The night was cool, the scent of rain lingering in the air as Hua Jing and Zhao Yan walked hand in hand toward the waiting carriage.
The clutched their hands so tightly that none of them wished to let go.
The world around them felt oddly silent.
It wasn't the kind of silence that came from peace—but the kind that followed the collapse of something great, something that would never be the same again.
From this day on, the Hua family was never going to be the same again.
Behind them, the grand Hua Mansion stood tall, its walls holding years of power and history. But now, it was no longer an unshakable force.
Now, it was crumbling.
With everything that had happened, and every word that had been uttered, and every year that had listened to everything that had been said, there was no way the rumors old not spread throughout the whole empire.
Hua Jing stopped.
