The palace was heavy with the scent of perfumed flowers, but beneath that fragrant air, there was a lingering tension that none of the courtiers could ignore. The days following Tian's ominous warning had been filled with whispers, eyes that darted away when they met Ming's, and an undercurrent of fear that threatened to break the fragile peace Zhen and Ming had fought so hard to protect.
Ming woke early that morning, his heart already weighted with the knowledge that something had changed in the palace. He had hoped, in the deepest recesses of his heart, that the love they had shared would remain untouched by the politics of the court. But as he looked out the window at the soft morning light, a cruel reality began to settle over him.
Zhen's love, their secret, was no longer enough to shield them from the suffocating demands of the palace.
As Ming moved silently through the hallways of the royal residence, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps behind him. It was Xu Zhen's personal attendant, hurriedly approaching with a look of distress. "Master Ming, His Highness has requested your presence."
A sharp pang of fear tightened Ming's chest. He had not seen Zhen since the night of Tian's threat. Had something happened?
He followed the attendant through the ornate halls, his heart pounding in his chest. The door to Zhen's chambers was already open, and as Ming stepped inside, he found the prince standing near the window, his back to the room.
"Ming…" Zhen's voice was low, a strange heaviness to it. He turned slowly, his gaze soft but full of sorrow. "There is no easy way to say this."
Ming's breath caught in his throat. He could see the pain in Zhen's eyes, the way his shoulders were stiff with the weight of some unspeakable burden. He stepped forward, his heart pounding, hoping against hope that the words would not be what he feared.
"What is it, Zhen?" Ming's voice trembled, betraying the storm that was beginning to churn inside him.
Zhen swallowed hard before speaking. "I've been ordered to marry Lady Mei, the daughter of one of the Emperor's most trusted generals." His voice faltered for a moment, then firmed again. "It's an arrangement meant to solidify the alliance between the court and the military."
Ming's mind whirled as the words sank in, the cold sting of betrayal cutting deeper than he could have imagined. "But… you—" Ming's throat went dry, the pain of Zhen's words suffocating. "You can't. We…"
Zhen's face was pale, his jaw clenched as though he were holding something back. "I have no choice, Ming." His voice broke with a kind of quiet desperation. "The Emperor has made his decree. There is no room for defiance. If I refuse, it will be seen as an act of disobedience, and it could cost my family everything."
Ming stepped back, his breath coming in shallow gasps. His love for Zhen was all-encompassing, but the reality of their situation was impossible to ignore. He was a servant, a man of low birth, and Zhen, the prince, was bound by duty—bound by forces beyond his control.
Tears welled in Ming's eyes, but he fought to hold them back. "You would marry her… and I would be forgotten?"
Zhen reached for Ming, but Ming stepped away from him, the space between them suddenly feeling insurmountable.
"It's not that simple, Ming." Zhen's voice was desperate now, filled with the kind of raw emotion that only a heart torn in two could produce. "You are my heart, my soul, and yet… the laws of the kingdom—our places in this world—they are too strong. We cannot fight them."
A deep silence filled the room, thick and suffocating. Ming's heart shattered as he realized the truth of what Zhen was saying. He had always known that their love could not last, but hearing it spoken aloud, so coldly, made the pain real.
"You're asking me to stand aside," Ming said softly, his voice barely above a whisper, the pain evident in every word. "To let you go. Let you marry her…"
Zhen's face twisted in anguish. "I would never ask that of you, Ming. But there is no other way. If I disobey the Emperor's command, everything we've built—everything we've fought for—will be destroyed. I cannot let that happen."
Ming's breath came in uneven gasps. He wanted to scream, to throw himself into Zhen's arms and beg him not to leave. But instead, he felt a crushing weight in his chest. The love they had built was now nothing more than a fleeting moment in the face of the court's demands.
And then the door to the chamber opened, and in walked the last person Ming ever expected to see—Master Tian. His face was set in grim determination, his eyes calculating as he surveyed the room.
"I see you've had this conversation already," Tian said coolly, his gaze flickering to Ming with a knowing look. "It seems the prince is finally seeing reason."
Ming's blood ran cold. He could see the truth now—the coldness in Tian's eyes, the subtle power play behind his words. The advisor had been the one to orchestrate this all along, pulling the strings that would break them apart. He had known of their love and had used it against them, manipulating Zhen's every move.
"You!" Ming stepped forward, his voice shaking with anger. "You've done this! You've forced Zhen into this marriage!"
Tian only smiled, his expression smug. "The court cannot allow such distractions. The prince's duty is to the kingdom, not to his personal desires. I did what was necessary for the good of the empire."
Ming's hands clenched into fists, his nails digging into his palms as he fought to suppress the rage bubbling inside him.
Zhen stepped between them, his voice firm. "Enough, Tian. I will marry Lady Mei, but not because of your manipulation. It is my duty, and I will carry that burden, even if it tears me apart."
But Ming could see the truth behind Zhen's words. The prince had already been broken—broken by the weight of his duty, by the cruel reality of the court, and by the betrayal of the one person he had trusted most.
And it was not just Zhen who was being torn apart. As the weight of their love began to slip through his fingers, Ming knew that his heart, too, would be shattered by the very hands that had once promised to hold it forever.
Ming bowed his head, unable to meet Zhen's gaze. The walls of the palace, which had once felt like a refuge, now closed in around him like a cage.
"I… I cannot stay here any longer," Ming whispered, his voice breaking.
And with that, the prince and the servant—once bound by love—were torn apart, each consumed by the weight of duty, betrayal, and a love that could never be.