Spring's Ephemeral Light
The cherry blossoms in Moonfall Academy bloomed and fell within a breath, their fleeting beauty mirroring the fragile respite I'd found among books and borrowed time.
Li Jun's presence had become a quiet constant. Unlike the razor-tongued merchants of my world, he carried the uncomplicated warmth of sunlit marketplaces. In the evenings, we'd sit in the courtyard pavilion—him spinning tales of comical trade mishaps, me listening with a smile that felt almost genuine.
But peace in Moonfall was ever an illusion.
The storm came without warning.
City envoys descended upon the academy, bearing the城主's decree: all scholars were to submit political treatises. The finest mind would be inducted into the Strategy Bureau—gateway to the城主's inner circle.
Zhu Yuanzhang slid a blank scroll across my desk. "This is your moment."
The unspoken truth vibrated between us. This wasn't merely an exam; it was a ladder out of obscurity. One well-argued treatise, and I could step from scholar to power broker.
That night, ink flowed like blood from a fresh wound.
I wrote not as an academic, but as one who'd witnessed courts rot from within. My proposal dissected Moonfall's ills—tax reforms to ease the people's burden, merchant credit systems to stimulate trade—each character honed by lived experience.
"This reads like a veteran minister's work," Li Jun murmured over my shoulder.
I merely smiled. "Life teaches strange lessons."
Three days later, the城主 himself reportedly slammed my treatise upon his jade desk, declaring it visionary.
Thus I entered the Strategy Bureau—a "scholar" crossing into the heart of power.
None suspected the woman beneath the robes.
None knew this was but the first move.
At the academy gates, Li Jun clapped my shoulder. "Don't become one of those unapproachable statues in the bureaus."
Something warm and aching rose in my throat. "If I change even one dark corner of this world..."
He didn't understand. But I did.
In this city of knives and shadows, I would carve a path—not just for myself, but for all the silenced women who came before me.
The Strategy Bureau awaited.
And its tempest would make the academy's trials seem like child's play.
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and then Add to home screen.