Pale, almost silvery smoke drifted into the night like a tired ghost—finding its way into the Empress’s residence undetected.

Three masked figures watched from a distance, shrouded in the safety and anonymity the shadows provided.

Everywhere was eerily quiet which made it easy to hear the thud when the first guard fell to the floor. Then followed my another—until everyone left in the residence was unconscious on the ground.

Shen Qingyue who was leading the group gave a hand signal and they all emerged from the shadows and slipped in, making sure their masks were in place.

The last thing they needed was one of them inhaling the Silken Sleep Mist by mistake and passing out.

Three wolves stood under the moonlight, eyes trained on the heavy door in front of them.

Lieyin immediately snuffed out the hanging lanterns on both sides, plunging them into immediate darkness.

"You could’ve let us go in first," Yexue hissed, "how’re we supposed to see?"

"Keep quiet." Qingyue gestured to the door. "I’ll go in with Lieyin while you stand guard outside. Send a signal if you hear anything."

With a deep breath Qingyue opened it and they walked in, Lieyin walking closely behind with a smirk on her face. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Everything in the room sparkled with a soft gold.

An incense burned in the corner on top of a table that was adorned with ancestral stones. That was the first place Qingyue drifted to.

"Even being here gives me bad energy," Shen Lieyin muttered. She went over to the shelves that had been built into the walls, searching for any evidence they could find.

The two worked quietly, searching every corner, lifting objects and keeping them back in place. Qingyue was about to call off the search when she found a small wooden box under the canopy bed.

It was brown and had intricate carvings in the wood.

"What do you think it is?" Qingyue asked Lieyin who had joined, but she didn’t expect an answer in return.

She carefully lifted the lid, eyes turning round in surprise when she saw what was inside.

Not gold.

Not jewels—

They were letters...old, and carefully preserved. Each one was tied with a thin silk cord. Qingyue untied the first one.

Her eyes moved quickly at first, then slowed down.

"What is it?" Shen Lieyin asked from her side.

Qingyue couldn’t answer, not immediately. Her heartbeat jerked to a stop for a brief second—

Instead she handed the letter over and tried to blink back the tears that were forming in her eyes.

Lieyin’s fingers tightened around the letter when she read it. "This date..."

Qingyue nodded. "It was the night of the attack."

Written on the paper were orders, hidden between careful phrases.

Shen Lieyin read it in a hurry. "The inner gates must remain unguarded for the duration of the disturbance..." her voice dropped, "so that the guests may pass without resistance..."

They had no doubt that the guests in question were the assassins that had attacked them that dreadful night.

Each letter was worse than the last.

Arrangements.

Movements.

Timing.

All written in that same composed, elegant tone. Like they were discussing nothing more than a ball or the weather.

"It was Empress Shen Lihua that planned it," Qingyue spoke softly, in fear that her voice would betray the sob lodged in her throat. "Our mother was the target—"

The triplets had believed the incident to be an attack on the throne, a bid to overthrow the emperor and their mother had just been unlucky. Nothing personal.

But looking at all the letters, it became clear that it was far from the truth.

"But why?" Lieyin asked as she kept reading, "the emperor had already made her his royal consort, what more did she want?"

A chill ran down Shen Qingyue’s spine. "Power. Isn’t it the reason all royal blood turn against one another? Why stay on the side when she can take the title for herself?"

"What do we do?" Lieyin asked, taking a cautious look at the door. "She can come back any moment from now."

"We’ll take this with us." Shen Qingyue straightened up, carrying the box with her. "This might’ve happened years ago but we need to take this to court. There has to be something we can do to expose the murderer that she truly is."

She’d come in looking for evidence that the Empress was directly linked to the murder of Princess Lin Yuexin, only to find the answer to the question she’d asked herself every night for the past ten years.

Why was their mother murdered?

Now that the answer was at the tip of her fingers, she wasn’t going to back down. Ever.

For a moment neither of the sisters moved or spoke, taking time to digest what this meant for them. The truth already did its damage.

Shen Qingyue exhaled slowly, folding the letter and placing it carefully. "The box is coming with us as evidence we’ll use in court."

"Don’t you think she’ll be suspicious? What if she looks for it?"

"It doesn’t matter, whatever we’re doing..." she looked at Lieyin who nodded in understanding, "we need to do it fast."

Qingyue closed the box, tucking it under her arm. Her gaze drifted to the painted screen across the room when she turned to the door.

Peonies.

In full bloom.

Their petals were painted a deep red, like spilled blood.

Her fingers curled slightly at her side. It felt like the painting was mocking them, taking a jab at their grief and daring them to turn the other cheek.

Outside, somewhere in the distance—there was the faint sound of a whistle.

Qingyue was sure it was a signal, but it wasn’t from Yexue who immediately opened the door, "we have to leave now."

The sisters nodded, quickly making their way through the courtyard.

Everyone was still passed out, and if it wasn’t for the situation Qingyue would’ve stopped to make sure they hadn’t passed on from the strength of the powder.

Not like she actually cared.

Heavy footsteps could be heard as they slipped out of the building. It was the Empress and her maids. Returning to her residence just as the wolves slipped back into the shadows.

That was a close call.

Shen Qingyue watched as Empress Lihua walked into a residence, followed by screaming when they saw all the bodies on the floor.

But seeing the fear on their faces did nothing to satisfy the blinding rage coursing through the triplets.

Lieyin wished she could go over and strike the woman on the spot, but that would be too hasty...too easy.

Shen Lihua deserved something worse than death, and the wounded wolves were going to make sure she suffered for every bit of it.