Chapter 15: The Crowned Flame

Some stories begin with silence.

Others begin with fire.

AiLi's story began with a signature she never chose.

And now, it would end with one she did.

The Deng empire had changed.

In the months since the Ash Crown fractured, Zhou dismantled every corrupt tie his family once held. He burned old contracts. Freed trafficked innocents. Rebuilt schools where vaults had once been.

He didn't ask for applause.

He asked for silence.

And AiLi gave it to him — not as a wife in name, but as his equal, his sword, his survivor.

But there was still one thing unfinished.

One word unspoken.

One fire waiting to burn without fear.

On the first day of spring, Zhou took her to the coast.

No guards.

No war.

Just wind, waves… and a small black box.

"I don't need a crown," he said, opening it. "I need you."

Inside, a ring. Simple. Forged in white jade and steel — carved with her name on the inside.

AiLi's breath caught.

"I already wear your name," she whispered.

"This isn't about my name," he said. "It's about giving you the choice."

Tears welled in her eyes. "You're really asking me?"

He nodded.

"Then my answer is yes," she whispered, laughing through tears. "It's always been yes."

He slid the ring onto her finger.

Not as a claim.

But as a vow.

Their wedding was not televised.

There were no chandeliers. No palace.

Just them.

On the rooftop where she first told him she wasn't afraid.

She wore red — not for tradition, but for fire.

He wore black — not for mourning, but for memory.

As Zhou took her hand, the city blinked beneath them, unaware that its devil had married a phoenix.

Later that night, AiLi stood by the window.

Zhou walked up behind her, arms circling her waist.

"No chains," she whispered.

"No more cages," he promised.

She leaned back against his chest. "Do you think we were fated?"

He shook his head.

"No. We were forged."

And far away, deep in the shadows of a quiet monastery, an old woman lit incense for two names:

Huang Yifeng.

Li Mei Deng.

And for their children —

The ones who survived them.

The ones who broke the cycle.