Illusory Fire Beneath the Jade Pavilion
The imperial palace by night often lay cloaked in silence cold, suspended, as though time itself had ceased to breathe.
But tonight, that silence was torn asunder.
High above the eastern halls, flames burst forth like a scar across the midnight sky. Crimson fire crowned the rooftops of the royal library, and plumes of black smoke rose like a waking beast, its maw wide open to devour the stars.
The alarm drums thundered thrice BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! echoing across the palace grounds like the drums of war. Guards scrambled in every direction, their boots pounding against stone with urgency. Eunuchs and palace maids spilled from the corridors in panic, rushing blindly toward Chiyu Palace the ancient repository of the realm's most sacred texts.
The winter wind howled, cold and sharp. But the fire was hungrier still, devouring the old wooden eaves in a matter of moments too swift, too precise.
As if… someone had prepared oil in advance.
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"Fire! Fire! Bring water quickly!"
The shrill cries of the palace guards rang out against the crackling wood, echoing into the chaos. One of the head stewards, face deathly pale, pointed wildly toward the pavilion.
"There were footprints leading here last night! Silk cloth soaked in oil was found beneath the structure and the evidence points to the Fourth Princess!"
Gasps rippled like waves.
And rumors like fire spread with a speed that buckets of water could never hope to contain.
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Within Hua Lan Palace...
The steady glow of an oil lamp cast a golden halo in the main chamber. Xianlan sat quietly at her tea table, a pale green jade cup cradled in her hands.
A kneeling maid gave her report voice low and trembling.
But Xianlan did not flinch.
She set the cup down gently, her expression unreadable. Her dark gaze turned toward the window, past the sheer gray drapery, and into the night. Far in the distance, a flicker of flames danced.
"…So it has begun."
Her voice was soft. Still.
"A fire so brazen. A frame so crude. Meant to drive me into panic… or make me reveal my hand too early."
A faint curl touched her lips not quite a smile.
Perhaps… something sadder.
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Morning – The Grand Audience Hall
The officials stood in two solemn rows, clad in formal dark robes. The tension in the chamber was suffocating. No one dared to shift.
The scent of incense drifted from the altar like a silken veil masking the eyes from truth.
Lord Sun, head of the Office of Order and Discipline, stepped forward and placed a lacquered wooden box before the Dragon Throne with deliberate care.
"Your Majesty, we discovered a silk cloth embroidered with the character 'Lan' hidden beneath the pavilion, along with footprints that match those from Hua Lan Palace."
His voice rang with clarity.
"I humbly request Your Majesty's judgment."
A murmur erupted among the gathered ministers.
From her seat, Noble Consort Su Zhen folded her phoenix fan slowly and sighed.
"What a pity," she lamented, her voice light with feigned regret. "I had thought Princess Xianlan had changed for the better…"
"But if we allow arson against the royal archives to go unpunished, others may follow her example…"
The words, though gently spoken, cut to the bone.
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Before the Emperor could speak, another voice quiet yet resonant broke through the chamber.
"Lord Sun."
From the shadows stepped Crown Prince Feng Yuhan, his bearing composed, draped in his ceremonial robe of deep crimson.
"You claim to have found footprints near the pavilion and an oil-stained cloth?"
He paused, then his sharp gaze flicked to the wooden box.
"And yet… Hua Lan Palace has not used oil lamps for nearly half a year."
The murmurs ceased at once.
His words struck like iron through the accuser's chest.
Feng Yuhan took another step forward.
"And that 'silk cloth embroidered with the character Lan'? It is a pattern reserved for auspicious celebrations. And this week… Hua Lan has not commissioned even a single garment."
"I suggest we first investigate who brought this cloth into the Jade Pavilion grounds—before we leap to accusations."
His words were not merely a defense.
They were a trap laid in return.
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Emperor Li Sicheng remained silent for a long moment.
He studied his son his eyes, once steady as still water, now shimmered with the faintest trace of hesitation.
"…Are you certain," he asked at last, "that you speak without bias?"
Feng Yuhan bowed low.
"I have no reason to favor anyone."
His voice was cold. Crisp as ice.
"Only a reason not to watch injustice unfold under the guise of law."
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Moonlight filtered gently through the cotton-draped windows of the pavilion, silver strands weaving shadows upon the floor. The faint scent of linhua blossoms mingled with the subtle fragrance of steeped tea, drifting quietly on the cool night breeze.
Beneath the eaves, Feng Yuhan stood motionless. The glow of a nearby lantern painted a soft silhouette across the edge of his face. In the distance, the whisper of night insects blended with the rhythmic droplets falling from a bamboo pipe beside the lotus pond.
He watched Xianlan in silence as she tended to the tea shrubs. Her back was straight, her movements graceful yet there was a storm buried beneath the stillness.
"You still believe silence to be your sharpest weapon?" he asked, his voice low and measured.
Xianlan paused, letting the last drops of water fall from her fingers onto the tiled floor. Then she spoke, her voice a quiet murmur.
"It's not silence… but the patience to let what must be revealed emerge in its own time."
Feng Yuhan's lips curled into a faint smile. "Like enemies who believe they control the board… unaware that the pieces they place are but kindling for their own undoing."
"Yes," she answered simply, then turned to meet his gaze. Her eyes dark as obsidian held steady as she asked:
"Do you know why I've made no effort to deny the accusation… or plead for mercy?"
He shook his head slightly, waiting.
"Because I've learned… nothing exposes a person's true nature more clearly than greed and fear. If I make a commotion now, those who laid the trap will only grow cautious."
She paused. Then, slowly, her words fell like the drop of a needle.
"But if I remain still… they'll believe they've already won. And in their haste to seize victory, they'll play their hand too soon. And that… is when I'll see every card they hold."
Feng Yuhan gave a soft laugh, the sound low and resonant in his throat.
"You've never changed," he said. "Still as ice so still that some forget still waters may hide deadly currents beneath."
He took one step forward, the soft echo of his boots brushing stone.
"So you want me… to stand back, let you play this game as you see fit?"
Xianlan smiled faintly. "No. I only ask that you not raise your sword too soon. If you shield me now, they'll know to raise theirs."
Feng Yuhan gave a solemn nod before exhaling.
"Then I will stand behind you… but I won't move until you call for me."
A gust of wind stirred the treetops behind them like the quiet herald of something about to begin.
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The following morning, the air across the palace remained taut and heavy.
Outside the Hall of Yunqing, a group of court officials stood in uneasy clusters. Some spoke of the fire in vague, measured tones; others cast furtive glances toward Hua Lan Palace, where only half the truth had been released.
But far beneath the old Scripture Hall, in a chamber so restricted that even senior eunuchs rarely entered, the true movement had already begun.
There, in the Hall of Hidden Records, a handful of aging ministers men once loyal to Consort Yi were stirring again, for the first time in years.
"We cannot allow her daughter to be made a scapegoat again," one of them whispered.
Another nodded, grave. "If Xianlan is the last surviving piece left from Consort Yi Fei's line… then we must protect her. Not for the throne. But for what has long been forgotten."
Behind the fire and the clamor of the alarm drums, perhaps only smoke could be seen.
But if all eyes remained fixed upon the flames…
No one would notice the quiet flicker of a different light one kindled by a single hand, deep in shadow, lighting the way toward the truth.
"This chapter has been updated with improved narrative and deeper character perspective. The plot remains unchanged."
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