Wei Lian's POV
The summons came at breakfast.
Concubine Wei Lian, you are to appear before the Empress Dowager immediately.
My stomach knotted, but I kept my face calm. Of course. Let me change into proper robes.
Su Jin helped me dress in formal attire, her hands shaking. My lady, please be careful. The Empress Dowager destroys people who displease her.
I know. I squeezed her hand. If I don't return by nightfall, go to General Lin Zhao. Tell him everything I've told you.
Her eyes widened. My lady
Promise me.
I promise.
The Empress Dowager's quarters were opulent, silk everywhere, gold accents, the scent of expensive incense. I knelt before her, head bowed.
Concubine Wei Lian. Her voice could've frozen water. You've caused quite a stir in your first two days.
I apologize, Your Grace. I only wished to serve
By breaking curfew? By interfering in matters above your station? She sipped tea calmly. Tell me, how did you know to watch that particular area last night?
I didn't, Your Grace. I was restless, walking in the gardens. I saw someone moving suspiciously and followed. When I realized they were near the Crown Prince's quarters, I raised the alarm.
How convenient.
Your Grace, I'm just a lowly concubine from a disgraced family. I have no connections, no power. I'm simply trying to survive.
She studied me for a long, uncomfortable moment. The maid you caught belongs to Lady Chen. Who, coincidentally, was humiliated at last night's banquet after drinking wine meant for you.
My blood ran cold. She knew.
Lady Chen offered me wine, Your Grace. I declined because alcohol makes me ill. I didn't know there was anything wrong with it.
Didn't you. Her smile was thin. You are either the luckiest girl in the palace or far more clever than you appear.
I kept my head bowed, heart racing.
However, she continued, you did save the Crown Prince. For that, you'll be elevated to Sixth Rank Concubine and given better quarters. Consider it a reward... and a warning. Lucky girls who attract too much attention rarely stay lucky.
I understand, Your Grace.
She dismissed me with a wave. I walked out, knees weak but mind racing.
Promotion. Better quarters. And a death threat delivered with a smile.
I'd rattled the Empress Dowager. Made her uncertain whether I was a threat or just fortunate.
Good. Uncertainty bought time.
But now came the hard part: getting the Emperor's attention.
I spent the next week settling into my new quarters, larger rooms in a better courtyard. Su Jin was thrilled. I was planning.
The Jiangnan flood would happen in ten weeks. I needed to warn the Emperor, but a concubine couldn't just request an audience. That was unprecedented.
Unless I made it impossible to ignore me.
I went to the Imperial Library, technically accessible to all palace residents, but most concubines never bothered. I spent days reading everything about Jiangnan Province: geography, infrastructure, weather patterns, past disasters.
Then I found what I needed: engineering reports on the southern dams. Reports that showed growing structural weaknesses. Reports that recommended immediate repairs.
Reports that had been filed six months ago and completely ignored.
Su Jin, I said one evening, I need you to do something dangerous.
She straightened. Anything, my lady.
Find out who's responsible for reviewing dam maintenance reports. I need names.
Over the next week, Su Jin's information network, she was surprisingly good at gathering gossip, revealed the truth:
Minister Liu was in charge of infrastructure. He'd received the dam reports and buried them because repairs were expensive. Instead, he'd embezzled the maintenance funds for his own projects.
In eight weeks, those dams would fail. Fifty thousand people would die.
Unless I stopped it.
I need to request an audience with the Emperor, I told Su Jin.
She nearly dropped the tea tray. My lady! You can't! Concubines don't
I know. But I have information that could save thousands of lives. The Emperor needs to know.
They'll think you're insane! Or plotting something!
Probably. I smiled grimly. But I have to try.
I submitted a formal audience request through proper channels. Expected it to be denied.
Instead, three days later, I was summoned to the Emperor's study.
My hands shook as guards escorted me through the palace. I'd never seen Emperor Shen Yao up close in my first life. Now I was about to face him directly.
The study was austere, maps, documents, weapons on the walls. And behind a massive desk sat the Emperor.
Twenty-nine years old. Devastatingly handsome in a cold, dangerous way. Eyes like winter storms.
I knelt, forehead to the floor. Your Majesty.
You have one minute to explain why a Sixth Rank Concubine would waste my time requesting an audience. His voice was ice.
No mercy. No patience.
I took a breath. Your Majesty, in eight weeks, the southern dams in Jiangnan Province will fail. The flooding will kill fifty thousand people and destroy the region's agriculture for years.
Silence. Terrible silence.
And you know this how?
I've been studying the engineering reports in the Imperial Library. The dams have structural weaknesses that were reported six months ago. The reports recommended immediate repairs. Those repairs were never made.
Many reports are filed. Not all require action.
These do, Your Majesty. I kept my voice steady. Because Minister Liu buried them deliberately. He embezzled the repair funds. If you audit his accounts, you'll find proof.
Now I heard movement. The Emperor standing. Walking toward me.
Look at me.
I lifted my head, meeting those cold eyes.
You're accusing a minister of embezzlement and claiming to predict a natural disaster. Do you understand that if you're wrong, you'll be punished for wasting my time and spreading false accusations?
Yes, Your Majesty.
Then why risk it?
Because fifty thousand lives matter more than my safety.
He studied me intently. You're the concubine who saved the Crown Prince last week.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Two fortunate coincidences in two weeks. How... interesting. His voice held suspicion. Who are you really, Wei Lian?
Just a concubine trying to serve the empire, Your Majesty.
No one is 'just' anything. He returned to his desk. I'll have the dams inspected and Minister Liu's accounts audited. If you're right, you'll be rewarded. If you're wrong... He didn't finish the threat.
I'm not wrong, Your Majesty.
We'll see. Dismissed.
I bowed and left, legs barely holding me.
I'd done it. Planted the seed. Now I just had to wait and pray my memory was correct.
Three weeks later, the reports came back.
The dams were structurally unsound. Minister Liu had embezzled the repair funds. Everything I'd said was true.
The Emperor ordered immediate repairs and arrested Minister Liu.
And he summoned me again.
This time, when I entered his study, his expression was different. Still cold, but... curious.
You were right. About everything. He gestured to a chair. Sit.
I sat, stunned. Emperors didn't invite concubines to sit.
How did you know?
I read the reports, Your Majesty. I connected the information
No. That's not a full answer. He leaned forward. A concubine from a disgraced family doesn't just happen to read obscure engineering reports. Doesn't just happen to be in the right place to save the Crown Prince. Doesn't just happen to predict disasters before they occur.
My heart raced. Your Majesty
Who are you working for? Who gave you this information?
No one, Your Majesty. I swear.
Then how?
I met his eyes, desperate. Because I pay attention. Because I care. Because I see the patterns everyone else ignores.
He studied me for a long moment. You've saved fifty thousand lives today. Name your reward.
Permission to continue accessing the Imperial Library.
Why?
Because knowledge is the only power I have, Your Majesty.
Something flickered in his eyes. Not quite a smile, but close.
Granted. But I'll be watching you, Wei Lian. Very closely.
I hope so, Your Majesty.
As I left, my mind spun. I'd succeeded. The Emperor had noticed me.
But now came the hard part: staying alive long enough to change everything else.