A Palace That No Longer Sleeps
The palace was restless.
Ever since Lin Ruyi had taken Lady Su under her care, the balance of power had shifted but not in the way anyone expected.
No fights.
No rage.
No schemes unveiled.
Instead only silence.
And in that silence, whispers spread like wildfire.
The Emperor Watches And Waits
Zhao Long sat in his private chambers, the scent of incense curling through the air, his golden eyes staring at nothing.
His attendants had already left.
His council had already spoken.
His court had already decided what they believed.
And yet he could not decide what he believed.
His wife his clever, unreadable, untouchable wife
Had done nothing.
And that—that was what bothered him the most.
She had not tried to punish Lady Su.
She had not come to him demanding answers.
She had not acted with jealousy, nor with sorrow.
She had simply watched.
And the longer she did nothing, the more Zhao Long found himself thinking about her.
Thinking about how her emerald eyes never wavered.
Thinking about how she moved through the palace untouched by the chaos around her.
Thinking about how, despite everything, she was still the most dangerous person in the room.
Because she was waiting.
And he did not know what for.
(The Court's Growing Fear)
In the halls of the harem, no one was comfortable.
The concubines whispered behind embroidered sleeves, their voices filled with confusion and fear.
"She's pretending to be kind," one murmured.
"She's playing the long game," another agreed.
"She wants the child under her control," someone else whispered.
And then the most dangerous whisper of all.
"What if she's waiting for Lady Su to let her guard down?"
The moment those words were spoken, an uneasy chill settled over the women.
Because if that was true then Lin Ruyi was more terrifying than they had ever imagined.
Consort Mei Moves Her Pieces
Consort Mei, seated in her lavish quarters, watched as the court drowned in its own paranoia.
It had taken only a few words, a few carefully placed rumors, to turn Ruyi's mercy into something sinister.
She sipped her tea, her lips curving into a slow, pleased smile.
Because soon very soon
Even Zhao Long would have to question his beloved consort.
And when that moment came…
Mei would be ready.
Lady Su's Naïve Trust
Lady Su was too young to see the danger.
She did not notice how the other women in the harem watched her with suspicion.
She did not realize how quickly her favor could turn to ruin.
She did not understand that, in the Emperor's palace, kindness was rarely given without a price.
All she knew was that Ruyi had been good to her.
That Ruyi had brought her medicines.
That Ruyi had spoken to her without cruelty.
That Ruyi had touched her hand and made her feel safe for the first time since she had become pregnant.
And so she trusted her.
Completely.
A Silent Confrontation
Zhao Long found her that evening.
Not in her chambers.
Not in court.
But in the garden.
The scent of osmanthus and jasmine filled the night air, moonlight casting a soft glow over the small wooden pavilion where she sat, playing weiqi alone.
She did not look up when he entered.
She did not bow.
She simply placed a piece on the board, her expression calm, unreadable.
Zhao Long stepped forward, his black robes shifting like a living shadow.
For a long moment, he simply watched her.
Then softly, dangerously he spoke.
"You are too calm."
Ruyi lifted her gaze at last.
Her emerald eyes met his golden ones.
And then to his irritation she smiled.
"Would Your Majesty prefer I be distressed?"
Zhao Long exhaled, slow and measured.
"You are not jealous," he observed.
Ruyi's fingers traced the edge of a captured weiqi piece.
"No."
"You are not resentful."
"No."
Zhao Long tilted his head. "Then what are you, Ruyi?"
Silence.
Then Ruyi picked up another piece.
Placed it on the board.
And won the game.
Only then did she answer.
"Waiting."
A single word.
And Zhao Long stilled.
Because, for the first time since meeting her he felt it.
The weight of something he could not control.
Something he had never feared before.
The feeling of being on the losing side.
And Lin Ruyi his quiet, unreadable, untouchable wife
Had just won without ever lifting her sword.
(The Emperor's Unsettling Realization)
Zhao Long had ruled over armies, warlords, and an empire that trembled at his feet.
Yet he could not predict his wife.
He had expected anger, resentment, jealousy, defiance.
Instead, she gave him patience.
She gave him a single wordwaiting.
And that–that was worse than anything she could have said.
Because Lin Ruyi did not wait without purpose.
She waited for the moment her strike would be absolute.
And now for the first time Zhao Long felt something unfamiliar settle in his chest.
Not rage.
Not amusement.
But unease.
(The Court's Growing Paranoia)
The harem and the noble court had expected Lin Ruyi's fall.
Instead she only grew stronger.
She did not cry.
She did not fight.
She did not act as a woman scorned.
And that terrified them.
Rumors spread faster than fire in a dry summer.
"She is waiting for the child to be born."
"She will take him away from Lady Su."
"She will make sure the child knows only her as mother."
But there was one more whisper one that spread like venom through the palace.
"What if she does not wait until the child is born?"
And just like that Ruyi became the most feared woman in the palace.
Lady Su's Growing Doubt
Lady Su had trusted Ruyi.
But now the whispers followed her like shadows.
The concubines' voices echoed in her mind.
"She is waiting."
"She will take the child from you."
"She has done nothing because she wants you to trust her first."
She tried to silence the doubts.
She tried to remind herself of Ruyi's kindness.
But then Ruyi came to visit again.
And this time, her presence felt different.
A Visit That Should Have Brought Comfort
Ruyi entered without an escort.
No guards.
No attendants.
No power plays.
Just her.
Lady Su should have felt comforted.
Instead she felt cold.
Ruyi knelt beside her, adjusting the blanket around her shoulders with deliberate care.
"You are eating well?" Ruyi asked.
Lady Su nodded slowly. "Yes, my lady."
"And resting?"
"Yes."
Ruyi exhaled softly, fingers brushing against Lady Su's wrist.
"Good."
Lady Su stared at her.
She was so close.
Close enough that if Ruyi wished, she could end everything here.
The thought made her stomach twist.
Ruyi must have sensed it because she smiled.
Soft. Beautiful. Dangerous.
"You should not fear me," Ruyi murmured.
Lady Su's breath caught.
"I–I don't "
Ruyi tilted her head.
"Do not lie, child."
Lady Su swallowed.
Her hands trembled beneath the silk blanket.
And Ruyi without hesitation covered them with her own.
Warm.
Comforting.
Unshakable.
"I would never harm a mother," Ruyi whispered.
The words should have been comforting.
Instead they only made Lady Su's heart pound harder.
(The Emperor Listens And Decides)
Zhao Long stood on the balcony of his private study, staring at the moonlit gardens below.
Han Zixuan stepped forward, voice low.
"Consort Ruyi has been visiting Lady Su often."
Zhao Long did not turn.
"She takes care of her."
Han Zixuan hesitated.
"Yes. But the court… they suspect otherwise."
Zhao Long finally exhaled.
Of course they did.
His court was a nest of vultures, trained to see kindness as a weapon and patience as a slow-acting poison.
And yet he could not ignore the whispers.
Could not ignore that Ruyi's silence had begun to consume him, too.
"She is waiting," Han Zixuan murmured.
Zhao Long finally turned, his golden gaze unreadable.
"Yes," he agreed softly.
"She is."
(A Confrontation Between Husband and Wife)
That night, Zhao Long went to her.
Ruyi was in her private pavilion, her hair unbound, a single candle flickering beside her as she traced ink across rice paper.
She did not rise when he entered.
Did not bow.
She simply continued writing, as if his presence did not matter.
Zhao Long stepped forward, gaze heavy.
"You visit her often."
Ruyi did not look up.
"She is young. She needs guidance."
Zhao Long's fingers tapped against the table.
"The court does not see it that way."
Ruyi finally set down her brush.
Then slowly, deliberately she lifted her gaze.
"And you, Your Majesty?"
Zhao Long did not answer immediately.
Instead, he reached for her ink brush.
Dipped it in ink.
And in a single stroke he crossed out the last word she had written.
Ruyi's breath stilled.
His golden eyes met hers.
"I have never feared you, Ruyi."
A pause.
Then softly, dangerously
"But I am beginning to wonder if I should."
Ruyi did not blink.
She only smiled.
And Zhao Long for the first time in his life
Realized that perhaps it was already too late.
Because whatever game she was playing…
She was no longer just his wife.
She was a queen preparing for war.
The Queen Who Smiled Too Much
Ruyi had always been a woman of control.
She had learned early that power did not always come from action but from waiting, from watching, from knowing exactly when to strike.
And now she was enjoying herself.
The tension in the harem, the whispers, the shifting alliances it was a game she had played before.
And watching them squirm, watching them try to understand her…
It reminded her of home.
She sipped her tea, her lips curling ever so slightly as she listened to a group of concubines pretending to ignore her presence.
"She is too calm."
"She enjoys this."
"What is she planning?"
Ruyi let the silence stretch, enjoying their discomfort.
Then softly, sweetly she spoke.
"You all whisper so much," she mused, tapping her porcelain cup lightly.
"Shall I call the palace physician? I hear prolonged paranoia can cause early wrinkles."
A stunned silence.
Then a single, choked gasp.
One concubine turned red, another nearly dropped her teacup.
And Ruyi?
She smiled.
(A Hand Extended – An Unlikely Bond)
Lady Su was not expecting visitors.
She was especially not expecting Ruyi.
When the consort entered her chamber, dressed in flowing white silk, her expression unreadable, Lady Su immediately sat up, smoothing her robes.
"My lady," she started, bowing her head.
Ruyi waved a hand. "None of that. Sit."
Lady Su obeyed.
She was still unused to Ruyi's presence.
She had expected coldness, maybe even quiet hatred.
Instead Ruyi sat beside her, reached forward, and took the medicine bowl from the table.
"Have you taken it?"
Lady Su hesitated.
Ruyi exhaled loudly.
"You haven't, have you?"
"I was going to…"
Ruyi raised a brow, swirling the thick liquid in the bowl.
"It smells awful," she observed. "Truly, it smells like something even my horse would refuse to drink."
Lady Su blinked.
"…Your Majesty has a horse?"
Ruyi smirked.
"I did."
Lady Su giggled softly.
For a moment, the tension in her shoulders eased.
Ruyi handed her the medicine. "Drink it. Or I will hold your nose shut like a stubborn child."
Lady Su gaped. "…You wouldn't."
Ruyi tilted her head.
"Try me."
A moment of hesitation then, reluctantly, Lady Su took the medicine in one go, wincing at the taste.
Ruyi hummed, satisfied. "See? That wasn't so difficult."
Lady Su scowled. "You are enjoying this."
Ruyi's lips twitched. "I am."
And for the first time since she had become pregnant, Lady Su laughed freely.
What neither of them noticed was Zhao Long standing at the doorway, watching.
The Emperor Who Did Not Expect This
Zhao Long had not meant to come.
Or so he told himself.
But now, as he stood there, hidden just beyond the candlelight, he did not move.
Did not interrupt.
Because what he saw was something he had never expected.
Ruyi his Ruyi smiling, teasing, laughing softly like an elder sister fussing over a troublesome child.
Lady Su naïve, fragile, but entirely comfortable under Ruyi's care.
This was not a woman waiting to strike.
This was not a woman scheming for power.
This was something else.
Something he could not define.
And that for the first time made him uneasy.
Because if Ruyi was not waiting to strike…
Then what was she waiting for?
(A War Between Women – Lady Su's Mistake)
Lady Su did not seek conflict.
She had never been raised for palace games, had never been trained in deception.
But Consort Mei
She was born for war.
The confrontation happened in the main hall of the harem, surrounded by concubines and noblewomen.
Lady Su had been seated quietly, eating fruit, when Mei arrived.
And like a predator who had finally caught the scent of blood she did not hesitate.
"My dear Lady Su," Mei cooed, her voice too sweet, too sharp. "How lovely it is to see you out of bed."
Lady Su stiffened.
She knew better than to trust that tone.
Mei stepped closer, her gaze sweeping over the young woman's delicate frame.
"You must be very tired," she said. "Keeping up with Consort Ruyi's attention must be exhausting."
Lady Su's hands clenched.
"I do not find her presence exhausting," she said carefully.
Mei hummed. "No? Then you must find it comforting."
Lady Su hesitated.
"After all," Mei continued, voice soft, "it is rare for a woman to be so kind without reason."
The words were gentle.
The meaning was a knife to the throat.
Lady Su felt it.
Felt the weight of every whisper, every doubt, every rumor Mei had planted.
She opened her mouth to defend Ruyi, to stop this conversation, to end this now
And that was when Mei struck.
"Has she told you what happens when an heir is born?"
The room went still.
Lady Su's breath hitched.
Mei tilted her head, smiling sweetly.
"She wouldn't harm you, of course," she whispered. "She has no reason to."
She reached forward, tracing the rim of Lady Su's tea cup.
"But the child?"
Silence.
And in that silence Mei won.
Because now, for the first time Lady Su had doubt.
A Queen Who Needed to Fight
Ruyi should have ignored it.
She should have stayed in her pavilion, continued to smile at the court's paranoia, laughed at their confusion.
But tonight she was restless.
Tonight something burned beneath her skin.
So she went where she always did when the world threatened to suffocate her.
The imperial training grounds.
A place where she was not the Emperor's wife, not the court's obsession, not the woman trapped in a palace of whispers.
Just Ruyi.
She took a wooden practice sword from the rack, testing its weight.
Then she moved.
Strike. Pivot. Block. Turn.
Each movement was precise, controlled, sharp.
The world faded.
The whispers faded.
Only the sound of her own breathing, the weight of the blade in her hands, the rush of adrenaline remained.
And that—that was when Zhao Long found her.
He stepped into the training ground, arms crossed, his golden gaze locked onto her as she spun, struck, and sliced through an invisible opponent.
Ruyi did not stop.
Not until her blade came to a sudden halt just inches from his throat.
The world stilled.
Then Zhao Long smirked.
"Should I be worried?"
Ruyi exhaled, lowering her weapon.
Then softly, sarcastically she smiled.
"Perhaps."
And Zhao Long for the first time since this all began
Realized something.
He was no longer sure who had the upper hand.
And that?
That was exhilarating.