The pale sun lights the estate.
In the room where she still rests, beside her daughter's cradle, the wife awakens. The baby sleeps peacefully, watched over by a drowsy nurse. But it is not the child that troubles her heart.
Her fingers slide over the cold sheets. The image of the previous night returns — Yi crossing the courtyard, pushing open the door of the annex where the concubine lived.
She rises slowly, her face composed. Through the half-open screens, she sees her son laughing as he chases a ball, carefree. The maids bow as she passes, but their evasive eyes make her tense.
In a low, sharp voice, she asks:
— "Has anyone seen him this morning?"
Silence. No one answers.
She quickens her pace, walking through the dim corridor. In the annex, the concubine's quarters are empty: folded screens, missing chests, rolled mats. The air still carries the faint scent of burnt incense, and on the dressing table, a forgotten hairpin glints weakly. She stops, eyes wide.
At last, a servant murmurs, head bowed:
— "She left… at dawn."
The wife's hands tremble. Her face grows pale. A single tear slips down, wiped away with a sharp gesture.
— "Gone… without a word."
She steps outside, her chest tight. In the courtyard, Yi walks with his hands behind his back. His stride is firm, yet when he hears his son's laughter, it falters for an instant — a shadow of hesitation breaking his rigidity.
She approaches, her voice low and cold:
— "She's gone."
Yi answers without even lifting his eyes:
— "That is no longer your concern."
The words fall like a blade. She receives them as a wound — too fragile, too incapable of facing a rival, unworthy of her rank. Her gaze darkens.
She bows her head and walks away, straight but broken.
Yi stops, alone in the middle of the courtyard. His jaw tightens, his fist clenches beneath his sleeve. But for a single heartbeat, his eyes waver.
He had thought to protect her by erasing the shadow — yet his silence, once again, had hurt her more.
Behind him, the laughter of the child echoes, carefree — unaware of the widening gulf between his parents.