The night breeze filtered through the silent corridors of the palace, carrying the perfume of the cherry blossoms. The moon bathed the marble floors and carved columns with its pale light, casting long, melancholy shadows. At the top of the imperial staircase, Ruan Jie watched the courtyard from his balcony, a glass of wine forgotten in his hand. Silence weighed on him, as always. Loneliness was his only companion since death snatched his betrothed from him.

His eyes wandered around the lower hall, where the servants moved with precision, mopping the floors and preparing the room for the next day. And then, he saw him.

A new face. Movements different from the others. Not clumsy, but not stiff with fear either. A simple servant, insignificant to anyone, but for some reason, his heart, dormant for so long, seemed to give a stronger beat.

He frowned.

"Ridiculous” he muttered, taking a sip from his cup with feigned disinterest. His gaze, however, did not waver.

He had believed that love was a wound that would never close, that his soul was doomed to carry that weight for the rest of his days. And yet...at this instant, as he watched that silhouette move under the light of the street lamps, he felt something barely perceptible: an echo of what had once been, a tremor in the wall he had built with so much effort.