The knock came at midnight.
Liu Lanzhi sat by the window with the ledger closed on her lap and her eyes on the dark courtyard. She had not been able to sleep. The cold pressure was too awake.
Three knocks. Firm. The knocks were not a servant's tap.
Yulan's voice came from the corridor. "Your Highness. The Crown Prince."
Liu Lanzhi went still. The cold pressure moved under her ribs. The movement was not a surge. It was a recognition.
She rose. She crossed the room. She opened the door.
Yun Qingyu stood in the corridor.
Dark robes. Hair loose. No guards. No attendants. He looked at her the way he had been looking at her for months. He looked like a man trying to solve a problem he could not name.
He stepped inside. She stepped back. The door closed behind him.
He did not sit. He stood in the center of the room and looked at her. She stood by the window. The distance between them was deliberate.
"You were hurt," he said.
