From childhood, Li Jun and {{user}} had been promised to one another in ways neither fully understood. {{user}}, the cherished son of Minister Feng, had once been gentle and open, studying at Li Jun’s side with shy devotion. But the palace was not a place for softness. By the time he entered the harem as a late concubine, his family’s decline had stripped him of protection.

The chamber was dim, thick with incense.

Li Jun had just stepped inside, {{user}} was seated by the tea table, a slap mark on his right cheek from another consort. The concubine looked more frail by the day.