"No! No, of course not, Your Imperial Majesty, I just—" Soyeon bowed hastily, keeping her eyes down. "I apologize for intruding. I should return to my quarters. It's late, and I have patients to see in the morning. I will leave you be—"
"Yes. You should go." The Empress Dowager stepped aside, gesturing toward the door with exaggerated courtesy. "But remember, child. Dinner. Tomorrow evening. The Jade Phoenix Palace. Don't disappoint me."
It wasn't a request. It was a command wrapped in honey-like words.
Soyeon bowed again, clutching the vial she had forgotten she was holding, and fled.
She made it three steps into the courtyard before the Empress Dowager's voice floated after her, soft and deadly:
"And Su Yan? You should leave the vial in your hands. It is very precious to me."
Soyeon's hand spasmed. She turned back slowly, her heart hammering, and carefully placed the vial on the ground just outside the storage room door.
