"Small Prince is back!" the handmaid shrieked before the gates had finished opening.
Hooves beat the courtyard like drums. Snow flew up in dirty scallops. Flags snapped. Soldiers pushed through, shoulders set, belts jangling.
"Make way!" a voice barked. It was Gu Changzhou's voice—short, strict, the sort that made servants straighten without thinking.
A sedan rolled up, lacquer black, its studs catching the weak light. A woman stepped down, pale silk trailing the ground. She did not falter. She held Gu's hand.
"Who is she?" someone whispered.
"Madam Zhao, look—her hands," a junior maid said. "No rings. No family sash. She is a stranger."
Madam Zhao moved forward first, lips smooth. "Commander, welcome back. Lord Gu will be pleased."
Gu ignored the welcome. He guided the woman himself. He did not look at the crowd.
"Introduce her," the house steward said.
Gu's jaw tightened. He bowed once toward the ancestral gate and then straightened. "This is Ruoyun."
A chorus of voices split the courtyard.
"Ruoyun? The one from Tea Fragrance Pavilion?"
"Is that the woman Sir Gu took away?"
"Her skin is pale. See how she carries herself."
Ruoyun smiled the way wealth smiles—slow and measured. "I am called Ruoyun," she said. Her voice was soft but did not tremble.
Madam Zhao stepped closer, hand folding into the sleeve of her robe. "You honor the house, Miss Ruoyun. Commander, I will prepare guest chambers."
"You will not." Gu's answer cut clean. He turned
