Yun Ran slapped the thin blanket away. "Miss—Miss Ran, wake!" Ma'er shook her by the shoulder until the sleeve slipped from her hand. "What day is it?" Yun Ran asked before she could think of anything softer. "Fourth day of the Frost Month," Ma'er gasped. "Mistress—" "Tell me exactly what happened that winter," Yun Ran ordered. Her voice had a weight it did not belong to a child. Ma'er froze. "You were—" She swallowed. "You were accused, Miss. They bound you, took you from the hall, the snow—" "Say it plainly," Yun Ran said. She sat up. The room spun for a beat and then steadied. Her bones felt small. Her memory felt like a blade. Ma'er stepped back, eyes wide. "They led you to the city gate. The magistrate read the seal. There was a red-robed official—Aunt Mu stood behind with a folded paper. They—" "Tell me who folded the paper," Yun Ran cut in. Ma'er blinked. "Aunt Mu did. She smiled when she handed it to the magistrate. She smiled, Miss." Yun Ran's jaw tightened. She held out a hand. "Look at me." The maid leaned in over the thin mattress. Yun Ran named the exact crease of Aunt Mu's sleeve, the pattern of dust on the paper, the way the official's lips trembled. Ma'er’s mouth moved, silently counting details she had never heard from a child. "No one told you that," Yun Ran said