The court dispersed slowly.
Not with relief, not with murmured plans for wine or women, but with the kind of silence that suggested thoughts too heavy for words. That was the kind of silence I preferred.
The kind that stuck.
The Empress left first, her sleeves trailing after her like banners in a slow retreat. Yaozu stayed behind, clearing the scrolls with silent efficiency, stacking them into a lacquered case with such care it almost looked like reverence.
Sun Longzi lingered in the doorway a beat longer. He hadn't spoken all night, not even when the younger lords cast him sideways glances as if expecting him to interject. He didn't.
He only looked at me once—when I made the promise not to die.
And when he left, he nodded.
Just once.
It was the closest thing to allegiance I was going to get from him, and I accepted it for what it was: steel in silence.
When the room finally emptied, I didn't move.
Didn't speak.
