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Amid the softly falling snow in the Cold Palace courtyard, Princess Xianlan drew her final breath silently.

She had been falsely accused of poisoning the Crown Prince, brutally flogged until her body was torn, and imprisoned without a shred of mercy all part of a cruel scheme orchestrated by Noble Consort Su Zhen, her stepmother, whose gentle appearance masked a heart of poison.

Meanwhile, the Emperor of Li the very man who claimed to love her above all never realized that the only daughter he cherished had been crushed to death by the hands of the one he trusted most.

But the heavens showed mercy.

Xianlan opened her eyes once more, reborn into her eight-year-old self in the time before everything shattered.

This time… she would not be a worthless pawn in a game of power.
She would become the master strategist, toppling each of her enemies one by one.

With icy composure and razor-sharp wit, Xianlan hid in the shadows, slowly gathering evidence, allies, and influence within the palace.
And fate brought her an unexpected ally

Feng Yuhan, Crown Prince of the Southern Yan Kingdom, known as the “Winter Tiger.”
Cold, brilliant, and seemingly heartless yet from their first meeting, something in her eyes held his gaze.

Together, they moved in the darkness.
Xianlan laid the plans. Feng Yuhan executed them.

As the Kingdom of Li fell into the depths of political games
As vipers hissed behind silken smiles in the inner palace
As even a father’s love could be twisted by deceit

⸻

When the phoenix returns to her nest she will never again let anyone trample her.
The will of the heavens may be written in ink…
But Xianlan will rewrite fate in the blood of her enemies.

Rebirth of the Phoenix Empress

As the hour of you approached, a cool wind blew down from the northern mountains, scattering the fragrant dust of incense across the stone courtyard in front of the Luminous Jade Pavilion. Feng Yuhan stood motionless beneath a golden phoenix tree whose leaves had begun to fall—red foliage blanketing the ground like flames yet to ignite.

He waited there alone, awaiting a shadow summoned by an unofficial invitation—Jiang Xinluo.

The soft sound of silver shoes tapping stone echoed faintly before a woman in dark navy robes appeared at the end of the walkway.

"Have you waited long, Prince Feng?"

Her voice was calm, cold, yet laced with hesitation.

Feng Yuhan glanced at her, then spoke quietly.

"If what one waits for is worth it… the wait never feels long."

She had thought him a man who saw the world through frozen eyes—

But his tone… held a flicker of warmth.

"About the rumors concerning Yuhan Palace—I don't believe they came from you," Feng Yuhan continued.

"…If they had, they would've been much quieter."

Jiang Xinluo was silent for a moment, then asked,

"Do you truly understand me… or are you merely baiting me to speak more?"

"Those who spend their lives reading others… often hate being read themselves. I'm no different."

His words carried both truth—and a test.

His gaze locked on hers with steady intensity.

Xianlan read a short, unsigned letter.

But the ink's faint scent was unmistakable.

"The shadow hand from last night did not move with the full consent of all parties involved."

She set the letter down, eyes drifting toward the back garden.

Plum blossoms had bloomed early, as though they, too, sensed the palace's secrets beginning to blossom.

"Interesting… so you've begun to defy orders, Jiang Xinluo," she murmured to herself.

On a small stone bridge connecting the ministers' quarters to the scholars' hall, two shadows met in passing.

Xianlan paused when she saw who it was—Jiang Xinluo.

She offered a faint smile, then spoke first.

"If I were to extend a hand… would you be willing to take it?"

Jiang Xinluo gazed at her for a moment before replying evenly,

"A hand full of plum blossoms… may be beautiful, but it always carries thorns."

"Then be careful not to walk into those thorns, won't you?"

It was an unspoken acknowledgment that the two of them, once clear enemies, were beginning to understand one another.

Jiang Xinluo returned to her own quarters and collapsed onto a soft cushion, letting out her first long sigh in many months.

She didn't know when the doubt had begun to take root in her.

It was the day she saw Xianlan standing alone in the storm of rumors—

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Twilight Within