The night of the Autumn Banquet arrived with a chill that mirrored the ice in my heart. The Duke's estate was ablaze with thousands of lanterns, their orange glow reflecting off the polished carriages of the kingdom's elite.
I waited until the very last moment to descend. Downstairs, my father, Lord Lin, was pacing the foyer. Beside him stood Rose, who had finally regained her voice, though it remained a raspy, pathetic shadow of its former self. She was dressed in a loud, crimson gown dripping with rubies—a desperate attempt to reclaim the attention I had stolen.
"Where is she?" Father snapped, checking the clock. "If we are late, it will be a disgrace to the Lin name."
"I told you, Father," Rose wheezed, her eyes darting toward my room. "Xia is likely too weak to even dress herself. We should leave her. Prince Yan is expecting us, and—"
"I am right here, Sister."
I stepped into the light at the top of the stairs. I had used the Thousand-Face manual to keep my features slightly softened, but the Celestial Silk gown did the rest. It flowed around me like silver smoke, shimmering from pale white to deep lunar blue as I moved. I wore no jewels; I didn't need them. My skin, perfected by the Spirit Spring, looked like it was lit from within.
Father gasped, his anger forgotten. Rose's face, however, turned a shade of purple that matched her rubies.
[That dress... where did she get that dress? It looks like it's made of stars! I'll kill her, I'll rip it off her back! She looks like an Empress, and I look like a common maid next to her!]
"You... you look acceptable," Father managed to say, though his eyes were wide with pride. "Let us go."
The banquet hall was a sea of silk and gold. As we were announced, the room fell into a sudden, vacuum-like silence.
"The First and Second Misses of the Lin Estate!"
I walked in with my head held high, my Phantom Steps making me appear to glide over the marble floor. I could feel hundreds of eyes on me, but my focus was on one person: Prince Yan.
He was standing near the head of the hall, a goblet of wine in his hand, surrounded by sycophants. When his eyes landed on me, he froze. In my past life, he had looked at me with bored pity. Now, his gaze was filled with a burning, predatory hunger.
[Who is that? Is that really the sickly Lin Xia? She's stunning... like a cold moon. If I marry her, I won't just get the jade pendant; I'll have the most beautiful woman in the empire at my side.]
I felt a surge of disgust so strong I nearly lost my composure. I didn't want his admiration; I wanted his ruin.
I felt a sudden, sharp prickling at the back of my neck. My Heart-Mirror flared, sending a warning through my mind. This wasn't the shallow, muddy thoughts of the nobles. This was something different.
I turned my head slightly and saw a man sitting alone in a darkened corner of the hall, away from the festivities. He wore charcoal-grey robes, and his face was a mask of cold, sharp angles. His eyes were not black or brown—they were the color of a winter sky before a storm.
This was him. The Ghost General, Long Wei.
I reached out with my mind, trying to catch a glimpse of his thoughts as Bai had warned. But as my mental energy touched him, I didn't hear a voice.
I felt a roar of wind over a frozen tundra. It was a vast, echoing silence that pushed back against my Heart-Mirror with such force that I stumbled.
Suddenly, Long Wei raised his goblet. His eyes locked onto mine across the crowded room. He didn't smile. He didn't bow. He simply watched me, his gaze so heavy it felt like a physical weight on my shoulders.
[Interesting,] a voice suddenly rang out in my head—not a scratchy echo like the others, but a voice as clear and deep as a temple bell. [A little rabbit with the eyes of a wolf... and she's trying to peek into my soul.]
My breath hitched. He... he knew? He could feel me reading him?
"Sister! Prince Yan is coming this way!" Rose hissed, grabbing my arm and snapping me out of the trance.
Yan approached us, his "charming" smile firmly in place. "Lin Xia. You look breathtaking tonight. I was worried your health would prevent us from sharing a dance."
As he reached for my hand, I saw Rose's eyes flash with murderous intent.
[I have the powder in my ring,] Rose thought, her mind a frantic mess of jealousy. [When they dance, I'll spill the wine on her dress. The powder will react with the fabric and turn it transparent. She'll be shamed in front of the whole court!]
I looked at Yan's outstretched hand, then at the "Ghost General" watching from the shadows, and finally at my sister.
"I would be honored, Prince Yan," I said, my voice echoing with a sweetness that masked the venom beneath.
I stepped forward, but as I passed Rose, I leaned in. "Be careful with that powder, Rose. It would be a shame if it ended up on the Prince instead."
Rose froze, her face turning ashen. Before she could react, I was swept onto the dance floor by the man who had murdered me once before. But this time, I wasn't the victim. I was the one leading the dance.