The Empress Dowager's private study was bathed in the soft glow of candlelight, shadows dancing across silk scrolls and jade ornaments like restless spirits. She sat at her writing desk, her hair loose around her shoulders, one hand tracing the rim of a porcelain teacup while the other held a brush poised over blank parchment.
A new player, she thought, her lips curving into a smile that held no warmth. Princess Qin Liling.
The girl was beautiful, certainly. Regal. Everything a crown princess should be on the surface. But the Empress Dowager had not survived decades of palace intrigue by judging pieces by their appearance alone.
She's a fool.
The way she had slapped Lady Su Yan in public, drawing Yifeng's ire, creating unnecessary complications, it spoke of impulsiveness. Of pride without cunning. Of someone who had never faced a predator more dangerous than herself.
The Empress Dowager set down her teacup with a soft clink.
