The imperial study was silent except for the soft scratching of brushes on parchment. Ministers stood like stiff pillars, afraid even to exhale too loudly.
Only King Li Zhan's presence cooled the entire room like winter frost.
A eunuch hesitated near him, clutching a folded letter with trembling fingers.
"Speak," Li Zhan commanded without looking up.
"M-My...my lord!… Concubine Wen Qian's maid delivered… this."
The eunuch bowed lower, as if a single wrong breath could offend the dragon.
Li Zhan lifted his gaze, expression sharp as a blade.
"Wen Qian?" His voice carried warning. "She dares send anything to me during a meeting?"
The eunuch swallowed.
"She insisted… it was urgent."
A heavy silence fell.
Li Zhan finally extended his hand. The eunuch rushed forward, placing the letter carefully in his palm.
The king opened it with a controlled motion
then froze.
Inside, instead of a proper apology…
messy handwriting, drawn faces-
little begging expressions, pathetic face-like symbols smudged with ink.
His brows twitched. Just for a fraction of a second.
He scanned the letter:
"Dear Majesty Li Zhan,
Myself Concubine Wen Qian 🥺
First of all sorry 😭
I'm stupid, sinful, did major mistake and I swear I'll never do that
Also I'll never show my face 😶
You're so kind, can you please remove house arrest?
I swear I'll never disturb you
If I do anything again… I'll give my head 🙃 "
His jaw tightened, veins lining his temple.
She draws little faces on an official letter?
She speaks of her head like she's negotiating vegetables?
But then… a small red smear on the corner caught his eye.
A prick of blood.
Her finger.
His expression shifted
unnoticeable to others, but clear to himself. He remembered the scarf she stitched, the needle marks, the way her eyes looked today
fearful yet still bright.
The memory struck him without warning.
Annoying. Irritating.
A soft stab in the chest he didn't ask for.
He crumpled the letter slowly, controlling his emotions.
The ministers felt the tension and bowed deeper, fearing an explosion.
But instead,
Li Zhan rose from his seat, expression carved from ice.
"Bring the maid," he ordered.
---
Shu Yan was brought in, shaking like a leaf.
Li Zhan sat on the throne platform, long robe pooling around him, cold eyes fixed on her.
"Explain this." He tapped the crumpled letter.
Shu Yan panicked, speaking too fast:
"My lord! My lady...Concubine Wen Qian...she was trying to hide her face..tying cloth and veil...she looked like, like a..like a bandit....please forgive me...she only wanted to apologize..please don't punish her...!!!"
Li Zhan's eyebrow twitched at the word bandit.
A flicker of an image:
Wen Qian wrapped clumsily in cloth, only her eyes showing.
Ridiculous.
He forced his mouth not to curve.
He waved Shu Yan away with a cold flick of fingers.
"Tell your lady this," he said quietly, but every syllable carried power.
"She has one chance. Let her decide whether she values her life."
Shu Yan collapsed in gratitude before running out.
Li Zhan remained seated, staring at the crushed letter in his hand.
His chest tightened
not from anger, but something else he refused to name.
Why does her stupid fear-filled face… bother me?
He looked at the smear of blood again.
He remembered the scarf he never asked about.
He remembered her pricked finger.
He remembered her flustered kneeling.
He remembered her trying to explain herself, shaking like a terrified rabbit.
He clenched the letter again.
I shouldn't care.
I don't care.
I won't care.
Yet
the heat of her fear stayed in his mind, refusing to leave.
He exhaled slowly.
'This woman…'
She was either unbelievably stupid
or unbelievably brave.
His eyes lingered once more on the drawn "face like symbols".
He didn't know what it meant.
But his stern mask cracked again for one millisecond, and he turned his head away sharply so no one could catch the curve of his lip.
"Leave," he said coldly.
The eunuch and guards bowed and left.
Once alone, Li Zhan held the letter between his fingers, expression unreadable.
He muttered under his breath,
"…idiot."
But his voice had lost its usual harshness
A quiet cough echoed from the shadows behind the screen.
"Ahem ahem… So His Majesty… just smiled?"
Li Zhan's jaw tightened.
Yinzhi stepped into the light with a smirk, snatching the letter from the table before Li Zhan could stop him.
He held it up dramatically, waving the ridiculous drawings in the air.
"Majesty, is this a love confession?"
He leaned closer, eyes wide with mock concern.
"Are you feverish? Should I call the imperial physician? You....smiling? And forgiving someone? Unbelievable!"
Li Zhan snatched the letter back, eyes turning icy.
"Yinzhi," he said in a dangerously calm voice,
"don't..."
Yinzhi only grinned wider.
"But your face says something else."
Li Zhan's expression darkened.
"She is just a stupid woman. Reckless. Probably plotting something. Do not overthink it."
Yinzhi raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? But the way you forgave her doesn't look like 'nothing'. It looks like...."
Li Zhan's glare cut through the air like a blade.
"Enough...!"
He turned away abruptly, shoving the letter into his sleeve.
Then, in a clipped tone, he changed the subject.
"Tell me about the northern border forces. Are we prepared if the North King attacks? I already sent the peace letter yesterday. Did you notice anything suspicious?"
Yinzhi blinked at the sudden switch but immediately straightened, the teasing melting off his face.
"Majesty… there is something suspicious."
Li Zhan's eyes narrowed. "Speak."
Yinzhi lowered his voice.
"The northern scouts reported increased troop movement along the border. At first, we thought they were training… but now the numbers are doubling every two days."
Li Zhan's expression hardened.
Yinzhi continued,
"Also, three of our supply routes were disrupted last night. No clear signs of bandits. It feels… deliberate."
Li Zhan's hand curled slowly at his side.
"And the peace letter?" he asked coldly.
Yinzhi hesitated.
"No reply yet. That's the problem. They're too quiet. North King has never delayed a diplomatic letter this long unless he's planning something."
Li Zhan stepped toward the map table, his silhouette tall and sharp against the candlelight.
"Strengthen patrols," he ordered.
"Call back the hidden scouts from the east valley. I want eyes on every inch of that border."
Yinzhi nodded but added carefully,
"There's one more thing, Majesty… The merchants who traveled from the north yesterday claimed the northern royal court has been unusually active at night.
Torches lit, guards triple-layered. They're preparing-- for something big."
Li Zhan's jaw tightened, but his voice remained controlled.
"They dare move now?"
Yinzhi bowed deeply. "Your command, Majesty."
Li Zhan stared at the map… yet somewhere at the edge of his mind the ridiculous crying emoji popped up again, uninvited.
He crushed the thought instantly.
"Mobilize the generals," he said. "Tonight."
Yinzhi bowed again, then muttered very quietly as he left,
"Majesty, you can hide war plans but not that smile…"
Li Zhan shot him a glare so sharp it could kill.
Yinzhi vanished.