In the darkness, a sudden downpour descended, and the distant and nearby pavilions all lost their outlines in the abrupt storm, fading into formlessness.

As wind and rain raged chaotically, the palace lanterns hanging beneath the eaves swayed violently in the tempest, their golden tassels tangling in disarray. The dark red light flickered uncertainly within the glass shades as if that single point of brightness might fly away with the wind.

The night-duty maids hurriedly rose to close the windows, their light footsteps echoing like rippling water throughout the great hall.

These faint sounds awakened Prince E Li Run, who was sleeping in the inner chamber. He emerged from the inner hall, watching as the white curtains flew back and forth like floating clouds before his eyes in the flickering light. He passed through these diaphanous clouds and walked to the hall entrance, looking outside.

All the palace buildings in the prince’s residence stood silent and still in the furious storm.

Amid the clamorous sound of rain, suddenly an extremely sharp cry pierced through the cold rainy night, heart-wrenchingly tragic, making Li Run’s throat feel as if it were being tightly gripped, causing his heart to convulse in shock.

He abruptly awakened from his nightmare-like state, seemingly unable to believe this piercing cry came from the person most familiar to him, and could only unconsciously ask, “Is… that Mother Consort’s voice?”

“Yes…” the maids behind him timidly answered.

Li Run, disregarding those holding umbrellas behind him, leaped into the pouring rain outside, rushing straight through the rain curtain toward the small palace hall where the scream had come from.

The hall was brightly lit, with the subtle and chaotic footsteps of palace maids coming and going. Yue Ling, the female official attending Li Run’s mother, was coming out from the inner chamber. Seeing him, she hurriedly came forward to bow, saying softly, “My Prince need not worry. The Imperial Consort had a nightmare. We’ve already sent someone to summon Imperial Physician She, and now we’re burning special calming incense in the chamber. The Imperial Consort should be able to rest soon.”

He nodded and entered the inner chamber to look. His mother was in a hysterical fit. She was being held by two strong female servants, with four other maids watching nearby, so she couldn’t move. She could only cry out loudly, her face deathly pale with purple lips, disheveled hair, and eyes bulging deeply.

Li Run sighed, sat beside his mother, and called to her softly, “Mother Consort.”

She stared at him with a chilling, fierce gaze. After a long while, she finally seemed to recognize that he was her son. Her struggles gradually subsided, and two words squeezed out from her dry throat with difficulty: “Run’er…”

Li Run breathed a sigh of relief, raised his hand to gently stroke her forehead, helping to smooth back her fallen bangs, and said, “Mother Consort, it’s me.”

She asked hoarsely, “Why are your clothes and hair all wet?”

“It’s raining outside. I ran across the courtyard to get here.” He casually took the towel Yue Ling handed over and wiped himself, saying softly, “Mother Consort, if you’ve had a nightmare, let me stay and sleep beside you.”

The Imperial Consort slowly nodded, wearily leaning back against her pillow, curling up her body.

Li Run had people move the couch beneath the bed closer. He lay on the couch and closed his eyes, listening as his mother’s originally rapid breathing gradually calmed in the soothing incense.

After dismissing the others, most of the lights were extinguished, leaving only three or five warm orange palace lamps shining in through the curtains.

The tempest continued to pour in the night, violent as if it would never cease.

In his drowsy state, Li Run suddenly heard his mother calling him: “Run’er…”

He opened his eyes and responded, “I’m here.”

His mother’s voice sounded relaxed and peaceful, the first time in years. She asked slowly, “Run’er, where is your Imperial Father?”

Li Run cautiously said, “Imperial Father passed away ten years ago.”

“…Oh.” Her voice was very low, like sleep-talking, “Has it been ten years?”

His mother, who had been confused for ten years, suddenly becoming calm felt strange to Li Run. He rose and sat on the edge of her bed, leaned over to look at her, and asked softly, “Mother Consort… won’t you sleep a while longer?”

“I… have something to give you.” She didn’t answer his question, only slowly propped herself up, opened the cabinet at her bedside, and took out a small cosmetic case stored within.

This case was painted with black lacquer, inlaid with mother-of-pearl cut into flower shapes, its color aged, not particularly precious-looking. Li Run watched as his mother opened it; inside, the bronze mirror had long gone unpolished and had become dim, reflecting faces vaguely and quite eerily.

His mother removed the bronze mirror, and in the gap behind it was hidden a folded cotton paper. She handed it to Li Run, looking at him with that strangely excited gaze, like a child waiting for praise, saying, “Look, this is what your mother painstakingly drew and hid away. You must keep it safe… this concerns the fate of the empire, remember, remember!”

Li Run remained silent, took the paper, and looked at it. It was a cotton paper used by servant girls for drawing clothing patterns, though he didn’t know when she had hidden it away. On it were two or three black ink blots roughly drawn with eyebrow pigment, their shapes irregular and lines chaotic like tangled hemp, impossible to make out any meaning.

Seeing it was just a meaningless sketch, Li Run said nothing, just folded it as before, put it in his sleeve, and said, “Yes, your son will remember and keep it safe.”

The Imperial Consort half-reclined against her pillow, and seeing him put it away, she lowered her eyes and said in a hoarse voice, “Run’er, you must remember, never get too close to Prince Kui…”

The rain outside was extremely noisy, the whole world filled with its rushing sound. The palace lamp light shifting in the wind and rain cast in through the windows, appearing even more illusory through the gauze curtains. The haggard Imperial Consort’s face was snow-white with a slight flush, like a peach blossom after overnight rain, allowing one to only faintly imagine her past beauty.

Li Run silently watched his mother, but the Imperial Consort only stared blankly at the shifting lamplight. After a very long time, she began to laugh again, starting as a “hee-hee” sound squeezed from her throat like stifled laughter, then growing louder and louder, uncontrollably turning into maniacal laughter.

His mother’s piercing laughter in the night made Li Run’s back slightly tingle. He raised his hand to hold hers, saying softly, “Mother Consort, you’re tired, you should rest…”

Before he finished speaking, the Imperial Consort’s hysterical laughter suddenly stopped. She leaped up from the bed with bulging eyes, her hair disheveled, and lunged at him: “Run’er! The Great Tang Empire is about to fall! The realm will change hands! You are of the Li Imperial clan, hurry and save it from the brink! The realm will change hands…”

Seeing his mother fall into madness again, Li Run could only helplessly stand up and open the door, disregarding her tiger-like attacks on him, merely gesturing for the servant women to come to restrain his mother. He stood outside the hall, waiting until his mother’s screams gradually subsided.

Yue Ling came to say the Imperial Consort had settled down and urged him to return. Only then did he slightly nod, and in the dim pre-dawn light, slowly walked back through the rain.

The cotton paper in his sleeve was soft and light, bearing meaningless drawings. When he reached the corner, he initially wanted to take it out and tear it up, but after hesitating for a moment, he still kept it in his sleeve, slowly walking back along the winding corridor.

The tempest covered the sky and earth, enveloping Chang’an of the Great Tang. This most prosperous capital of the realm lay hidden in the haze, filled with unpredictable paths ahead.