Su Yuxiao woke to knocking.
Not Chun Tao's gentle tap. Three sharp raps. The kind that meant business.
She sat up. The room was grey with early morning light. Chun Tao was already on her feet, looking like a rabbit who'd heard a wolf.
The door opened.
Her father stood there. Dark robes. Face like stone. Eyes sharp. Angry.
Chun Tao bowed so fast she nearly fell. "Prime Minister"
"Leave."
Chun Tao fled.
Her father walked to the center of the room. Didn't sit. Didn't speak at first. Just stood there, looking at her like she was a math problem he couldn't solve.
"You went to the princess's palace yesterday."
"Yes."
"I told you to stay away from her."
"She summoned me. I couldn't refuse."
He took a step closer. "You could have said you were unwell. You could have delayed. You could have done anything other than walk into her garden."
Su Yuxiao swung her legs off the bed. "She invited me to sit in her garden. That's all."
"You don't understand." His voice was low. Controlled. But she heard the fear underneath. "You don't understand what you've walked into."
"Then explain it."
He stared at her. For a moment, she thought he wouldn't answer. Then something shifted in his face.
"The Empress has heard about your visit. She's curious." He turned toward the door. "People who attract the Empress's curiosity don't live long. Stay in your rooms. See no one. If anyone asks, you're still sick."
He left.
Chun Tao crept back in. Her face was pale.
"Miss? What happened?"
Su Yuxiao stared at the floor. "The Empress knows I went to the princess's palace."
Chun Tao's hand flew to her mouth. "The Empress?"
"She's curious about me. That's what my father said." Su Yuxiao looked up. "People who attract the Empress's curiosity don't live long."
Chun Tao sat down on the stool. Hard.
"Everyone knows, miss. The Empress wants the princess gone. Tried marrying her off somewhere far. Tried sending her away. Tried... other things. Nothing worked. The princess is too clever. So now the Empress just waits."
Su Yuxiao nodded.
She knew this. The novel had spelled it out. Empress Chen hated Murong Qian. Hated her because her own husband still listened to his half-sister. Hated her because as long as Murong Qian was in the capital, her son's throne was never safe.
The Empress had three children.
The Crown Prince. Murong Rui. Sixteen. Arrogant. Desperate to prove himself. His mother told him the princess wanted his throne. He believed her.
The Second Prince. Murong Cheng. Fourteen. Quiet. Bookish. No one remembered him. Except the princess. She sent him books. She asked about his studies. She was the only one who came to his birthday.
Murong Yue was only twelve, a bright and curious young princess. But her mother was already planning her marriage, seeing it as a way to gain support for her son
And then there was Murong Qian, the Emperor's half-sister too clever, too powerful, and far too dangerous to be left alone.
The Empress has been trying to destroy her for years, Su Yuxiao thought. And now she sees a new target. Me.
"You sat in her garden," Chun Tao was saying. "You talked to her for hours. In the Empress's eyes, that makes you connected to her. And anyone connected to the princess is an enemy."
Su Yuxiao stood up.
She thought about Murong Qian. Sitting in her garden. Watching the lotuses grow. Her mother's lotuses. The only thing she had left.
She doesn't know, Su Yuxiao thought. She doesn't know the Empress is making plans. She doesn't know the General might have been using her for seven years. She's sitting there, alone, thinking she's untouchable.
"I need to write to her."
Chun Tao's eyes went wide. "Miss, the Prime Minister said"
"I know what he said."
"If the Empress finds out"
"She already knows I sat with her. A letter won't change that."
Chun Tao stared at her. "Miss, you are going to get us both killed."
Su Yuxiao almost laughed. "Probably."
"This servant is not joking."
"I know." Su Yuxiao walked to her desk. "But if I don't do this, no one does. And she sits there alone, thinking everyone is against her. Which they are. The Empress. The court. Maybe even the General." She picked up the brush. "I can't fix any of that. But I can tell her she's not alone."
Chun Tao came to stand beside her. "And if the Prime Minister finds out?"
"Then he finds out. I'll deal with it then."
Chun Tao looked at her for a long moment. Then she sighed. "Then write it, miss. But if the Prime Minister asks, this servant knows nothing."
"Deal."
Su Yuxiao stared at the blank paper.
She thought about the garden. The lotuses. The way Murong Qian had said, My mother planted them. The way her fingers curled into her sleeve.
She wrote:
You are not alone.
Four words.
She folded the paper. Sealed it with wax. Handed it to Chun Tao.
Chun Tao took it like it might bite her. "Miss, this is four words. You could have just said this to her face."
"I wanted it written."
"You wanted it written." Chun Tao shook her head. "This servant is going to get caught. This servant is going to lose her job. This servant is going to be thrown out on the street because you wanted to write four words."
"You'll be fine."
"I will not be fine." Chun Tao tucked the letter into her sleeve. "I will be executed. The Prime Minister will have me executed, and my ghost will haunt this room forever."
Su Yuxiao laughed. "Then haunt it somewhere else. I need my sleep."
Chun Tao glared at her. But she was smiling. Just a little.
"This servant will find a way," she said. "But if I die, you will write a very nice memorial for me. A very nice one."
"Done."
Chun Tao left.
Su Yuxiao lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
She thought about the Emperor. Murong Hao. He loved his half-sister. He also feared her. He relied on her. He resented her. In the novel, he did nothing when the court turned against her. Because he was too afraid to choose.
She thought about the Crown Prince. Sixteen years old. He hated Murong Qian because his mother told him to.
She thought about the Second Prince. Fourteen. Invisible. No one remembered him except his aunt.
She thought about the young princess. Twelve. A pawn. She didn't even know it yet.
And at the center of it all, Murong Qian. Fighting alone for years. Probably forgot what it felt like to have someone beside her.
She doesn't know I'm on her side, Su Yuxiao thought. She doesn't know anyone is.
She closed her eyes.
But she's going to find out