West Wing – Inner Court Tailors’ Hall

The fire started in the pre-dawn dark.

A flicker beneath the silken storage shelves. A deliberate trail of oil soaked into the floorboards. By the time the guards arrived, half the hall was engulfed in flames—including the chest holding Shen Lianhua’s coronation robes.

By morning, the whispers had already begun:

“Sabotage?”
“Why target the robes?”
“An omen… or a message?”

In the shadows of the smoking ruins, Lianhua stood with arms folded, her expression unreadable.

Li Shenzhao arrived moments later, flanked by guards and his private investigator.

“We’ve already begun interrogating the servants,” he said. “The fire was no accident.”

“Of course it wasn’t,” Lianhua replied. “But it was a mistake.”

Shenzhao looked at her. “How so?”

She turned toward him slowly.

“Because they thought all I had was silk.”

Later – Hall of Records, Private Archive

While officials argued over protocol and reconstruction budgets, Xiao Fen slipped through the back corridors with a sealed case.

Inside: backup documents Lianhua had prepared weeks ago. Hidden ledgers, intercepted letters, and a key—the one to Madam Pei’s embroidery parlor, a private guild known for supplying silk to the Empress herself.

“What now, Your Highness?” Fen asked.

“Now?” Lianhua smiled. “We don’t mourn the ashes. We remind them I don't need fabric to be feared.”

That Evening – Empress’s Tea Garden

Lianhua arrived in a robe of pure black, embroidered not with gold, but with silver fire motifs—borrowed from the ancient mourning designs of warrior queens.

She said nothing at first.

But every noble wife at court saw her.

Saw the message:

I don’t need red to claim the crown.
I’ve already survived the flames.

Even the Empress lowered her fan with a tight-lipped smirk.

“Quite the choice of color, Crown Princess.”

Lianhua bowed.

“It suits the moment, Your Majesty. Some of us rise better after we’ve burned.”

Meanwhile – Yu Manor

Minister Yu paced furiously.

“She was supposed to panic. We humiliated her.”

“You underestimated her again,” his steward said. “And she’s gaining something far more dangerous than power.”

Yu paused. “What?”

“Loyalty.”

That Night – Crown Prince’s Residence

The air was thick with the scent of rain and fire.

Shenzhao wrapped his arms around Lianhua from behind as they stood by the window, watching lightning flash across the sky.

“You keep walking through the worst of it,” he murmured.

“I’m not walking through it,” she whispered. “I’m dragging them behind me.”

He laughed softly against her neck.

“Then I’m right where I belong.”