The evening fell golden over the Palace of Eternal Skies.
In the Hall of Silver Winds, the doors were closed, and only a few chosen ones had permission to be there.
Among them: Suwei.
Before him, a small chest made of medlar wood, covered with imperial red silk. There were no guards, no announcements. Only silence and the weight of what was about to happen.
The emperor entered alone.
Without armor, without crown.
Only with a gaze that spoke of gentle certainties and internal storms.
"This gift," said Jin Long with a deep voice, "is not given by the emperor. It is given by the man who chose to love, even knowing what that meant."
Suwei opened the chest.
Inside, an ancestral jewel: a golden crystal brooch, shaped like an open lotus with a tiny dragon in its center.
"It was made with fragments of the celestial throne. It was worn by the first consort of the first emperor. Now it is yours."
Suwei said nothing. But his hands trembled as he took it.
Jin Long did not kiss him.
