none here before you have received."
She retorted:
"She draws all attention! Makes us look trivial! Do you think I do not understand? I have seen everything! The Empress, Lady Liang, even her pampered daughter! All gather around this girl! Until when?!"
Shen Rui shouted, his patience exhausted:
"Until you understand that light cannot be extinguished by screaming! That dignity cannot be bought with jealousy! And that one destined for greatness will achieve it, whether you like it or not!"
A moment of silence ensued.
Zhang Lihwya looked at everyone around her; all were on one side: Mo Chen, Shen Yuyan, Shen Rui… even Meiling didn't laugh this time, just lowered her head.
The mother exhaled in a trembling voice, then turned abruptly and slammed the door behind her, leaving the room boiling with echoes of her words.
Tao Hua sat quietly, picked up the scroll again, reading the imperial script, her lips silently murmuring:
"It has begun."
---
Childhood Memory
When Shen Tao Hua was not yet ten, she fled the house, unable to bear her stepmother's venomous gaze and cruelty, hatred born of jealousy and malice toward her sick mother.
She left with no direction, walking in the capital's streets as if fleeing something nameless. Her steps faltered among vendors, market noise, conflicting scents, until they led her under the shade of a peach tree. She sat there, staring at the ground with a heavy silence marking her childhood.
Suddenly, a street urchin approached, not knowing her, needing no reason. He mocked her, taunted her appearance with harsh words, then picked up a small stone, intending to throw it.
At that moment came a stern female voice:
"Stop."
The boy froze, turning to see a girl standing firmly, wearing fine clothes denoting high lineage, her eyes shining with silent sharpness.
She approached Tao Hua and extended her hand gently:
"Are you alright? What is your name?"
The little girl whispered:
"Shen Tao Hua."
The stranger smiled and said:
"A pleasure, I am Zhao Xian Yi."
Tao Hua did not know how everything changed in that instant. Zhao Xian Yi took her home and told Tao Hua's family:
"I asked for her presence. I wanted her with me today."
She said nothing of the flight, the market, or the stone.
Zhao Xian Yi's name alone was enough to instill fear and respect, for she was the daughter of a mighty general and betrothed to the crown prince.
From that day onward, Zhang Lihwya dared not raise her voice at Tao Hua again.
The friendship that began under a peach tree became a silent shield unbreakable.
Tao Hua remembered those days fondly… until fate separated them.
---
The day Xian Yi was to marry the crown prince a fire broke out in Tao Hua's family mansion. Zhang Lihwya falsely blamed Tao Hua and locked her in the courtyard for three months while the house was rebuilt.
Xian Yi had already left her father's palace at age fifteen to marry.
---
Shen Tao Hua departed the family mansion alongside her elder brother, whom she was a year younger than, in a silence resembling the aura of those who precede the meeting of kings. They passed before the main courtyard, where Zhang Lihwya watched them from the window, her gaze like arrows conveying rejection of his stand… of his unwavering support for his sister, the concubine's child.
But her brother did not look back. He helped her ascend the carriage as though she were a princess of obscure lineage. He followed; his personal servant and Mo Chen joined them.
The carriage rattled on paved roads, and Tao Hua's feelings swayed with it: a mix of amazement and joy, nostalgia and awe, striking her chest like stormy sea waves.
Her brother, seeing her distant face, held her hand gently and asked:
"Are you sure you are alright? Why is the Empress doing this?"
She smiled and patted his hand, calming him:
"Do you remember when our house burned down two years ago?"
"Yes, I remember well."
"I was home that day alone with Mother. No servants, no guests."
"I think we were at the Emperor's wedding then, weren't we?"
Tao Hua nodded with a mysterious smile:
"You have a strong memory. On that day, something happened not by chance. I recall we returned hurriedly because of the news of the fire? But none of us finished watching the wedding ceremony."
"Yes… correct, why?"
"Because the one who married that day was Xian Yi. And she was the very girl who told me years ago she was betrothed to the heir."
Her brother's eyes widened in astonishment:
"Do you mean Zhao Xian Yi… is our childhood friend?"
She laughed softly, caressing his cheek as though brushing dust from a lovely memory:
"I am truly lucky… to have a brother like you."
He squeezed her small hand and smiled—this brother, stern and rarely smiling.
---
Shortly after, they arrived at the gates of the Imperial Palace.
Guards were about to stop the carriage until Shen Rui presented the royal decree and handed it to them confidently. The guards stepped aside and opened the heavy gates, crowned with a gilded plaque:
"Virtue and Wisdom."
He led her to the courtyard for the women's assembly.
"I will wait for you here; do not be late. We return together after the meeting."
"Alright, take care."
They exchanged smiles, and she proceeded, Mo Chen walking behind.
---
As the door closed behind her, the Empress Zhao Xian Yi removed her regal façade and spoke words Tao Hua longed to hear:
"Now, no formalities or rules."
Tao Hua ran to her as though time had shrunk; their years of separation were bridged by a single embrace. They clung to each other—time folded, and ceremonial protocol vanished.
Tears fell without permission; nostalgia prevailed over protocol.
When they calmed, they sat beside each other, unshielded, as they once had under the peach tree.
The Empress spoke, her eyes moist:
"At first, I was furious you didn't come to me before my wedding and only saw you in the last days. I thought you had forgotten me… Then I heard about the fire and that your father imprisoned you for three months. I could not sleep those nights thinking: Did you sleep on a cold floor? Did you eat breakfast? Were you crying alone?"
She paused, tone deepening:
"So I ordered an investigation. On the day of the fire, there was no one in the house but you and your mother… meaning someone planned to kill you both. After long inquiry, we found a man who was paid to set the fire. The intent was clear: to kill you."
Tao Hua smiled sadly, speaking quietly:
"I knew. I didn't exhaust myself analyzing. My stepmother always threatened us with death."
The Empress gasped:
"My god, is she insane? Doesn't she know who I am?!"
Tao Hua smiled, her voice sharp with confidence:
"If she knew, she would be praying for her soul in the ancestral temple now."
The Empress chuckled lightly, then her face turned serious:
"Listen to me, there is a dangerous matter that allows no hesitation. I am protecting you not only from the past, but from the future."
Tao Hua felt a stab in her chest, as if her heart had been alerted to something terrifying coming.
She whispered:
"What is it?"
The Empress began her explanation, her voice low as if afraid the walls might overhear:
"When I married the heir, I was young and ignorant of governance. But after half a year, I began noticing strange affairs… rampant corruption in the imperial court. Five out of seven noble families are plotting to seize power, and there are plans to assassinate the Emperor because he refuses to let the state be bent to their ambitions. I discovered that some servants in the palace are spies. When I told the Emperor, I found he knew… yet he waits for the right moment to respond. His decision is near: to exile the two innocent families, and execute the other five."
A pause, and then she looked Guan Tao Hua directly in the eyes:
"During one meeting, I heard your father's name mentioned… He might be among them."
Tao Hua's breath caught. She suspected it, but hearing it from the Empress transformed that suspicion from nightmare to reality.
She said:
"I believe he is indeed involved. His wealth grew without expanding his trade, and servants changed frequently…"
The Empress shook her head.
> "Then it's certain. I cannot lose you again. So, the only option left to you now is marriage."
Tao Hua slowly lifted her gaze.
> "Marriage? To whom?"
Zhao Xian Yi replied:
> "There are two sons left from the remaining noble families. The first—my brother. I'm sorry, but he's infamous. He beats women, scarred his wife's face simply because he found out she betrayed him. The second... a womanizer, lazy, spends his days in taverns. He doesn't work, doesn't improve. But he's the only one in his family, and his mother loves you—Liang Sun Wu."
Tao Hua gasped and cried out:
> "They're both revolting! One is a monster, the other... a fool! I don't want either of them! Xian Xian, please, find another way!"
Zhao Xian Yi suddenly grew angry and rose from her seat.
> "Do you truly prefer dying with your venomous family just to preserve your pride? Do you think coexisting with a killer is worse than living with a flirt? Listen to me—if you refuse my request now, I'll have you imprisoned for life! Not as an Empress... but as a friend who cannot bear to lose you."
Then she stormed out, and the slam of the door behind her resounded like a final verdict.
As for Tao Hua, she remained standing, like a statue carved from stone. Her head bowed, her thoughts sinking into the darkness of a decision… one that could save her life, yet bury her heart.