The night market breathed.
That was the only way the Empress could describe it.
Lanterns swayed gently in the evening breeze, their warm amber light spilling over cobblestone streets like liquid gold. The air was thick with the scent of roasted chestnuts, sizzling meat skewers, sweet pastries, and freshly brewed tea. Voices overlapped—vendors shouting prices, children laughing, musicians plucking strings, lovers whispering secrets beneath the glow of paper lamps.
It was alive.
And for the first time in a very long while, the Empress felt… alive too.
She walked beside the Emperor, her steps light, eyes wide with curiosity. In commoner clothes, with her hair loosely tied and no crown weighing on her head, she looked nothing like the woman feared in the palace. She looked young. Curious. Free.
She stopped suddenly.
"Oh—look at that!"
