Xu Lianhua's POV
These numbers are wrong.
I pointed to grain supply records on the Emperor's desk. We'd been meeting every night for a week.
The Emperor leaned closer. How can you tell?
Minister Zhou reports delivering 10,000 bushels to the northern garrison. The garrison commander's receipt says 8,000. I flipped through pages. It happens every month.
Accounting errors
Except Minister Zhou also manages the royal granaries. Always exactly full. Never fluctuates. I met his gaze. That's impossible. Real granaries change with weather, pests, transport loss. The only way they stay perfect is if someone's hiding shortages.
Embezzlement.
For years. He's skimming shipments and covering it with false reports.
The Emperor studied me. How did you see that?
Auditors look for what's wrong. I looked for what was too perfect. I paused. I learned that by being invisible.
Invisible?
In Father's house, I was the shameful secret. So I watched. Listened. Read everything. The words came easier now. People reveal their secrets when they think no one's paying attention.
Show me everything.
I laid out the pattern. Five years of embezzlement. Enough grain to feed an army.
Or fund a rebellion, the Emperor said quietly. You think he's connected to the coup plot?
He called for guards. Arrest Minister Zhou. Quietly.
After they left, he turned to me. Ten days here and you've prevented an invasion and uncovered corruption. My court missed both for years.
I just see patterns
No. You see what others miss because you learned to survive by watching. He paused. How did you become this?
No one had ever asked how. Only what or why.
The library, I said. After Mother died, I hid there. Read everything. Military strategy, history, politics. Books were safer than people.
I understand that. His voice was quiet. When I became Emperor at sixteen, everyone wanted something. I learned trust was a luxury I couldn't afford. Being alone was survival.
For the first time, I saw past the cold Emperor to the boy who'd lost his parents.
Is it still? I asked. Survival, I mean. Being alone?
He studied me. I'm not sure anymore.
The air shifted. Charged.
A sharp knock shattered the moment.
General Li Jian burst in, face grim. Your Majesty. Problem. One of my guards was found dead an hour ago. Throat cut. Professional kill.
My blood ran cold. Where?
Outside the Empress quarters.
Me. Someone had tried to reach me.
Did anyone see the killer? the Emperor demanded.
No. But we found this. Li Jian held up a gold ring with a red stone.
Clutched in the guard's hand. He must have pulled it off during struggle.
The mystery man's ring.
The Emperor took it, examining closely. His hands tightened.
You recognize it, I said. Who does it belong to?
It's a chancellor's ring. Only five people are authorized to wear this symbol.
Five suspects.
Who?
The Grand Chancellor. Minister of War. Chief Justice. My uncle, the Duke of Wei. He paused. And me.
You?
He pulled open his desk drawer. Empty.
His ring was gone.
When did you last see it? Li Jian asked.
This morning.
Someone stole your ring and used it, I said slowly. To hide their identity behind yours?
Or use it for something requiring imperial authority, the Emperor said quietly. Like a coup.
Someone with that ring could issue orders in his name. Move troops. Override security.
We need to question the other four, Li Jian said.
Carefully, the Emperor warned. If we tip them off
The coup happens early, I finished.
The guard fought someone who wore it, I said. Did he wound them?
Li Jian's eyes widened. There was blood on his knife.
Then whoever attacked is wounded. Check the four chancellor ring holders for fresh injuries.
The Emperor smiled grimly. Clever.
Li Jian left to investigate.
Are you alright? the Emperor asked.
No. I'm terrified.
Good. Fear keeps you alive. His hand found mine. I won't let them hurt you.
You can't promise that
Then I promise this: anyone who tries to reach you goes through me first.
It was fierce. Protective. Possessive.
I believed him.
Li Jian returned. The Grand Chancellor, Minister of War, and Chief Justice appear uninjured.
And my uncle?
The Duke of Wei is gone. Left this morning for his country estate. Says he'll return in a week.
This morning? I repeated. Right after the guard was killed?
The Emperor's expression went cold. My uncle. Who tried to claim the throne when I was sixteen. Who I spared because he was family. He's planning another coup.
What do we do?
Spring the trap. Let him think he's won. His smile was sharp. Then destroy him.
The door burst open.
A messenger, bloody and gasping. Your Majesty! The northern border! The invasion started! Thousands of soldiers flying He choked. Flying the Emperor's banner!
The room went silent.
The Emperor's banner. His authority.
Someone was invading using his stolen ring.
How long until they reach the capital?
Three days. Maybe less.
Three days.
This is it, I whispered. The real plan. They wanted me as Empress so when they march in carrying your banner, I'd legitimize their coup.
My uncle.
Three days to stop a coup, an invasion, and a traitor.
Then I realized something that made my blood run cold.
Your Majesty, if your uncle has your ring and is using it to command troops... what else can he command?
The Emperor's face went pale.
The palace guards. The Shadow Guards. Anyone who received orders bearing the imperial seal.
We weren't just facing external invasion.
We were about to face betrayal from within.
People in the palace might be following the Duke's orders, believing they came from the Emperor.
We're surrounded by enemies, I whispered.
Then we trust no one, the Emperor said.
His hand tightened on mine.
Except each other.