On Lin Yue's sixth birthday, a medicine woman was summoned to the estate by Lady Han, said to rid the household of bad omens.
She wore layered beads that clicked softly with each step, with charms of bone in the shapes of animals and copper plates hanging from her wrists.
Lady Han stood beside her, one hand resting lightly over the other. With a small motion, she gestured toward Lin Yue.
"Her," she whispered into the medicine womans ear.
The entire family was stood in the central hall.
Lin Yue stood beside Concubine Wei.
Shen Meilin and Shen Yueran stood nearby Lady Han. Meilin looked bored, moving from foot to foot. Yueran said nothing, but her eyes moved between Lin Yue and the woman like she was trying to put a puzzle together.
*Why is she looking at me like that?*
The medicine woman circled Lin Yue slowly, her steps loud, the jingle of the beads clashing together with each step. Her lips moved as she muttered under her breath, fingers brushing the beads at her wrist as if counting something unseen.
Lin Yue stayed still.
*Why is she walking around me?*
The woman stopped mumbling, then suddenly she gasped.
"This child was born under a fractured star," she yelled out, pointing at Lin Yue dramatically.
The hall filled with whispers at once.
"What fractured star? She is just a normal child!" Concubine Wei yelled. She stepped forward, her composure slipping as she looked between them.
"She is my daughter—"
"A cursed alignment," the medicine woman continued, her voice rising over hers. "Her presence invites instability. Men will fall, fortunes will shift, houses will crumble."
The words spread quickly, catching in the air, passing from one servant to another.
Lin Yue turned her head and looked at her father. She had little hope in him, but at least he wouldn't just let someone speak badly about her in public, right?
Lord Shen stood unmoving. His expression did not change, but his eyes were cold as they passed over Lin Yue. It was as if he was looking for proof of the "omen" the woman spoke of himself.
"Is it true?" he asked, his gaze shifting back to the medicine woman.
She bowed low. "I would not lie before such a noble family."
Lady Han lowered her eyes, she lifted her sleeve just enough to hide her smirk.
"We must protect the household," she said softly.
Consort Wei dropped to her knees.
"My lord, please!" Her voice shook now, the words coming faster. "She is your daughter, not an ill omen. She is of Shen blood!"
Lin Yue stood very still, her heart at her feet.
Lord Shen's eyes softened slightly as he looked at Concubine wei.
Lady Han saw it.
A small nod passed between her and the medicine woman.
The woman stepped forward at once and seized Lin Yue's chin. Her nails were yellow and sharp, pressing into her skin.
*It hurts.*
"Too steady," she croaked, tilting Lin Yue's face from side to side. "She watches, she waits."
Lin Yue did not blink.
Not because of stars or some omen but because...
*If I close my eyes, they will decide everything without me.*
Lin Yue tried to pull away from the womans grip, but the her grip tightened, nails biting deeper.
*Please, it hurts.*
"Release her," Concubine Wei said, stepping forward.
The medicine woman didn't let go.
"I'm sorry," she said lightly, almost pleasant, "but I cannot ignore such misfortune."
Lady Han moved quickly. She threw herself onto Lord Shen, her hand clutching his sleeve as if in distress.
"My lord," her voice trembling, "what of Meilin and Yueran? What of their futures?"
Her grip tightened slightly on his sleeve.
"Lian and Xiu may be concubine-born," she continued softly, "but even they must marry well."
Lord Shen's expression grew dark. The brief softness wiped from his face.
"Continue,"
The medicine woman drew a bronze compass from the sleeve of her faded robe.
The metal caught the afternoon light as she lifted it above Lin Yue's head.
The servants leaned forward, watching in uneasy silence.
The needle trembled, the woman gasped, her body jerking around voilently and shuddering.
"It trembles," she declared, her voice rising. She shook her wrist, the compass rattling faintly. "The dragon star fractures… the phoenix flares!"
Her eyes fixed on Lin Yue.
"This child carries a devouring fate," she said, her voice lowering. "Fathers fall. Houses burn. Kingdoms tremble."
The words settled heavily across the courtyard.
"I do not."
Lin Yue's voice broke through.
She stood straight, though her chest felt tight, her hands clenched at her sides.
"I do not," she said again this time less shaky.
The medicine woman's expression changed, satisfaction showing on her face.
"See?" she said, turning her head toward Lord Shen. "She speaks back."
Her smile thinned.
"Defiance at six," she added. "By sixteen, rebellion."
Lord Shen stepped forward.
His shadow fell across Lin Yue, cutting her from the light.
Years of careful work stood behind him, his name, his position, the eyes of the court.
He could already hear the whispers.
*A cursed daughter, useless*
"Enough!," he said coldly.
The courtyard fell silent at once.
Lord Shen's eyes locked on Lin Yue like he was looking at someone he did not recognize.
"How many incidents have happened since her birth?" he asked, turning to Consort Wei.
Concubine Wei's lips parted to speak.
But Lady Han smoothly interrupted, "The failed harvest."
All eyes moved to her.
"The silk shipment that rotted during transport," she continued. "Your illness last winter."
She spoke each event loudly, making sure her words could be heard in every corner of the courtyard.
The medicine woman nodded. "Heaven marks its warnings clearly."
Concubine Wei dropped to her knees.
"My lord, this is madness!" she cried. "She is your daughter!"
Lord Shen didn't look at her. His eyes remained on Lin Yue.
"A cursed child," he said.
Lin Yue felt her heart hurt at those words.
"I am not cursed, Father," she said quietly.
"You dare speak back?" Lady Han snapped.
Lin Yue took a step back.
"You nearly took your mother's life being born!" Lord Shen added his voice harsh.
*I never asked to be born.*
Several servants flinched.
"Since then," he continued, anger thick in his voice, "nothing in this house has known peace."
Concubine Wei trembled. "But she is your child—"
"Is it your turn to speak?" he yelled, his head snapping to look at Concubine Wei.
She fell silent at once.
"Someone come," he ordered.
The chief steward Xialu stepped forward quickly, bowing low. "Yes, my lord?"
"Move them."
Consort Wei looked up, her voice unsteady. "Move… us? What do you mean move us? Where?"
"To the western courtyard," Lord Shen said. "The old one."
Lin Yue looked up at her mother, her mother looked back at her, her eyes full of hatred.
A gasp moved through the servants.
Everyone knew that courtyard.
It had been abandoned for years it was far from the main residence, few people even walked near it.
"My lord!" Consort Wei cried dropping to her knees, then crawling forward, clutching at the hem of his robes. "Please—I have done nothing! If you must send her away then send her away, but not me!"
Lord Shen pulled his garment away from her grasp.
"You will receive rations appropriate to your status," he said, not looking at her.
"Status?" Lady Han echoed softly. "A concubine… and her omen."
Consort Wei staggered to her feet, anger winning against her tears.
"You—!"
Lin Yue caught her sleeve before she could finish.
She shook her head quickly, fingers tightening in the fabric.
*Please don't let her make it worse.*
Consort Wei froze, and slapped Lin Yue in the face.
Lin Yue fell hard to the floor, she looked towards Lord Shen.
*Why? Please, dont leave me with her.*
"Father," she cried.
Her voice trembled, a tiny sound in a room that felt too large, too empty.
She was splashing as hard as she could, drowning right in front of him, and all she wanted was for him to look down and see the struggle.
"I will be good… I promise."
The words caught in her throat.
" I won't cause storms. I'll be the person you want me to be. Just... don't leave me here."
Lord Shen looked down at her. He didn't see a child; he saw an inconvenience.
He didn't speak. He didn't tell her she was enough. He simply looked through her, as if she were already a ghost, a dead leaf caught in the wind.
Then, he turned.
He walked away, leaving her alone.
It was the same cold she always remembered the lonely cold that was colder than snow, the feeling that if a chance came, he would choose anyone else over her without a second thought.