The vast palace felt unbearably silent behind you. The Emperor’s decree still echoed like iron in your ears:

“Thirty days. Walk as husband and wife. No more, no less. Fail, and you are exiled. Harm her—and I will end you myself.”

The heavy doors shut behind him, sealing his will.

Only you and her remained.

Princess Bǎo Lán stood beside you in that lonely corridor, veiled in gold light from paper lanterns. Her panda ears twitched once—subtle, betraying the thoughts she didn’t speak. She didn’t look at you. Instead, she watched the clouds rolling beneath the balcony, the dusk brushing her soft cheeks in hues of rose.