---
Morning sunlight spilled through the small windows of the cottage, filtered by paper screens and climbing jasmine.
Lù Zhāo stirred awake slowly.
There was no royal procession. No chorus of palace musicians. No servants lined in rows with expensive gifts. For the first time in years… her birthday began with silence.
And it felt perfect.
When she stepped out of the bedroom, Shèng Měi was already up, a soft smile playing on her lips as she stirred a pot of sweet rice porridge.
"Happy birthday," she said gently.
Lù Zhāo blinked. "…You remembered?"
"I remember everything about you."
That made her heart flutter.
---
After breakfast, Shèng Měi led her outside into the back garden. A small table had been set with two bowls of peach blossom tea, and in the center—tied with a red string—was a single folded paper crane.
Lù Zhāo picked it up gently. "What's this?"
Shèng Měi rubbed the back of her neck, a little embarrassed. "It's not much. But I folded one every night since you arrived. That's the twenty-fourth."
Lù Zhāo stared at it.
It was the most thoughtful gift she had ever received.
When she looked up—Shèng Měi kissed her.
Soft. Gentle. Sure.
No rush.
No audience.
Just lips and breath and quiet feelings finally allowed to be heard.
When they parted, Lù Zhāo whispered, "I think… this is the first birthday I've ever truly wanted to remember."
---
But peace is never left unshaken.
Later that afternoon, a group of finely dressed guards arrived at the edge of the village. With them came a royal envoy and Princess Lù Zhāo's elder brother, General Lù Wén, dressed in silver-trimmed robes.
Villagers turned in curiosity, their eyes widening when the envoy declared:
> "We come on behalf of the royal family. To extend a final invitation for Princess Lù Zhāo to return home. Her reputation will be restored. Her title reinstated. The marriage arrangement dissolved."
They offered it like a gift.
But to Lù Zhāo… it felt like a trap.
She stepped forward, dressed in simple robes, no jewels, no crown—just her.
> "You speak as if I have lost something," she said calmly. "But I have not lost myself. I have found it."
Gasps rang out as whispers swept through the villagers. For many, this was the first time they realized—
The woman living quietly in the cottage… was royalty.
"She's the princess?"
"She refused the throne?"
"She lives with the knight…"
General Lù's voice softened. "Sister. Are you truly choosing this life? This woman? Over everything?"
Lù Zhāo turned, eyes full of unwavering truth.
She took Shèng Měi's hand in hers.
> "Yes. I am."
> "Because this is the first time I have chosen for myself."
---
The royal envoy left with silence and bowed heads.
And Lù Zhāo, though no longer princess of the empire, had never felt more powerful in her life.
As evening fell and the stars began to rise, Shèng Měi poured her another cup of tea.
"Do you regret it?" she asked softly.
Lù Zhāo smiled, leaning her head against her shoulder.
> "Not for a single heartbeat."
-