The night air in the palace was heavy, carrying the faint perfume of lotus and wet stone.

A fist pounded on the door.
"Your Highness!" a guard's muffled voice trembled. "A… a body… in the lotus pond."

Leena's stomach dropped.
Maya clutched her arm, eyes wide.

The Seventh Prince, Li Wei, rose from his seat by the window, his expression unreadable.
"Show me," he said.

Lotus Pond – Midnight

Torches flickered against the dark water as soldiers waded into the pond. Ripples glimmered under the moon.

A maid's lifeless body surfaced.
Leena froze. Her pulse pounded in her ears.

Maya's whisper broke the silence:
"Madame… that's her? The girl who… pushed you?"

Leena's throat tightened.

Li Wei's sharp eyes scanned the scene, his jaw tightening. He had seen this coming—he had seen the elder physician with that maid near the pond last night, and now his suspicion was confirmed.

A guard muttered, "No one saw her leave the eastern quarters… it's as if she vanished."

Li Wei's voice cut through the murmurs, cold and precise:
"You—search her quarters. You—search the physician's. Now."

Leena felt his gaze on her. In the flicker of torchlight, his expression was like carved ice.

"You're going to tell me," he said softly, dangerously, "exactly what happened that night."

Leena's fingers trembled against her wet robe. She hesitated.
Maya started, "Your Highness, it wasn't her fau—"

"Speak," he ordered.

Leena inhaled sharply.
"…Someone pushed me. And before I fell, I… I saw the elder physician watching from the corridor."

A shadow flickered across the prince's eyes—confirmation of his suspicion.
He turned to his captain.
"Seal the gates. No one leaves the palace tonight."

They returned toward the inner hall, boots wet with pond water, the night echoing with whispers.

Leena clutched Maya's hand.
Someone in this palace wants me dead. And if the prince wasn't there that night… I'd be gone.

Suddenly, a soldier dropped to one knee ahead of them.
"Your Highness! The elder physician's quarters are… empty. He's vanished."

The air grew colder.
Li Wei's voice was calm, but steel-lined:
"…Then he knows he's been caught."

The Seventh Prince turned, his silhouette sharp against the torchlight.

"I ride tonight," he said to his captain.
"Seal the gates after me. No one leaves without my command."

Chen Yu's grin flickered as he stepped forward.
"I'll come! You know I can track better than half these soldiers—"

"No."

The word was final, slicing through the night air.

Chen Yu froze, blinking.
Li Wei's gaze shifted to Leena, and his voice hardened:
"And you. Stay in your quarters. This is no place for a foreigner… or for someone who almost drowned."

Leena's lips parted, but no sound came.
The command was a wall she couldn't cross.

With a flick of his sleeve, the prince mounted his horse.
The courtyard echoed with the sound of hooves, and then he was gone.

Back in her chamber, Leena paced like a caged bird.
Maya slept fitfully, mumbling in her dreams.

Then, a soft tap on her window.

Leena froze, then slid the panel open—
Chen Yu grinned at her from the shadows of the roof, eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Still want answers?" he whispered.
"Then let's go get them."

Leena hesitated only a heartbeat…
I need to know why this old man tried to kill me.