[Southern Tang, Top Floor of the Exquisite Pavilion]
The night deepened. The myriad lights of Jinling City reflected upon the surface of the Qinhuai River, shattered by the evening breeze into a million shimmering golden scales.
Qi Xuan stood at the edge of the terrace, her hands clasped behind her back. Behind her lay the cold clicks of an abacus and mountains of ledgers; before her lay the prosperous yet alien splendor of the Southern Tang. She lowered her head, her right hand gently covering the layer of Moonlight-Shadow gauze on her left wrist.
The specialized bracer, which had been as silent as scrap metal for an entire year, was now vibrating with a faint, searing intensity beneath the silk. The frequency was unmistakable—a pulse code known only to their squad. The cold metal, dormant for so long, now burned with such heat that it felt as though it might scorch through the gauze and pierce her very pulse.
With trembling fingers, she unveiled the silk. Two faint lights intertwined and flickered—one a chilling ethereal blue, the other a warm, radiant amber.
A year ago, when she had crawled out from the mountain of corpses left by the bandits, the bracer had been grey and lifeless. At that time, she believed she was the only one trapped in an ancient shell. She had shuttered her emotions, transforming into the calculating "Qi Xuan" to tear out a territory for herself in the cutthroat merchant seas of Southern Tang.
But a few days ago, this dead object had miraculously resurrected.
"Captain... Blue Five..."
Yellow Seven whispered into the void, her eyes—which had spent the year calculating the hearts of men—now misting over with a thin veil of tears.
The signal captured by the bracer was weak, yet it pinpointed their locations with chilling precision: one in the far northern mining districts of Western Yan, the other deep within the heart of Great Qi.
She wanted nothing more than to shed this heavy gown, leap onto a fast horse, and find the comrades who had shared life and death with her. But as her gaze drifted toward the adjacent study, she saw Qi Hao reading by the light of a flickering lamp, his small silhouette reflected against the window lattice—stubborn and earnest.
Her identity was the County Princess of Southern Tang; she was the pillar of the Exquisite Pavilion and Qi Hao's only reliance. The merchant rivals of Jinling were like wolves, and the Imperial family was a lurking tiger. If she were to leave now, the fortress she had painstakingly built over the year would crumble in an instant, and Qi Hao would become a mere sacrificial lamb in the struggle for power.
"Wait a little longer..."
Yellow Seven took a deep breath and re-wrapped the silk around her wrist, concealing the light that did not belong to this era.
"Captain, you must hold on. Once I have locked down the board in Southern Tang, once Hao'er can stand on his own..." The sorrow in her eyes faded, replaced by a chilling resolve. "I will use all the silver in this world to pave my path and reunite with you."
[The Study]
Yellow Seven walked softly behind Qi Hao. The candlelight stretched the boy's shadow long across the cold green bricks. She reached out, her fingertips gently ruffling his dark hair, and a faint, thin sigh escaped her throat.
"Sister, why are you sighing?" Hao'er turned his head sharply, his face wearing a composure that did not belong to his years.
"It's nothing." Yellow Seven withdrew her emotions, her voice steady again. "It's late. Reading these dense texts for too long will exhaust your spirit. Go to bed."
"Yes, Sister. You should rest early too." Hao'er obediently closed the ancient tome, tidied the scattered papers, and bowed respectfully before withdrawing from the room.
Standing alone, Yellow Seven watched his small but upright back disappear into the darkness. A sharp, needle-like ache pricked at her heart. In her world, a child of this age should be running on a campus, acting spoiled in their parents' arms, or worrying over homework. Yet here, in the Prince's Manor, Hao'er had been forced to mature by rules, strategies, and archaic texts. In this city where every step was like treading on thin ice, even his breathing was calculated.
Is this life... truly good for him?
She sat down wearily and flipped through the copy of Zizhi Tongjian that Hao'er had just been reading. As the pages turned, a rough-edged piece of parchment fluttered out and landed with a soft thud.
Yellow Seven picked it up. Written in a shaky, childish script were words brimming with sincerity:
"Sister hasn't laughed in a long time. Hao'er wants Sister to be happy. Hao'er will study hard so that later, I can be the one to protect Sister."
In that moment, the icy defenses Yellow Seven had built over the year collapsed. Her vision blurred, and heat surged in her eyes. She bit her lip hard, but couldn't stop a choked laugh from escaping.
"You silly kid..."
The ink on the paper seemed to carry a warmth that thawed her long-barren heart. She knew that for the sake of the promise on this note, for this last shred of familial warmth, she would have to win the bloody winds of the Exquisite Pavilion—no matter the cost.
[The Imperial Palace, Before the Royal Desk]
The scent of ambergris lingered in the air, yet it could not mask the tension of the brewing scheme. The Emperor of Southern Tang tapped his finger against the secret report detailing the staggering turnover of the Exquisite Pavilion, his eyes hungry like a venomous snake.
"A mere woman, the County Princess, has managed to seize seventy percent of Southern Tang's tea and silk lifelines," the Emperor said, his voice low and predatory. "If the Exquisite Pavilion can be nationalized, my Western expedition funds will no longer be a concern. My ministers, how shall we close this trap?"
The cunning Minister of Revenue bowed first, his voice cold. "Your Majesty, a forced seizure might trigger market shocks and public outcry. I suggest we appoint officials from the Imperial Household Department to 'oversee' it in the name of 'Protecting National Trade.' We grant the Princess the empty title of 'Royal Merchant Leader' to hollow out her power, legally diverting the silver into the national treasury."
"A steady plan, but not thorough enough," the Minister of Rites stepped forward, his eyes sharp. "The Princess must eventually marry. If Your Majesty issues a decree to take her into the palace as a consort, or bestows her in marriage to a Prince, then the Exquisite Pavilion... will not just be nationalized. It will become the private property of the Imperial House."
"Brilliant," the Prime Minister added with a smile. "As for the young Prince Qi Hao, Your Majesty can grant him a special pardon to enter the palace as a study companion for the Crown Prince. It is an unprecedented honor for a Prince of a different surname. With the sister in the harem and the brother in the Eastern Palace, under such 'exalted favor,' the Princess will surely surrender the ledgers of the Exquisite Pavilion willingly."
The Emperor's mouth finally curled into a satisfied arc. "Study companion, Imperial Consort, and a national trade lifeline. What a magnificent 'gift.' Pass my word—draft the decree immediately. I want to give these siblings a... gift of prosperity that they cannot refuse."