The moment I stepped back into my chambers, I collapsed onto the cushions like a dying swan. The phoenix hairpin nearly stabbed me in the skull.
"Note," I muttered, pulling the folded paper from my sleeve. "Right. Cryptic stranger. End-of-world warnings. Classic Tuesday."
I unfolded it slowly, the paper was soft and aged like it had been written on ancient regret.And it says,
"You're not alone in this world."
Some of us came from outside, like you.
Some read the story. Some lived it. All are trapped.Find us before someone rewrites your ending."
A Reader Who Knows.
I stared at it, blinking. Because what the hell did I just read.
"Okay…" I whispered. "So we're just throwing genre rules out the window now."
Fantastic.Apparently, I wasn't the only transmigrator. Some were readers. Probably people who binge-read three chapters at midnight, muttered
"One more," and fell face-first into my palace drama like a cursed webcomic.
And now they were scattered in this world.
I stood and started pacing. "So now I have to find reader-inserts hiding in the background? Great.
What am I supposed to do, host auditions? 'Hi, were you originally an accountant from Hangzhou who's now posing as a rice servant?'"
Before I could spiral further, a soft knock broke my overthinking.
A maid entered quietly and bowed.
"Your Grace… His Majesty requests your presence. In his private chambers." she said, eyes still lowered.
My heart did a full gymnastics routine. "At this hour?" I questioned with my mouth wide open.
"Yes, Your Grace." She responded bowing lower.
"Did he… say why?" I asked, stepping forward.
"No, Your Grace. But he was already… reclining." she replied.
That was it, what does she mean by reclining. Wait, is he calling me to…oh no, I don't think so.
"Stay positive Lian Yu, stay positive." I muttered through clenched teeth. Then I leaned in, making her take one step back.
"Reclining? As in… like lying down? Like… shirtless reclining?" I asked.
She blinked. "I did not say shirtless, Your Grace." she replied, trying hard not to laugh as her lips twitch abit.
My soul left my body.By the time I arrived at the Emperor's private quarters, I had run through forty-seven scenarios, and none of them were wholesome.
What kind of imperial emergency required silk robes and late-night summoning?
Two guards opened the doors.
Inside, it was dimly lit, warm, and suspiciously scented with sandalwood and seduction.
And there he was, lying shirtlessly in bed.
The blanket covered just enough to be polite. His long hair spilled over silk pillows like a shampoo commercial. He was reading a scroll, looking absolutely unbothered.
My brain exploded.
I stopped in the doorway like I had just walked into the forbidden section of the imperial library.
"Uh… am I… interrupting?" I asked slowly, hands gripping my sleeves. "Because if this is what I think it is, I—I left my chastity somewhere back at dinner."
The Emperor looked up. Paused and smiled.The kind of smile that sent shivers across my spine.
"Do you always announce your innocence this loudly?" he asked, voice teasing.
"I just like to be prepared before I'm deflowered," I snapped, then immediately wanted to crawl into the nearest teapot and boil myself.
This is so awkward, oh my goodness.He chuckled—actually chuckled—and sat up slowly, muscles shifting under golden skin like the world's most dangerous art exhibit.
"Relax, Concubine Yu," he said. "You're not here to warm my bed."
"Oh thank God," I muttered. Then realized I said that out loud. "I mean—uh—I'm flattered. Truly. Who wouldn't want to… warm… such a bed. Very majestic. Ten out of ten. But I just had soup."
His eyebrow quirked. "You're amusing." he said, with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"No, I'm terrified." I replied.
"Same thing in this palace."
He rolled the scroll closed and motioned for me to come closer. I did, slowly, like I was approaching a wild animal that could both kill and kiss me.
I perched stiffly on the edge of the bed, keeping a very respectful and emotionally safe distance between us. Like a chaste wall of air.
The Emperor turned toward me lazily, one arm propped behind his head.
"You look like I invited you to be executed, not sit." he said.
"I'm still waiting for you to clarify," I replied, voice barely holding together. "Because the setting is… very shirtless."
A small smirk tugged at his lips. "Does my state unsettle you?"he asked.
"No! I mean—yes. I mean—" I gestured vaguely at his bare chest like it had personally offended me. "You're very… present."
"Is that a compliment?" he asked.
"It's a fact, Your Majesty," I said, trying not to look directly at the parts of him that were glowing under candlelight like a forbidden painting.
The Emperor chuckled, low and infuriatingly pleased. Then he shifted, the blanket slid a little lower down his abdomen.
I internally screamed.
"I forget how shy you are," he mused, reaching lazily to toy with the edge of my sleeve. "You flinch as if I'll devour you."
"You're not giving me a lot of reasons to believe otherwise!" I whispered, almost to myself.
"You are my concubine," he said simply, like that explained everything. "I have every right to touch you."
My soul left my body.I coughed, scooting half an inch farther down the bed.
"I.. I don't think you would want this your majesty—afterall there are a lot of women around." I uttered.
His gaze dragged over me, slow and steady, as it dropped from my lips to my neck.
"You play modest, but you hide your thorns well." he said.
"I'm not playing anything." I replied.
"No?" His fingers brushed the outer edge of my robe—just a whisper, not even a full touch.
I froze. What is happening? The emperor was not suppose to act like that in the novel. This isn't even part of my side chapters.
"I think you like teasing me, Concubine Yu." he murmured.
"Me? Teasing? I'm the one about to explode from secondhand seduction!" I replied.
The Emperor raised an eyebrow. "You're more dramatic than I remember."
"You weren't half-naked the last time I saw you!" I shot back, clearly forgetting this is suppose to be an affair between a king and his concubine.
He chuckled again—deep, rich, and absolutely unrepentant. "And what if I asked you to stay here tonight?"
That did it , I can stand this anymore…am not about to lose my virginity to some gay king I created in my novel.
I remember swearing to my friends I was straight when they questioned why I wrote a BL romance palace drama.
"I'd say I have… a headache?" I finally responded to him.
He leaned closer, just enough that I could see the fine lines around his eyes, the dangerous curve of his lips.
"You had soup earlier. You seem well-rested." he replied.
"Soup isn't medicine!"
His fingers ghosted over my chin this time, tipping it up just enough to make me meet his eyes. "You keep acting like I plan to consume you."
"I don't keep acting like it," I whispered. "You're just very… biteable."
The moment stretched—hot, charged, suspended like a wire between two cliffs.
Then, mercifully, he dropped his hand and leaned back with a smug little sigh.
"You may go," he said, voice smooth as wine. "I've teased you enough for tonight."
I blinked. "That's it?"
"Unless…" He glanced at me under heavy lids. "You'd rather stay."
I bolted up like I was escaping a dragon's lair.
"Nope! Goodnight! Blessed dreams! May your pillow be fluffy and your scrolls remain unread!" I uttered.
He laughed loudly as I fled the room, practically colliding with the doorframe on the way out.
As soon as I reached the hallway, I collapsed against the wall, fanning myself with both sleeves.
"That was not survival," I muttered. "That was spiritual warfare."
And then I whispered to the palace ceiling:
"I swear, if I die here, it's going to be from flirtation-induced heart failure, not poison."