Dusk fell, enveloping the majestic palace of the Eastern Palace. Xiao Chengjing put down the memorial he was finishing reviewing, his vermilion brush hovering in mid-air, his gaze piercing through the carved window lattice, stubbornly fixed on the misty, rain-shrouded land of the south—Jiangnan.

Jiangnan. Shen Yuewei. An'an.

These three words, like pebbles thrown into a still lake, stirred up layers of ripples beneath his seemingly calm face as the crown prince. The flickering candlelight on the desk reflected the surging longing and a hint of barely perceptible anxiety in his deep eyes.

There lay his wife, Shen Yuewei, whom he had chosen for life. Though their marriage was not in accordance with proper rites and their names were not recorded in the family genealogy, in Xiao Chengjing's heart, that gentle yet resilient woman, as pure and bright as the moonlight over Jiangnan, was already his irreplaceable soulmate.

Her gentle smiles and whispers, her tranquil tea-making, her stubbornness and deep affection in the face of worldly pressures—these images vividly surfaced countless times in his midnight dreams, warming his loneliness as he shouldered the heavy burden of the nation's fate.

He particularly admired her independence and competence—at the same time, he knew that her three or four silk shops were already quite well-known in the Jiangnan weaving industry, thriving with business and bustling with customers. He imagined her carefully selecting newly arrived Suzhou and Hangzhou silks in her shops at dawn, her fingertips brushing against the smooth surface; or in the afternoon, working with abacus beads in her accounting office, her brows furrowed with focus and confidence. This business was the foundation of her success, and part of her brilliance, adding to his respect as he missed her.

And then there was their daughter, An'an. The one he had only met briefly in her infancy before being forced to part from her. Whenever he thought of that name, Xiao Chengjing's hardened heart would soften unbelievably, and he would imagine their daily life in Jiangnan.

In the early morning, dewdrops still clung to the crabapple leaves in the corner of the courtyard.

"Miss is awake? Aunt Chuntao, give me a hug~" Chuntao, the maidservant, walked into the room with a smile and a light voice, "Miss just went to the shop to check out the new batch of 'Sky Blue Jade'. She said the color is excellent and it will definitely fetch a good price!" Chuntao said loudly and cheerfully.

Shen Yuewei was sitting in front of her dressing table. Upon hearing this, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly. Her face, which was beautiful but slightly tired, was reflected in the mirror: "That fabric is indeed rare. It is lustrous and of the highest quality. Chuntao, change An'an into that new little jacket. Use the 'apricot yellow' soft satin that was left in the shop the other day. It will complement her skin tone."

"Yes, Miss has the best taste!" Chun Tao skillfully picked up the babbling An An, dressing her while teasing her, "Our little Miss looks even prettier than the little fairy in the painting in this new dress! Miss, look, she's smiling at you!"

Shen Yuewei stood up, walked to her daughter, bent down and kissed An'an's soft cheek, her eyes full of tenderness: "An'an, be good, Mother is going to check on the shop, I'll be back soon. Chun Tao, take good care of her."

"Don't worry, Miss!" Chun Tao patted her chest and assured her.

In the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, and the shop was bustling with people.

"Boss Shen, reserve ten feet of this 'Clear Sky After Rain' Hangzhou Luo for me!"

"Alright, Madam Zhang, please have a seat and a cup of tea. The waiter will measure your food right away!" Shen Yuewei, dressed in an elegant but finely crafted dress, moved gracefully among the dazzling array of silks, her smile poised and her demeanor decisive. She picked up an abacus, her fingers flying across the pages, the crisp sound of the beads mingling with the chatter of customers negotiating prices, creating a scene of bustling business.

"Miss Chuntao, do you still have this 'pomegranate red' Suzhou satin?" a regular customer asked.

"Mrs. Li, you've come at the perfect time! The storeroom just inventoried a horse, and I'll fetch it for you right away!" Chun Tao, who had just brought An'an from the backyard to show Shen Yuewei, immediately responded briskly, not forgetting to wink at An'an in her arms: "Little Miss, Auntie will be right back!"

As Shen Yuewei watched Chun Tao's busy figure and her daughter's curious, wide eyes, a warmth filled her heart, yet a subtle, complex emotion also flickered across her.

This thriving shop and this stable life were earned by her own hands; they were the fortress she used to protect her daughter and uphold her own values. She did not want to enter the deep palace as a concubine, did not want her daughter to grow up in the complexities of the palace, and even less did she want to lose this independent and autonomous life.