Chapter 5:
The next morning, the palace buzzed like a disturbed hive.
Lian perched cross-legged on her windowsill, munching candied plums with narrowed eyes as she watched officials march across the courtyards below. Banners were being unfurled. Temple drums echoed in the distance.
Something was happening.
“Jun,” she said through a mouthful of sugar, “go see what nonsense they’re cooking up now.”
Jun, polishing his sword in the corner, didn’t even glance up. “If I leave, you’ll climb out the window again.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” she said sweetly. “The guards have finally figured out I’m not a garden ghost.”
He gave her a look.
She held out a candied plum in peace. “Come on, just peek. For me?”
Jun stood, muttering something about spoiled brats, and left.
Moments later, he returned—grim.
Lian knew that look.
“What?”
“Your brother just made the royal announcement.”
Her heart skipped.
Jun spoke flatly. “The wedding is in two weeks.”
---
Later That Day:
Chaos in the Imperial Garden
“No! Absolutely not!”
Lian shoved scrolls off her table as servants flinched. Her hair was wild. Her robe was crooked.
She whirled on her brother, who sat calmly sipping tea as though he hadn’t just sentenced her to eternal doom.
“You said I’d have a choice!”
“I said you’d be informed,” Emperor Liang corrected. “You were. This morning.”
“You think this is funny?”
He didn’t answer. But the twitch in his cheek betrayed him.
She flung a cushion at him.
---
That Night:
Operation Fake Scandal
Jun was roped in, against his will.
Lian dressed in her most dramatic red robe, powdered her cheeks to look flushed, and had Jun stand behind a pillar in the moonlight holding a fan like some tragic lover.
“If we time it right,” she whispered, “Lady Jin will come by and see us. Word will spread. The northern king will be furious. Honor broken. Engagement off.”
Jun blinked. “This is your master plan?”
“Trust me.”
“I never do.”
They enacted it anyway.
Lady Jin passed. She gasped. She ran.
Lian smirked. “Perfect.”
---
The Next Day:
Unexpected Silence
The entire palace buzzed with whispers. Servants avoided her eyes. Ministers spoke in hushed voices.
But no summons came. No punishment. No rage.
And most notably—no word from Zhao Rui.
Lian blinked. “Wait… did it work?”
She began pacing her room, triumphant.
“He’s too prideful to marry a scandalous girl! This is it! I’m free!”
Jun looked deeply unconvinced. “Or… he just doesn’t care.”
“No,” she said, pointing dramatically. “This is a strategic withdrawal. He’s quietly packing up to leave.”
Jun muttered, “If only we were that lucky.”
---
Meanwhile:
A Private Meeting
Zhao Rui sat alone in a quiet hall, sipping bitter northern tea as one of his men reported the "scandal."
“She staged it,” the man said. “Clearly meant to cause offense.”
Zhao Rui didn’t speak.
“She even had her bodyguard pretend to be her lover. It was… theatrical.”
Still silence.
“Shall I act, Your Majesty?”
Zhao Rui shook his head slowly. “Let her have her fun.”
He rose, glancing toward the distant tower where he knew her room was.
“She’s fighting a battle she’s already lost. But I’ll let her think she’s winning.”
A faint trace of warmth ghosted his voice.
“I want to see how far she’ll go.”
---
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