Back at Xiyue
The love between Mimi and Prince Lianyi had been blooming quietly, like a secret garden hidden from the world.
Every day, Yue Rong watched from afar, the laughter they shared, the tenderness in the prince's eyes.
Each smile cut her deeper than any blade.
Today, however, she had decided she would look her best.
One of the minister's daughters was getting married, and she knew Prince Lianyi would attend. Perhaps, she thought bitterly, if fate were kind just once, he might glance her way again, even for a second.
The sun was already high when Yue Rong sat before her mirror. The silken layers of her gown shimmered in rose and ivory. Her maids brushed her long hair, pinned it with pearls, and adjusted the gold earrings that swayed softly against her neck.
She admired her reflection, satisfied with the beauty staring back, but beneath it, her heart trembled with quiet desperation.
She had just fastened the final hairpin when a faint knock came at the door.
Her brows furrowed.
"Who could that be?" she murmured. Her parents had already left for the wedding, leaving only a few guards and maids in the residence.
"Who is it?" she asked aloud, her tone edged with impatience.
A timid voice answered from the other side.
"My Lady… I bring a message from the palace."
Yue Rong's heart skipped. A message? From the palace?
She rose swiftly, smoothing her gown as she walked toward the door. She had planted spy in the palace __a web she'd carefully spun since Mimi's return. If she had sent word, it must be very important.
She opened the door. A young girl with wide, anxious eyes stood there — no older than fourteen, dressed in a plain green robe, her hair tied neatly into a single braid.
"What is it?" Yue Rong asked sharply, recognizing her. The girl was the younger sister of the maid she had planted inside the palace.
The messenger bowed deeply, clutching a sealed letter in trembling hands.
"My Lady," she stammered, "my sister sent this. She said it was urgent… from the prince's quarters."
Yue Rong's eyes flickered, a mix of fear and curiosity. She snatched the letter quickly.
"Did anyone follow you?" she asked staring at her.
"N-no, my Lady." she replied, politely.
"Good. Leave at once."
The girl bowed again and hurried down the corridor, her sandals echoing faintly before fading into silence.
Yue Rong closed the door and turned to the letter in her hand. Her pulse raced as she broke the seal.
---
My Lady,
Forgive the clumsy ink — I dare not linger. The palace is full of excitement tonight.
His Majesty and the Queen have gone to the Mimi's home.
It was said the Emperor himself chose her for Prince Lianyi. They went with gifts, musicians, and servants carrying red silk.
Everyone says the engagement day has already been chosen...two weeks from now.
This is all I could quickly send you, my Lady.
---
"They… went to her house?" Yue Rong whispered. "The Emperor… the Empress… for her?"
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Every carefully laid plan, she made. Every smile before the Queen, every dream of her, be being chosen someday, shattered like glass.
"Mimi… the girl I set up and ruined, the one I destroyed the prince's trust in. How… how was she able to win him back?"
Her voice cracked, part grief, part fury. The weight of her own words settled in the air like poison.
"No," she said suddenly, shaking her head. "No, it's not over. It can't be."
She stood abruptly, pacing around the room "If he marries her… I will be forgotten. My father's name, my family's honor, all wasted for that for that girl?"
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, tears glimmering before she could swallowed it.
Slowly, she turned toward her mirror. Her reflection stared back, perfect and poised, but burning with envy.
"You will not win, Mimi," she whispered. "Not while I still breathe."
Her knees gave out; the pins in her hair loosened as she sank to the floor. "He… he chose her," she said, as if trying to retain it. "After everything… he chose her."
Tears streamed down her face, falling onto her silk sleeves. The image of Lianyi smiling at Mimi flashed before her eyes, that gentle look that supposed to belong to no one but her.
Just then, the door creaked open.
"Rong'er?" her mother's soft voice called. "Why didn't you come to the celebration? Everyone was asking about you,"
She froze at the sight of her daughter on the floor, with a swollen red eyes.
"Yue Rong!" her father exclaimed, rushing forward. "What happened? Who dared to make you cry?"
Her mother knelt beside her. "My child, what is it?"
For a long while, Yue Rong couldn't speak. Her lips trembled; her breath came in sharp gasps. Finally, she clutched her father's sleeve and broke down.
"Father…" she choked. "The prince… Prince Lianyi…"
Her father frowned. "What about him again?"
"They went to the Mimi's house!" she cried. "The Emperor… the Queen… they went today, to propose marriage for him and her! That lowborn girl! That snake who pretends to be pure and kind!"
Her mother gasped, exchanging a worried glance with her husband.
"I love him, Father," Yue Rong wept, pressing a hand against her chest. "I love him so much I can't breathe without him! How could he choose her? I can't live without him… I can't!"
Her father's face darkened, anger, shame, and pity mingling in his eyes. "Enough, Rong'er! You are my daughter, the daughter of General Yue. No man, not even a prince, is worth your tears."
But Yue Rong shook her head violently, tears falling faster. "You don't understand! He was meant for me… from the very beginning! I'll never let her take him from me. Never…"
Her trembling voice softened to a whisper, but her eyes, once filled with sorrow, now gleamed cold and sharp.
Her mother reached to comfort her, but Yue Rong turned away, her heart already filling with something dark.
Something that whispered: If I cannot have him… she cannot either.