The scent of sandalwood hung thick in the air, curling through silk curtains like a ghost whispering secrets. Eira Lin awoke with a start, her breath catching in her throat as her eyes darted across the unfamiliar room — high ceilings painted with flying cranes, carved wooden screens depicting peonies, and lanterns glowing softly like captive stars. It was the kind of room she had only seen in Chinese historical dramas. Or museum reconstructions. Or the dreams she clung to when the world outside got too cruel.
But this wasn't a dream.
She blinked again. Her head ached, like someone had tried to erase her very thoughts with fire. She looked down at her hands — smooth, pale, elegant fingers. Definitely not her usual chipped nails and bitten cuticles. There were no calluses from late-night typing, no cuts from dropped trays at the café she worked at.
And the gown.
It was an ocean of red and gold, intricate embroidery of phoenixes swirling down the sleeves. Her waist was cinched tightly, her hair pinned up so elaborately it felt like she was carrying a crown of thorns.
"What the…" she whispered, but the voice wasn't quite hers. Softer. Clearer. Refined.
Suddenly, the door creaked open.
Two young maidservants stepped inside and immediately dropped to their knees.
"Your Grace," one said, voice trembling, "please forgive us. You fainted last night… Doctor Shen said the heat may have overwhelmed you. The Emperor has summoned you. You must prepare at once."
Eira blinked. "Excuse me? What did you call me?"
The girls exchanged glances, fear tightening their faces.
"Your Grace… Lady Yan."
Lady Yan. The name rang a bell. Where had she heard that?
One maid quickly approached with a golden basin and a mirror. "Your face is pale. Let me help you, Your Grace."
The reflection staring back was devastatingly beautiful. Porcelain skin, long lashes, soft crimson lips, and almond-shaped eyes that gleamed like ink in moonlight. This was not her face. And yet, behind those eyes... there she was.
"This… this is wrong," she muttered.
A sharp memory flashed — headlights, honking, a shout. A moment of weightlessness before everything turned black.
She had died.
And now... she was here.
"Is this… heaven?" she asked aloud.
The maid paused, confused. "The Phoenix Palace is the jewel of the Inner Court, but it cannot compare to Heaven, Your Grace."
Phoenix Palace. Inner Court.
Oh my god. She was in a palace. In an ancient Era. In someone else's body.
A sudden pounding at the door made her flinch.
"The imperial eunuch has arrived to escort Her Grace to His Majesty's study!" someone announced.
Eira's blood turned to ice. His Majesty. The Emperor.
She didn't even know how to bow properly, let alone speak the language of court.
What would happen if she said the wrong thing?
But the maids were already helping her stand, fixing her sleeves and handing her a fan. Her knees were shaking so badly she almost fell.
"You must not keep His Majesty waiting, Your Grace," the older maid whispered. "He has not summoned anyone since the Winter Feast. You are... favored."
Favored? That didn't make sense. She had just arrived in this world!
The palace halls stretched endlessly, each turn guarded by soldiers in crimson armor. She passed through archways etched with poems she couldn't read and pavilions echoing with the rustle of silk. The summer wind carried the scent of plum blossoms and ink.
And finally — the Hall of Wisdom.
The eunuch stepped aside. "Presenting Lady Yan, of the Phoenix Palace."
The doors opened.
Eira stepped in, heart thundering.
There, seated on a raised platform, dressed in black and silver robes, was a man with the most commanding presence she had ever seen.
Sharp jawline. Calm, unreadable eyes. A face that radiated power and loneliness.
But Eira froze.
Because she knew that face.
It was Kai Ren.
Captain of the university debate team. Top student in business law. The guy who once publicly embarrassed her for misquoting a philosopher during their final thesis defense.
Cold. Arrogant. Unforgiving.
And now he was the Emperor.
His gaze swept over her without recognition.
"You may rise," he said, his voice low and smooth.
Eira bowed automatically. She barely knew how. Her brain was trying to scream, but her body moved on instinct.
"You seem… different," he said, eyes narrowing.
Eira swallowed. "I had a dream," she replied carefully, lowering her gaze. "A long one."
He tilted his head. "And did you see me in that dream?"
She looked up slowly, trying not to panic. "Yes. But you weren't wearing a crown."
The air shifted.
He studied her for a long time, his expression unreadable.
"Come closer."
She obeyed, her every step an echo of fear and disbelief.
He leaned forward. "Lady Yan, you speak like a woman who has seen too much. And yet your eyes carry something strange… something I have only seen in dreams I cannot explain."
A chill ran down her spine.
"I have no past," she whispered. "Only what is in front of me."
"Then let us see," the Emperor said, rising from his throne. "If the future favors you… or devours you."
That night, she returned to her chamber in a daze.
The Emperor didn't remember her. Not as Kai Ren. Not as anyone.
But she remembered everything.
And she was now caught in a world of lies, survival, and an impossible love — with a man she hated in one life, and might lose in this one.
Somewhere beyond the silk-covered moon, time was playing a cruel trick.
And her story had only begun.