Chapter 7 A Fractured Memory
The morning sunlight streamed gently through the lattice windows of the Imperial Medical Hall.
Golden rays bathed the chamber in warmth.
For three long days and nights, Prince Li Wei Chen had waited beside Yu Lan's bed. He had endured fear, sleeplessness, and despair.
Now, at last, her eyes were open.
Hope surged through him.
"Yu Lan."
His voice was barely more than a whisper.
Yu Lan blinked several times as though struggling to focus.
Everything around her seemed blurred.
The room.
The sunlight.
The unfamiliar faces surrounding her.
Even her own thoughts felt distant.
A dull ache pulsed through her head.
Slowly, she turned toward the man sitting beside her bed.
The expression in his eyes startled her.
Relief.
Worry.
Affection.
An overwhelming flood of emotions directed entirely at her.
Yet she did not recognize him.
"Yu Lan?" he asked again.
For a moment, she simply stared.
Something in her chest stirred when she looked at him.
Something familiar.
But before she could grasp it, the feeling vanished.
"Who..."
Her throat felt dry.
"Who are you?"
The room instantly fell silent.
Prince Wei Chen froze.
His heart seemed to stop beating.
Beside him, General Han Mo and the royal physicians exchanged uneasy glances.
The Prince slowly leaned forward.
"Yu Lan..."
A nervous smile appeared on his face.
Surely she was confused.
Still weak from her injuries.
"You know me."
The uncertainty in his voice betrayed him.
Yu Lan frowned.
She looked around the room again.
The worried physicians.
The guards.
The handsome man kneeling beside her bed.
Nothing felt familiar.
Fear began creeping into her heart.
"Please tell me."
Her voice trembled.
"Where am I?"
The Prince's smile disappeared.
The oldest physician carefully stepped forward.
"Lady Yu Lan?"
She turned toward him.
"Do you remember what happened before today?"
Yu Lan closed her eyes.
Trying to think made her head ache.
Bits and pieces flashed through her mind.
Cherry blossoms.
A lantern.
Music.
A green light.
Then only darkness.
"No."
The physician's expression darkened.
"Do you remember your family?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Your childhood?"
Another shake.
"No."
The room grew heavier.
Every answer confirmed their fears.
Finally, the physician asked the most important question.
"Do you know your own name?"
Yu Lan opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
The answer should have been easy.
A person's name was the first thing they learned.
The one thing they could never forget.
Yet when she searched her memories, she found only emptiness.
Her eyes slowly widened.
"I..."
Panic rose inside her.
"I don't know."
The physician lowered his head.
The diagnosis was unavoidable.
"The trauma from the attack has damaged her memory."
Nobody spoke.
Wei Chen felt as though the ground beneath him had collapsed.
His worst fears had become reality.
Yu Lan had survived.
But the woman he loved no longer remembered who she was.
Or who he was.
Hours later, the physicians left to prepare additional medicines.
General Han Mo quietly escorted the servants outside.
Only the Prince remained.
Yu Lan sat upright against the pillows, watching him carefully.
He had barely spoken since hearing the diagnosis.
Something about his silence made her feel guilty.
Though she didn't understand why.
The Prince finally broke the silence.
"Your name is Su Yu Lan."
She listened quietly.
"You serve in the Imperial Palace."
His voice softened.
"You enjoy flowers."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Especially white orchids."
Yu Lan listened.
These memories belonged to someone else.
Someone she could not find within herself.
"How do you know these things?"
The question felt innocent.
Yet it struck him like a blade.
Because he knew everything about her.
The way she smiled when she was embarrassed.
The way she tilted her head when thinking.
The way she laughed at simple jokes.
Yet none of those memories existed for her anymore.
"We're friends," he replied finally.
It was easier than explaining the truth.
Yu Lan studied him.
"Friends?"
Wei Chen nodded.
A painful lie.
But one he chose for her sake.
For now.
As afternoon faded into evening, Yu Lan became increasingly aware of how unfamiliar the world felt.
Every corridor beyond the chamber seemed strange.
Every face appeared unfamiliar.
Even her own reflection startled her.
She stood before a bronze mirror, staring at the young woman looking back.
Long dark hair.
Gentle features.
A faded scar near her side where the arrow had struck.
And around her neck—
The jade pendant.
The moment she touched it, a strange warmth spread through her hand.
A brief flash of green appeared before her eyes.
An enormous jade tree.
Glowing blossoms.
A distant voice calling her name.
The vision vanished instantly.
Yu Lan staggered backward.
Her breathing quickened.
"What was that?"
Across the room, Wei Chen immediately stood.
"What happened?"
She looked at the pendant.
"I don't know."
For some reason, the jade felt important.
More important than anything else she possessed.
Yet she couldn't remember why.
That night, rain softly tapped against the windows.
Unable to sleep, Yu Lan wandered onto a covered balcony overlooking the palace gardens.
Moonlight illuminated the pathways below.
Everything seemed beautiful.
Yet unbearably lonely.
She heard footsteps behind her.
The Prince approached quietly.
Unable to sleep as well.
Neither spoke immediately.
They simply stood side by side.
Listening to the rain.
Finally, Yu Lan broke the silence.
"Were we truly only friends?"
The question caught him off guard.
Wei Chen looked away.
His expression revealed more than words ever could.
Yu Lan noticed.
Though she couldn't understand why, a strange pain settled in her heart.
As though she had lost something precious.
Something she couldn't remember.
Something standing right beside her.
Far below the palace, hidden beneath ancient stone chambers, emerald light flickered through forgotten tunnels.
The Jade Pendant pulsed softly against Yu Lan's chest.
Deep within the mysterious Garden Eternal, the spirit of the Jade Empress opened her eyes.
"The threads of destiny have frayed," she whispered.
Glowing petals drifted around her.
"But they have not broken."
For even though Yu Lan's memories had been lost, the bond between two hearts remained.
And somewhere deep within her fractured mind, love was waiting to be remembered.