The heavy doors of the imperial hall opened with a groan.
林树敏 (Lín Shùmǐn) stepped inside, her heart hammering. Her foot caught on the threshold, and she stumbled before quickly straightening her back.
'Elegant entrance? Failed. Excellent start.'
At the far end, 李湛 (Lǐ Zhàn) sat beneath the dragon canopy, robe black as ink, eyes cold enough to freeze sunlight.
'He looks colder than a tax audit'
" Okay, breathe...!
Don't fangirl...! Don't faint...!
Definitely don't mention the Queen."
She bowed deeply. "Your Majesty summoned me?"
His gaze flicked over her—slow, assessing. "I heard… interesting things about you today."
Shumin smiled too brightly. "All good things, I hope?"
"Rumors," Li Zhan said flatly. "You seem to attract them."
"I don't try to," she said quickly. "It's just a natural talent."
The Emperor didn't move, yet the air thickened.
"They say you spoke freely to the Queen this morning."
"I did! I mean...respectfully freely... Out of sincerity."
His eyes narrowed.
"Sincerity… or foolishness?"
Shumin tilted her head.
"Thin line between the two. I just happen to dance on it."
For a moment, the corners of his mouth twitched...almost a smile.
He rose, descending the dais.
"Tell me, Concubine Wen," he said quietly. "Why did you stop me yesterday? Asking you again"
Shumin straightened.
"Because you were about to get severely injured."
"Injured?"
"Hypothetically," she added quickly. "Or karmically. The point is, danger! I stopped it."
He studied her like one might study an insect attempting to debate philosophy. "And how would you know that?"
"I read..." she caught herself, forcing a grin. "...I mean, I felt it."
"You felt it." His tone flattened. "So you claim foresight?"
"Not foresight. More like… gut intuition. My intestines are unusually responsible."
Silence. The kind that made her wish for immediate reincarnation.
Then he stepped closer...close enough that the faint scent of sandalwood and steel wrapped around her.
"Do you know what happens to women who lie to me?"
Shumin blinked up at him. "Severe lecture? Emotional trauma? Early bedtime?"
His voice dropped. "They don't get to speak again."
Shumin froze. Okay, bad timing for humor.
But instead of calling the guards, he turned away, pacing once before stopping.
"Leave," he said.
"Before I decide whether you're a fool… or something else."
She exhaled. "So… I'm dismissed? No strangling today?"
He shot her a sidelong glance that made her spine straighten. "Don't test my patience."
"Of course not! I cherish your patience more than oxygen."
She bowed, ready to flee
"Concubine Wen."
Her stomach dropped. "Y..yes?"
Li Zhan's eyes narrowed slightly. "What… is 'Zhanyao'?"
"Zhanyao?" she echoed weakly.
"The word you shouted in the Cold Palace courtyard again" he said. "Servants repeat it like a prayer. Explain."
"Oh. That." She laughed, too high-pitched. "It's… a saying!"
His brows lowered. "A saying?"
"Yes! A deep one! 'Zhan' as in courage...like Your Majesty's name. 'Yao' as in light..like the Queen's virtue. Together they mean courage and light in balance."
He studied her blankly. "…I see."
Then, after a pause: "And the second word you used--'fan… club'? What kind of institution is that?"
Shumin's brain short-circuited. "Oh! That's not a real place. It's uh… a group of people who deeply admire moral concepts."
"Moral concepts," he repeated slowly, tasting each syllable. "And you… lead this group?"
"I founded it! One member so far, but quality over quantity!"
Silence.
Li Zhan's expression didn't move for several heartbeats.
Then he said, carefully,
"So. You formed a secret sect in my palace devoted to 'courage and light.'"
"Not secret! Totally public! Except no one knows about it!"
Another long pause. He rubbed his temple once, as if fighting a headache.
"Truly," he murmured, "the gods sent me a peculiar woman."
"Thank you! I strive for originality."
That faint, dangerous almost-smile touched his lips again..gone in an instant.
"Go," he ordered softly. "Before your sect grows larger."
Shumin bowed so fast she nearly hit her head. "Yes, Your Majesty! May your light and courage always… trend together."
"Trend," he repeated, clearly unsettled, but she was already halfway out the door.
-----
Outside the hall, 舒嫣 (Shū Yān) jumped when her mistress burst out.
"My lady, what happened?"
"He asked about my fanclub."
"Your what?"
Oh right, you wouldn't know. It's a modern..ummm....ancient cultural movement."
Shu Yan pressed a hand to her forehead. "My lady, your words grow stranger every day."
Shumin sighed dramatically
" Never mind! Advanced philosophy."
Shu Yan just stared, murmuring,
"She's ill. The Cold Palace has broken her mind."
---
Inside the hall, Li Zhan stood in silence.
The echo of her strange words lingered
fan… club… courage and light.
He frowned.
" Is she mocking me? Or does she truly believe such nonsense?"
He turned toward the window, the faintest sigh escaping.
He shouldn't care.
He didn't care.
Yet for some reason, her nonsense lingered.
The memory of her face..earnest, unafraid, bizarre..kept interrupting his thoughts.
He frowned, jaw tightening.
'A concubine I never visited, a name I barely remembered… and yet she keeps appearing before me.'
He exhaled slowly, eyes lowering to the scroll before him but he didn't read a single word.
"I should forget her.
So why can't I?"
-----