Mei Lin's POV
The eunuch returned before sunset.
Noble Lady Mei Lin. He bowed, but his eyes held warning. The Emperor summons you to his private study. Now.
My stomach dropped. I'd been a concubine for exactly three hours.
Should I... change? I gestured at my plain blue robe—the only thing I owned besides my servant's tunic.
There's no time. Follow me.
We walked through corridors that grew quieter with each turn. Fewer servants. Fewer guards. Until finally we stood before an unmarked wooden door.
The eunuch knocked three times.
Enter. The Emperor's voice made my skin prickle.
The door opened. The eunuch gestured me inside, then closed it behind me.
I was alone with the Emperor.
The room was smaller than I expected. Books lined every wall—more books than I'd seen in six years. A low table held tea that was still steaming. And sitting cross-legged on a cushion, reading by candlelight, was Emperor Zhao Yiren.
He wasn't wearing his dragon robes. Just simple black silk with his hair loose around his shoulders. He looked younger. Almost approachable.
Almost.
Mei Lin. He set down his book. Sit.
I knelt across from him, keeping my eyes down. My heart hammered so hard I was sure he could hear it.
I said sit. Not kneel. His voice held amusement. We're having tea, not a formal audience.
Slowly, I shifted to sit properly. The informality felt wrong. Dangerous.
He poured tea with elegant movements. Pushed a cup toward me. Drink. It's not poisoned.
I didn't think
Yes, you did. He smiled slightly. You're calculating every risk. Every possible trap. I can see it in your eyes.
I wrapped my hands around the cup to hide their trembling. Your Majesty is very observant.
I have to be. People lie to me constantly. He sipped his tea, watching me over the rim. Do you know why I summoned you?
To question me, Your Majesty.
Partly. He set down his cup. Mostly because you interest me. A servant who speaks like a scholar. Who notices details others miss. Who negotiated with assassins and won.
My blood went cold. Assassins?
Did you think I wouldn't know? His voice was soft. Deadly soft. Three men entered the Inner Court last night. They left claiming you were dead. Yet here you sit, very much alive.
I forced myself to meet his eyes. They accepted a better offer.
Which was?
Their lives. I told them killing me would make them witnesses to murder. Their employer would eliminate them next to hide evidence.
The Emperor leaned back, studying me. Clever. Ruthless. You understand how power works. He tilted his head. How does a servant learn such things?
This was the test. Answer too simply and he'd know I was lying. Answer too honestly and he'd dig deeper.
My father believed knowledge was the greatest gift. I chose each word carefully. He educated all his children, even his daughters. He said intelligence could save us when nothing else would.
Was he right?
He's dead. So perhaps not.
Something flickered in the Emperor's eyes. Sympathy? Understanding? How did he die?
Does it matter, Your Majesty? The dead are dead.
It matters to me.
The way he said it, quiet and genuine, made my throat tight. I looked away.
Political enemies. False accusations. He was executed when I was sixteen. All true. Just missing the crucial details.
Silence stretched between us. I didn't dare look at him.
I'm sorry. His voice was surprisingly gentle. Losing family to politics is a special kind of pain. You carry it forever.
I glanced up. He was staring at the candle flame, his expression distant.
Your Majesty lost family?
Plague took my parents and brothers when I was nineteen. I inherited a throne I never wanted and enemies I didn't know I had. His laugh was bitter. The first year, I nearly died seven times. Poison. Assassins. One very creative attempt involving a collapsing roof.
How did you survive?
By trusting no one. Questioning everything. Becoming harder than the people trying to kill me. He looked at me again. Sound familiar?
My chest ached. He understood. This lonely, dangerous man understood exactly what I'd become to survive.
Very familiar, Your Majesty.
Stop calling me that.
I blinked. Excuse me?
When we're alone, call me Yiren. He stood abruptly and moved to the bookshelves. Your Majesty. His Imperial Majesty. The Dragon Emperor. I hear titles all day. From you, I want honesty.
That's... inappropriate.
So is summoning a concubine to drink tea instead of... He trailed off, pulling a book from the shelf. Well. Other things.
Heat flooded my face. Other things. Right.
He returned with the book, military strategy. Tell me what you think of this.
I took it carefully. Sun Tzu's Art of War. I'd read it a dozen times with my father.
It's a classic text on warfare and tactics, I said carefully.
I know that. I want your opinion. Do you agree with his principles?
This was another test. But what was he testing for?
Some of them. Sun Tzu says all warfare is based on deception. I met his eyes. I think all survival is based on deception. Showing one face while hiding another. Making enemies underestimate you.
Is that what you're doing? Making me underestimate you?
Would I admit it if I were?
His smile was sudden and genuine. It transformed his face from beautiful to devastating. There. That's what I wanted.
What?
Honesty wrapped in wit. Everyone else just tells me what they think I want to hear. He sat down closer than before. Close enough that I could smell sandalwood and ink on his clothes. You treat me like a person. Not a throne.
You are a person. The throne is just furniture.
He laughed, a real laugh that lit his eyes. Careful. Comments like that could be considered treason.
Then I suppose I'm already doomed.
Probably. He was still smiling. Tell me more. What else did your father teach you?
We talked for hours. Philosophy. Strategy. Governance. He asked questions that made me think. I answered carefully—intelligent enough to interest him, but not so brilliant he'd question how a servant knew these things.
But the longer we talked, the harder it became to remember this was dangerous. He listened when I spoke. Challenged my ideas respectfully. Shared his own struggles ruling an empire he'd never wanted.
The ministers fight constantly, he said, frustration creeping into his voice. Prime Minister Wei wants one policy. The military demands another. The nobles care only about their own power. Sometimes I think the empire would run better without me.
That's not true.
How would you know?
Because if you were useless, they wouldn't fight so hard to control you. I spoke without thinking. They fight because you have real power. They want to direct it for their own purposes.
He stared at me. You see politics very clearly for someone who claims to be just a servant.
My stomach clenched. I'd revealed too much.
I've had six years to watch the palace, Your Majesty— I caught myself. Yiren. Six years of being invisible while power games happened around me. You learn to notice patterns.
What patterns have you noticed about me?
The question felt like a trap. But also genuine curiosity.
You're lonely, I said quietly. You have ultimate power but no one you trust. Everyone wants something from you. So you've learned to keep everyone at a distance.
His expression was unreadable. And what do you want from me?
Revenge. Justice. Your help destroying the man who murdered my family.
Right now? To survive. I chose partial truth. Tomorrow? Perhaps to live instead of just surviving.
What's the difference?
Surviving is staying alive. Living is having something worth staying alive for.
Silence fell. His eyes held mine. The candlelight caught gold flecks in his dark irises. I realized I could see individual lashes, the sharp line of his jaw, the way his pulse beat at his throat.
He was beautiful. Dangerously beautiful.
And close. So close.
You're full of surprises, Mei Lin. His voice had gone low. Intimate. I thought this would be a brief conversation. Instead, hours have passed and I'm not bored. Do you know how rare that is?
I'm honored, Your Majesty.
Yiren.
Yiren. His name felt strange on my tongue. Too familiar. Too real.
He reached out slowly, giving me time to pull away. His fingers brushed my cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. The touch sent electricity through me.
You're afraid of me, he murmured.
Yes.
But not the way others are afraid.
No. My voice came out breathless. They fear your power. I fear...
What?
That I'm starting to like you. That you make me feel things I can't afford to feel. That you're the enemy I never expected.
That you'll see through me, I whispered.
His thumb traced my jawline. I already know you're hiding something. I don't know what yet, but I will discover it.
And when you do?
That depends on what it is. His hand dropped away, leaving my skin cold. He stood abruptly, putting distance between us. Go. It's late. People will talk.
I scrambled to my feet, dizzy from the sudden shift. Yes, Your Majesty.
Mei Lin.
I looked back.
His expression was conflicted—desire and suspicion warring in his eyes. Come back tomorrow night. Same time. We're not finished talking.
As you command.
It's not a command. His voice was rough. It's a request. You can refuse.
I should refuse. Every moment with him was dangerous. He was too perceptive, too intelligent. Eventually, he'd uncover the truth.
But I also couldn't afford to refuse. I needed his protection. His attention. And maybe—treacherously—I wanted to come back.
I'll return, I said quietly.
His smile was small but genuine. Good. Now go before I forget I'm supposed to be a gentleman.
I fled.
Outside the door, I leaned against the wall, heart racing. My cheek still tingled where he'd touched me.
This was bad. Very bad.
I was supposed to use him. Manipulate him into helping me destroy Wei. Stay cold. Stay focused.
Instead, I was drawn to him like a moth to flame. His loneliness called to mine. His intelligence challenged me. His rare smiles made me want to earn more of them.
And the way he'd looked at me
No. I couldn't afford this. Couldn't let attraction become something more.
I was Lady Xian Yue. My father died in disgrace. My family was destroyed. I came to this palace for revenge.
I would not lose sight of that goal. Not for anyone.
Even if his touch made me forget everything else.
I straightened my shoulders and walked back to my quarters. Tomorrow I'd be stronger. More careful. I'd guard my heart as carefully as I guarded my secrets.
Tomorrow.
But tonight, alone in the darkness, I let myself remember the warmth of his hand on my face. The way he'd looked at me like I mattered.
Just for tonight.