Ministry of Records copying hall at dawn, one week after the first hidden decree. Ink-wash rows of desks, muted blue-grey robes, vermilion seals stacked like warning marks.

Lihua's memory of her younger brother is overlaid with the hard reality of palace law and the hidden countdown.

Lihua begins a controlled trespass by taking on errands no one values.

Lihua builds a mental map of palace places where rank refuses to look.

With the shrine briefly empty, Lihua searches the places no high-born worshiper would touch.

The tablet and portrait of the dead Empress Regent hide a fourth copy.

Lihua reads the shrine decree and understands it targets Arslan Temur before his supposed offense can happen.

Lihua follows shrine architecture into a memorial alcove used for old policy tablets.

The memorial alcove contains another fourth copy, this one revising border policy before the court has debated it.

The hidden correction becomes more alarming when a matching official draft arrives at the archive.

Lihua sees the official draft repeat the hidden correction word for word.

Lihua redefines the hidden documents as a governing system rather than isolated forgeries.

Lihua narrows the suspect list by skill, access, and survival.

A routine tea order becomes dangerous because it leads Lihua directly to Shen.

Lihua enters Shen Qifeng's workspace and sees the man on her suspect list in ordinary authority.

Shen speaks plainly enough to warn Lihua that he knows she has been near hidden walls.

Lihua leaves Shen's room with the realization that her search has been noticed, and the palace itself seems to breathe around her.