Ruhan didn't come.
Not that day.
Not the day after.
And not the one after that.
By the fourth day, Xiao Zhi stopped pretending it was a coincidence.
At first, Xiao Zhi refused to think too much about it. She told herself that palace life was unpredictable, that people like him were constantly being pulled in different directions. He had duties she could not see, responsibilities she did not understand. It was foolish to expect him to appear whenever she wanted, just because of one moment.
One kiss.
She repeated that to herself often. Just one kiss.
By the fifth day, the excuses began to sound thin, even to her own ears. She was tired of her own voice in her head, constantly defending him.
"So what if you're busy?" she mumbled. She gripped a piece of laundry, the fabric twisted and tortured in her hands. "You found time before. Why not now?"
She folded laundry with more force than necessary, tugging at the fabric as if it had personally offended her. Other maids were whispering some things that would have hurt her before, but she just didn't care anymore. She had another person to be upset with.
Every time she finished her work, she passed by both the eunuchs' quarters and the Khan's quarters, but he was nowhere to be found.
Every time she was alone in her room and heard footsteps in the hallway, her heart jumped. She would freeze, holding her breath, waiting for a knock that could change everything. But the footsteps always passed her door.
Before, that waiting had been for Kabil, filled with fear and tension, afraid that he would open the door. This time, it was different. The waiting was still nerve-wracking, but now it was shaped by hope. By wanting someone to actually appear at her doorstep.
She didn't even care if it was really Kabil who showed up. At this point, she felt like she could knock him down with the anger building inside her.
By the sixth day, her patience finally cracked.
"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered, sitting on the edge of her bed.
He kissed her.
Not an accident. Not a misunderstanding. A real kiss. A deliberate one.
And then he vanished.
She glanced toward the small table beside her bed, where a familiar jar sat neatly placed. The ointment. Delivered with the same care as always.
Except this time, the delivery person was not there. Just like a package left at the door that she didn't need to sign. The deliveryman just dropped it and ran.
"He is obviously avoiding me."
The realization made her blood boil. In her world, this was a classic move.
"What is this?" she snapped into the empty room, "some kind of ancient world version of ghosting?"
She let out a humorless laugh. "You kiss someone and then pretend they don't exist?"
Her fingers curled into fists. The embarrassment she had felt for the last few days was being replaced by something much more useful: anger.
If Ruhan had regrets, he should have the courage to say so. If he wanted to pretend the kiss never happened, he should at least have the decency to look her in the eye and lie to her face. This silent treatment, this ghosting act, felt worse than a direct rejection.
She stood up abruptly, smoothing out her robes. "Fine. If you won't come to me, I'll go to you."
The guards outside the Khan's quarter stiffened when they saw her approach. They looked at each other, unsure if they should stop her. However, they knew by now that Princess Lian Zhi did not follow the usual rules. She wandered where she pleased, and no one wanted to challenge the jade token tucked in her sleeve.
The Khan's quarters were orderly and quiet, and as intimidating as ever. Xiao Zhi slowed slightly as she approached, her resolve wavering for just a second.
What if I'm wrong? What if he really is busy?
Then she saw Arkan.
Again.
He noticed her immediately and let out a slow breath, as if bracing himself.
"Princess Lian Zhi," he greeted, already sounding tired.
Xiao Zhi didn't waste time with greetings. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down. "Where is he?" She didn't use a name. She didn't need to. Arkan knew exactly who she was referring to.
Arkan hesitated. Too long.
"He's… not here."
Her eyes narrowed. "Try again." She looked at him like a school teacher talking to a student who had just given a very bad answer on an exam.
Arkan cleared his throat, looking even more uncomfortable. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, trying to find a steady footing on ground that felt like it was shaking.
"He's gone home," he tried again, his voice losing its confidence. "A family matter. Very urgent."
Xiao Zhi didn't blink. She kept that same "teacher" gaze on him. She saw right through his nonsense.
"Wow," she said flatly. "That's the third time you've used that excuse."
Arkan stiffened. "I—"
"Do you think I'm stupid?" She walked closer, stepping into his personal space. Arkan stumbled back a step. "Do you really think I'd believe the same lie three times?"
"It's not—"
"Stop," she said sharply. "Just stop."
She didn't raise her voice, but the sharpness in her tone was like a knife. Arkan immediately fell silent.
Xiao Zhi looked at him, really looked at him, and he had the uncomfortable feeling that she saw far more than she should. Her expression was calm, but her eyes were sharp and unyielding.
This scared him more than standing in the middle of a battlefield.
"You're lying," she said calmly. "And you know I know it."
Arkan opened his mouth to defend his master, then closed it again. There was nothing he could say that wouldn't make the situation worse.
Xiao Zhi exhaled slowly. She forced herself to breathe through the tight knot forming in her chest. It was a painful mix of hurt pride and genuine sadness, but she refused to let a single tear show. If she let her emotions spill over now, she would lose.
"Fine," she said at last. Her voice was steady now. "If you won't tell me where he is, then tell him something for me."
Arkan blinked.
Her gaze hardened.
"Tell Ruhan that if he doesn't come to see me tonight," she said, her voice absolute, "if he keeps hiding behind you and these walls, then he can consider himself deleted from my life."
Arkan froze. "Deleted?" The word was strange to him, but the meaning was clear enough from her tone.
"Completely," she added. "He will become a ghost to me. No more talking. No more explanations. No second chances. If he isn't at my door tonight, I will never ask for him again. I will act as if I never knew his name."
She didn't wait for Arkan to respond. She didn't want to see his pity or his excuses. She turned and walked away, holding her head high.
Arkan remained where he was for a long time after she disappeared down the long corridor. He felt a cold sweat on the back of his neck.
He had faced assassins. He had stood on battlefields soaked in blood. He had dealt with furious ministers and dangerous negotiations.
None of them unsettled him like that calm, final look in her eyes.