~ 𝑪𝑶𝑴𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑺𝑶𝑶𝑵 - In the heart of an ancient Chinese dynasty, a young emperor reigns with wisdom beyond his years but carries a heart heavy with unresolved grief. Years ago, he lost his beloved under mysterious circumstances, a loss that has...
The next morning, I woke up late, my heart racing the moment I realized what day it was—Emperor's mother's birthday. The panic set in quickly as I scrambled out of bed, tripping over my feet as I rushed around the room. My hair was a tangled mess from what had apparently been the best sleep I'd had since moving to the palace. I could hardly believe I'd let myself oversleep on such an important day.
Frantically, I grabbed my garment, trying to incorporate some red into my outfit to honor the emperor's mother. The very thought of facing her made my stomach twist, but it was a duty I had to fulfill. I began changing quickly, my mind running through everything I had to do before the festivities began.
Just then, Mei burst into the room, breathless and holding an umbrella. She scanned the chaos of my room before setting the umbrella aside and moving toward me, her hands immediately going for my disheveled hair.
"How could you oversleep, Lian?" she whispered with a chuckle, her tone light despite the obvious urgency. I groaned softly as she forced me to sit down in front of the mirror, her fingers expertly working through the knots in my hair.
But suddenly, her hands stopped midway through combing, and a strange silence settled over her. "Your strands... they're white. Did you dye your hair?" she asked, her voice tinged with confusion.
"What? No!" I replied quickly, my heart skipping a beat. "What do you mean?"
Mei pointed toward the mirror, and when I looked up, my breath caught in my throat. There, among the dark locks, were several strands of hair as white as snow. A sense of unease flooded through me as I stared at my reflection in disbelief.
"Cover that with something black," I said quickly, the words coming out more desperate than I intended. "I can't have white hair."
Mei nodded, though I could tell she was just as perplexed as I was. "I'll see what I can do," she murmured, carefully twisting the white strands and weaving them back into the rest of my hair, trying to hide them. But as she worked, I couldn't help but feel the weight of something strange and ominous hanging over me.
Mei nodded, her expression turning serious as she set about concealing the white strands. She pulled out a small box from her apron, containing various hair accessories and a temporary dark hair color stick, commonly used by the palace performers for quick fixes.
