Episode 5 – The Serpent Wears Silk

The atmosphere in the side court was tense, heavy with silence and stares.

Lin Xie sat to the Crown Prince’s left, his crimson sleeve brushing Jian Yu’s golden robe — though neither acknowledged it. Lady Mei stood in the center, head lowered, voice tremulous as always.

“Your Highness, I only came to ensure… my child’s future is secured. I mean no harm to Consort Lin.”

She glanced up through lowered lashes — the perfect image of frailty.

“How touching,” Lin Xie murmured, swirling his tea. “You speak like a mother already, and yet I’ve seen pigeons with more proof of fertility.”

Lady Mei flinched. The ministers choked on their silence.

“Lin Xie,” Jian Yu said sharply, eyes narrowing.

“Yes, Your Highness?” he asked sweetly. “Am I wrong to ask where your child came from?”

He turned, voice laced with softness so dangerous it bordered on venom. “You never once declared rut. No scent. No intimacy. Yet this woman claims to carry your child, and I’m expected to step aside like a discarded ornament?”

“I never said that,” Jian Yu snapped.

“You didn’t need to,” Lin Xie replied, smiling. “Your silence speaks for you.”

Lady Mei stepped forward. “Perhaps… Consort Lin is simply distressed. Some Omegas cannot conceive easily, and jealousy—”

Lin Xie rose slowly.

The hall stilled.

“I may be cursed with many things,” he said, voice calm, “but barrenness isn’t one of them.”

Gasps erupted.

Lady Mei paled.

Lin Xie stepped down, circling her gracefully. “Tell me, Lady Mei, when did the Crown Prince bed you? What night? What hour? Was it during a feast, a funeral, or divine hallucination?”

“I—It was during his rut—”

“What rut?” Lin Xie cut in. “The one no physician recorded? The one no one in the palace remembers?”

He leaned in, smiling like a snake. “Or perhaps your ‘child’ was fathered elsewhere, and you merely needed a royal name to dress it up.”

“Enough,” Jian Yu growled, rising.

But Lin Xie didn’t flinch. “Then say it. Say in front of your court and consort that she carries your child.”

Jian Yu hesitated.

The silence was louder than a scream.

Lin Xie turned to Lady Mei and tilted his head. “You’re bold, I’ll give you that. But there’s one thing you should’ve learned before weaving lies in this palace.”

,eyes gleaming.

“You can’t outshine someone born to burn.”

Lin Xie stepped forward, facing the woman who dared spit venom beneath a veil of virtue.

“With such courage,” he said, eyes gleaming like a dagger’s edge. “Fabricating a royal pregnancy in front of the court. I almost envy your lack of shame.”

Lady Xin paled. “I-I speak the truth—!”

Lin Xie silenced her with a look. “The Crown Prince’s scent is faint—controlled, restrained. Anyone close enough would know that. And yet you claim he lost control during a rut?” His gaze slid to the courtiers. “I wonder who would benefit most from such a tale.”

Whispers spread like wildfire.

Lady Xin faltered.

The Empress Dowager’s smile twitched.

Lin Xie turned to the throne. “Your Highness, if you claim to be a man of honor, then prove it—start by testing her words. If she truly carries your blood, let her wait three months. We’ll confirm it then. Publicly.”

The air froze.

Lin Xie bowed—not in reverence, but like a performer taking his leave from a tiresome stage.

With one final glance at Jian Yu—sharp, unreadable—he left.

---

Later that evening.

Lin Xie sat in his chambers, tea untouched, the moon casting silver shadows across his silk robe.

The door burst open.

Jian Yu.

His eyes were dark with fury.

“You humiliated her in front of the court,” he hissed.

“She did that herself,” Lin Xie replied calmly.

“You’re turning everyone against her—!”